James W. Cooper 1868–1889
Catalog ID p.2489 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/2489/
James W. Cooper was probably born about 1868 in Independence Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey, probably the son of Roderick Byanton Cooper and Rosetta C. (Sickles) Cooper. He died on 4 Aug 1889 in Allamuchy, Warren Co., New Jersey and was probably buried at Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey - plot 116 Sect 1.
Also recorded as: Wilmer Cooper G.699, E.35
Facts
| Event | Date | Place / detail | Certainty | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| birth | about 1868 | Independence Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey | probable | D.565, D.392 |
| residence | 30 Jun 1870 | Independence Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey | probable | D.565 |
| residence | 12 Jun 1880 | Allamuchy Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey | probable | D.392 |
| residence | 1885 | Allamuchy Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey | probable | E.35 |
| occupation | 1889 | Laborer | probable | |
| death | 4 Aug 1889 | Allamuchy, Warren Co., New Jersey | certain | G.699, L.132 |
| burial | Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey - plot 116 Sect 1 | probable | G.699 |
Family
Parents
- Father Roderick Byanton Cooper 1838–1889 probable D.565, D.392, G.512
- Mother Rosetta C. (Sickles) Cooper 1844 probable D.565, D.392
Spouses
None recorded.
Siblings
- Ida Elizabeth (Cooper) Masters 1862–1940
- Sarah Matilda (Cooper) Kinney 1865–1944
- Margaret Luella (Cooper) Kinney 1870–1935
- Warren Edgar Cooper 1874–1938
- Alfred L. Cooper 1877–1905
- Albert Alvin Cooper 1878–1949
- Grover C. Cooper 1885
- Calvin Cooper
Children
None recorded.
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 James W. Cooper, in date order, with what that document itself records.
| Date | Document | Role | What it records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878/1900 | F.401 death index New Jersey State Archives, Death Records June 1878 - December 1900 - the complete COOPER rows for ALL TWENTY-ONE COUNTIES, 734 rows, each with its archival cita… |
deceased as "Cooper, James W." |
death: 4 Aug 1889, Allamuchy, Warren County, New Jersey |
| 12 Jun 1880 | D.392 census population 1880 US Federal Census, Schedule 1 (inhabitants), Allamuchy Township, Warren County, New Jersey, Supervisor's District 1, Enumeration District 189, page 8; enum… |
child as "James W. Cooper" |
residence: 12 Jun 1880, Allamuchy Twp., Warren Co., New Jersey |
| 1885 | E.35 census state nj 1885 1885 New Jersey state census, County of Warren, Township of Allamuchy, enumeration made by Jno. W. H[ibler?] - the two-page opening carrying dwelling 14 / famil… |
child as "Willmer[?] Cooper" |
|
| 1889 | G.699 findagrave memorial Find a Grave memorial 14794787, "Wilmer Cooper", died 5 August 1889, Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex County, New Jersey - plot "116 Sect 1; NO GRAV… |
deceased as "Wilmer Cooper" |
death: 5 Aug 1889, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey probable burial: Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey - plot 116 Sect 1 probable |
Still unknown, and where we have looked
Searches recorded
findagrave 2026-10-24 · James Cooper, b. 1868 +/- 3, d. 1889 +/- 3, New Jersey, USA (location filter honoured).
Searched for: James Cooper, b. 1868 +/- 3, d. 1889 +/- 3, New Jersey, USA (location filter honoured). (link)
Result: NULL - "No matches found". Note that four of his siblings DO have memorials and three of them are at Andover Cemetery, so the family was not un-memorialised; he simply is not there under this name and these years. NOT evidence that he did not die in 1889 - and not evidence that he did. EXPLAINED THE SAME DAY: HE HAS A MEMORIAL AND IT IS UNDER ANOTHER NAME. [G.699], memorial 14794787, is "WILMER Cooper", d. 5 Aug 1889, Tranquility Cemetery, plot 116 Sect 1 - his father's plot. A given-name search could never have found him. THE NULL WAS CORRECTLY RECORDED AND CORRECTLY PARAMETERISED, and that is exactly why it could be overturned: the row says which name and which years were searched, so the moment a different name appeared the gap was obvious.
findagrave 2026-10-24 · THE SECOND SWEEP, ON THE NEW NAME. Surname Cooper, given name Wilmer, Sussex Co., New Jersey (locationId=county_1925, control-tested)....
