John Cooper 1786–1867

Catalog ID p.113 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/113/

John Cooper was probably born about 1786 in Meddows [the Meadows], Independence Twp, Warren Co. (then Sussex Co.), NJ, probably the son of Israel Cooper. He married Anna Antrim. He probably died on 4 Feb 1867 in Settlement, Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ. Five children are recorded.

Facts

Event	Date	Place / detail	Certainty	Sources
birth	about 1786	Meddows [the Meadows], Independence Twp, Warren Co. (then Sussex Co.), NJ	probable	F.278, D.4, D.40
death	4 Feb 1867	Settlement, Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ	probable	F.278, A.107, L.132, D.470

Family

Parents

Father Israel Cooper 1750 probable F.278

Spouses

Anna (Antrim) Cooper 1795 D.4, D.470, L.132

Children

Sarah J. (Cooper) Seidner 1829–1846 probable L.132, L.133
Joseph Cooper 1817–1893 probable J.232, D.589, D.40, D.348, D.610, D.470
Levi H. Cooper 1831–1909 probable L.132, D.4
Samuel Cooper 1832–1888
Roderick Byanton Cooper 1838–1889

Family tree

Solid lines and outlines: certain. Dashed: probable or weaker. Open the full tree (four generations)

In the documents

Every published document that names John Cooper, in date order, with what that document itself records.

Date	Document	Role	What it records
1830	D.598 federal census 1830 US Federal Census, Township of Independence, Warren County, New Jersey — the COMPLETE township: all 13 name pages (stamped 395-407, images 757-781 odd on D…	head as "John Cooper"	residence: 1830, Independence Twp, Warren Co., New Jersey
1848/1878	F.402 death index New Jersey State Archives, Death Records May 1848 - May 1878 - the complete COOPER rows for Warren (17), Sussex (16), Morris (33), Somerset (20) and Hunterdon (…	deceased as "Cooper, John"	death: 4 Feb 1867, Independence, Warren County, New Jersey
16 Jan 1867	A.107 will register copy Will of John Cooper of Independence Twp., Warren Co., N.J. — Warren Book of Wills p. 185; made 16 January 1867, proved 19 February 1867. The whole estate goes t…	testator as "John Cooper"	residence: Independence Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey death: between 16 Jan 1867 and 19 Feb 1867
2 Mar 1867	A.108 estate inventory Inventory of John Cooper of Warren Co., N.J. — Warren Inventories vol. 9, pp. 332–333; taken 2 March 1867 by executor Roderick B. Cooper and two freeholders. $2…	deceased as "John Cooper"
1867	F.278 death return New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Independence, County of Warren, 1 May 1866 – 1 May 1867, printed page 589 — fourteen deaths, including the entry…	deceased as "John Cooper"	death: 4 Feb 1867, Settlement, Independence Twp, Warren Co., New Jersey probable birth: about 1786, Meddows [the Meadows], Independence Twp, Warren Co., New Jersey probable occupation: Laborer

3 further documents not published (they may name living people).

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Burial not yet found. 1 search recorded:

findagrave 2026-10-03 · John Cooper (exact name), b. 1786 +/- 5, d. 1867 +/- 1, any location (8 matches).

Searched for: John Cooper (exact name), b. 1786 +/- 5, d. 1867 +/- 1, any location (8 matches). (link)

Result: NULL for him. The one near-fit, John Cooper 12 Feb 1784 - 6 Feb 1867, memorial 26841863, is at Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, CHESTER CO., PENNSYLVANIA (b. Pennsylvania; wife Elizabeth Hood; children Isabella, Mary Jane, James C., Margaret Ann) - parsed and ruled out. Others in England, Ipswich MA, etc. No memorial located.

Other searches recorded

familysearch tree 2026-10-03 · John Cooper, b. 1781-1791, d. 1866-1868 in New Jersey.

Searched for: John Cooper, b. 1781-1791, d. 1866-1868 in New Jersey.

Result: NULL: no profile with his 1867 death. Top results are John J Cooper 1790-1849 (K64J-CJZ, m. Eliza Stout 1808 Morris) and John D Cooper 1785-1849 (K4R1-9WL, b. 17 Jan 1785 Sussex, m. Sarah Crosby 1807, d. 1849 Warren) - neither is him as the catalog has him.

ancestry all 2026-10-03 · John Cooper, b. 1786 +/- 3, d. 1867 Warren Co. NJ, spouse Anna Antrim, all collections (61 results; first page read).

Searched for: John Cooper, b. 1786 +/- 3, d. 1867 Warren Co. NJ, spouse Anna Antrim, all collections (61 results; first page read).

