WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ My 5th great grandparents–Obadiah F. Cooper & Lena Albrecht–1781 in New York

Today I present the marriage record of my paternal 5th great grandparents, Obadiah F. Cooper and Lena Albrecht.   They married on 8 Jun 1781 in Albany, New York.

I located their marriage record in the U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-2000.  I have found many of my ancestor’s records in this record set.

Here is the index

Name:    Lena Albrecht
Event Type:    Marriage
Gender:    Female
Spouse:    Obadia Cooper
Spouse Gender:    Male
Marriage Date:    8 Jun 1781
Marriage Place:    Albany, Albany, New York, USA

Here is the image of their marriage

Notice in the image, there is another Obadiah Cooper (5 lines down) who marries Lena Helburg.  We know that we run across people with the same names, frequently, in our research.  It's the sum total of what we find for each individual or couple, that gives us the evidence we need to conclude we have the correct person.

I have little information about Obadiah and Lena.  I do have church records indicating they had 2 daughters, both named Cornelia. I believe the first Cornelia born 22 May1786 may have died young.  The second Cornelia was born 16 Nov 1787. There was then a son born 25 Dec 1793 named Jacob.  He sadly died from exposure while intoxicated, at the age of 33.  I wrote about his death here ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Jacob Cooper found dead from exposure–Dec 1827, New York

I am connected to this couple as follows

Obadiah Cooper & Lena Albecht – 5th great grandparents

Jacob Cooper & Mary Polly Byrne/O’Brian – 4th great grandparents

Lany Cooper & Monson Thorp, Sr. – 3rd great grandparents

Horace Henry Thorp, Sr. & Catherine Dorsey – 2nd great grandparents

Mae Eve Thorp & William Vivaldo Gould – great grandparents

Harry Whipple Gould & Marie Wallace Lindsay – grandparents

Harry Norman Gould & Patricia Anne Milne – parents

If someone mentioned in this blog post is also connected to you, please get in touch.  I’d love to hear from you.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2021   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

ANCESTORS IN THE NEWS ~ Jacob Cooper found dead from exposure–Dec 1827, New York

Jacob Cooper is my 4th great grandfather.  He died at age 33, from exposure, as stated in the article below.

The Geneva NY Palladium - 12 Dec 1827

Here is my transcription of the article:

Intoxication - A man named Jacob Cooper perished in Conquest, Cayuga county, N.Y. a few days since, from being exposed to the cold while intoxicated.  He had been at a husking frolic and was not able to reach his home.  His family did not go to seek him until the morning when they found him lifeless.

At this time, Jacob and his wife Mary “Polly” BYRNE Cooper had 6 children at home.  The oldest Lany was 12 (she is my 3rd great grandmother) and the youngest was Deborah Jane, an infant born that same year, 1827.  Imagine how difficult it must have been for this family.

 

I don’t have any records that tell me what Jacob did for a living.  However, a later probate record does reveal he owned some land.  I hope that was able to give some relief, financially, to the widow and her six children.

Mary did remarry four years later to Benjamin COSGROVE and they had 3 children together.

For more about Jacob’s daughter, my 3rd great grandmother, please read this post about my search for her parents.  I was so very happy to finally take this family back several more generations - MYSTERY MONDAY–Who’s Your Daddy? Brick Wall Post #6–Lany Cooper Thorp 1815-1886-SOLVED! 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks–Post #2–My 5th great grandparents, Obadiah Cooper (about 1750-?) & Lena Albrecht (about 1761-?)

I have next to nothing on this set of paternal 5th great grandparents.
  

Here’s how their family view looks in my Legacy database.  Pretty sparse, right?

They are mentioned in the book 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.

(Please click on any image to enlarge it)

Although I have placed a red heart next to the Cooper’s I have attached to my tree, I strongly suspect most or all of the Cooper’s living in the area at this time, are somehow connected.

What more can I learn about my 5th great grandparents, Obadiah and Lena, by spending time researching them today?

I’ve found this, from the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Although, I’ve always placed little relevance to this source because I’ve never looked directly at the actual item reference, this can give us clues as we look further.

