Jonathan Cooper

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: Jun 1776, North Carolina

Notes:

Revolutionary War.
Baptist.
bHistorical Report of Pioneer Preachers
/b1860 , Sampson County, North Carolina
bAn 1860 Historical Report to the Baptist Union Association, prepared & read by Rev. J. D. Hufham, D.D. He mentioned many of the pioneer preachers of the state of North Carolina, including Fleet and William Cooper/b. [Source: biCooper Family Genealogy/i by Murphy Rowe Cooper, 1931]/b
i"There were the jovial yet earnest Coopers, Fleet and his brother William, those pioneers of the cause in Sampson, the first to raise their voices in that county and among the foremost in battle wherever they went, whose descendants still live to tell the story of their deeds."/i

bRev. William Cooper/b
biExcer pt from the History of Wells Chapel Baptist Church, 1789/b/i
The bRev. William Cooper/b was the third son of bFleet Cooper, Sr./b He was born in 1752, in what was then known as Duplin County. Of his childhood, little is known other than that his parents provided private school teachers for their children, thus they received a good education. The name of his first wife nor date of marriage was found, but it is known that he married about 1773, and that in 1790 he was the father of six children, four sons and two daughters.
bWilliam Cooper enlisted in the Revolutionary War, April 20, 1776/b. He was discharged honorably two and a half years later that he might become a minister. At the time of his discharge, he was paid a balance of 49 pounds, 5 shillings and 3 pence. He further received a land grant of 200 acres in 1782 and another grant of 106 acres in 1789, "on the west side of Great Coharie and at the mouth of Big Branch" In the will of his father, Fleet Cooper, Sr. dated 2supnd/sup Of July, 1795 was written, "likewise to my son William Cooper, 150 acres of land".
bIn 1780, he became pastor of Bull's Tail Baptist Church in New Hanover County/b. During the years from 1780 to1796-7 he co-pastored Cape Fear and Bull's Tail. He served Bulls Tail for twenty-two years. He resigned to becomeb pastor of the Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Bladen County/b. Due to county boundary line changes, this church is now located in Cumberland County. bHe served at Beaver Dam until 1814, at that time he resigned to go to the Territory of Mississippi/b. He was one of the first settlers at Monticello, Mississippi. Monticello was the first town of white people north of Biloxi. bRev. William Cooper started the first school in Lawrence Co., MS, (Pearl River Academy)./b At Monticello, William Cooper built the first two story house of residence, and built it so well that it was the only house in town that remained standing after the cyclone in 1889
Rev. Wm. Cooper died 14 Dec. 1821

William + Martha Thames. Martha was born about 1776 in North Carolina; died in 1856 in Polkville, Smith, Mississippi; was buried in 1856 in Polkville, Smith, Mississippi. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Politics: North Carolina
• Residence: 1783, Duplin, North Carolina
• Religion: Between 1785 and 1787, North Carolina
• Residence: 1790, Sampson, North Carolina

Notes:

After the Coopers arrived in what is now Sampson County, they were members of Coharie Baptist (Rowan) Church, which was founded near Clinton in 1749. We do not know when he became a minister, but he was pastor of the Coharie Baptist Church from 1785 to 1787.
Civil Officer: Judge , Court of Common Pleas, First Court in Sampson: Signer of Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration for Duplin County.
Cooper Family History and Genealogy
A signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

