Moses Cooper, Esq.

Moses was born in about 1710 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island. He was probably the son of Thomas Cooper and Hannah Armstrong.

When Moses was about 22 he married Mary (Mathewson) Cooper (1710-) on 10 December 1732, in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island. [1]

The couple had 9 children: [2]

Sarah Cooper, b. 22 Sep 1733
John Cooper, b. 22 Jun 1735
Mary Cooper, b. 30 May 1737
Martha Cooper, b. 16 Sep 1739
Moses Cooper, b. 17 Nov 1741
Ruth, b. 19 Nov 1749
Nathan Cooper, b. 25 Jul 1747
Dorcas Cooper, b. 29 May 1750
Stephen Cooper, b. 19 May 1752
Lydia Cooper, b. 3 Jul 1754

Children born to Moses and Mary Cooper in Glocester, Rhode Island
In "A brief history of the town of Glocester, Rhode Island : preceded by a sketch of the territory while a part of Providence". by Perry, Elizabeth A, Moses is mentioned as always collecting items for the soliders of the Revolution. (Page 27)

Moses provided Civil Service during the American Revolution - he served as Justice of the Peace for Glocester 1768-1780. [3]

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cooper-29546

Cooper-29546 created 24 Dec 2020 | Last modified 28 Apr 2021

Moses Cooper (abt. 1710 - 1805)

Moses Cooper

Born about 1710 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling%28s%29 unknown]

Husband of Mary (Mathewson) Cooper — married 10 Dec 1732 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island

Father of Sarah (Cooper) Taft, John Cooper, Mary (Cooper) Godfrey, Martha (Cooper) Mathewson, Moses Cooper Junior, Nathan Cooper, Dorcas Cooper, Stephen Cooper and Lydia (Cooper) Norwood

Died 15 Jun 1805 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

In the 1790 census Moses (age about 80) was living in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.[4]

In the 1800 census Moses (age about 90) was living in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.[5]

Moses died at the age of about 95 on 15 June 1805 in Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.[6]

Moses wrote his will in 1802, and it was proved 11 May 1805.

Moses Cooper Will written 1802, proved 1805

Research Notes

Daughter Sarah married Nathan Taft. Son John Cooper no further record. Daughter Mary married Joshua Godfrey. Daughter Martha Cooper married Daniel Matheson. Son Moses Cooper Jr married Susan Mathewson. Son Nathan Cooper married Waity Wiliams. Dorcas Cooper - no further records Stephen Cooper married Esther Evans. Lydia Cooper married Micajah Norwood.

Sources

↑ Marriage: "Rhode Island Marriages, 1724-1916", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8VJ-R48 : 22 January 2020), Moses Cooper, 1732.
↑ Births: Vital record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850 : a family register for the people, Vol. 3, Glocester, Births, Page 49 https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/267377-vita... (Page 84 online)
↑ Civil Service: Smith Joseph Jencks, “Civil and military list of Rhode Island. 1647-1800. A list of all officers elected by the General assembly from the organization of the legislative government of the colony to 1800.” Providence, R.I., Preston and Rounds co., 1900. Page 271 https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101072336454?urlappend=%3Bseq=313
↑ 1790 Census:"United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKT-CY4 : accessed 24 December 2020), Moses Cooper, Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; citing p. 239, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 10; FHL microfilm 568,150.
↑ 1800 Census: "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH55-RYH : accessed 24 December 2020), Moses Cooper, Glocester, Providence, Rhode Island, United States; citing p. 109, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 45; FHL microfilm 218,680.
↑ Death: Vital records of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : first series : births, marriages and deaths : a family register for the people by Arnold, James N. (James Newell), Publication date 1891 Publisher Providence, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Pub. Co. Volume 13 Page 297 https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofrh06arno/page/296/mode/2up

Moses Cooper, Sr. and Esquire was born in 1709 - 1710 of Glocester, Providence County, Rhode Island, and his death was reported as June 15, 1805, in the Providence Gazette. His burial place is unknown.

family

He was the 10th child of Thomas Cooper and Hannah Armstrong, and was mentioned in his father's 1712 will.

He married Mary Mathewson on 10 Dec 1732

Their children

• 1) Sarah Cooper [1733-] + sp: Nathan Taft [1738-1817]
• 2) John COOPER (b.1735)
• 3) Mary Cooper [1737-] + sp: Nathan Taft [1738-1817]
• 4) Martha COOPER (b.1739) + sp: Daniel MATHEWSON (b.1738 m.1764)
• 5) Moses Cooper Jr. [1742-1837] + sp: Susannah Mathewson [1744-1842]
• 6) Ruth COOPER (b.1744) + sp: Nathan GLEASON (b.1740 m.1806)
• 7) Nathan Cooper [1747-1823] + sp: Waity Williams [1754-1835]
• 8) Dorcas COOPER (b.1750)
• 9) Stephen Cooper [1772-] + sp: Esther Evans [1754-1818]
• 10) Lydia Cooper [1754-1852] + sp: Micajah Norwood [1758-1819]

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biography

from a 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by Gordon S. Wood titled The Radicalism of the American Revolution in which the author refers to him in a paragraph on page 172:

"Take, for example, the lifelong struggle of farmer and sawmill owner Moses Cooper of Glocester, Rhode Island, to rise from virtual insignificance to become the richest man in the town. In 1767-68, at the age of sixty, Cooper was finally able to hire sufficient slaves and workers to do all his manual labor; he became a gentleman and justice of the peace, and appended 'Esq.' to his name. Cooper...had made his money from lumber. Yet at the same time Cooper knew only too well the precariousness of his wealth and position and naturally feared what Britain's mercantile restrictions might mean for his lumber sales to the West Indies. What had risen so high could as readily fall: not surprisingly, he became an enthusiastic patriot leader of his tiny town of Glocester."

However, in March of 1788 he was among the freemen who voted against Rhode Island's adoption of the new Constitution.

His death in 1805 was reported not only in the Providence Gazette but also in the Boston Commercial Gazette.

• Thomas Cooper's will dated Dec 30, 1711/12. Thomas died on Jan. 6th, 1711/12 and it names his children (I find 10 children mentioned in this will)
• http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/cooper/16933/
• Moses Cooper in [Ancestry.com. 1800 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Second Census of the United States, 1800. NARA microfilm publication M32 (52 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National] link
• Find A Grave Memorial# 29300201
• page 1045 of New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial By William Richard Cutter. Moses Cooper, son of Thomas Cooper.
• page 172 of The Radicalism of the American Revolution By Gordon S. Wood
• Moses Cooper's Tale of Wealth and Status: A Case-Study of Rural Rhode Island 1674-1808 by Tom Brownsword (Thesis) from Brown University History Department, Dated: April, 1986. http://enfieldpublishingofmt.com/catalog.html. "We know little of people like Cooper; we know not much more about towns like Glocester, RI. To tell the story of his life requires that tell a part of the story of Glocster, too. Other families included are Sprague, Inman, Eddy, Arnold, Armstrong, Steere, Jenck.". (129 pages)
• http://ancestryisland.blogspot.com/2014/12/working-on-wednesday-mos...