Name: Obadiah Cooper
Birth Date: 1752
Birthplace: New York
Volume: 34
Page Number: 195
Reference: Gen. Column of the " Boston Transcript". 1906-1941.( The greatest single source of material for gen. Data for the N.E. area and for the period 1600-1800. Completely indexed in the Index.): 19 Aug 1931, 820

One of the hints on Ancestry is the U.S., Revolutionary War Pensioners, 1801-1815, 1818-1872

Obadiah certainly would have been about the right age to have served during the Revolutionary War.  But, with so many Obadiah Coopers in the New York area, I cannot determine if this is actually him.
 
Another record is also a possible match, but I can’t confirm this one either. U.K. and U.S. Directories, 1680-1830, which is indexed as follows:

Name: Obadiah Cooper
Dates: 1801-1825
Location: Albany New York
Gender: Male
Address(es): 150, s. Pearl, Albany, New York
Source Date: 1814
Source Info: Listed in The Albany Directory ... June 1, 1814, 1814, FRY, Joseph. Albany; Printed by H.C. Southwick, and Packard & Van Benthuysen

Further research shows a reference to an Alphabetical Roster of the State Troops for New York in the Revolution.  You can see that there were 9 Obadiah Coopers listed.
 

I have been able to locate the marriage record for Obadiah & Lena in the U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989.  I’ve found this record set contains many of my family members and has given me great clues to go forward with.

After a couple of hours of poking around on Ancestry, I’m really no further ahead with this ancestor.  Let me go take a look on MyHeritage and Family Search.  As we know, FindAGrave records are included on the Ancestry website.  However, I will still do my own search on FindAGrave.

The searches on My Heritage, Family Search and FindAGrave did not turn up any further information for me.

What’s next?  I am going to add my Cooper family to my To Do list for my visit to the Family History Library in late February.  I will be attending the Rootstech conference.  But, my friend, Pam, and I will be staying extra days in order to spend time at the FHL.  This will be my 4th visit there and I always find new information.

I’ll update you as to what, if anything, I turn up for this family.

CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO MY OTHER 52 ANCESTORS POSTS

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2020   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

SUNDAY’S OBITUARY ~ James A. Cooper, my 3rd great granduncle (1822-1907)

Transcription of this obituary

JAMES A. COOPER
The Optic is called upon to chronicle the death of another well known and respected resident of Walton and a pioneer, Mr. James Cooper, whose death occurred Thursday, March 14th, after a long illness.
James A. cooper was born May 31st, 1822 in the township of Conquest, Cayuga Co., New York and departed this life March 14th 1907 at his home in Walton, Eaton Co., Mich., aged 84 years 9 months and 14 days, where he has resided since 1863.  At the age of 14 he came to Mich. with his uncle Aaron Brooks and settled in the township of Kalamazoo, section 36. At the age of 17 he removed to Bellevue and learned the blacksmith trade which he followed for 35 years.  He married Jan 1st, 1850 to Miss Maria Thornton who survives him.  To this union three children were born: Edward, who died aged three years; Jennie, wife of Simeon Cole who died Oct. 25, 1889 and Marvin by who he was cared for in declining years.  Mr. Cooper was of genial disposition, a kind husband and father, a good neighbor and an honest man and had many warm friends.  Thus one by one the old pioneers, those hardy, fearless men and women who converted a wilderness into land of plenty and comfort, pass on to the great beyond.
Funeral from his late home Sunday at ten o'clock conducted by Prof. Wright of Olivet. Burial at Bellevue.

James is my 3rd great granduncle on my paternal side.  He is the son of my 4th great grandparents.

Here’s how we are connected

Jacob Cooper & Mary Polly Byrne – my 4th great grandparents

Lany Cooper & Munson Thorp – my 3rd great grandparents

Horace Henry Thorp & Catherine C. Dorsey – my 2nd great grandparents

Mary “Mae” E. Thorp & William Val Gould – my great grandparents

Harry W. Gould & Marie Lindsay – my paternal grandparents

Harry Norman Gould – my Dad

James A. Cooper was one of 6 children born to Jacob Cooper and Mary Polly Byrne.  After Jacob’s death in 1827, at the young age of 33, Mary remarried to Benjamin B. Cosgrove and together they had 3 children, giving a total of 9 children born to Mary.