bFleet Cooper Sr - Last Will and Testament
/biIn the name of God, Amen/i
i I, Fleet Cooper, Senior, of the county of Sampson and State of North Carolina, being of sound mind and memory, calling to mind the mortality of my body, do make and ordain this, my Last Will and Testament in the following manner and form./i
i First: I give to the estate of my son bJohn Cooper/b, deceased, one cow and calf, he having received part of his legacy in his lifetime./i
i Likewise to my son bFleet Cooper/b 136 acres of land where he now lives./i
i Likewise to my son bWilliam Cooper/b 150 acres of land where he now lives and all the land I own on Sheppards Branch./i
i Likewise to my son bCoore Cooper/b the tract of land that I bought of James Bennett and Henry Easterling and 150 acres joining the same; and 150 acres of land at the White Pond and head of the Great Branch./i
i Likewise to my daughter bElizabeth Wiggins/b I give five shillings, she having already received her legacy./i
i Likewise to my daughter bMary Peterson/b I give five shillings, she having already received as aforesaid./i
i Likewise to my daughter bGrace Holmes/b I give five shillings, she also having received as aforesaid./i
i Also to bPolly Holmes/b, daughter of the said bGrace Holmes/b, seventy five acres of land where the said Grace now lives, the right vested in the said bPolly/b after the death of her mother, the said bGrace/b, who is to have her lifetime on the said land./i
i And the rest of my property I leave to my son, bCoore Cooper/b; and each legacy to each of the legatees as before mentioned, to them, their heirs and assigns forever./i
i And I, the said Fleet Cooper, Senior, acknowledge this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament./i
i In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal; this day 2nd day of July, 1795/i
i (Seal of Fleet Cooper)/i
i (witnesses)/i
i Fleet Cooper Jr/i
i William Cooper/i
i Abner Fort/i

bCivil Officer, Judge, Signer of Oath of Allegiance of Duplin County.
/bFleet Cooper Sr. , son of Bejamin and Elizabeth was born in Philedalphia; moved with his family to Isle of Wight County Virginia in 1725; spent his youth in Louden County where in 1747 he married Marguerite Coore; and on January 21 ,1764 was a resident of Dobbs County, North Carolina, when he bought 100 acres on Great Coharie, Duplin County. Later aquired much additional land on the west side of the "Great Cohera". Received 640 acres by land grant No. 281 on October 26,1767, He was 17th of 21 signers of the Duplin County Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration passed by the General Assembly at New Bern, November 1777. The Governor appointed 12 men as Justices of the newly formed county of Sampson, including Fleet Cooper.

His will, dated July 2, 1795 was proved by his son Fleet, Jr. in November Court 1801 but was not recorded until 1828. In his will he mentioned his son John (deceased), Fleet Jr., William, Coore, Elizabeth Wiggins, Mary Peterson and Grace Holmes. His children had private teachers and were well educated.

A historical sketch of Great Cohers Church lists Fleet Cooper as pastor 1785-1787
A bronze plaque at Concord Crossroads on Highway 24, 6 miles west of Clinton reads: " Fleet Cooper,Sr. 1722-1795: Civil Officer: Judge , Court of Common Pleas, First Court in Sampson: Signer of Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration for Duplin County: Wed Marguerite Coore 1747 and had issue: John, Fleet, Jr., William, Coore, Elizabeth, Mary and Grace." Abstract of will:
I give to the estate of my son John Cooper , dec,d, one cow and calf, he having received part of his legacy in his lifetime.... to my son Fleet Cooper 136 acres of land where he now lives and all the land I own on Sheppards Branch....to my daughter Elizabeth Wiggins. five shillings...to Polly Holmes, daughter of said grace Holmes, seventy five acres of land... set my hand and seal...this 2nd day od July 1795. Signed; Fleet Cooper.

The Reverend Fleet Cooper, Sr.

"Our Heritage"
By Claude Moore

The Rev. Fleet Cooper, Sr., (1722-1795) was a pioneer Baptist minister in
Sampson and Duplin Counties and was a prominent political figure during the
American Revolution. According to a reliable genealogist, the Coopers were
descended from at least four of the Barons who signed the Magna Carta and
Fleet Cooper was descended from a brother of Anthony Ashley Cooper (Earl of
Shaftsbury), who was one of the Lords Proprietors who were granted the
Carolinas in 1663 by Charles II.

The first Cooper to come to America was James Cooper, a son of George
Ashley Cooper. He came from Stratford on the Avon and landed in Philadelphia
in 1682. James Cooper was a member of the Society of Friends. He married
and had two daughters and four sons: Isaac, Samuel, William and Benjamin.

