Document K.33 · Land Records / Court Records / NJSA Searchable Databases · transcription: verbatim
NJ State Archives Supreme Court Case Files 1704-1844 — Benjamin Cooper search, ~45 case-file records across 7 result pages (maintainer-run 2026-05-30, companion to [K.30](K.30.yaml) Daniel search). CATALOG-DEFINING for [p.2 Capt Benjamin Cooper](../../people/p.2%20Benjamin%20Cooper.md) + [pr.14](../../projects/pr.14%20Two%20paths%20to%20Benjamin%20male%20descendants.md) + [pr.52](../../projects/pr.52%20Cooper-Stirling%201773%20letter%20acquisition.md): ~25 cases attest OUR Benjamin (d. 1794) in a Morris/Hunterdon/Sussex Lord-Stirling / Hibernia-Furnace / Vanderveer / Livingston debt nexus 1769-1791 — the financial collapse behind the 1773 counterfeiting. Case 42345 [View PDF, FREE] = John Vanderveer v. William Earl of Stirling and Benjamin Cooper, Esquire (Morris 1771) — property seized explicitly includes '2,000 acres at Pequannock Township; Hibernia Furnace and associated buildings' = primary-source-LOCKS the [K.9](K.9.yaml) Benjamin-Stirling iron-works partnership at manuscript-image tier. Three Benjamin cases are free View-PDF downloads (42345 + 34263 + 21650 chain). Disambiguation: the bulk of the 45 results are the 19th-c. [fam.3](../../families/fam.3%20Camden%20NJ%20Quaker%20Cooper.md)-area 'Benjamin B. Cooper' of Gloucester/Cumberland/Camden (1804-1834) — NOT our Benjamin.
Transcription and notes
Source identification
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | New Jersey State Archives — Supreme Court Case Files, 1704-1844 database |
| Portal URL | https://wwwdnet-dos.nj.gov/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/SupremeCourt.aspx |
| Search filters | Last Name: Cooper; First Name: Benjamin |
| Search captured | 30 May 2026 by maintainer (Chris Cooper), in response to the catalog recommendation (this session) to run a first-name Benjamin sweep companion to the K.30 Daniel search |
| Total records | ~45 across 7 result pages |
| Local result files | (image held in the family archive) … (image held in the family archive) |
The catalog-defining cluster — OUR Benjamin Cooper (d. 1794) in the Hibernia/Stirling/Vanderveer/Livingston debt nexus
Until now Benjamin's Lord-Stirling/Hibernia partnership rested on the K.9 1761-1766 land records + the secondary attestations (Mellick [I.56], Honeyman [M.24]) of "influence exerted by Lord Stirling" at the 1773 pardon. This search surfaces the litigation record of the partnership's financial collapse — primary-source-INDEX tier, with three free manuscript images:
The Hibernia bond chain (Vanderveer £1,800 + Livingston £1,304.4.0)
| Case | Parties | Instrument | County | Year | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42345 | John Vanderveer v. William, Earl of Stirling and Benjamin Cooper, Esquire | Debt on Bond £1,800 NJ @ 8s/oz; Warrant of Attorney. Property seized incl. 2,000 acres at Pequannock Township; Hibernia Furnace + associated buildings | Morris | 1771 | View PDF (free) |
| 34263 | Gisbert Sutfin, Lawrence + Jacobus Vanderveer (Exrs of John Vanderveer dec'd) v. Benjamin Cooper (Esq) | Debt on Bond from 1771; £1,800 NJ | Hunterdon | 1783 | View PDF (free) |
| 21650 | Philip Livingston (Esq) v. William Alexander (Earl of Stirling) and Benjamin Cooper | Debt on Bond from 1770; £1,304.4.0 + Costs £4.13.4; Warrant of Attorney | Morris + Out of Province (NYC) | 1772-1773 | View PDF (free) |
| 22049 | Brockholst Livingston (Exr) et al. v. Benjamin Cooper | Debt on Bond from 1770; £1,304.4.0 (= same Livingston bond as 21650) | Hunterdon | 1791 | Select (order) |
| 22049* | John Denn (ex dem. Brockholst Livingston, Catherine Ridley, John + Sarah Jay et al.) v. Richard Fenn (Benjamin Cooper, tenant in possession) | Trespass & Ejectment for 1,400 acres at Potterstown | Hunterdon | 1790 | Select (order) |
Interpretation (analysis — see pr.52 / pr.14): Benjamin Cooper Esquire and Lord Stirling were jointly bonded for at least two large sums (£1,800 to Vanderveer, £1,304.4.0 to Philip Livingston) around 1770-1771, secured against the Hibernia Furnace + 2,000-acre Pequannock works (the K.9 partnership property). Case 42345 documents the seizure of Hibernia itself. The same bonds were still being executed against Benjamin in Hunterdon 1783 (£1,800) and 1791 (£1,304.4.0), and a 1,400-acre Potterstown tract he occupied was under ejectment by the Livingston/Jay interests in 1790 — i.e. Benjamin remained financially besieged from the 1770-71 Hibernia collapse until his 1794 death. This is the documentary backbone of the financial desperation that contextualizes the March 1773 counterfeiting (I.22 Craddock) and Stirling's subsequent intervention (pr.52). Do NOT assert causation in data bullets — the litigation index attests the debts + seizures; the causal link to the counterfeiting is interpretation.