James was the 4th born and would have grown up in the house with most of those 9 children.  Since he was born in 1822 in Conquest, Cayuga, New York, I wonder what their life was like? The town of Conquest was formed in 1821, just the year prior to James’ birth. James became a blacksmith and it makes me wonder if that was the occupation of his father, Jacob?

The current population of Conquest, New York is only 1,759.  So, it probably was a very small community back when James and his parents and siblings lived there.  The town is located between Rochester and Syracuse, New York and not far from Lake Ontario.

Here’s a map showing the location of Conquest in New York state.

Here is an 1825 map of Cayuga County, showing the location of Conquest within the county.

When James was 14 he moved to Michigan, settling at age 17 in Bellevue.  At age 20 he married Maria M. Thornton and together they had 3 children.  A son Edward who died at age 3 yrs., a son James Marvin who lived to age 73 and a daughter, Mary Jane who died at 30.

Both James and his wife Maria M. Thornton are buried at Bellevue Cemetery, in Eaton Co., Michigan.  You may visit their memorials here #82081824 and #82082051.

If you are related to this family I would love to hear from you. 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

Surname Saturday – Copper – Have I really gone back 3 more generations?

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

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ MY 4th GREAT GRANDPARENTS–William Ewan and Ann Cooper–1773 in Scotland

Celebrating the marriage of William Ewan & Ann Cooper 1773

Today I’m featuring my maternal 4th great grandparents, William Ewan/Ewen and Ann Cooper.  I have next to nothing in the way of information about this couple and I’m hoping that by writing a blog post I can connect with some cousins.

I am descended from William & Ann’s daughter Margaret Ewen born about 1787¹ probably in Scotland and died 17 May 1864² in Bridgend, Glentanar, Aberdeen, Scotland.  Margaret married Archibald Ritchie 26 Nov 1809 in Kincardine, O’Neil, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  Archibald Ritchie was born 10 Jul 1786⁴ in Dee Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and died 16 May 1850².

I was able to obtain the names of Margaret Ewen’s parents from her death record.¹  And, from there I located the marriage register for William Ewen and Ann Cooper.

Other than that one piece of information, I have not been able to locate birth, death, census or burial records for them.  I’m hoping that an upcoming trip to the Family History Library will help me find more information.

Here is the image of their marriage record from 2 Dec 1773 in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.



Dec 2d Ewan & Cooper – William Ewan & Ann Cooper both in this our parish of Aboyne contracted on Nov 14th & their matrimonial banns being legally proclaimed.

I descend from William Ewen & Ann Cooper as follows

Margaret Ewen & Archibald Ritchie – 3rd great grandparents

Margaret Ritchie & Charles Milne – 2nd great grandparents

Andrew Charles Milne & Susan Anne Gillespie – great grandparents

Joseph Albert Milne & Florence Lee Nora Bowden – grandparents

Patricia Ann Milne – my Mom

If you are descended from any of these people and would like to exchange information, I’d love to hear from you.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

WEDDING WEDNESDAY–What is the earliest recorded marriage in my tree?  And How Did I Determine That?

WEDDING WEDNESDAY ~ Andrew Charles Milne & Susan Anne Gillespie–married in 1880

Sources: 1 – Scotland Register of Deaths -  Bright Solid Online Publishing, "scotlandspeople.org," database, Scotland's People (www.scotlandspeople.org : accessed 12 May 2014), entry for the death of Margaret Ritchie; citing Statutory Deaths 170/00 0010 for 1864;
2 – The Kirkyard of Glenmuick - Spiers, Sheila M., editor. The Kirkyard of Glenmuick.  2002. Reprint, Aboyne: Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society, Reprinted 2005, 2007, 2010.
3 – Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910 - Ancestry.com. Scotland, Select Marriages, 1561-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data: Scotland, Marriages, 1561-1910. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.
4 – Scotland census 1841 - 1841 census of Scotland, Bridgend, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, enumeration district (ED) 4, page 2, Archiblad & Margaret Ritchie & 3 children; digital images, Scotland's People (www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk : accessed 12 May 2014); citing citing 1841 Scotland census, Reels 1-151.

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

FOLLOW UP ~ The Jacob Jansz Gardenier line of Colonial New York–My 9th great grandfather

After my post about my 7th great grandmother, Cornelia Gardenier, a few days ago, I’ve been contacted by several descendants.  You may view that post HERE.