Benjamin Cooper (1701-1776) was married in 1720 to Elizabeth Kelly and in
1725 he moved to Isle of Wight County, Virginia, and then to Loudon County,
Virginia. They had several children among who was Fleet Cooper, the subject
of this article.

Fleet Cooper was born in 1722 in Philadelphia and spent his youth in
Virginia. We know nothing about his early education but he was married in
1747 to Margaret Coore of Loudon County, Virginia, whose father, Thomas
Coore, later move to Northampton County, N.C.

He moved first to Dobbs County, and in 1764, he received a grant of land
on Coharie Swamp in Sampson County. Later he received grants for more than
a 1,000 acres of land. This was located at Concord, six miles west of
Clinton on Highway 24. After the Coopers arrived in what is now Sampson
County, they were members of Coharie Baptist (Rowan) Church, which was
founded near Clinton in 1749. We do not know when he became a minister, but
he was pastor of the Coharie Baptist Church from 1785 to 1787.

At the beginning of the American Revolution Fleet Cooper, Sr. signed the
"Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration" (1777). This qualified descendants for
memberships in the Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the
American Revolution. In 1784, when Sampson County was established, Fleet
Cooper, Sr., was one of the 12 justices appointed to the Court of Pleas and
Quarterly Sessions.

The Coopers had the following children: John; Fleet, Jr.; William; Coore;
Elizabeth; Grace; and Mary. Fleet Cooper, Jr., (1750-1828) was also a
pioneer Baptist minister. He married Sarah Scott in 1777 and had the
following children: Mrs. Elizabeth Pope (1779-1848); Wilson (1780-1857);
John (1782-1832); Jacob (1783-1826); Daniel (1785-1851); Mrs. Nancy
Blackburn (1793-1878); Mrs. Penelope Howard (1797-1881); Mrs. Dicey Howard
(1798-1879); Mrs. Rhoda Bennett (1802-1862); Mrs. Sarah Porter; and Mrs.
Mary Butler Sessoms. Grace Cooper married Lewis Holmes, a brother of
Governor Gabriel Holmes and moved south. Elizabeth Cooper married a Mr.
Wiggins. Mary Cooper married a Mr. Peterson.

Many of the descendants of Fleet Cooper had been doctors, lawyers, and
teachers and have been political leaders. The descendants are scattered all
over the United States. They hold an annual family reunion in Salemburg,
N.C.

Sources of Information: Mary John Parker and Mamie Chambers Sawyer.

bFleet Sr's Patriot Service
/blast half of 18th century , Duplin/Sampson NC
Cooper, Fleet Sr, Material Aid, Patriot Service
Although we found no record of specific military service for him, we believe he contributed generously in material goods for the military cause. Men have been accepted into the Sons of the American Revolution based on Fleet Sr's name.
He was born about 1721 in Philadelphia, Pa. Moved to Isle of Wight County, Va, in 1725 and spent most of his youth in Louden County, Va., where he married Margaret Coore in 1747. Fleet Sr was among the Civil officers and other prominent persons who signed the Oath of Allegiance in late 1777. This is on file in the Clerk's office in Duplin County.
Immediately after the surrender of the British Army at Yorktown he was among those who worked to establish Sampson County and became one of its first justices of the court of pleas and quarter sessions in 1784. He held that position until ill health forced him to retire. His will went to the court for pobate in Nov, 1801. Fleet Sr's son John (1748-1792) was a Capt. in the NC militia, his son William was a Lieutenant in the 5th Continental Line, and his son Fleet Jr (1750-1828) is said to have fought in the Revolution but no records have been found. bSource: Revolutionary War Records Duplin/Sampson by V.L. Bizzell and O.M. Bizzell pgs 68-69.