Stirling co-party cases (Benjamin + William Alexander on the same side)
- 843 William Alexander et al. v. John Larkin — Trespass — Morris — 1769 (Benjamin co-Plaintiff)
- 1153* William Alexander et al. v. John Roe — Debt — Morris — 1769 (Benjamin co-Plaintiff)
- 403 William Alexander et al. v. Hugh Dixon — Debt — Burlington — 1772 (Benjamin co-Plaintiff)
- 21655 Hayman Levy v. William Alexander et al. — Trespass on the Case — Morris — 1771 (Benjamin Esq co-Defendant)
- 5839 Daniel Cooper Jr. v. Benjamin Cooper + Lord Stirling — Debt — Morris — 1771 (see K.30)
Post-pardon Hunterdon (Lebanon/Potterstown) + Morris litigation 1776-1791 (our Benjamin)
- 8416 Benjamin Cooper v. Joseph Reed — Trespass — Sussex — 1776
- 7851 Benjamin Cooper v. John Mehelm — Breach of Covenant + Trespass — Hunterdon — 1783
- 27677 William Nielson v. Benjamin Cooper ("Surviving partner") — Trespass + Debt — Hunterdon — 1783
- 12624 Samuel Ford v. Benjamin Cooper — Debt — Morris — 1783
- 6079 Benjamin Cooper v. Richard Burchen — Appeal on Debt — Hunterdon — 1786
- 6298 Jonathan Cheves v. Benjamin Cooper — Debt — Hunterdon — 1789
- 42522 Adrian VanHouten v. Benjamin Cooper — Undetermined — 1791
- earlier Morris/Sussex 1769-1771: 31818 (Rapaljio, Morris 1769), 9713 (Samuel Dod, Morris 1770), 6371 (Abraham Cottnam, Sussex 1770), 13880 (William Graham, Morris 1771), 34431 (Archibald Stewart, Burlington+Morris 1771-72), 14700 (named in William Graham v. John Styles, Morris 1771-72), 9210/44375 (Isaac Woodruff reciprocal, Essex 1771)
Disambiguation — the NON-Benjamin (d.1794) records (majority of the 45)
Most results are a different Benjamin Cooper, chiefly the 19th-c. Benjamin B. Cooper of Gloucester/Camden (b. 1793 d. 1880; NJ congressman + Gloucester sheriff) and an earlier Gloucester Benjamin. Markers: middle initial "B.", South-Jersey counties (Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem/Cape May/Atlantic/Burlington), dates 1804-1839 (or pre-1741). NOT our Benjamin:
- All "Benjamin B. Cooper" rows: e.g. 14803, 14606, 14681, 7338, 6385, 8446, 8654, 6399 (v. Isaac Cooper, Burlington/Gloucester/Salem 1759-1818), 6584, 6202, 8840, 8290, 9107, 6093, 6010, 5861, 5827, 5744, 6687, 6623, 2369, 7437, 6187, 34780, 3628, 15725, 15714, 19098, 2667*, 34524 (Debt on Sheriff's Bond, Gloucester), 11774, 6355, 34291, 29290, 13860, 44236
- "Benjamin C. Cooper" — 8996* (Atlantic 1839)
- "Benjamin (of Newton Township)" — 36388 (Gloucester) = fam.3 Camden Quaker line
- 19th-c. "Benjamin Cooper" (no B.) in Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem/Monmouth 1805-1822: 7461, 7692, 7862, 8457, 8579, 8963, 9130, 7450, 8701, 8477, 6065, 6483, 6237, 6334, 6376, 6098, 6914, 6225 (Gloucester 1741), 12678 (Gloucester 1773), 2136 (Gloucester 1828), 40262* (State Bank at Camden 1820)
