Robert Cooper 1783–1863

Catalog ID p.114 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/114/

Robert Cooper was born about 1783 in Independence, Warren Co. NJ. He married Sophia Sheffer (1812). He died on 16 Nov 1863 in the Warren Co. County House, Mansfield Twp. Three children are recorded.

Facts

Event	Date	Place / detail	Certainty	Sources
birth	about 1783	Independence, Warren Co. NJ	certain	D.4, D.40, F.217
death	16 Nov 1863	the Warren Co. County House, Mansfield Twp	certain	F.217

Family

Parents

Father Benjamin Cooper 1741–1794 unproven D.4, D.40, D.469

Spouses

Sophia (Sheffer) Cooper 1792
married 12 Nov 1812, Sussex Co., New Jersey
D.4, D.469

Siblings

Children

William Shafer Cooper 1825–1904
Elsy Cooper 1829–1868 probable F.285, D.469
Catherine Cooper about 1825 probable D.4

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 Robert Cooper, in date order, with what that document itself records.

Date	Document	Role	What it records
12 Nov 1812	C.115 marriage return Sussex County, New Jersey — the loose marriage return of the Reverend John Boyd, six couples married 22 August – 24 November 1812, signed by him. FamilySearch N…	groom as "Cooper, Robert"
12 Nov 1812	C.116 marriage register Sussex County, New Jersey, marriage register page 107 — the county clerk's entry of the Reverend John Boyd return of 1812: six couples, among them Robert Cooper…	groom as "Cooper, Robert"
1824-08	A.205 probate inventory 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 a…	debtor as "Robert Cooper"
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 "Robert 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, Robert"	death: 16 Nov 1863, Mansfield, Warren County, New Jersey
19 Dec 1850	C.83 marriage register NJ return of marriages, Township of Independence, Warren Co., 1 June 185[1] - 1 June 1852, Vol. AH page 49, entry 2	father as "Robt Cooper"
1863	F.217 death return New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Mansfield, County of Warren, 1 May 1863 – 1 May 1864, Vol. AH printed page 536 — the entry for Robert Cooper, ag…	deceased as "Robert Cooper"	death: 16 Nov 1863, County House, Mansfield Twp, Warren Co., New Jersey birth: about 1779, Independence, Warren Co., New Jersey possible
1868-1869	F.285 death return New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Hope, County of Warren, 1 May 1868 – 1 May 1869, Vol. AN (Deaths, Hunterdon–Warren Co., 1869) printed page 335 —…	parent as "Robert"

1 further document not published (they may name living people).

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Burial not yet found. 1 search recorded:

findagrave 2026-10-08 · Robert Cooper, d. 1863, Warren Co., NJ; Robert Cooper, d. 1863 +/-5, New Jersey; Sophia Cooper, d. 1865 +/-10, New Jersey

Searched for: Robert Cooper, d. 1863, Warren Co., NJ; Robert Cooper, d. 1863 +/-5, New Jersey; Sophia Cooper, d. 1865 +/-10, New Jersey

Result: No memorial located for Robert or for Sophia. (He died at the county poorhouse; a pauper burial may have no stone.)

Other searches recorded

ancestry all 2026-10-08 · Ancestry search form: Robert Cooper, birth year 1781, place picked from Ancestry's list 'Warren County, New Jersey, USA'.

Searched for: Ancestry search form: Robert Cooper, birth year 1781, place picked from Ancestry's list 'Warren County, New Jersey, USA'.

Result: Nothing new. Hits: 1830, 1840, 1850 censuses (Independence; 1850 age 67, wife Sophia); 1855 NJ state census (already [E.16]); NJ death index 16 Nov 1863, age 84 (already [F.217]). The rest are Robert M. Cooper (m. Phebe Ann Schenck 1864) and later men.

familysearch tree 2026-10-08 · Robert Cooper, b. 1776-1786, d. 1862-1864; and Robert Cooper, b. 1770-1795, spouse Sophia

Searched for: Robert Cooper, b. 1776-1786, d. 1862-1864; and Robert Cooper, b. 1770-1795, spouse Sophia

Result: G5G8-GF3 Robert Cooper, b. 1783 New Jersey; spouse Sophia Sheffer; children Catherine, Elsy, William Shafer Cooper. No death, no parents, no other sons. Nothing else matches.

newspapers com 2026-10-08 · SIGNED IN. 'Robert Cooper' (quoted), region us-nj, 16 Nov 1863 - 31 Jan 1864; and 'Robert Cooper' Independence, us-nj, 1800-1870

Searched for: SIGNED IN. 'Robert Cooper' (quoted), region us-nj, 16 Nov 1863 - 31 Jan 1864; and 'Robert Cooper' Independence, us-nj, 1800-1870

Result: No death notice. One hit, Star-Ledger (Newark) 27 Sep 1870 p. 2 - after his death, not opened. newspapers.com holds no Warren Co. paper for 1863.

genealogybank 2026-10-08 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). New Jersey newspapers 1800-1865: Robert Cooper (96 hits); + keyword Warren (24); + Independence (14); + Hackettstown (1).

Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). New Jersey newspapers 1800-1865: Robert Cooper (96 hits); + keyword Warren (24); + Independence (14); + Hackettstown (1).

Result: Nothing for him. The Hackettstown hit (Jerseyman, Morristown, 19 Apr 1837, p. 4) is an insolvent-debtors list with Hugh Cooper and Robert Forsythe - a false match. The Independence hits are Camden and Newark papers.

familysearch records 2026-10-08 · Records index (all collections): surname Cooper (exact) with father's given name Robert (exact; also 'Robt'), marriage place New Jersey...

Searched for: Records index (all collections): surname Cooper (exact) with father's given name Robert (exact; also 'Robt'), marriage place New Jersey (exact), 1830-1885; same with death place New Jersey, 1848-1900; and surname Cooper with mother Sophia, New Jersey, 1830-1900.

Result: Marriages: only two New Jersey grooms with a father Robert - William Shafer Cooper William Shafer Cooper (Independence 1851, known) and Robert Cooper, 29, who married Catharine Bradley at Camden, 10 Sep 1851 (Camden Co., page 215; the Camden/Quaker region of [fam.3] - not taken as Robert's son). Deaths: only Elsy Cooper Elsy (Hope 1868, known) and Joseph Cooper of Greenland, Camden Co., 1876 (father Robert, mother Hannah - a Camden family). Mother Sophia: nothing in Warren or Sussex.

ancestry all 2026-10-08 · Ancestry coll. 62483: Cooper marriages indexed in Warren and in Sussex 1847-1867; Catharine/Catherine Cooper marriages 1845-1867 (any...

Searched for: Ancestry coll. 62483: Cooper marriages indexed in Warren and in Sussex 1847-1867; Catharine/Catherine Cooper marriages 1845-1867 (any county); surname Cooper with father Robert Cooper.

Result: No marriage for his daughter Catherine (b. ~1825). Warren 1847-1867 indexes only five Cooper marriages (John W 1857, Caleb S 1857 and 1858, Wm Shafer 1850 [C.83], John 1875); the only Catharine Cooper bride of the period is 22, b. ~1844, m. James Sebly, Hunterdon, 22 Oct 1866 - not her. The father-Robert search returns nothing (the index does not carry the groom's father for [C.83] either).

ancestry all 2026-10-29 · Collection 8054 (1850 US federal census), surname Cooper, birth 1817, run TWICE - once with Lived In = Warren County, New Jersey...

Searched for: Collection 8054 (1850 US federal census), surname Cooper, birth 1817, run TWICE - once with Lived In = Warren County, New Jersey (residence=_warren-new+jersey-usa_3036) and once with Sussex County, New Jersey (residence=_sussex-new+jersey-usa_2837). Both ids taken from the form's own autocomplete and checked against the slug Ancestry wrote back. 50 rows per page; every Warren and every Sussex row on page 1 read. The birth year ranks rather than restricts, so the band actually returned is about 1813-1822. This is the search the Y-line todo below has been asking for: a Cooper male born 1815-1820 who could fill one of this man's two unidentified son-slots. (link)

Result: THE CANDIDATE POOL IS NOW BOUNDED, AND IN WARREN COUNTY IT CONTAINS NOBODY THE CATALOG DID NOT ALREADY HAVE. WARREN COUNTY - two Cooper males in the band, both in INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, both already known: Jesse Cooper, Independence, abt 1817, b. New Jersey with Barbara and Amos W = [name.492], already proposed on 2026-10-29 as a possible for one of these slots and already placed 27 dwellings from this man in [D.4]; and George G Cooper, Independence, abt 1821 with Susan and Saron = [name.495], long since promoted to George Green Cooper George Green Cooper of Tymochtee (1819-1886). The only other Warren Coopers in the band are Henry and Mary at Greenwich (abt 1813 and 1812), a married couple at the far end of the county. => No new candidate. The Warren half of this task is CLOSED. SUSSEX COUNTY - seven Cooper males in the band, and six of them are one cluster: Mathew H (Wantage, abt 1813), John J (Wantage, abt 1814), James H (Wantage, abt 1819), Charles A (Wantage, abt 1821), William (Sparta, abt 1816), William (Stillwater, abt 1815) and Thomas (Green, abt 1822). The Wantage group is far northern Sussex and reads as a family of its own; the two Williams are at Sparta and Stillwater. The one worth a second look is Thomas Cooper of GREEN TOWNSHIP, abt 1822, with Maria and Elizabeth - Green is the township where Roderick Byanton Cooper Roderick B. is buried (Tranquility Cemetery) and the township [name.492]'s file wants the 1830 roll browsed for. Nothing is claimed; he is outside the 1815-1820 band and no record ties him to this man. INDEX TIER ONLY - no image opened, so these are leads and a bounded pool, not readings. A place-id trap fired and was caught on the way: the Sussex run was first sent with a guessed _sussex-new+jersey-usa_3034, and Ancestry rewrote the slug to warren-mississippi-usa_3034 and returned fifty plausible Mississippi Coopers. 3034 is Warren County, MISSISSIPPI. Recorded in guidance/feedback_ancestry_place_recipe_when_names_are_garbled.md along with the verified ids.