Result: Tree match only - 'Wheatley Family Tree', John Cooper 1786-1867. No record collection surfaced his 1867 death beyond what the catalog holds ([F.278], [A.107]).

newspapers com 2026-10-03 · SIGNED IN. "John Cooper" + keyword Independence, New Jersey, 1866-1867 (3 matches).

Searched for: SIGNED IN. "John Cooper" + keyword Independence, New Jersey, 1866-1867 (3 matches).

Result: NULL for a death notice: New Jersey Herald (Newton) 27 Dec 1866 p. 6 (before his death; not opened) and two Monmouth Democrat pages (Freehold, other Coopers). newspapers.com holds no Warren Co. paper (see [D.217]).

genealogybank 2026-10-03 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). John Cooper + keyword Independence, 1866-1867 (284 results).

Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). John Cooper + keyword Independence, 1866-1867 (284 results).

Result: Too broad - not opened; the New Jersey hits are Camden (West Jersey Press). No Warren Co. paper in GenealogyBank.

ancestry all 2026-10-25 · HIS MARRIAGE, which had never been searched for at all - the top gap on the p.113 worklist. Collection 61376, "New Jersey, U.S.,...

Searched for: HIS MARRIAGE, which had never been searched for at all - the top gap on the p.113 worklist. Collection 61376, "New Jersey, U.S., Marriage Records, 1670-1965" - the New Jersey State Archives' county marriage records, and the SAME SERIES the catalog already reads at [C.115], [C.116] and [C.117] (NJSA, Trenton; the Robert Cooper row cites film 004541257, which is the reel recorded in films/film.004541257.yaml). Three searches, EVERY ROW OF EVERY RESULT PAGE READ: (a) given John, surname Cooper, marriage 1805-1835, no place - 105 rows over 3 pages; (b) surname Cooper, no given name, marriage place Sussex County, New Jersey, USA taken from the site's own autocomplete, marriage 1795-1845 - 945 ranked rows, read down to where the ranking leaves the county (22 Sussex rows); (c) A COVERAGE CONTROL, run before either was believed: no name at all, marriage place Sussex County, 1810-1830. (link)

Result: NO MARRIAGE FOR HIM, AND THE NULL IS A BOUNDED ONE. (a) SIXTEEN distinct John Cooper marriages in the whole state in those thirty-one years - Betsey Pierson (Essex 1811), Eliza Stout (Morris 1808), Mary Smalley (Morris 1831), Ida Tayler (Monmouth 1810), Mary Leck (Bergen 1830), Elizabeth W. Sheppard (Salem 1830), Mary Nailor (Hunterdon 1818), Maria Spier (Bergen 1834), Ellen Perine (Middlesex 1805), Mary Parker (Mercer 1811), Sarah Bilderback (Salem 1829), Dinah Collins (Gloucester 1817), Lydia Harris (Mercer 1820), Mary Scull (Gloucester 1809), Isabella Paul (Gloucester 1825). NOT ONE IS IN SUSSEX OR WARREN COUNTY, and not one bride is an Ann or Anna. Pages 2 and 3 are entirely Cooper BRIDES named Ann, matched on the given name, and carry no further John. (b) ELEVEN distinct Cooper marriages in Sussex County 1795-1845: Susannah x Daniel Bird 1797, William x Nancy Harris 1810, James x Ann Shardewine 1812, Robert x Sophia Sheffer 1812 (= [C.115]), Sally x Aaron Griggs 1814, Samuel x Sarah Balden 1821 (= [C.117]), Mathew Henry x Emely Smith 1835, Sarah Mariah x Asa Smith 1835, William x Elizabeth Maines 1838, Sarah x John S. Conklin 1840, Hugh x Mary Bird 1841. THERE IS NO JOHN COOPER AMONG THEM. (c) THE CONTROL MATTERS AND IT PASSED: an unnamed Sussex-County search for 1810-1830 returns a full first page of Sussex marriages dated 1825-1827, and the eleven Cooper rows above are themselves spread across 1797, 1810, 1812, 1814, 1821, 1835, 1838, 1840 and 1841. So the county IS indexed across his whole marriage window, and TWO OF THE CATALOG'S OWN ENTRIES ([C.115], [C.117]) come back in the result set - the index reaches the reel the catalog has already read. This is therefore a real absence, not a coverage hole. => The marriage was either performed outside Sussex County, or never returned to the county clerk at all. See the body and Anna (Antrim) Cooper todo t2 for the church-register route, which this does not touch.

