52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Week #7–Cornelia Gardenier Cooper–My 7th great grandmother

New Amsterdam - a small city on Manhatten Island, New Holland, North America    Screenshot from boweryboyshistory.com

I have not been able to trace many of my lines back this far, so this is a lot of fun for me.

Cornelia Gardenier, my 7th great grandmother on my paternal side, was born about Oct 1691 in New Amsterdam (later to be New York).  I have a record of her baptism.

U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989
Name:    Jan Gardenier
Gender:    Male
Spouse: Sara Van Bremen
Child:    Cornelia Gardenier
The image lists the baptism date as 11 Oct 1691.  She would probably have only been a few days old at the time
Baptismal Record from U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989



According to various biographical sketches I’ve located, she married Obadiah Cooper, before 1713.  I have not located a record of their marriage, yet.  Obadiah was from Fishkill, Dutchess, Colony of New York.  They are reported to have had 12 children.  I have only located records/mention for 9 of them as follows: William, Obadia, Sara, Elyzabeth, Jacob (my direct ancestor), Abraham, Maria, Cornelis & Cornelis/Cornelius.

Questions that come to mind.

• How did they meet?
• Was this Cornelia’s first marriage?  She would have been about 20-22 yrs. old in 1713 or before.  The same question applies to Obadiah who would have been around the same age.  I find no record of a previous marriage, but I always wonder.
• Who were the other 3 children that I have yet to locate?
• How many of the children lived to adulthood?
• What was Cornelia’s cause of death at age 52?
• What hardships did this family endure? 

From Wikipedia these are some of the historical events that occurred during the lifetime of Cornelia, 1691-1748.  How much did these events affect Cornelia’s life, if at all?

1690s

• 1692 - Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts

• 1697 - King William's War ends in North America with the Treaty of Ryswick

Rev. George Whitefield, is often credited for beginning and popularizing a new religious movement known as The Great Awakening all over Colonial America

1700–1759

See Timeline of the American Revolution for events starting from 1760.

1700s

• 1701 - The Collegiate school at Saybrook is founded in Connecticut; it will later be renamed as Yale College
• 1702 - William III dies, is succeeded by Queen Anne
• 1702 - Queen Anne's War (War of the Spanish Succession) begins
• 1702 - East Jersey and West Jersey become crown colonies

1710s

• 1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is signed, bringing an end to Queen Anne's War.
• 1715 - Yamasee War in South Carolina colony
• 1718 - Blackbeard is killed in battle by lieutenant Robert Maynard in the waters off the Province of North Carolina

1720s

• 1725 - Father Rale's War (1722-1725)
• 1727 - George I dies, is succeeded by George II
• 1729 - Province of Carolina proprietors sell out to Crown

1730s

• 1732 - The Province of Georgia is founded by General James Oglethorpe.
• 1735 - John Peter Zenger is found innocent of libel by the New York City trial on August 4th.
• 1739-1740 - George Whitefield begins his travels throughout the colonies. His message of everyday Christians having a personal connection with God resonates and begins the First Great Awakening.

1740s

• 1744 - King George's War (1744-1748)

I find the following references to Cornelia & Obadiah and their family:


Source: Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of the Ancient County of Albany, from 1630-1800, by Prof. Jonathan Pearson, copyright 1872, page 34

Cornelia Gardenier Cooper
Cornelia Gardenier was born in October 1691. She was the daughter of Kinderhook millwright Jan Jacobse Gardenier and his wife, Sara Van Bremen. Her paternal grandfather once lived in Beverwyck.
By 1713, she had married garrison soldier Obadiah Cooper and was living in Albany. By 1735, the last nine of her twelve children had been baptized in the Albany Dutch church where both parents were frequent baptism sponsors.
These Coopers lived in a first ward neighborhood that had been settled by former soldiers. There, she raised her large family with less of a family network than most Albany mothers. Her husband, an Albany newcomer, was a tailor who died in 1742.
Dutch church burial records state that Cornelia Cooper was buried in April 1748.
~ ~ ~
Sources: The life of Cornelia Gardenier Cooper has not yet been assigned a CAP biography number. This profile is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.
By Stefan Bielinski, Colonial Albany Social History Project [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany]

Source: http://www.albany.edu/history/eoah/entries/g/gardenier_cooper_cornelia.htm

Land Transaction from Cornelia, wife of Obediah to Jacob A. Gardenier on 16 May 1721


Source: New York, Albany County Deeds, 1630-1894, Vol 3, Pg 1415, Recorded 1 Mar 1765, Book 7, page 350

Cornelia died 17 Apr 1748 in Albany, New York (or what became that city & state).  She is buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York.  You can visit her findagrave memorial here #62897818.  There is no headstone photo and I cannot submit a request for one because there is already a request on file.

There is a LOT more to the story of my Cooper/Gardenier line and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

If you are connected to this family (and there must be many of you out there), please get in touch with me via my contact information here on the blog.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

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