Morris County NJ Court of Common Pleas Minute Book Vol 2-3 (1754-1766) (FamilySearch DGS 7903193), image 70 of 410, printed pp. 119-120 — Sept 27-28, 1758 court sessions. Page 120 contains 'Daniel Cooper Junr Esq^r High Sheriff of Morris County' formally protesting the insufficiency of the Morris County Gaol — = primary-source-image-verified attestation that Daniel Cooper Jr (b. 1729, age 29 in 1758) was Sheriff of Morris County by Sept 1758. Combined with [pr.44](../../projects/pr.44%20NJ%20Colonial%20Documents%20corpus%20scan.md)'s Vol 26 Newspapers Vol VII finding (Daniel Cooper Jr Sheriff 1768-1769), the Daniel-Jr Sheriff tenure is now primary-source-attested across 1758-1769 = at least 11 years. CATALOG CORRECTION: Honeyman [M.24](../M-Societies/M.24.yaml) 1912 attribution of 'Sheriff of Morris Co. 1753-1761' to Daniel Cooper Sr was at least partially wrong — by Sept 1758 Daniel Jr held the office. Also: 'Daniel Cooper Junr Esq Petition for [tavern] Licence ... Daniel Cooper Esq and Joseph Stiles Sureties' = first image-verified father-son surety transaction between Daniel Sr and Daniel Jr.

Transcription and notes

Catalog correction — Honeyman's "Sheriff 1753-1761" attribution to Daniel Sr was wrong; primary-source establishes Daniel Cooper JUNIOR as High Sheriff by Sept 1758

This entry catalogs Morris CCP Vol 2-3 image 70 = printed pp. 119-120 = Sept 27-28, 1758 General Sessions + County Court at Morristown. Page 120 contains formal protest by "Daniel Cooper Junr Esq^r High Sheriff of Morris County" about the insufficiency of the Morris Co. Gaol. Same session: Daniel Cooper Junr Esq petitions for a tavern license; Daniel Cooper Esq (= father Daniel Sr) serves as surety on the recognizance bond.

Multi-layered catalog significance:

1. Daniel Cooper Jr as Sheriff 1758 — pushes the primary-source Sheriff-Jr attestation back from 1768-1769 (per pr.44 Vol 26 Newspapers Vol VII) to 1758. Daniel Jr's Sheriff tenure is now documented across at least 1758-1769 = 11 years.

2. Honeyman M.24 catalog correction — Honeyman 1912 attributed "Sheriff of Morris Co. 1753-1761" to Daniel Cooper Sr. The primary-source minute book shows Daniel Jr held the office in 1758. Honeyman conflated father + son. Most parsimonious reconciliation: Daniel Sr briefly held Sheriff c. 1753-1757 (consistent with Img128+Img129 1762 calling him "Late High Sheriff"); Daniel Jr succeeded him c. 1757-1758 and held it through 1769.

3. First image-verified Daniel Sr ↔ Daniel Jr surety transaction — Daniel Sr stood as surety on Daniel Jr's tavern-license recognizance bond. Documents the father-son economic relationship + Daniel Sr's continuing involvement in Daniel Jr's civic affairs.

4. Daniel Jr's tavern license at age 29 — first economic transaction Daniel Jr initiates in the catalog. Possibly the inn-keeping operation at Long Hill that Daniel Jr later was known for (per Mellick I.14 Old Farm references).

5. The Gaol-insufficiency protest = a Sheriff's formal complaint to the Court that the county jail is inadequate — typical Sheriff-Court interaction. Daniel Jr's role as Sheriff included oversight of the Gaol; his protest documents official institutional concern about prison conditions in Morris Co. 1758.