Documents

F.402 New Jersey State Archives, Death Records May 1848 - May 1878 - the complete COOPER rows for Warren (17), Sussex (16), Morris (33), Somerset (20) and Hunterdon (10) counties, 96 rows, each with its register book and page. The free NJSA searchable database at DeathIndex1848.aspx, 301,128 records, captured 2026-10-28.
F.278 New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Independence, County of Warren, 1 May 1866 – 1 May 1867, printed page 589 — fourteen deaths, including the entry for John Cooper, aged 80.
D.4 1850 US Federal Census, Independence Township, Warren Co., NJ (enumerated Aug 1850) — the four-Cooper cluster in adjacent dwellings 236-239 (the Israel, John, Joseph, and Robert Cooper households, 18 persons).
D.40 1830 US Federal Census, Independence Twp., Warren Co., NJ (page 23 of 26) — three Cooper households (John, Robert, and Joseph Cooper), each enumerated by head name + age/sex bracket counts.
D.276 Ancestry search of the 1830 US Federal Census (John Cooper / Lived In Lebanon, Hunterdon, NJ) - 7 hits, none in Lebanon.
D.348 1840 US Federal Census, Independence Twp., Warren Co., NJ — three Cooper households (Joseph, Robert, and John Cooper), each enumerated by head name + free-white age/sex bracket counts.
D.470 1860 US Federal Census, Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ - the John Cooper household (John 70 labourer, Ann 60, and 4 children).
K.24 NJ State Archives Early Land Records 1650-1900s database — Sussex Co. NJ Cooper-surname First-Name=John refilter, 9 records 1801-1858 — geographic-completion refilter following [K.21](K.21.yaml) Sussex Cooper bulk-sweep + [K.23](K.23.yaml) First-Name=Daniel refilter. 1 catalog-defining cluster: John Cooper of Byram Twp Sussex 1801-1817 = primary-source-attested as a Byram Twp Sussex landholder + chain bearer who appears in 8 of 9 records (Records 1-8). His roles: Owner of adjoining land (Records 1, 5), Former owner of adjoining land (Records 2, 8), Former owner of adjoining meadow (Record 7), Chain Bearer (Records 3, 4, 6) = consistent identity across all 8 records (same Byram Twp geography + same professional network = James Parker estate + Andrew Bell Deputy Surveyor General + Joseph Sharp Deputy Surveyor + Anthony Hemenover + Nathaniel Hart family). = NEW [p.320 John Cooper of Byram Twp Sussex (fl. 1801-1817)](../../people/p.320%20John%20Cooper%20of%20Byram%20Twp%20Sussex.md). Record 9 OUTLIER: John J. Cooper (Chain Bearer) 19 May 1858 Vernon Twp Sussex 68.03-ac Masters Tavern survey = chronologically + geographically distinct (= 41 years later + different township + middle-initial-differentiated 'John J.' name) = different individual from the Byram cluster; minor catalog significance. Catalog implications: (a) John Cooper of Byram Twp Sussex is chronologically + geographically POST-Daniel-Sr-era — NOT same person as [p.8 John Cooper son of Daniel Sr d. 1778] (= 23+ years too late) NOR a known Daniel-Sr-line descendant; (b) Byram Twp Sussex is geographically adjacent to Pequannock + Hardiston where K.6 + K.23 documented Cooper-line activity; (c) candidate identifications include possible son or grandson of [p.8] OR fam.10 Hanover/Morris Plains line expansion OR independent Cooper. Concurrent NJSA-index NULL searches for First Name = Daniel Jr / Benjamin pending.
K.56 Deeds: John Cooper of Independence BUYS ~20 acres -- Ellen Hart -> John Cooper ($122.98, 5.36 ac, 1857) + Samuel Hart -> John Cooper ($345, 15 ac, 1855); both rec. 7 Feb 1860, Warren Deeds Bk 50 pp.201 & 203
A.107 Will of John Cooper of Independence Twp., Warren Co., N.J. — Warren Book of Wills p. 185; made 16 January 1867, proved 19 February 1867. The whole estate goes to one son in trust to maintain another.
A.108 Inventory of John Cooper of Warren Co., N.J. — Warren Inventories vol. 9, pp. 332–333; taken 2 March 1867 by executor Roderick B. Cooper and two freeholders. $242.40.
A.37 Aitkin 1912 NJ Index of Wills, Vol. 3 — Warren County (suffix U) Cooper section — only 5 entries, and no Aaron Cooper.
B.77 Stryker, Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars 1791-1815, p. 83 — John D. Cooper, SERGEANT, Capt. Alexander Reading's Company, 2nd Regt. N.J. Detailed Militia, Sussex County: enrolled 8 Sept, discharged 5 Dec 1814.
