The Coopers of Long Hill

Document K.1 · Land Records and Deeds · transcription: verbatim

NJ State Archives Early Land Records 1650-1900s database — Hunterdon Co. NJ Cooper-surname search, 29 records 1713-1816. 2 catalog-defining finds: (1) Daniel Cooper (Weaver) of Hunterdon, 14 Dec 1720, grantee from Reziah Runyon (Yeoman) of Piscataway — Lot No. 2 on Passaic River, Hunterdon Co. — at minimum a Reziah-Runyon + Daniel-Cooper land transfer 6 years BEFORE Daniel Sr × Grace Runyon's 17 Apr 1726 marriage; primary-source candidate for Daniel Sr's first land acquisition + first attestation of WEAVER trade; F-2 (EJ) Folio 33. Cross-link [K.2](K.2.yaml). (2) John Cooper of Newark, 25 Mar 1730, grantee with Joseph Bonnel of Elizabethtown — 1250 acres in 4 Lots in Hanover Twp between Passaic and Whippany Rivers — primary-source candidate for the same John Cooper who witnessed the 1718 Hanover First Presby founding deed ([F.162](../F-Church-Vital/F.162.yaml) / [p.215](../../people/p.215%20John%20Cooper%20of%201718%20Whippanong.md)); same 'John Cooper of Newark' who d. 1732 per NJA Vol 30 p.108 abstract (per [pr.60](../../projects/pr.60%20NJA%201670-1817%20Cooper-testator%20sweep.md)). Cross-link [K.3](K.3.yaml). Other 27 records cover Benjamin B. Cooper (5 records 1816-1817 = different Benjamin = fam.3 Camden Quaker line); John Cooper of 'Above the Delaware Falls' (5 records 1713-1715, Musconetcong River area); Richard Cooper (4 records 1715-1754); Mahlon Cooper of Amwell (4 records 1785-1801); Joseph Cooper of Burlington × Elizabeth Ham (3 records 1773 Kingwood = fam.3 expansion); plus singletons (Jacob 1765, Jane 1785, [Unrecorded] 1760, William 1716).

Transcription and notes

Source identification

Element Value
Repository New Jersey State Archives — Early Land Records, ca. 1650-1900s database
Portal URL https://wwwdnet-dos.nj.gov/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/EarlyLandRecords.aspx
Search filter Last Name: Cooper; County: Hunterdon
Search captured 22 May 2026 by maintainer (Chris Cooper)
Total records 29 (across 3 result pages)
Local files (image held in the family archive), (image held in the family archive), (image held in the family archive)
Catalog discovery context Same-day discovery — maintainer ran the search after I recommended NJSA Early Land Records as the highest-leverage immediately-useful database for the p.215 1718 Whippanong / pr.2 Daniel Sr father search thread. Memory reference_njsa_searchable_databases.md then captured the database portal documentation.
Per memory feedback_ancestry_search_as_source.md Search-result-snapshot databases are legitimate catalog sources. K.1 records the NJSA query + result-set; underlying-deed primary-sources acquired separately (= future K.2+, K.3+ dedicated entries)

About the NJSA Early Land Records database (verbatim portal description)

This database currently indexes over 75,210 land records held by the New Jersey State Archives, containing over 385,383 name entries. It references many of New Jersey's earliest extant deeds and surveys found in over 120 record books. This includes newly indexed East Jersey Survey Books L (1675-1688) and O (1670-1716), and Liber II (1670-1727; referred to as "Carteret's Conveyances"). Both proprietary filings and transactions recorded by the Provincial Secretaries of the colony and the Secretary of State are indexed here.

Dates range from 1650 through 1996, but the vast majority of records date between 1675 and 1900.

Please keep in mind that most deeds executed after 1785 were recorded at the county level, not with the State. County land records are not included in this database.

The database is a collaborative project of NJSA + Genealogical Society of New Jersey (GSNJ), funded by state, federal, corporate (NJ Land Title Association), and private (NHPRC, Society of Colonial Wars NJ) grants.

Verbatim — All 29 records (sorted as in NJSA result-set: alphabetical by given name)

Record 1 — Cooper, [Unrecorded] (Owner of adjoining land)

Records 2–6 — Cooper, Benjamin B. (5 records 1816-1817)

All 5 reference the same underlying Warrant Date: 29 Mar 1717 + Thomas Cadwalader (Attorney for West New Jersey Society) + Burr Woolman (Surveyor General):

# Date TO Location Acres Reference
2 9 Jan 1816 David H. Bishop Readington Twp Hunterdon 4.11 Book DD (WJ Surveys) Folio 353-355
3 22 Jan 1816 Samuel Besson + Adam Cace (FROM Charles Ellis; Cooper named as Former owner) Bethlehem Twp Hunterdon 141.75 Book DD (WJ Surveys) Folio 355-356
4 1 Mar 1816 John Prall Jr. Amwell Twp Hunterdon 13 Book DD (WJ Surveys) Folio 392-393
5 23 Aug 1816 David H. Bishop Readington Twp Hunterdon 13.32 Book DD (WJ Surveys) Folio 411-412
6 17 Mar 1817 John Beaumont (FROM David H. Bishop; Cooper named as Former owner) Hopewell Twp Hunterdon, on Delaware River bank 19.12 Book DD (WJ Surveys) Folio 454-456

Other persons named (consistent across all 5): James VanKirk (Attorney of Benjamin B. Cooper; Deputy Surveyor); William Griffith Esquire (Former owner of land); West New Jersey Society (Former owner of land); William Woolman (Clerk, Signatory).