I figured there must be a lot of descendants out there since there were many children born to the couples I’ve been researching.

The information seen in my database is not taken from other family trees and copied.  I have found, where I can, sources such as church records to document the information.  Some of it has come from published family genealogies, some with sources, some without.  Where it is without, I have indicated that in my research notes and will continue to search for documentation.

Here are screen shots from my Legacy database that show family groups – parents and children and show their relationship to me. I’ll begin with the furthest one back.

I know I still have a LOT of work to do.

 (PLEASE CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT)

JACOB JANSZ GARDENIER who married JOSYN (Maiden Name Not Known)

My 9th great grandparents

JAN JACOBSE GARDENIER who married SARA SAARTJE JANSE VAN BREMEN

My 8th great grandparents

CORNELIA GARDENIER who married OBADIAH COOPER

My 7th great grandparents

JACOB COOPER who married Josina ORCHARD

My 6th great grandparents

OBADIAH COOPER who married LENA ALBRECHT

My 5th great grandparents

JACOB COOPER who married Mary “Polly” BRYNE OR O’BRIAN

My 4th great grandparents

LANY COOPER who married MONSON THORP, Sr.

My 3rd great grandparents

I’ll stop the screen shots here, as we’ve gone pretty far down the line.

Please get in touch with me if you have information to add or have corrections I need to make.  I do realize that we are going pretty far back on these lines, so all the information may not match up perfectly.  We can all do the best we can to document our ancestors, using proper sources and documentation.  This is always my goal. 

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

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

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Mary Cooper Swart–1729 to 1792–Albany New York

Photo placed on findagrave.com by Chip Rowe and used with permission

Headstone Inscription

Momento Mori

In Memory of Mary Swart

Wife of Evert Wynkoop Swart

Born Nov^r 1^st 1720:

Departed this Life March 7^th 1792:

Aged 61 Years 3 Months & 25 Days

A good Name is better than precious Ointment

And the Day of Death than the Day of ones Birth

Reader whoe’er thou art, behold they Doom

Time hurries onward to the silent Tomb;

Improve the Day of Grace before too late

The gloomy Monarch close your final Fate

This is the first time I’ve seen the words “Momento Mori” on a headstone.  I had to look up what it meant.  According to several websites, including Wikipedia, it is Latin for “remember you have to die.”  Other variations included “remember that you must die.”

NOTE: If you do the calculation of her birth date, based on here age at death, as stated on her headstone, it does not match the birth date given. Based on 62 years, 3 months & 25 days, her birthdate would have been 10 Nov 1729, not 1 Nov.  However, she was baptised on the 9th of November, so I’m concluding that the date of November 1st is correct and that the math for the age on the stone was done incorrectly.

I’ve been studying my Cooper line this past week.  My 3rd great grandmother, Lany Cooper married Monson Thorp, Sr.  It took me years to track down the Cooper line, but since doing so, I have traced them back to my 7th great grandparents, Obadiah Cooper and Cornelia Gardenier who were both born in New York circa 1690.

Maria “Mary” Cooper Swart is one of the 10-12 children born to Obadiah & Cornelia Cooper.  She is my 6th great grandaunt.  She married Evert Wynkoop Swart and they had one known child, John Swart.

Here is her baptismal record from the records of the U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989.  The name Cooper is also spelled Couper in some records.

I have not yet located the marriage record for Evert Swart & Maria Cooper.  However, I have located her probate record, in which she leaves everything to her “beloved” husband, Evert and her son, John.  I’ll transcribe that probate in another post.

Mary is buried at the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church Cemetery in Fishkill, Dutchess, New York.  You can visit her memorial here #76417698.

The cemetery is located at 1153 Main St., Fishkill, Dutchess, New York.  According to FindAGrave there are 567 interments at the cemetery.  Mary is the only Swart documented.  Here husband and her son are not buried with her.  There are 15 Coopers at the cemetery.  One of them is her brother, Cornelius Cooper.

I’m excited to continue my research on this Cooper line.  They are proving to be an interesting group. And, there are LOTS of them.

 

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

SURNAME SATURDAY - COOPER - Have I really gone back 3 more generations?

TUESDAY'S TIP - U.S. Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-2000

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION