Sussex Co. NJ Deed Book Liber N pp.348-349 — John Cooper of Byram Twp Sussex → Nathaniel Hart of Independence Twp Sussex — 39.048 ac in Byram Twp ~1 mile N of Lyons Pond — 10 April 1805 indenture, $395 consideration. Acknowledged 2 August 1805 before Judge John Holmes (Sussex CCP). Recorded 12 December 1805 by Clerk John Johnson. Witnesses: Michael Dixon, Bethuel Goble. Clerk's register-transcript names grantor as plain 'John Cooper' (no middle initial) — this is the bound-Liber transcript (= clerk's hand) NOT the original loose-paper deed (= John Cooper's autograph). Same source-grade situation as the [A.12](../A-Probate/A.12.yaml) Lib. E clerk-transcript-vs-autograph finding. Register-transcripts in 1805 Sussex Co. NJ practice usually preserved middle initials accurately, so absence of 'D' is probable evidence (not signature-grade) supporting p.320 merge candidate (a) [p.113 John Cooper of Independence Twp Warren](../../people/p.113%20John%20Cooper%20of%20Independence%20Twp%20Warren.md) over (b) [p.129 John D Cooper of Hardwick Twp Warren](../../people/p.129%20John%20D%20Cooper%20of%20Hardwick%20Twp%20Warren.md). Original loose-paper deed (if it survives at NJ State Archives) would be the autograph-level test. Also corroborates [K.24 Record 7](K.24.yaml) (6 May 1807 mention of 'meadow formerly John Cooper's now Nathaniel Hart Sr's NW of Hart's farm Byram') — though that deed is to Nathaniel Hart SR (Byram), this 1805 deed is to Nathaniel Hart (Independence) — possibly different person or pre-Sr-designation transaction. Internal Liber N index (image 316) lists 'Cooper John to Nathaniel Hart . 348' confirming the entry.

Transcription and notes

Source identification

Internal Liber N index entry (image 316) [verbatim from OCR]

"Cooper John to Nathaniel Hart . 348"

Confirms the deed's index-attested presence at p.348 in Liber N.

Deed body — pp.348-349 (image 519) [partial — OCR-derived; key data points only]

Parties + date + consideration

• Date: "This Indenture made this tenth day of April One thousand eight hundred and five"
• Grantor: "John Cooper, of the Township of Byram, County of Sussex and State of New Jersey, of the first part"
• Grantee: "Nathaniel Hart, of the Township of Independence County of Sussex and State aforesaid of the second part"
• Consideration: "the sum of three hundred and ninety five Dollars to him in hand paid" ($395)

Property [verbatim from OCR — geographically anchored; metes-and-bounds courses below]

• "All that tract of Land situate in the Township of Byram, in the County of Sussex and State aforesaid"
• "[L]ocated about a mile[s] Northward of Lyons Pond"
• "Beginning at a point of Rocks which bears North eight degrees West from the North East corner of the dwelling house of Joseph Carter, Junr" [verbatim — scan-verified by maintainer 2026-05-25; FS OCR had misread 'Joseph Carter' as 'Sheph Waster']
• "and from thence runs (1) South forty nine degrees west fifteen chains"
• "(2) thence South nineteen degrees West fourteen chains and a half"
• "(3) thence South fifty four degrees East eighteen chains thirty links"
• "(4) Thence North ten degrees East twenty eight chains & fixty [sixty?] links"
• "(5) thence North thirty three degrees and a half West seven chains and thirty links to the beginning"
• "Containing, thirty nine acres and forty eight thousands of [an acre]" = 39.048 acres

Execution + witnesses

• Signature line reads: "John Cooper" (per FS OCR; PENDING SCAN VERIFICATION of whether middle initial 'D' is present)
• Witnesses: Michael Dixon, Bethuel Goble

Acknowledgment — pp.350 (image 520) [partial]

• Date: "second day of August Eighteen hundred and five personally [appeared]"
• Before: "[John Holmes,] one of the Judges of the Inferior Court of Common pleas for the County of Sussex and State of New Jersey"
• Grantor acknowledged: "John Cooper, the above Grantor, and acknowledged that he signed sealed and delivered the foregoing Indenture as his voluntary act and deed for the purposes therein expressed"
• Interlineation noted: "The words 'and delivered' interlined in the Acknowledgement, done before my signing — done before me the above date — Jno Holmes"
• Recorded: "Brought to this Office the 12th day of December 1805. and accorded [recorded] the same day — Exd, Jno Johnson Clerk"

Catalog significance

Primary-source signature test for p.320 merge resolution

p.320 John Cooper of Byram Twp Sussex has 3 competing merge candidates (per p.320 history 2026-05-25 later evening). The deed signature is the single best primary-source disambiguation test:

Current OCR reading: "John Cooper" without middle initial → tentatively supports (a). Scan-verification of the signature is the highest-priority follow-up.

Liber+page corroboration of K.26 OCR

K.26 image 381 OCR showed "[Cooper] / Nathaniel Hart / 348" as a Sussex Co Grantor index entry. K.27 = the deed body at that index location, primary-source-confirming the index entry's accuracy.

Geographic + chronological anchor

• Byram Twp Sussex = central Sussex Co. NJ (around modern Stanhope / Andover / Lake Hopatcong area). Confirms K.24's 16-year-Byram-Twp-presence finding for p.320.
• 10 April 1805 execution + 12 December 1805 recording = 7-month gap between execution and recording (normal for the period).
• $395 for 39.048 acres = ~$10.12/acre. Comparable Sussex Co. land prices c.1805 generally ran $5-$25/acre depending on improvement; this is mid-range, consistent with partially-improved farmland.

Next-step research

1. ** HIGHEST PRIORITY: Scan-verify the signature on the deed manuscript** — render p.349 of image 519 at high DPI + zoom on the signature line. If signature is "John Cooper" (no D), the p.320 merge analysis can advance with (a) p.113 confirmed and (b) p.129 refuted. If "John D Cooper", reverse the conclusion.
2. ** Identify "Joseph Carter, Junr" of Byram Twp Sussex c.1805** — scan-verified by maintainer 2026-05-25 (FS OCR had misread as "Sheph Waster"). The dwelling-house owner Joseph Carter Jr is the deed's geographic anchor; locating his property would locate the John Cooper 39-ac tract precisely. Sussex Co. tax ratables + adjacent deeds in Liber N pre/post 1805 should surface him.
3. ** Nathaniel Hart of Independence Twp Sussex** — is this the same person as the "Nathaniel Hart Sr" of Byram referenced in K.24 Record 7 (6 May 1807, 145.34-ac former-John-Cooper-meadow tract)? Possible father (Sr Byram) vs son (Independence) relationship, or same person at different residence. Sussex Co. Hart-family records would clarify.
4. ** Witnesses Michael Dixon + Bethuel Goble** — could be useful for identifying John Cooper's social/business network in Byram Twp 1805.
5. ** Internal Liber N index** (image 316) lists many other deeds; cross-reference for any additional Cooper-name entries in Liber N c.1805-1807 (Carpenter, Coxe, Cadwalader, Coryell, etc. visible in the OCR — these adjacent Co-surname entries should be checked for Cooper relevance).
6. ** Adjacent deed: the prior deed at pp.346-347 (image 518) is David Owens → George Guston** (per the OCR carryover at top of image 519). David Owens, Jotham Hulbert as witness — no Cooper involvement; not catalog-relevant.