Source identification

Verbatim — page 119 (left), Sept 27 1758 cases (selected)

"Sept 27th 1758

Andrew Patterson ag William Gamble — on motion of Mr Dehart attorney for the Plantiff ordered that the auditors in this cause make sale and assurance of the Real Estate of the Defendt in this cause and that they make their final Report to the next term

John D Hart ag John Allen — attachment, Discontinue this action — John D Hart

Jacob Dehent ag John Pitney — Debt CC rules &c — D Hart

Nathaniel Williams ag Ebenezer Farrend — in Debt, Decl[aratio]n in this cause being filed upwards of Twenty Days past and no plea being filed on motion of Mr Ogden attorney for the Plantiff the Court orders Judgm[en]t nisi

James Badgly ag Lewis Winand — Debt the Like

Peter Hill ag Ebenezer Drake — in Debt, the Like

Saml Tuthill & Sarah his wife Late [_] & Sarah Kinney admr of John Kinney Deed v John Kinney — Cortland Skinner atty for the Defend[an]t produced a habeas corpus in this Cinney cause which read and allow[ed] and ordered to be returned

Then the Court adjourned till four oclock in the afternoon. The Court Met according to Adjournment Present as before. Then the Court adjourned till eight oclock tomorrow morning"

Verbatim — page 120 (right), Sept 28 1758 — the Daniel Cooper Junr session

"Sept 28th [1758] the Court Met according to adjournment, Present as before

Daniel Cooper Junr Esq^r High Sheriff of Morris County Protests against the Goal of the County of Morris as Insufficient

Whereas there are Certain Lands in the northwest part of the County of Morris whereon are sundry Inhabitance that seems not to belong to any Town or Precinct, for remedy whereof the Court appoint Messrs David Luce, Ebenezer Byram and Thomas Cleverly Esq^rs to view the situation of said Land and run the line as the Law directs between Sussex and Morris County and that they or any two of them Do make Report to the next Court.

Ordered also that Jonathan Pitney Do asses the said Inhabitance this year.

Then the Court adjourned till one oclock in the afternoon. The Court Met according to adjournment Present as before.

Benjamin Fowler ag Sarah Allen — appeal from Justice [_] rules Judgmt to be continued till next term.

Doc Sam'l Tuthill Petition the Court for Licence to keep Publick House the Court grant him Licence; Jasper Totten Sen[r] and Thomas Stiles Sureties

Daniel Cooper Junr Esq Petition as above for Licence — the Court grant him Licence — Daniel Cooper Esq and Joseph Stiles Sureties

Ordered by the Court that the Plantiff file their Decl[aratio]n in 20 Days after the Court and that the Defend plead in 20 days thereafter or Judgm[en]t; the Plantiff having served a copy of a Decl[aratio]n on the Sheriff or Defend in Custody as the Rule of the practice the same is; ordered also that the Defendt have 20 days liberty after the court to file their Special Bail before the bail bond be put in suit; then the Court adjourned pursuant to ordinance.

p[er] Saml Governour Clk"

What this source establishes

1. Daniel Cooper Jr was High Sheriff of Morris County by Sept 28, 1758

The "Junr" suffix is unambiguous in the clerk's hand (image-verified). Daniel Jr (b. 1729, age 29) held the High Sheriff office and was actively exercising it — protesting the inadequacy of the Morris Co. Gaol to the Court. Earliest primary-source-image-verified attestation of Daniel Jr in any office.

2. Honeyman's Sheriff attribution to Daniel Sr is corrected

Per Honeyman M.24, Daniel Cooper Sr was Sheriff of Morris Co. 1753-1761. Per I.99 (1758) + pr.44 Vol 26 (1768-69) + Img128/129 (1762 "Late High Sheriff" applied to Daniel Esq = Daniel Sr), the actual Sheriff history is: - ≈ 1753-1757: Daniel Cooper Sr (succeeded by his son) - 1758-1769 (at least): Daniel Cooper Jr

Honeyman wrote 50+ years after the events and likely could not distinguish Daniel Sr vs Daniel Jr in the surviving sources he consulted. Primary-source-image-verified records now disambiguate.

3. First image-verified father-son surety transaction

Daniel Sr served as surety on Daniel Jr's tavern-license recognizance bond. This is the first image-verified primary-source attestation of the Daniel Sr ↔ Daniel Jr economic relationship. Per pr.55 survey, similar father-son sureties appear at Img270 (Jul 1753 Daniel Sr + Daniel Jr surety for Peter Rattan Jr) + Img300 (1754 Daniel Jr presents tavern license with Daniel Sr as principal) — establishing a continuous father-son professional partnership in court-related surety business across 1753-1758+.