- Pre-1741 / mid-18th-c. "Benjamin Cooper" predating our Benjamin's adulthood: 7485 (Andrew Joline, Essex, 1739), 7204 (Joshua Hunloke, Essex, 1739), 9757 (Stephen Delancy, Monmouth, 1743), 44472 (Mary Walton, 1756-57)
- Uncertain: 35340* "Heirs of Benjamin Cooper, owners of the 884-acre tract at Stillwater Township" — Sussex — 1839. Stillwater Sussex not strongly tied to our Lebanon-Hunterdon Benjamin; probably a different Benjamin, flagged for review.
Follow-ups
- DONE 2026-05-30 — Case 42345 downloaded + fully transcribed at K.36 (Vanderveer £1,800 bond, 1771). Benjamin Cooper signature/seal exemplar present. The "Hibernia Furnace + 2,000-ac Pequannock seizure" is the NJSA cover-sheet description, NOT legible manuscript text in the file (execution writ effaced) — see K.36 provenance caveat.
- DONE 2026-05-30 — Cases 34263 + 21650 downloaded + fully transcribed at K.37 + K.38. K.37 = 1783 scire facias reviving the £1,800 judgment against the surviving Benjamin (both Vanderveer + Stirling dead by 1783). K.38 = the £1,304.4.0 Livingston bond (1770), with the fi fa returned Nulla Bona by April Term 1774. Two more Benjamin signature exemplars.
- Order Case 5839 (Daniel Jr v. Benjamin + Lord Stirling 1771) — already prioritized in K.30; the Benjamin search confirms Benjamin as a co-defendant.
- Order Cases 22049 + 22049* (Livingston bond collection 1791 + Potterstown 1,400-ac ejectment 1790) — document Benjamin's terminal financial straits 1790-91 (3-4 yrs before death).
- Identify John Mehelm (7851), Richard Burchen (6079), Jonathan Cheves (6298) — Hunterdon counterparties to Benjamin's post-pardon Lebanon-Twp dealings.
- Confirm 35340* Stillwater Sussex "heirs of Benjamin Cooper" is NOT our Benjamin (probable different Benjamin).
- Cross-check whether any of these surface Benjamin's children / heirs (= pr.14 Y-line). Note 42488 Jacob Vanderveer et al. v. John Cooper 1795 (K.34) may relate to Benjamin's estate (Vanderveer creditor; 1 yr after Benjamin's death).
Cross-references
- K.9 Benjamin's Hibernia/Pequannock Lord Stirling land partnership 1761-1766 — this search documents the partnership's debt collapse + Hibernia seizure.
- K.30 Daniel Cooper Supreme Court search — companion sweep; Case 5839 shared.
- K.34 John Cooper Supreme Court search — companion same-day sweep.
- pr.52 Cooper-to-Stirling 1773 letter — the Benjamin-Stirling debt litigation is the documentary backbone for the 1773 plea.
- pr.14 Two paths to Benjamin male descendants — Benjamin biography greatly enriched.
- pr.53 Hunterdon 1784 Daniel v Benjamin Cooper court records — these Supreme Court cases are the appellate-court siblings of the Hunterdon county-court matter.
- I.22 Craddock + M.24 Honeyman — 1773 counterfeiting/pardon context.
- p.2 Capt Benjamin Cooper — subject.
- fam.3 Camden NJ Quaker Cooper — the "Benjamin B. Cooper" / "Benjamin of Newton Township" disambiguation line.