/bNotes for Fleet Cooper, Sr.:
Source: "The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina, 1784 - 1984," published by the Sampson County Historical Society, pp. 375-
376, #564.
" Fleet Cooper, (1721-1795) one of the original Justices of the Sampson County Court when Sampson became a county in 1784, had
a rich heritage. His fifth great-grandfather was John Cooper, Esq. of County Hants in England. John's son, Richard Cooper, owned large
estates in Suffolk and Southampton and was allowed to purchase the Manor of Paulett in the 23rd year of Henry VIII (1532). He married
June Kingsmill, daughter of John Kingsmill (died 1509) and Joan Gifford, and died 8 May 1566. Wurts, in his seven volume work on the
Magna Charta Barons, their ancestors and descendants, traces her descent from John Lackland (King John) and the Plantagenets, Sveide
the Viking, and at least four of the Magna Charta Barons elected by the English people in 1215 to see that King John kept his promises
made in the Magna Charta. They were Will de Mobray, Robert de Roos, Gilbert Clare, and his father, Gilbert Clare, both barons.
"Richard and June had a son, John Cooper, member of Parliament 1586, who died 1610 having married Martha, daughter of Anthony
Skutt. They were parents of Sir John Cooper, Baronet, who married Ann Ashley (died 20 July 1628), daughter and sole heiress of Sir
Anthony Ashley and his firs wife Okeover, and died 23 March 1681. Ashley had been knighted for his capture of Callis as Knight of
Wemborne, St. Giles, County Dorset, served as Secretary of War under Queen Elizabeth, and Secretary of the Privy Council in the reign of
James I. John and Ann's son, Anthony Ashley Cooper, was one of the Lords Proprietors to whom Charles II gave the Carolina Charter in
1663, 'one of the ablest and most prominent statesmen of his time.' He left no heirs.
"His brother, another son of Sir John Cooper and Ann Ashley, was George Ashley Cooper, who was born 22 July 1621 and died 28 Jan.
1682. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Oldfield, Alderman of London. (a)
"Their son James Cooper of Stratford-on-Avon immigrated to America in 1682 and died in Philadelphia 4 Dec. 1732. He married first Hester and second Mary. James was a first cousin of Judge Cooper of Burlington, N. J. who was father of the author, James Fenimore
Cooper. Tradition says that James was a minister and signed a note with some of his parishioners. It was a bad crop year, and they were
unable to pay, and the creditors looked to him. At that time in England, when one could not pay a debt, he was put in prison. Out of respect for him, the authorities gave him the choice of coming to America. Tradition further states that he was visiting an old friend, Edward
Byllinge, who carried him around and showed him several sites, watching to see which one appealed to him most, then gave him the
deed to it the next day. Whether that story be true or not, we do not know, but the deed, dated 21 Sept. 1682, reads: 'Edward Byllinge to
James Cooper 50 Acres, consideration ' out of good will and kindness for ye truth's sake he beareth unto you said property.''. (b)
In December 1684 James patented a lot on Chestnut St. between 4th and 5th Sts. in Philadelphia, across from where the old marble customhouse would later be built. (c)
He died in 1732 leaving an incomplete undated will which was allowed to be probated. In it, he mentions wife Mary, daughters Esther Hussey and Rebecca, and sons Isaac, Samuel, William, and Benjamin. (d)
Most of their names appear in the records of the Philadelphia Meeting between 1705 and 1729. (e).
" Benjamin Cooper was born in Philadelphia 1701 (a); bought from his father for 40 pounds 300 acres 18 Jan. 1720 (e); and married 28 Nov.
1720 Elizabeth Kelly. (f)
Murphy Rowe Cooper, in his book on the Cooper Family, says: 'Benjamin was a visionary man to whom success was always just around the corner. He was on the move seeking greener pastures. In 1725 he moved to Isle of Wight County, Va. Later he moved to Loudoun County where they were living when his son, Fleet, married Marguerite Coore. Still later he moved to Kentucky where he died in 1776.' (g)
" Fleet Cooper was born in Philadelphia 1721; moved with his family to Isle of Wright Co. 1725; spent his youth in Loudoun County where
he married 1747 Marguerite Coore; and on 21 Jan. 1764 was a resident of Dobbs Co., N.C. when he bought 100 acres on Great Coharie in
Duplin County. (h)
He was 17th of 21 signers of the Duplin County Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration passed by the General Assembly at New Bern November 1777. (i)