4. Daniel Jr held a tavern license from Sept 28, 1758

Daniel Jr received a Morris Co. tavern license at this session. Likely for property at Long Hill (where the Cooper family was concentrated). This would document Daniel Jr's role as Long Hill innkeeper — possibly the same operation Mellick's Old Farm (I.14) later refers to. Acquisition follow-up: Daniel Jr's pre-1787 estate records may name the specific tavern property.

5. Morris Co. Gaol-insufficiency in 1758

Daniel Jr's formal protest as Sheriff establishes that by 1758 the Morris County Gaol was officially deemed inadequate. The Court's response — appointing a 3-man committee to view boundary lands rather than addressing the Gaol — suggests the Gaol issue was acknowledged but unresolved. Historical context: NJ counties commonly struggled with substandard Gaols in this period (per I.78 Newark Riots context where rioters broke open Somerset Gaol Dec 1746).

What this source does NOT establish

• The start year of Daniel Jr's Sheriff tenure — only that he held it by Sept 1758. Could be 1757 or earlier.
• Daniel Sr's exact Sheriff start + end dates — Img128/129 1762 confirms he was Sheriff at some prior point; exact range needs Vol 1 image search.
• The specific property covered by Daniel Jr's 1758 tavern license — petition body not transcribed; would need recognizance-bond loose-paper file at Morris Co. Surrogate or NJ State Archives.
• The full surety bond signed by Daniel Sr — Daniel Sr's actual ink signature on the recognizance bond is at the Morris Co. court loose-paper files, NOT in this minute-book entry.

Cross-references

• I.78 — Vol 7 + Vol 16 NJ Archives Series I, 1749 Daniel Sr Belcher commission + affidavit; per this Justice-of-the-Quorum office Daniel Sr was simultaneously holding judicial + Sheriff offices c. 1753-1757.
• I.94 — Vol 6 1747 Newark Rioter letter naming "Justice Daniel Cooper" of Morris Co.
• I.95 — Vol 15 1739 Quorum commission.
• I.97 — Morris CCP Vol 1 Img027 1741 Justice session.
• I.98 — Morris CCP Vol 1 Img142 1749 Justice on same day as I.78 Burlington reappointment.
• M.24 — Honeyman 1912 office-date summary; "1753-1761 Sheriff" attribution now corrected by I.99.
• pr.44 — Vol 26 Newspapers Vol VII 1768-69 Daniel Cooper Jr as Sheriff (= other end-point of Daniel Jr's tenure).
• pr.55 — Morris CCP research thread.
• A.10 — Daniel Cooper Jr 1787 admin file; would name the tavern property in his estate inventory.
• p.X Daniel Cooper Jr 1729-1787 — Daniel Jr does NOT yet have his own people file in the catalog; this entry plus 1758 Sheriff tenure + 1758 tavern license + 1768-69 continuing Sheriff per pr.44 = enough catalog content to warrant creating a p.X file.

Open questions / follow-up

• Create p.X Daniel Cooper Jr 1729-1787 people file — Daniel Jr is heavily catalogged but has no people file. With this I.99 + pr.44 Vol 26 + A.10 1787 admin file content, there's enough for a full file (not stub).
• Daniel Sr's exact Sheriff date range — pre-1758 ending; image-search Vol 1 Img200-260 (= 1751-1753) for Daniel Sr Sheriff appointment + Vol 1 Img260-321 (1754-1755) for Sheriff transition to Daniel Jr.
• Daniel Jr's recognizance-bond loose-paper file — would have Daniel Sr's ink signature as surety. Highest-leverage signature acquisition target per pr.55 + the earlier signature-conversation context.
• Morris Co. Gaol replacement — when (if ever) was the 1758-inadequate Gaol replaced? Cross-reference local-history sources.
• Daniel Jr's tavern property — specific location of the inn licensed Sept 1758. Long Hill is the likely candidate; cross-reference with the 1434 Long Hill Rd "Cooper Tavern" tradition per maintainer's Long Hill Township History 1984 note (pr.7).
• Update M.24 Honeyman 1912 with the corrected Sheriff attribution — Honeyman's 1753-1761 entry needs a note flagging the Sr/Jr conflation per I.99 primary-source evidence.