NJ Abstracts of Wills, Vol. XXXVIII (1796-1800) — Will of Nathan Cooper, Sr., of Roxbury Twsp., Morris Co., 28 December 1797

Transcription and notes

• Source files:
• User-supplied screenshot 2026-04-25 of the Ancestry result page "New Jersey, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 for Nathan Cooper" — Volume XXXVIII, Abstracts of Wills, 1796-1800. Image cuts off mid-paragraph after "land bought of Jabesh Bell" — full will text continues on the next page (page-image not yet captured).
• ** PRIMARY-SOURCE COMPANION 2026-04-29 v150 = A.15 — NJ State Archives Wills File 990N (7 image scans on disk at Death/Wills and Probate/New Jersey/Morris County/Wills 886n to 993n/). The original 1797 will + 1798 probate file + 1798 inventory. Fills the data gaps from this J.36 abstract: probate sworn 1 Feb 1798 before Surrogate Jabez Camfield; executors Nathan III Cooper + Abraham Cooper (testator's sons); witnesses John Coper + Abraham Bell + Christopher Tichr/Tichenor[?]; inventory £229.0.0 + £2.16.0 'desperate money' by appraisers Christopher Vator-Henry[?] + Abraham Bell; 4 enslaved persons** in 1798 inventory: Pegg + Joseph + Rachel + Beck (cf. different roster Paris/Clock/Jude/Rose in J.37 Mehitabel's 1812 widow's will).
• Identification: Published abstract of a Morris Co. Surrogate-Court probate file for a SECOND Nathan Cooper Sr. of Roxbury Township, Morris County, NJ (distinct from the 1788 testator catalogued at J.35). Will dated 28 December 1797. Probate / death date not visible in the captured portion. Source surfaced via the Ancestry "NJ, U.S., Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817" search (J.34) which returned both 1788 and 1797 as separate hits. IDENTIFIED 2026-04-25 via J.38 (MD Paulsen tree) + REFINED via J.41 + I.21 (Seversmith) 2026-04-25 as Nathan Cooper Jr. (b. 1728, d. 30 Dec 1797), son of Nathan Cooper Sr. MDL (1696-1788, J.35 testator) + Mary Miller MDL (1700-1788). Birth year correction: the J.38 MD Paulsen tree gave "1725" for this Nathan Jr., but the Seversmith Long Island Cooper genealogy (I.21) primary-source baptism records show the family had two sons named Nathan: one bapt. 7 March 1725 who died young + another bapt. 1728 (the surviving Nathan = this 1797 testator). The tree mistakenly applied the 1725 birth-year to the surviving Nathan. Per primary-source Seversmith reading, this 1797 testator was bapt. 1728 = age 69-70 at death 30 Dec 1797 (NOT 72 as the tree-derived age would suggest). Will dated 28 December 1797 — written 2 days before death (deathbed will). After his father's 1788 death he became "Sr." in his own generation, hence the 1797 will's "Cooper, Nathan, Sr." styling.

Data from the document (verbatim from visible portion)

The page contains two consecutive abstract entries; the Nathan Cooper Sr. entry is the second.

Top of frame — John Cooper of Northampton, Burlington Co., 1796 will [Cooper-not-related] (verbatim for context)

• "1796, Feb. 20. Cooper, John, of Northampton Twsp., Burlington Co.; will of. Real and personal to be sold; likewise the share of the estate of my father-in-law, John Eayre, dec'd, as yet undivided (I being tenant by courtesy) shall be added to my whole estate and is not to devolve to my daughter, Elizabeth, in right of her deceased mother. Present wife, Priscilla, my daughter, Elizabeth (child by first wife), and sons, Benjamin, Henry and Joseph Hatkinson Cooper (children by second wife); all an equal share or division of whole estate. Son, Benjamin, silver watch now in the custody of my brother-in-law, John Eayre, when 21. In case daughter Elizabeth refuses to comply with the addition of the dividend arising from my father-in-law, John Eayre's estate, unto my own proper estate, she shall not be entitled to any part of my whole estate. Should wife and children all die before children are of age, estate to be divided among my sisters, Elizabeth, Anne and Mary. Interest from monies to be paid wife for the support and education of children during their minorities. Executors to act as Guardians of said children. Executors—friends, Daniel Newbold and William Irick. Witnesses—John Bishop, John Eayre and Isaiah Bell. Proved Mar. 21, 1796. Lib. 35, p. 480; File 11657C."

(Burlington Co. — different Cooper family — but captured verbatim per the full-transcription policy. Notable: a son "Benjamin" of a Burlington Cooper, NOT our Capt. Benjamin Cooper.)

Main entry — Nathan Cooper Sr. of Roxbury, 1797 will (verbatim from visible portion)

• "1797, Dec. 28. Cooper, Nathan, Sr., of Roxbury Twsp., Morris Co.; will of. Wife, Mehitabel, use of ½ of house, housegood goods, a negro wench, 4 cows, 10 sheep and horse and riding chair. Son, Nathan, land bought of Henry Cooper and land bought of Daniel Seward; also land bought of Thomas Kinsey and land bought of James Seward with buildings and orchards, and thence up the road within 30 rods of land bought of Jabesh Bell [text continues off bottom of visible image — devises to other beneficiaries, executors, witnesses, probate date, and Lib./File reference are not yet readable]"

Family structure documented (verbatim from visible portion of will)

Testator: Nathan Cooper, Sr., of Roxbury Township, Morris County, NJ. Will dated 28 December 1797.