The Governor appointed 12 men as Justices of the newly formed county of Sampson, including Fleet Cooper. At the first session, 21 June 1784, the Court Minutes recorded: 'The Governor's Commission was read appointing the several magistrates to administer Justice in said county, and the following persons...Fleet Cooper...have taken the oath required by law.' (j)
His will, dated 2 July 1795, was proved by his son Fleet, Jr. in November Court 1801 but was not recorded until 1828. He mentions
son John, deceased, Fleet, Jr., William, Coore, Elizabeth Wiggins, Mary Peterson, and Grace Holmes. (k) A bronze plaque at Concord
Crossroads on Highway 24, 6 miles west of Clinton reads: 'Fleet Cooper, Sr., 1722-1795; Civil Officer; Judge, Court of Common Pleas,
First Court in Sampson; Signer of Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration for Duplin County; Wed Marguerite Coore 1747 and had issue: John;
Fleet, Jr.; William; Coore; Elizabeth; Mary; Grace.'
"Sources: (a) Wurts: Magna Charta Vol. 7 p. 2114; (b) Gloucester Deeds, Trenton, N.J. #1 p. 77-79; (c) Pennsylvania Patent Book A-1
and Philadelphia Exemplification Book 1 p. 65; (d) Philadelphia Will Book E p. 291 #296; (e) (SIC) Hinshaw: Encyclopedia of American
Genealogy --- Philadelphia Monthly Meeting; (f) Record of Marriages in Christ Church, Philadelphia; (g) Cooper: The Cooper Family p. 74;
(h) Sampson Deed Book 1 p. 103; (i) Wheeler: N.C. Sketches, p. 138-139 also McGowan: Flashes of Duplin's History and Government, p. 43; (j) Minutes of Sampson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions June 1784; (k) Sampson Will Book 8 p. 255. ----Mamie C. Sawyer"
OTHER NOTES: On April 20, 1776, Fleet Sr. enlisted in the Revolutionary War and was given an honorable discharge 2 1/2 years later.
Taken from the Religious Herald, February 22, 1828, pg 27: "Died, in Sampson county, NC, after a few days' illness, the Rev. Fleet Cooper, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. The deceased had been an advocate for the doctrines of the cross in the Baptist church for fifty years, left behind him an unblemished reputation, and died in the full assurance of a glorious immortality. 'Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, for the rest from their labors and their works do follow them.'"
**********
The following is taken from the Goshen Baptist Association Minutes, 1828 (NC).
" Resolved that these Minutes contain an obituary notice of the death of Elder Fleet Cooper, of Sampson County, who rested from his labors in the month of March last. Brother Cooper was a faithful Minister of the Gospel, incessantly toiling for the salvation of his fellowmen. Few, if any, within our knowledge, have borne the burden and heat of the day more emphatically than brother Cooper. His circle of religious acquaintance was very large, in which he was much beloved. Thus the routine of Ministerial and Christian duty ran round in the midst of wearisome fatigue and privation, for about fifty years; and it was remarkable that his eyes were not dim, nor his force abated, relative to the great concern of Religion, to the close of his toilsome pilgrimage. The subject of this notice, as a man, appeared somewhat blunt in his manners, on a superficial acquaintance; but was found to be essentially kind and polite on further intercourse. His was that love which was free from his simulation. His public discourses, in the judgment of the worldling, were often a little rigid, but strictly scriptural in the opinion of the Church, generally doctrinal, though he chiefly excelled in practical and experimental preaching, the impressions of which will long remain on the hearts of many who have been refreshed and built up by his searching addresses. But his Bible and pulpits are now exchanged, no doubt, for the sweet vision of eternal blessedness. The large Church on the coheries mourns the loss of so bright a pattern, and so good an earthly shepherd. 'Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.'" **********
Source: Minutes of the Rowan Baptist Church, Sampson CO., NC.
"We continued then some time without a parson though not altogether destitute of Ministerial helps. Till the Church though proper to call our
Reverend Brother Fleet Cooper upon tryal of his ministerial qualification s and finding him as we trust by the grace of God faithful was on the 8th day of April ADO, 1785 ordained a minister and then the pastoral care of the church devolved to him."
This was found in the Wake Forrest (NC)University Library.
**********