B.63 U.S. Civil War draft registration, Class I, June 1863 — 3rd Congressional District of New Jersey, Independence Twp., Warren Co.: Cooper, Roderick B., aged 25. The deciding source on his birth year.
B.65 WWI draft registration card of Albert Alvin Cooper, Stationary Engineer of Andover, Sussex Co., b. 17 September 1878 — registered 12 September 1918.
D.364 1910 US Federal Census, Population - Andover Township, Sussex County, New Jersey; E.D. 168, sheet 4A; enumerated 30 April 1910 by Edgar Hunt [?].
D.366 Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950, Population and Housing, Form P1 - New Jersey, Sussex County, Andover, Enumeration District 19-1, sheet 1, lines 8-16 - dwelling serials 4 to 7. Sheet started 1 April 1950; enumerator's signature Lethia Cooper; checked 3 April 1950. Ancestry collection 62308, record 164485711, image 43290879-New_Jersey-157845-0002; NARA roll 4223, NAID 43290879.
D.392 1880 US Federal Census, Schedule 1 (inhabitants), Allamuchy Township, Warren County, New Jersey, Supervisor's District 1, Enumeration District 189, page 8; enumerated 12 June 1880
K.27 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.
L.132 Ancestry Grimm Family Tree (tree 63528288) — Roderick Byanton Cooper (1838–1889) facts page [partial]
L.133 Ancestry CONNECTING THE DOTS tree (tree 8360255) — John Wesley Sidner (1846–1923) facts page [partial]
D.589 1870 US Federal Census, Doyle Township, Clarke County, Iowa — page 7, dwelling 53, family 55, lines 28–32. Enumerated July 1870 by Elihu Gardner; P.O. Smyrna.
J.232 "Death of Levi H. Cooper" — Stafford County Republican (Stafford, Kansas), Thu 23 Dec 1909, p. 8. Death notice giving his birth as Warren County, N.J., 11 January 1831, his burial in Stafford cemetery, and three relatives.
J.233 "Mrs. Oliver Dead" — Stafford County Republican (Stafford, Kansas), Thu 14 Aug 1913, p. 1. Death notice for Mrs. Athalia Oliver, died at Abbyville, Kansas 7 August 1913, buried Stafford cemetery.
D.587 Three census households for a Levi (H.) Cooper born in New Jersey — West Jersey Twp, Stark Co., Illinois 1870 (dwelling 230, p. 32); Asherville, Mitchell Co., Kansas 1880 (ED 176, p. 30); Glasco, Solomon Twp, Cloud Co., Kansas 1900 (ED 26, sheet 15A). All three sheets downloaded and read.
D.588 Seven-record sweep for Ed / Edward / Edgar Cooper of Stafford, Stafford Co., Kansas, born New Jersey 1846/47 — Kansas state censuses 1885, 1895 and 1905, the 1900 federal census (ED 309 sheet 12A, image read), and three Iowa birth records for his daughter Elnora, 1881, Taylor Co.
A.205 Sussex County, N.J., Surrogate's Office — Inventories vols. D–F, 1819–1840 (film 960535, DGS 005679636, item 2, 268 images), book pages 116 and 118, images 79 and 80: two openings of the appraised inventory and schedule of notes, judgments and book debts of the estate of ABRAHAM SHAVER Esq., late of Johnsonburg in the Township of Hardwick, taken between the 16th and 30th days of August 1824.
D.598 1830 US Federal Census, Township of Independence, Warren County, New Jersey — the COMPLETE township: all 13 name pages (stamped 395-407, images 757-781 odd on DGS 005156947) plus all 13 continuation leaves, downloaded and read. The enumerator's own recapitulation on page 13 totals "345 heads of Families" — twelve pages of 28 and one of 9. Every head-of-family name read.
D.3 1840 US Federal Census, Hardwick Twp., Warren Co., NJ (2-page schedule, stamps 97/375) - the John D. Cooper household (head named; counts by bracket).
D.610 1860 U.S. federal census, Schedule 1 — Free Inhabitants in Independence, Warren County, New Jersey, page 54, dwelling 373 / family 149, lines 19–23. NARA M653 roll 711; enumerated 23 June 1860; P.O. Allamuchy.
D.619 1850 U.S. federal census, Schedule I — Free Inhabitants in Orion, Oakland County, Michigan, page 10 (also 20), enumerated 13 September 1850 by S. Stevens, dwelling 1803 / family 1839, lines 16–18. NARA M432 roll 359.
G.28 Find a Grave cemetery search, Yellow Frame Church Cemetery, Frelinghuysen Township, Warren County, New Jersey, surname Cooper: 8 memorials