Document K.7 · Land Records and Deeds · transcription: verbatim
Daniel Cooper Junior — 20-year Deputy Surveyor career of East Jersey (1754 → 1774) under James Alexander → Thomas Bartow → William Alexander Lord Stirling — ~45 documented surveys across Morris County for the Eastern Division Proprietors, primary-source-locked via [K.6](K.6.yaml) Morris Co. NJSA Early Land Records search. Catalog-defining significance: this 20-year continuous Cooper-Alexander professional relationship begins in 1754 (10 years after Daniel Sr's 1744 Green Brook Falls land acquisition from James Alexander per [K.5](K.5.yaml)) and extends to 1774 (1 year after the pr.52 Cooper-Stirling 1773 letter), with a documented PRINCIPAL-PARTY land acquisition for Daniel Jr personally on 12 August 1761 (= 100 acres from Robert Hunter Morris, recorded Lib AB.5 page 52, primary-source-locked via 20 Nov 1761 S4 Folio 464-466 manuscript) and continued landholder status through 1785. The Cooper-Alexander/Stirling professional + landholding relationship spans 41+ documented years (1744-1785) across two Cooper generations + three Alexander Surveyors General.
Transcription and notes
SIGNIFICANCE — primary-source-locked Cooper-Alexander professional relationship spanning two Cooper generations + three Surveyors General
This composite entry covers ~45 individual surveys found in K.6 Morris Co. Cooper search where Daniel Cooper Junior acted as Deputy Surveyor for the Eastern Division of New Jersey Proprietors. The career spans 20 years (1754-1774) under successive Surveyors General — establishing a continuous Cooper-Alexander/Stirling professional relationship that predates by a decade Daniel Jr's principal-party land transactions (1761+) and predates by 19 years the pr.52 Cooper-Stirling 1773 letter (= Capt. Benjamin Cooper [p.2] writing to Lord Stirling about iron-works business).
Career arc — three Surveyors General
| Surveyor General | Years served | Notable Daniel Jr surveys (sample) |
|---|---|---|
| James Alexander (Lord Stirling's father) | 1754-1755+ | 16 Dec 1754 Little Pond resurvey (S3 Folio 463; James Alexander signed); 7 Lawrie-heirs Roxbury/Mendham surveys 16-17 Dec 1754 (S3 Folios 458-463 + S4 Folios 3-4) |
| Thomas Bartow | 1758-1761 | 18 Jun 1758 Nathan Cooper Jr Roxbury (S4 Folio 160-161); 8 Apr 1761 Sarah Burwell + Joseph Luce Rockaway (S4 Folio 325-326); 16 Sept 1761 Thomas Miller White Meadow Beaver Brook (S4 Folio 397) |
| William Alexander Lord Stirling | 1761-1774+ | 20 Nov 1761 Daniel Jr Grantor Henry Berry Jr Rockaway (S4 Folio 464-466 = first Stirling signature on Daniel Jr's work); 11 Aug 1762 Lord Stirling Great Swamp 409.5 acres (S5 Folio 18); 31 Mar 1764 Lord Stirling Long Hill 101.53 acres (S5 Folio 156); 12 Jul 1766 Lord Stirling-Anderson-Benjamin Cooper Horse Pound 421.55 acres (S5 Folio 304); 24 Feb 1769 / surveyed 4 Jul 1766 Lord Stirling Horse Pound 48.64 acres (S6 Folio 52); 19 Sept 1774 James Parker Roxbury head of Black River 151.7 acres (S7 Folio 169 = latest attestation) |
Daniel Jr's principal-party land transactions
| Date | Role | Counterparty | Acreage | Reference | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 1761 | Grantor | Jacob Drake Jr | (unrecorded) | A-3 (EJ) Folio 285 (SSTSE023) | Northward of Succasunna Plains, probably at Ledgewood Morris Co. = Daniel Jr's earliest documented land divestment |
| 12 Aug 1761 | Grantee | Robert Hunter Morris | 100 acres | AB.5 page 52 (NOT directly indexed in K.6 NJSA search; primary-source-locked via 20 Nov 1761 left-margin notation) | First major principal-party land ACQUISITION; 100 acres carved from R.H. Morris's half-share of James Alexander's 13,000-acre 1753 warrant |
| 4 Sept 1761 | Grantor | Henry Berry Jr | 22 acres | AB.5 page 55 | 22-acre subdivision of the 100-acre tract sold to Henry Berry Jr |