Catalog significance: Benjamin B. Cooper was an active Hunterdon-Co. land-divestor 1816-1817; warrant-of-1717 chain = inherited interest in old WJ Society lands. NOT p.2 Capt. Benjamin Cooper d. 1794 (chronologically impossible). Identity pending.

Record 7 — Cooper, Daniel (Weaver) (of Hunterdon) (Grantee) — 14 Dec 1720

See dedicated entry K.2 for the full transcription + analysis.

Record 8 — Cooper, Elizabeth (née Ham; wife of Joseph Cooper) (Grantor) — 26 Apr 1773

Record 9 — Cooper, Jacob (Attorney for London Land Company; Former owner) — 22 Oct 1765

Record 10 — Cooper, Jane (Wife of Mahlon Cooper) (Grantor) — 19 Jun 1785

Records 11–15 — Cooper, John (5 records 1713-1715; West Jersey "Above the Delaware Falls" / Musconetcong River area)

# Date TO Acres Location Reference
11 22 May 1713 John Cooper (Grantee) 500 Last purchase above the [Delaware] Falls, Musconetcong River, [Burlington Co; later Hunterdon Co 1714]. 3 Tracts. Bordering Mary Tomkins Basse A (Surveys 1-206) (WJ) Folio 80
12 23 May 1713 Benjamin Olive (Cooper named as adjoining) 500 Last purchase above the Delaware Falls, [Burlington/Hunterdon Co] Basse A Folio 81
13 3 Oct 1715 John Cooper (Grantee); Warrant 10 Mar 1714/1715 160 Near pond called Kautkauiauning, Hunterdon Co. Bordering Benjamin Olive, John Reading, Mary Tomkins Basse A Folio 146
14 3 Oct 1715 Mary Tompkins (Cooper named); Warrant 10 Mar 1714/1715 714 Musconetcong River. Bordering John Cooper, Roger Andrews Basse A Folio 146
15 1715 John Cooper (Grantee); Warrant 10 Mar 1714/1715 166 "Lying in the old purchases; near a pond called Kautkauiauning"; Hunterdon Co. Bordering Benjamin Olive, John Reading, Mary Tomkins Book A (WJ Surveys) Folio 157

Catalog significance: John Cooper of "Above the Delaware Falls" / Musconetcong River — a substantial West Jersey north-frontier landowner 1713-1715, distinct from John Cooper of Newark (Record 16) and distinct from John Cooper of Long Hill d. 1778 (= our p.8, b. 1738). Possibly = Lebanon Twp / Bethlehem Twp Hunterdon early settler. Bordering landowners Benjamin Olive + John Reading + Mary Tomkins = same geographic cluster. Records 13 + 15 are linked (same warrant date 10 Mar 1714/1715; same Kautkauiauning area).

Record 16 — Cooper, John (of Newark) (Grantee) — 25 Mar 1730

See dedicated entry K.3 for the full transcription + analysis.

Records 17–19 — Cooper, Joseph (of Burlington) (Grantee, with Joseph Eves + Jacob Wills) — 1773 (3 records)

# Date Type Acres Location Consideration FROM Reference
17 21 Aug 1773 Mortgage 172.25 Kingwood Twp Hunterdon £243.3.3 Thomas Stevenson of Kingwood Hunterdon Co Mortgage Vol 1 Folio 182-183 (CHNCL014)
18 4 May 1773 Mortgage 239.5 Kingwood Twp Hunterdon, "In the Great Road" £400 John Ketcham + Wintiah Ketcham of Hopewell Hunterdon Co Mortgage Vol 1 Folio 187 (CHNCL014)
19 26 Apr 1773 Deed of Sale 370 Kingwood Twp Hunterdon (= same as Record 8) £721 (TO Thomas Stevenson; FROM Joseph Cooper + Elizabeth + Joseph Eves + Rebecca + Jacob Wills + Mary; recorded 1801) Hunterdon Co Deed Vol 3 Folio 292-296

Catalog significance: fam.3 Camden Quaker Cooper line expansion into Hunterdon Co. via Kingwood Twp. Joseph Cooper of Burlington was active in Kingwood Twp land transactions Spring/Summer 1773, acquiring 411.75 total acres on mortgage (4 May + 21 Aug 1773) while at the same time selling 370 acres to Thomas Stevenson (26 Apr 1773). The Stevenson-Cooper-Eves-Wills network = Ham-family heirs of Amos Ham deceased.