Fleet married Margaret Coore in 1747 in Loudon, Virginia. Margaret (daughter of Thomas Coore and Margitt Lnu) was born in 1725 in Northampton, North Carolina; died in 1795 in Sampson, North Carolina. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1783, Duplin, North Carolina
• Residence: 1790, Sampson, North Carolina

Notes:

Named there in: deed F 2; page 243; 1720, for land Moreland township, now of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania; deed I 9, page 61, 1726; deed G 6, page 419, 1734; deed H 1, page 47, 1734; deed H 18, page 37, 1734; deed D 50, page 38, 1735; deed F 7, page 331, 1735; and in the will of.his father, recorded at Philadelphia, Book E, page 219.

Benjamin married Elizabeth Kelly on 28 Nov 1720 in Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth was born in 1700 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died on 1 Jun 1780 in Loudoun, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Will of Thomas Coor

TRANSCRIPTION OF WILL OF Thomas CORE I (written 1751, probated 1752,

Northampton County, Colony of NC; from Secretary of State, not Wayne County, records in State Archives]

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN the twenty sixth Day of October 1751 I Thomas Core of Northampton County being very Sick and weake in body but of parfect mind and memory Thanks be to God. Therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once [to] Dye, Do make and ordain this my last will and Testament that is to Say -- Principally and first of all I give and Recommend my Soule into the hands of God that gave it and my body I recommend to the Earth to be buried in Decent Christian burial at the Discretion of my Executors nothing Doubting but at the Generall resurrection I shall receive the Same again by the mighty power of God and as Touching shuch worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give Devise and Dispose of the Same in the following maner and form - -------------------------------------------

Item.I give and bequeath unto my beloved Son Thomas Core all my waring apparrell and twenty shillings cash-------------------------

Item.I give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Margett Coopper one Cow and Calf -----------------------------------------------------------

Item.I give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Mary Holland the plantation whereon she now lives containing one hundred acres more or less acording to the bounds that [George?] Ward gave Edward [Harbirtt? Herbert?] a Deed for I Say to She and her hires [heirs] of her body Lawfully begotten Forever.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Elizabeth Core one Cow and Calf ----------------------------------------------------------------

Item.I give and bequeath unto my beloved Daughter Grace Core one Cow and Calf ------------------------------------------------------------------

Item.I leave to my well beloved wife margitt Core the yuse of all my lands and negroes and personal Estate During her Natural Life or widowhood making no waste of the Said Estate and after her death or marriage the whold Esate of land and negroes and personal Estate before mentioned I give to my beloved Son Arthur Core and the Hires [heirs] of his body lawfully begotten forever --------------

I constitute make and ordain my beloved wife Margitt Core and my Son Arthur Core to be my Executors of this my Last will and Testament and I doe hereby utterly disallow renounce and disown all and every other former wills ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and Testament . In Witness Whereof I have heareunto Set my hand and Seal the Day and year above written _________

Signed Sealed
In the presents of

James Boyte JuratThomas Core
John Right [Night?] (his mark)
Wm Murfree Jurat

Northampton County /May Court 1752

The within written Will of Thomas Core was proved in open Court by the Oath of James Boyte and Wm Murfree two of the subscribing witnesses thereto, and at the same time Margaret Core and Arthur Core were qualified as Executors thereof. Which was ordered to be certified.

Test I. Edwards, Clerk of Court

Thomas Core's will -- Letters Issued 8th of June, 1752.

Thomas + Margitt Lnu. Margitt was born in 1702; died in 1752. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]