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.
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.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.469 1860 US Federal Census, Schedule 1, Independence Twp., Warren Co., NJ - Page No. 49 (stamped 687), PO Danville, enumerated 21 June 1860; 40 lines covering dwellings 331-338, incl. the Derrick Deats household (dw.334) and two Cooper households (dw.335, dw.336).
D.546 FamilySearch 1850 census index sweep — every MALE Cooper born 1808–1828 resident in Warren or Sussex Co., NJ (collection 1401638). 26 index rows; 4 not previously in the catalog. Run for [pr.100] route 3 — Aaron Sr's three unaccounted-for sons, born ~1811–1825 per [D.330]'s brackets.
D.397 1850 US Federal Census, Green Twp., Sussex Co., NJ (dwelling 7/7) - the Thomas Cooper household (Thomas 28 + wife Maria + 2 daughters).
D.398 1860 US Federal Census, Green Twp., Sussex Co., NJ (dwelling 109/111) - the Thomas Cooper household a decade after D.397 (Thomas 39 + Mariah C + 4 children incl. sole son Britton Slater).
D.399 1880 US Federal Census, Schedule 1 - Oxford, Warren County, New Jersey; S.D. 1, E.D. 205, page 18; enumerated 4 June 1880.
D.400 1900 US Federal Census, Schedule No. 1 - Newton town, Sussex County, New Jersey; S.D. 3, E.D. 171, sheet 18B; enumerated 21 June 1900.
D.401 1940 US Federal Census, Population Schedule - Roxbury Township (Succasunna), Morris County, New Jersey; S.D. 5, E.D. 14-107, sheet 4B; enumerated 8 April 1940.
F.195 1851 NJ civil birth register, Green Twp., Sussex Co. — Britton Slater Cooper, son of Thomas + Maria Cooper (= the SON of [p.672] Thomas H. Cooper; first male carrier on the [p.114] Robert-Cooper candidate branch)
F.217 New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Mansfield, County of Warren, 1 May 1863 – 1 May 1864, Vol. AH printed page 536 — the entry for Robert Cooper, aged 84, died at the County House. Held in two reproductions: NJSA order #202606-87692 (PDF, with an NJSA transcription) and Ancestry collection 62483, image group 004210793, image 568 of 623.
F.281 New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Independence, County of Warren, 1 May 1862 – 1 May 1863, Vol. AH printed page 514 — lines 1 and 2, Emma E. Cooper and Anna M. Cooper. Ancestry collection 62483, image group 004210793, image 547 of 623.
F.285 New Jersey, Return of Deaths in the Township of Hope, County of Warren, 1 May 1868 – 1 May 1869, Vol. AN (Deaths, Hunterdon–Warren Co., 1869) printed page 335 — Ancestry collection 62483, image group 004210797, image 359 of 382.
C.83 NJ return of marriages, Township of Independence, Warren Co., 1 June 185[1] - 1 June 1852, Vol. AH page 49, entry 2
C.115 Sussex County, New Jersey — the loose marriage return of the Reverend John Boyd, six couples married 22 August – 24 November 1812, signed by him. FamilySearch New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956; DGS 004541257 ("Sussex. Marriage Records 1809–1827"), image 326 of 1,634.
C.116 Sussex County, New Jersey, marriage register page 107 — the county clerk's entry of the Reverend John Boyd return of 1812: six couples, among them Robert Cooper to Sophia Sheffer. FamilySearch New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956; DGS 004541238, item 2 ("Marriages, Sussex county, v. A — Sussex. Marriage Records 1795–1853"), image 42 of 104. Same film as [C.84] and [C.113].
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.914 1830 United States Federal Census, GREEN TOWNSHIP, Sussex County, New Jersey — the complete township as the image set holds it: four name pages, stamped 186-189, with their four continuation leaves. Ancestry collection 8058, images 4411359_00356 to _00363 (NARA M19)