Joseph Benjamin Cooper 1852–1908

Catalog ID p.83 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/83/

Joseph Benjamin Cooper was born on 20 Jul 1852 in Independence Township, Warren County, New Jersey, the son of Lewis Sanford Cooper and Mary Jane (Jones) Cooper. He probably married Sarah Harriett Starr (1875). He probably died on 4 Feb 1908 in Stephenville, Erath County, Texas and was buried at West End Cemetery, Stephenville, Erath County, Texas. Nine children are recorded.

Facts

Event	Date	Place / detail	Certainty	Sources
birth	20 Jul 1852	Independence Township, Warren County, New Jersey	certain	G.130
residence	1880	Walnut Twp, Butler Co., Kansas	certain	D.663
death	4 Feb 1908	Stephenville, Erath County, Texas	probable	G.130, D.722
burial		West End Cemetery, Stephenville, Erath County, Texas	certain	G.130

Family

Parents

Father Lewis Sanford Cooper 1825–1905
Mother Mary Jane (Jones) Cooper 1827–1880

Spouses

Sarah Harriett (Starr) Cooper 1854–1927 probable
married 24 Feb 1875, Cherokee County, Texas
G.130

Siblings

Children

Egbert Arthur Cooper 1874–1928
William G Cooper 1875–1925
Mary Margaret (Cooper) Newton 1881–1918
James Henry Cooper 1885–1958
John Luther Cooper 1887–1967
Charles E Cooper 1879 D.663
Laura Myrtle (Cooper) Dickson 1890–1979
Frank E Cooper 1892–1962
Charles E. Cooper about 1879 D.663

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

Date	Document	Role	What it records
1855	G.589 cemetery memorial Find a Grave memorial 140271250, Sarah Eliza Cooper Gingrich (1855-1920), Santa Maria Cemetery District, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara Co., California	sibling as "Joseph Benjamin Cooper"
11 Jun 1880	D.663 census population 1880 1880 U.S. census, Walnut Township, Butler Co., Kansas, ED 108, page 13 (stamped 216), lines 17-21 (dwelling 108, family 114) — NARA T9	head as "Cooper Joseph B"	residence: 1880, Walnut Twp, Butler Co., Kansas occupation: 1880, Laborer
1905	G.133 find a grave memorial Find a Grave memorial 70788117 - Lewis Sanford Cooper, Santa Maria Cemetery District, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California	child as "Joseph Benjamin Cooper"
1908	G.130 find a grave memorial Find a Grave memorials 15136843, 42112931, 37389902 and 15136864 - Joseph Benjamin Cooper (West End Cemetery, Stephenville, Texas) and his sons James Henry, Joh…	deceased as "Joseph Benjamin Cooper"	birth: 16 Aug 1852, Warren County, New Jersey death: 4 Feb 1908, Stephenville, Erath County, Texas burial: West End Cemetery, Stephenville, Erath County, Texas
24 Oct 1918	F.315 death certificate Texas State Board of Health, Standard Certificate of Death no. 44149, Navarro Co. (Kerens, Route #1), filed 24 Oct 1918 - FamilySearch 'Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977…	father as "J B Cooper"

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

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Searches recorded

familysearch records 2026-10-15 · HIS DEATH YEAR - to settle the 1908-vs-1913 conflict. (a) Cooper, given Joseph, death 1905-1916, death place Texas, United States...

Searched for: HIS DEATH YEAR - to settle the 1908-vs-1913 conflict. (a) Cooper, given Joseph, death 1905-1916, death place Texas, United States (13,424 ranked; page 1 of 100 read); (b) the 1910 US census (coll. 1727033): Joseph Cooper, b. 1850-1855 in New Jersey, residence Texas; (c) the same census for his widow - Sarah Cooper, b. 1852-1862, residence Texas (27 results, all read).

Result: RESOLVED - he died by May 1910, so 1913 is out. (a) No Texas death certificate for him: Texas registration began 1903 but early compliance was poor. The search did turn up two of his CHILDREN's Texas death records naming the parents - "Joseph B Cooper / Sarah H Starr" (child Frank E Cooper) and "Benjamin Joseph Cooper / Hattie Starr" (child John Luther Cooper) - corroborating the marriage and giving two further name forms. (b) He is NOT in the 1910 census anywhere in Texas (absence only - weak). (c) THE DECIDER, and it was already in the catalog: "Sarah H Cooper", 55, b. Texas, MARITAL STATUS "WIDOWED", living as Daughter with her widowed mother Margarett A Starr at Iredell, Bosque Co., enumerated 3 May 1910 - which the catalog captured on 2026-10-05 as [D.722], transcribed verbatim off the filed image. ⇒ the [L.86] tree's 4 Feb 1913 is FALSIFIED and [G.130]'s 4 Feb 1908 stands. [D.722] was not listed in this file's entries:, which is why the question read as open for ten days and as needing an archive order. Added.

findagrave 2026-10-15 · For son Charles E. (b. c. 1879 Kansas): Find a Grave Charles Cooper, b. 1879 +/-1, any place (192; pages 1-10 filtered for Texas /...

Searched for: For son Charles E. (b. c. 1879 Kansas): Find a Grave Charles Cooper, b. 1879 +/-1, any place (192; pages 1-10 filtered for Texas / Kansas / middle initial E); also tree profile PMC1-1H9.

Result: NULL - nothing tied to him. Candidates seen and not identified: Charles Cooper 1879-1952, White Chapel, Wichita KS (54489609); Charles Edward Cooper 5 Jan 1878 - 22 Dec 1956, Milford, Ellis Co. TX (31495539 - the Frost/Navarro man already ruled out, b. Falls Co.); Charles E. Coopers of Ohio, New York, Rhode Island. The tree profile carries only his 1880 census row.

ancestry all 2026-10-14 · NJ Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1711-1878 (62483): Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/-1; surname Cooper, b. 1852 +/-1, father Lewis Cooper;...

Searched for: NJ Birth, Marriage and Death Records 1711-1878 (62483): Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/-1; surname Cooper, b. 1852 +/-1, father Lewis Cooper; surname Cooper, b. 20 Jul 1852 (exact, any name).

Result: NULL - no Warren Co. birth return for him indexed (only Camden, Gloucester and Somerset Cooper births of 1852). His 20 Jul 1852 date remains on the NJ Births and Christenings index [G.130].

genealogybank 2026-10-04 · SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Joseph Cooper, Texas papers, 4 Feb - 30 Apr 1908 (0 results).

Searched for: SIGNED IN (chris_2535). Joseph Cooper, Texas papers, 4 Feb - 30 Apr 1908 (0 results).

Result: NULL.

newspapers com 2026-10-04 · SIGNED IN. (a) Cooper Stephenville, Texas, 4 Feb - 31 Mar 1908 (37 matches, all March 1908 in Marshall, Houston, Austin and Fort Worth...

Searched for: SIGNED IN. (a) Cooper Stephenville, Texas, 4 Feb - 31 Mar 1908 (37 matches, all March 1908 in Marshall, Houston, Austin and Fort Worth papers - not opened); (b) "J. B. Cooper", Texas, 4 Feb - 15 Mar 1908 (2: Waco Times-Herald 1 and 8 Mar - not opened); (c) "J. B. Cooper" Stephenville, Texas, 4 Feb - 15 Mar 1913 (1).

Result: NULL. (c) = Waco Times-Herald 12 Feb 1913 p. 1, an Austin legislative item on a Stephenville-North Texas railway bill - not him. No Erath County paper for 1908 or 1913 appears on newspapers.com, so neither death year is tested here.

ancestry all 2026-10-04 · Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/- 1 New Jersey, died Erath Co., Texas (4,187 results; first 2 pages read).

Searched for: Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/- 1 New Jersey, died Erath Co., Texas (4,187 results; first 2 pages read).

Result: Find a Grave index (16 Aug 1852 - 4 Feb 1908 = [G.130]); 1900 census 'Joseph B Cooper', b. Aug 1852 NJ, married 1872, Justice Precinct 2, Hamilton Co., TX (index row, not opened - Hamilton adjoins Erath); NJ birth index 'Joseph B Cooper' b. 20 Jul 1852 Independence / Great Meadows (= [G.130]'s birth reading).

familysearch tree 2026-10-04 · Joseph Cooper, b. 1851-1853, father Lewis (20 results); then a records search, Joseph Cooper, died Erath Co., Texas, 1907-1914.

Searched for: Joseph Cooper, b. 1851-1853, father Lewis (20 results); then a records search, Joseph Cooper, died Erath Co., Texas, 1907-1914. (link)

Result: Tree: KGSC-LNP Joseph Benjamin Cooper, 16 Aug 1852 NJ - 4 Feb 1908 Stephenville; m. Feb 1872 Missouri; parents Lewis Cooper K8LH-6XW and Mary Jane Jones. Records: no Texas death certificate for him 1907-1914 - only the Find a Grave index row and a 'Texas, Births and Christenings' entry naming him father of John Luther Cooper John Luther Cooper with Sarah Harriet Starr. The 1908-vs-1913 conflict is NOT resolved by any record found.

findagrave 2026-10-04 · Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/- 1, d. 1905-1915 (14 results).

Searched for: Joseph Cooper, b. 1852 +/- 1, d. 1905-1915 (14 results).

Result: Memorial 15136843, Joseph Benjamin Cooper, 16 Aug 1852 - 4 Feb 1908, West End Cemetery, Stephenville = [G.130]. Nothing new.

Documents

G.130 Find a Grave memorials 15136843, 42112931, 37389902 and 15136864 - Joseph Benjamin Cooper (West End Cemetery, Stephenville, Texas) and his sons James Henry, John Luther and Frank E. Cooper
D.273 1900 US Federal Census, Justice Precinct #2, Hamilton Co., TEXAS (ED 83, Sheet 14B) - two adjacent Cooper households: Joseph B. Cooper (dw.246) + his son Egbert B. Cooper (dw.247).
D.43 1850 US Federal Census, Frelinghuysen Twp., Warren Co., NJ, PAGE 488 - the Aaron Cooper household (DWELLING 170 / FAMILY 182 - corrected 2026-08-21 from 'dwelling 132') and Thomas Cooper as a boarder in the David G. Vanhorn household (dwelling 174 / family 186). The page is now SWEPT IN FULL for Coopers: dwellings 169-177 / families 181-189, and these are the ONLY two Cooper entries on it.
A.53 Inventory of Joseph Cooper of Independence Twp., Warren Co., made 5 November 1852 — Warren Surrogate Inventories Vol. 6 p. 87. A substantial farmer's goods; no family named.
D.18 1870 US Federal Census, West Jersey Township, Stark Co., Illinois (dwelling 72/72, enumerated 6-7 Jun 1870 by Minott Silliman) — the Louis S. Cooper household of 8 (Louis 44, blind; wife Mary J; 6 children) plus his co-resident brother George M. Cooper Sr.
D.285 1860 US Federal Census, Tymochtee Twp, Wyandot Co., OH (p.4, dwelling 24) - the L. S. Cooper household (head 33, wife Mary 33, and 5 children).
J.402 Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.), Friday 17 April 1925, page 7 (Second Section), "Second Death In Upland Well"; newspapers.com image 994549384.
F.315 Texas State Board of Health, Standard Certificate of Death no. 44149, Navarro Co. (Kerens, Route #1), filed 24 Oct 1918 - FamilySearch 'Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977', 1918 vol 084-089 certificates 041501-044500, image 2968 of 3,346.
D.663 1880 U.S. census, Walnut Township, Butler Co., Kansas, ED 108, page 13 (stamped 216), lines 17-21 (dwelling 108, family 114) — NARA T9
D.722 1910 U.S. census, Justice Precinct 2 (part), Iredell Town, Bosque Co., Texas, ED 4, sheet 2A, lines 2-3 (dwelling 24, family 24) - NARA T624
G.133 Find a Grave memorial 70788117 - Lewis Sanford Cooper, Santa Maria Cemetery District, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County, California