Searched for: THE SECOND SWEEP, ON THE NEW NAME. Surname Cooper, given name
Wilmer, Sussex Co., New Jersey (locationId=county_1925, control-tested). Reached by way of a FamilySearch records search - surname Cooper, given name Wilmer, born 1864-1874 in New Jersey - run after [E.35] produced the spelling. (link)Result: ONE MATCHING RECORD, AND IT IS HIM: memorial 14794787, Wilmer Cooper, birth unknown, died 5 Aug 1889, Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, plot "116 Sect 1; NO GRAVESTONE". PARSED with
fetch_findagrave.ps1 -> [G.699]. Empty family panel, no images, gravesite note "Burial Record. no age given.", and THREE ANCESTRY RECORD LINKS - the 1870 and 1880 federal censuses and the NJ Deaths and Burials Index - none opened, all three a todo at [G.699] t1.ancestry all 2026-10-24 · NOT a name search - ONE RECORD OPENED, reached from [G.699]'s parsed Ancestry links: the New Jersey, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index,...
Searched for: NOT a name search - ONE RECORD OPENED, reached from [G.699]'s parsed Ancestry links: the New Jersey, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971, collection 2540 record 591023974 (FHL film 589785). (link)
Result: IT IS THE STATE DEATH RECORD AND IT IS UNDER HIS OWN NAME. "James W Cooper, b. abt 1868 United States, DIED 4 AUGUST 1889, ALLAMUCHY, WARREN, NEW JERSEY, death age 21 years, occupation LABORER, marital status SINGLE, male." Father's and mother's birthplaces given only as "United States"; NO PARENTS' NAMES in the index. => The Wilmer/James W. question is answered: the burial record ([G.699]) calls him Wilmer and dates him 5 Aug; the state registration calls him James W. and dates him 4 Aug, at Allamuchy, aged 21 - his township, his age, consecutive days. AND ANCESTRY'S OWN SUGGESTED-RECORDS PANEL TIES THE NAMES TOGETHER, which is worth recording because it is an independent machine linkage rather than this catalog's reasoning: against THIS record it suggests the 1870 census (James W Cooper), the 1880 census (James W. Cooper), the FIND A GRAVE INDEX (WILMER Cooper) and the NEW JERSEY STATE CENSUS 1885 (WILLMER Cooper) - the very row [E.35] transcribed.
familysearch tree 2026-10-24 · NOT RUN as a search of his own - but SEEN. Roderick Byanton Cooper's 2026-10-03 FamilySearch search returned profile L1YQ-HDW for...
Searched for: NOT RUN as a search of his own - but SEEN. Roderick Byanton Cooper's 2026-10-03 FamilySearch search returned profile L1YQ-HDW for Roderick, whose children include "James W 1868" with no death year.
Result: So FamilySearch carries the birth year and NOT the 1889 death, which is a small point against treating 1889 as established.
newspapers com 2026-10-24 · NOT RUN - owed. A death notice, Warren and Sussex Co. NJ papers, 1889.
Searched for: NOT RUN - owed. A death notice, Warren and Sussex Co. NJ papers, 1889.
Result: Recorded as NOT RUN rather than as a null.
genealogybank 2026-10-24 · NOT RUN - owed. Same; holdings differ from newspapers.com.
Searched for: NOT RUN - owed. Same; holdings differ from newspapers.com.
Result: Recorded as NOT RUN rather than as a null.
Documents
- F.401 New Jersey State Archives, Death Records June 1878 - December 1900 - the complete COOPER rows for ALL TWENTY-ONE COUNTIES, 734 rows, each with its archival citation. The free NJSA searchable database at DeathIndex.aspx, 628,584 records, captured 2026-10-28.
- D.565 1870 US Federal Census, Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ, page 36[?] - the RODERICK COOPER household (dwelling 287 / family 302): Roderick 31 day labourer, Rosetta C 25, and three children - plus his elder brother SAMUEL COOPER, 38, enumerated in the household and marked "Idiot" in the disability column. Roderick's age here is one of THREE independent primary sources putting his birth at ~1838, against the 1850 census's outlying "8".
- 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
- G.512 Find a Grave memorial 14794772 - Roderick Byanton Cooper, Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex County, New Jersey
- L.132 Ancestry Grimm Family Tree (tree 63528288) — Roderick Byanton Cooper (1838–1889) facts page [partial]
- E.35 1885 New Jersey state census, County of Warren, Township of Allamuchy, enumeration made by Jno. W. H[ibler?] - the two-page opening carrying dwelling 14 / family 15, a nine-person household running from the foot of the left page (lines 57-60) onto the facing page (lines 1-5). Ancestry collection 61556, image 48180_548637-00005; NJ State Archive film 44.
- G.699 Find a Grave memorial 14794787, "Wilmer Cooper", died 5 August 1889, Tranquility Cemetery, Green Township, Sussex County, New Jersey - plot "116 Sect 1; NO GRAVESTONE", sourced to the cemetery's burial record, with no birth date and no age given.