| 20 Nov 1761 | Grantor (= survey of the 4 Sept deed) | Henry Berry Jr | 20.95 acres after highways = 22 acres strict | S4 Folio 464-466 (manuscript-read; signed by Lord Stirling personally) | Stirling signed Daniel Jr's first divestment as Surveyor General |
| 13 Aug 1762 | Grantor | Eleazer Lindsley | 17 acres | S5 Folio 14 | Branch of Rockaway River; James Alexander + William Alexander both referenced |
| 29 Apr 1758 | Grantee (= "Claims part of the land; also Deputy Surveyor") | (William Burnet + Joseph Pound; John Harrison Heirs principal) | 72.86 acres included | S4 Folio 149-150 | Daniel Jr CLAIMED part of land surveyed for John Harrison heirs Rockaway River |
| 14 Jul 1763 | "Former owner of land; Also Deputy Surveyor" | Michael Hawden Heirs principal | 23.1 acres | S5 Folio 122 | Daniel Jr had previously owned this land near Great Pond at Pitney Meadow Run / head of Musconetcong R. |
| 25 Sept 1764 | "Former owner of land" | Jacob Drake Jr + Michael Hawden Heirs | 31.31 acres | S5 Folio 210 | Roxbury Twp; Daniel Jr had previously owned this 31.31-acre tract |
| 1 Feb 1764 | "Owner of adjoining land" | John Harriman (Harriman Iron Works) + Ebenezer Sayre | (adj. to 89.91-acre survey) | S5 Folio 136 | Pequannock Twp near East branch Rockaway River near Hanover Twp; Daniel Jr OWNED LAND IN PEQUANNOCK NEAR HARRIMAN IRON WORKS by 1 Feb 1764 |
| 9 Jun 1772 | "Owner of adjoining land" | William Burnet + John Johnston (5451.8-acre Pequannock survey) | (adj.) | S6 Folio 273 (EJ Loose) | Daniel Jr was Pequannock Twp landowner 1772 |
| 25 May 1780 | "Owner of adjoining land" | Jacob Johnson + Noah Mahlon (98 acres Great Swamp Morris Twp from Lord Stirling Trustees) | (adj.) | Morris Co Deed Vol A Folio 171-174 (CMRCL002) | Daniel Jr OWNED LAND ADJACENT to Lord Stirling's Great Swamp tract (Stirling died 1783 = sale during war years by trustees) |
| 14 Jun 1784 | "Owner of adjoining land" | William Leddel High Sheriff → Joseph Lewis (92.01 acres Hanover Burnt Meadow Forge) | (adj.) | Morris Co Deed Vol A Folio 84-86 (CMRCL002) | Daniel Jr alive + Hanover Twp landowner 1784 (age 55) |
| 1 Jul 1785 | "Owner of adjoining land" + "Esquire" | Thomas Kinnan Executors → Elijah Smith (28 acres South of Passaic River) | (adj.) | Morris Co Deed Vol A Folio 385-386 (CMRCL002) | Daniel Jr "Esquire" 1785 = mirror of Daniel Sr's [K.10] 1752 Esquire attestation; alive + active 2 years before his 1787 death |
Verbatim — 20 Nov 1761 manuscript reading (S4 Folio 464-466)
Left-margin title chain notation:
James Alexander's warrant for 13000 — W.3.43 one half in trust for Robert Hunter Morris Mr Morris to Daniel Cooper Junr for 100 — AB.5.52 Cooper to Henry Berry Junr for 22 acres or 20 acres 25 — AB.5.55 20.25 in full to Henry Berry Junr
Survey body (key passage):
...the said Henry Berry Junr claims right by virtue of the return to him aforesaid, and to the remaining twenty acres and ninety five hundredths of an acre with usual allowance or twenty two acres strict measure he claims right by virtue and in full of a deed to him from Daniel Cooper Junr for twenty two acres strict measure to be taken up in any part unappropriated in the Eastern division of New Jersey except Romopock bearing date the fourth day of September 1761 and recorded in book AB.5 page.55 to grant which the said Daniel Cooper Junr had right by virtue and in part of a deed to him from Robert Hunter Morris for one hundred acres part of a warrant to James Alexander for thirteen thousand acres dated the twentieth day of November 1753 recorded in book W.3. page 43. one half whereof he held in trust for the said Robert Hunter Morris whose deed to Cooper is dated the twelfth day of August 1761 and recorded in book AB.5 page.52. Witness my hand this twentieth day of November one thousand seven hundred and sixty one — Stirling
This single manuscript passage primary-source-LOCKS three previously-unknown facts: 1. Daniel Cooper Jr acquired 100 acres in Morris Co. from Robert Hunter Morris by deed dated 12 Aug 1761 recorded Book AB.5 page 52 2. This deed was part of James Alexander's 13,000-acre 1753 warrant — half of which was held by Alexander in trust for R.H. Morris 3. Daniel Jr divested 22 acres of his 100 to Henry Berry Jr by deed dated 4 Sept 1761 recorded Book AB.5 page 55
