Nathan Abraham Cooper
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Nathan Abraham Cooper (April 20, 1802 – 1879) was a US Army General.
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[edit] Biography
He was the son of Abraham Cooper (1762-1818) and Anna Wills (1774-1856). He had a sister Beulah Ann Cooper (1800-1885) who married Henry Seward.[1]
Nathan married Mary Henrietta Leddel. When he was 16 years old his father died and he inherited the family land. It included farming lands, an iron mine, operated by Marsh, Craig & Evans, much undeveloped mineral property, and a grist-mill. In 1866 the house in which General Cooper was born was demolished, and the present mansion erected. The brick, sand, lime and timber used in building the house were all produced or manufactured on the estate. He was always an active and prominent man in the public affairs of Morris County, New Jersey. He was thoroughly conversant with the political history of the country, and politics was with him a favorite theme of discussion, though from choice he never held any prominent political office. He was always a consistent and unwavering Democrat.
[edit] Ancestry
The Cooper family descended from Sir Astley Cooper, a surgeon, from England. Some of the family in 1700 settled on Long Island. Nathan Cooper I, came to Roxiticus, which is now the towns of Mendham, Chester, Washington, Mount Olive and Roxbury. He purchased 1,600 acres (6 km²) of land, and erected a small framed house, in which the family lived for some years. His son, Nathan Cooper II (1725-1797), was born February 22, 1725, and was married in 1748 to Mehitable Seward, great aunt to ex-Secretary of State William H. Seward. They had six children. He died December 20, 1797 and he was buried in the Chester Congregational Cemetery in Chester, New Jersey. His wife died April 15, 1812. Their son, Abraham Cooper (1762-1818), was born February 18, 1762. He was married in 1799 to Anna Wills. Their children were Beulah Ann and Nathan Abraham Cooper. Abraham died September 13, 1818, and his wife April 25, 1856. Nathan A. Cooper, the subject of this article, was born April 20th 1802. His wife, to whom he was married in 1843, was Mary Henrietta, youngest daughter of Dr. John W. Leddel of Ralstontown. Their children were: Anna E.Cooper; Abram W. Cooper; Beulah S. Cooper; Mary L. Cooper; Tillie R. Cooper; Laura H. Cooper; and Nathan A. Cooper. All of whom, as well as their mother, are living. General Cooper died of cardiac rheumatism July 25, 1879.
[edit] Other voices
Gioia Weber writes: "Nathan Cooper in 1825 bought about 4.5 acres of land (in Chester, New Jersey] which included a milldam, sawmill, an old gristmill, and the water wheel for $750. The following year, he replaced the mill with the present stone mill (Cooper Gristmill) and gave the new mill and property to his nephew Nathan A. Cooper. The younger Cooper became a general in the N.J. Cavalry in 1854. He was a wealthy man and also very generous. He had nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Seven of them lived to maturity, and five of those married. To each child upon marriage, he gave a farm or a house. One of these children was Abram to whom he gave the house presently used as the Cooper Mill Visitors Center, adjacent to Cooper Mill on old Route 24 in Chester Township."
[edit] References
- ^ "Mrs. Henry Seward", New York Times, November 12, 1885, Wednesday. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. "Mrs. Henry Seward died at Chester, New Jersey on Monday evening."
[edit] Further reading
- The History of Morris County 1739-1882, published by W.W. Munsell, 1882