Records 20–24 — Cooper, Mahlon (4 records 1799-1801, Amwell Twp; #24 = Record 10 duplicate)

# Date Role TO FROM Location Reference
20 3 Dec 1799 Grantor (ux) Robert Curry Mahlon Cooper (ux) Amwell Twp A-V (NJ) Folio 169 (SSTSE023)
21 14 Oct 1799 Grantee Mahlon Cooper Isaiah Quinby Amwell Twp A-V (NJ) Folio 168
22 20 Apr 1801 Grantee Mahlon Cooper + Robert Curry George Wall (ux) Bulls Island, Amwell Twp A-V (NJ) Folio 171
23 3 Dec 1799 Grantor (ux) Robert Curry Mahlon Cooper (ux) Amwell Twp (= Record 20 duplicate) A-V (NJ) Folio 169
24 19 Jun 1785 Grantor (Husband of Jane) Henry M. Prevost Jane + Mahlon + Robert Curry Laogoland Creek Amwell Twp (= Record 10 duplicate) Hunterdon Co Deed Vol 12 Folio 66-67

Catalog significance: Mahlon Cooper of Amwell Twp + wife Jane + business associate Robert Curry, active 1785-1801. Properties include Bulls Island (Delaware River) + Laogoland Creek areas. Distinct Amwell-Twp Cooper family.

Records 25–28 — Cooper, Richard (4 records 1715-1754, Musconetcong River area; "Heirs of" by 1742)

# Date Role TO Acres Location Reference
25 1 Mar 1754 Heirs (Named) John Robinson 440 Musconetcunk River, Hunterdon/Morris/Sussex Co. boundary; bordering Francis Brackon + Peter Garbut Basse B (Surveys 207-290) (WJ) Folio 284 (SSTSE023)
26 17 May 1717 Grantor (TO own Heirs) Richard Cooper Heirs 625 "Last Indian Purchase", above branches of Rarington (Raritan) River; between Delaware River and Eastern Division; fronting Musconetkong River; Hunterdon Co. Warrant 6 Aug 1715 Book A (WJ Surveys) Folio 186 (PWESJ004)
27 17 May 1717 Heirs (Grantee) Richard Cooper Heirs 625 (Same as 26 — duplicate index entry) Book A Folio 186
28 1 Mar 1754 Heirs (Named, owner of adjoining land) Jonathan Robeson 440 On Musconetcunk River, Hunterdon + Sussex Co. (= Record 25 cross-index) Book S-6 (WJ Surveys) Folio 200 (PWESJ004)

Catalog significance: Richard Cooper of "Last Indian Purchase" Hunterdon — substantial early-1700s landowner; died by 10 Nov 1742 (warrant-date references "Heirs of Richard Cooper"). Could be early Hunterdon-frontier Cooper distinct from any current catalog person.

Record 29 — Cooper, William (Grantee) — 6 Oct 1716

Summary — Unique Cooper individuals identified across the 29 records

# Individual Era Geographic focus Status
A Daniel Cooper (Weaver) of Hunterdon 1720 Passaic River, Hunterdon (pre-1739 = Long Hill area) = CANDIDATE p.1 Daniel Sr; see K.2
B John Cooper of Newark 1730 Hanover Twp (Essex + Hunterdon Cos) = CANDIDATE p.215 John Cooper of 1718 Whippanong; see K.3
C John Cooper of "Above the Delaware Falls" 1713-1715 Musconetcong River, Hunterdon Distinct early-Hunterdon-frontier individual
D Richard Cooper 1715-1754 "Last Indian Purchase" Hunterdon (Musconetcong River) Died by 1742; distinct
E William Cooper 1716 "Last Indian Purchase" Hunterdon Distinct
F Joseph Cooper of Burlington (× Elizabeth Ham) 1773 Kingwood Twp Hunterdon fam.3 Camden Quaker line expansion
G Benjamin B. Cooper 1816-1817 Readington, Bethlehem, Amwell, Hopewell Twps Hunterdon NOT p.2; identity pending
H Mahlon Cooper (× Jane) 1785-1801 Amwell Twp Hunterdon Distinct
I Jacob Cooper (Attorney London Land Co) 1765 Musconetcong River Possibly fam.3
J Cooper [Unrecorded] adjoining land 1760 Greenwich Twp Hunterdon Non-diagnostic

Caveats — what's NOT in this NJSA database

Per portal description: post-1785 deeds were recorded at the county level, not with the state — those are not in this database. For post-1785 Hunterdon Co. Cooper deeds, check Hunterdon County Clerk's Office directly (Flemington NJ). Records 8, 17, 18, 19, 24 ARE in the database despite being post-1785 because they were specifically indexed by NJSA in their county-archive-microfilm program; most post-1785 Hunterdon Cooper deeds will NOT appear.

Follow-ups

Cross-references