Pattern observation — Daniel Jr's surveying work was concentrated in Morris Co. iron-works + Stirling-network areas
Daniel Jr's 45+ surveys 1754-1774 cluster heavily around:
- Roxbury Twp + Black River + Musconetcong River + Succasunna Plains = ironworks corridor (Hibernia Furnace + Brookland + Lower Forge + Washington Forge + Hurd's Iron Works + Andover Iron Works + Worthington Forge)
- Pequannock Twp + Newfoundland + Beaver Brook + Horse Pound Brook + Charlottenburg Furnace = ironworks corridor (Horse Pound Furnace + Charlottenburg Furnace = upper Passaic basin)
- Hanover Twp + Whippany area + Mine Mountain + Long Hill + Watnong Mountain + Burnt Meadow Forge = Long Hill area + immediately adjacent
- Great Swamp Morris Twp = Alexander/Stirling/Penn-brothers proprietary holdings
This geography overlaps EXACTLY with the Cooper-Alexander/Stirling iron-works network later documented in the 1773 pr.52 Cooper-Stirling letter (where Benjamin discusses Hibernia + Charlottenburg + Cooper-Stirling iron production). Daniel Jr's surveys 1754-1774 were the LAND-RECORD INFRASTRUCTURE underpinning the Cooper-Stirling iron-works partnership that the 1773 letter discusses.
Cross-references
- K.5 Daniel Cooper 1744 Green Brook Falls × James Alexander — Daniel Sr's predecessor 1744 land transaction with same Surveyor General (James Alexander) = explains 10-year father-to-son hand-off of Cooper-Alexander relationship
- K.6 Morris Co. NJSA Early Land Records search (149 records) — parent omnibus entry; Daniel Jr is ~45/149 records
- K.8 Daniel Jr surveyed Lord Stirling's Long Hill + Great Swamp + Horse Pound — dedicated entry for the Lord-Stirling-principal subset of these surveys
- K.9 Benjamin Cooper Stirling-network 1761-1766 — dedicated entry for Benjamin's earliest Hibernia/Pequannock land records
- ** K.23 Sussex Co. Daniel Cooper refilter** — 12 records 1760-1766 EXTENDS this career composite to a 2nd documented East Jersey county (Sussex). Added 2026-05-25. Includes Daniel Jr's personal GRANTOR record (Hunters Brook 13 Sept 1764 via Joseph Kinnan sheriff's-execution-sale chain) + Cuyler+DeLancey Sussex 1764 cross-reference to K.8 Long Hill same-year-same-proprietors finding.
- p.79 Daniel Cooper Jr — primary biographical file (needs creation per CLAUDE.md if stub doesn't exist)
- pr.52 Cooper-Stirling 1773 letter — Daniel Jr's 1754-1774 surveys = the LAND-RECORD INFRASTRUCTURE underpinning the Cooper-Stirling iron-works partnership documented in the 1773 letter
- Memory
reference_njsa_searchable_databases.md
Follow-ups
- [ ] ** Pull NJ State Archives Book AB.5 manuscript** = page 52 (R.H. Morris to Daniel Cooper Jr 12 Aug 1761 100-acre deed) + page 55 (Daniel Cooper Jr to Henry Berry Jr 4 Sept 1761 22-acre deed). Both are at Lib AB.5 (NJ State Archives Trenton).
- [ ] ** Search Robert Hunter Morris's papers** for any kinship-or-friendship language with Daniel Cooper Jr — would clarify whether the 12 Aug 1761 100-acre conveyance was a market transaction or a favored-friend / family-friend land grant.
- [ ] ** Identify Daniel Jr's wife** — Lydia Cooper (per K.6 Record 1773 Long Hill Witness) is the leading candidate. Pull NJ marriage records 1745-1760 for Daniel Cooper × wife candidates.
- [ ] ** Daniel Jr's biological children + heirs** — per K.6 evidence (1780 Great Swamp adjoining + 1784 Hanover adjoining + 1785 South Passaic adjoining), Daniel Jr was a Morris Co landowner across multiple townships at his 1787 death. Pull Morris Co probate Vol 4 + 5 (1787-1795) for Daniel Cooper Jr's will + estate inventory.
- [ ] ** Pull S5 Folio 156 (31 Mar 1764 101.53 acres Lord Stirling Long Hill)** — paid request only. Catalog-defining for the Cooper-Alexander/Stirling Long Hill connection.