• Wife: Mehitabel — gets use of ½ of house + household goods + a negro wench + 4 cows + 10 sheep + horse + riding chair.
• Son: Nathan (the new Nathan Jr. of this generation) — gets land that the testator had bought of:
• Henry Cooper (probably the testator's brother — Henry Cooper was Nathan #1's son and 1788 will executor per J.35)
• Daniel Seward (Seward family — possibly Mehitabel's kin)
• Thomas Kinsey
• James Seward (with buildings and orchards) (Seward family — possibly Mehitabel's kin)
• "thence up the road within 30 rods of land bought of Jabesh Bell" (Bell family — boundary reference)

Additional beneficiaries, executors, witnesses, probate date, inventory, and Lib./File references continue below the visible cutoff.

Significance for the Roxbury Cooper family chronology

Two-Nathan-Cooper-Sr. structure of Roxbury

The Roxbury Cooper family has TWO documented "Nathan Cooper Sr." testators, ONE generation apart:

Reconstruction (most plausible, not verbatim): the 1797 testator is the same person as the 1788 testator's "Son, Nathan, 5 shillings" — i.e., the J.33 Deed 4 witness "Nathan Cooper Junr." After his father's 1788 death he became "Nathan Sr." in his own right and willed his own estate at the end of 1797. Supporting evidence:

• The 1797 testator describes "land bought of Henry Cooper" — Henry was the 1788 testator's son and primary 250+200-acre devisee. A purchase of land from Henry by Nathan Jr. (his brother) is the most natural reading.
• The 1797 testator's wife Mehitabel matches the J.34 Ancestry tree's "Mehitabel (Hetty) Seward" — wife of the tree's "Nathan I. Cooper." The "I" Roman numeral is a tree-builder's invention; the underlying historical figure is the 1797 testator (= our witness Nathan Junr).
• The "Daniel Seward" + "James Seward" land sources align with the Seward family being the wife's kin, providing land via in-law transfers.
• Temporal continuity: 1785/86 deed witness → 1788 will beneficiary (5 shillings) → 1797 own will-maker.

If correct, the J.33 Deed 4 witness identification refines from "Nathan Junr of Roxbury, son of 1788 testator" to specifically "Nathan Cooper Sr. of Roxbury (will dated 28 Dec 1797), husband of Mehitabel" — same man at different life-stages.

Out-of-scope

Per project pr.26 Roxbury Cooper family out-of-scope (RESOLVED).md, this Roxbury Cooper line is out of scope for Benjamin-descendant research. The 1797 will is catalogued for completeness because the user supplied the source, but no follow-up research priorities are added.

Status / follow-up

• Filed [partial] because the visible image cuts off mid-paragraph. Upgrade path to [verbatim]: capture the next page (probably p. 481 or 482 of Vol. XXXVIII) showing the rest of Nathan Sr.'s 1797 will — devises to other beneficiaries, executors, witnesses, probate date, Lib./File. Low priority because the family is out-of-scope.
• The Ancestry tree's "Nathan I. Cooper × Mehitabel Seward" claim (J.34) is now anchored to a primary-source will in this entry. Tree's "Mehitabel (Hetty) SEWARD" can be verbally confirmed against the 1797 will's "Wife, Mehitabel."
• Cross-reference: J.35 (1788 will of Nathan #1, the 1797 testator's father), J.34 (Ancestry search that surfaced both wills), J.33 Deed 4 (the 1785/86 deed witnessed by this man as "Nathan Cooper Junr").

Mehitabel's 1812 will — primary-source corroboration of the family structure (added 2026-04-25)

The user supplied Vol. XXXXI (1810-1813) p. 81 image 2026-04-25 showing the will of Mehitable Cooper of Chester Twsp., Morris Co., dated 19 March 1812 — the widow of the 1797 testator (this entry). Visible verbatim portion:

"1812, Mar. 19. Cooper, Mehitable, of Chester Twsp., Morris Co.; will of. Son, Nathan Cooper, $250 in obligations. Son, Samuel Cooper, $600 in obligations. Son, Abraham Cooper, $250. Said three sons to have my part of plantation purchased of C. Victor King. Son, Abraham, also to have negro boy, Paris, a bed & bedding. Son, Samuel, also to have negroes, Clock, Jude and Rose; also bed and bedding, wearing apparel, which he…" [text continues off bottom of visible image]

Family-structure data added (verbatim):

• Three sons named: Nathan Cooper, Samuel Cooper, Abraham Cooper — all of Chester Twsp. by 1812.
• Mehitable's "part of plantation purchased of C. Victor King" — separate property from the 1788/1797 Roxbury landholdings; Mehitable's own property at Chester.
• Bequests of obligations (notes/bonds): Nathan $250, Samuel $600, Abraham $250 (Samuel got the larger share).
• Slaves named: negro boy Paris (to Abraham); negroes Clock, Jude and Rose (to Samuel) — at least four enslaved persons in the household.
• The 1797 will's "Son, Nathan" beneficiary is now revealed by Mehitable's 1812 will to be one of three sons: Nathan + Samuel + Abraham. The cut-off portion of the 1797 abstract presumably listed Samuel + Abraham as additional beneficiaries.

Reconciliation with J.34 Ancestry tree: the tree had Nathan I. Cooper × Mehitabel Seward → "Brig. General Nathan + Abraham (b. 18 Feb 1762 Chester)." The tree was incomplete — primary-source evidence (this 1812 will) confirms a third son Samuel Cooper not in the Ancestry tree.

Roxbury → Chester Cooper family chronology (per J.35 + J.36 + 1812 Mehitable will):

Cross-references: the 1811 Nathan M Cooper of Chester intestate admin (Vol. XXXXI p. 81, catalogued at J.37) is plausibly one of these three sons (likely Nathan, dying in 1811 just months before his mother Mehitable willed in March 1812 — though the "M" middle initial is unexplained by the family tree).