Sand Mountain Melungeon Families

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Cooper, Nancy (1803-1880), third daughter of Isaac and Nancy Cooper of Wayne Co., Ky. Married Jonathan Burke, separated in 1850, widowed in 1876. "In the 1880's Peter Burke [Nancy and Jonathan Burke’s son] loaded an ox wagon and took his mother Aunt Nancy and went to Oklahoma. They were nine weeks on the road. Aunt Nancy rode through on a little bay mare whose name was Teen. I can't forget how she looked when I last saw her. Her last words to my mother were, and I quote, 'Farewell, we'll meet again.'” (W.H. “Huse” Blevins, 1869-1964). Nancy never made it to Indian Territory, where they had Choctaw relatives. She is believed to have died and be buried in the town of Temple, Bell Co., Texas.

Cooper, Peter Isaac (1843-1914), railroader, disabled Civil War soldier. Discharged April 5, 1862 at Yorktown, Va. because he lost a leg. He lived on the old Sellars Place on Sand Mountain five miles south of Long Island and was a sharecropper in Cherokee Co., Ala. and in Jackson Co., Ala. for Ike Hembree. Married Malinda (Lindy) Elizabeth Sizemore, who lived to be over 90 years old and served as midwife for Sand Mountain families (including the author’s mother’s).

Cooper, Robert, merchant, died 1657 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (Calendar of Wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 1657-1660, 530).

Cooper, Robert (Rueben), 1673, citizen and goldsmith of St. Peters Cheape, London. Married Elizabeth Gislingham, daughter of Lady Joane Gislingham, St. Bartholomew’s the Great, London, or St. Vedast parish, June 24, 1673. Patented 200 acres forfeited by Francis Skipper in Lower Norfolk Co., April 20, 1682. Died at sea 1691. Probably the grandfather of William Cooper (about 1725-1782).

Cooper, Samuel (born about 1745 in Granville Co., N.C.), smith, received a Spanish land grant on Sandy Creek dated Feb. 24, 1795. He returned with Absalom Griffin in 1805 and claimed William Cooper's land based on a Spanish grant of Jan. 1, 1793. His will was dated Sept. 18, 1777 (during the American Revolution) and was probably made as a safeguard in case he was killed. Son Samuel Cooper, born about 1765, is the second Samuel on the Spanish censuses. His will does not mention a Christian burial. He is apparently the Samuel Cooper mentioned with the children of Choctaw chief Moshulatubbee (Kings) in Adams Co., Miss.

Cooper, Sarah (1800-1874), second daughter of Isaac and Nancy Cooper of Wayne Co., Ky. Married John Adair, born Adair’s Station near Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 13, 1794, the son of John Adair, Beaver Creek landholder, Revolutionary veteran, and owner of the storehouse for provisions for the Cumberland Settlement under James Robertson, who had come to Baltimore with his father about 1771. Of the Antrim Adairs (Hebrew Adar), who included James Robert (Robin) Adair (died 1783, Robeson Co., N.C.), Scottish trader and adventurer among the Chickasaw and Cherokee who was also author of History of the American Indians.

Cooper, Simon, “the first of the name to become noted in official affairs in England, being appointed Sheriff of London in 1310. This was in the fourth year of the reign of King Edward II. He was the acknowledged ancestor of the great and widespread family of the name in the British Isles. His son, Robert Cooper, became groom of the bed chamber to King Henry V. Descending through several generations, various members of the family have held high positions in official life in Great Britain. Sir John Cooper was the member of Parliament fro the Borough of Whitechurch, Hampshire in 1586. One of his daughters married Robert Baker, envoy of King James to the Spanish throne. His son, John, was created a Baronet July 4, 1622. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Anthony Ashley and through her acquired practically all of the vast estates of the Ashley family” (William Ross Cooper, History of the Cooper and Ross Families of England, Scotland, Ulster & America, 1932). The Ashleys were probably also Jewish in origin, <Heb. Asher, "Assyrian."

Cooper, Thomas (1733-1796), William Cooper’s younger brother, clerk of court living in east Tennessee in Nolichucky or Watauga country near Joseph Martin, the son-in-law of Nancy Ward. Later moved to Georgia. Had a white wife and two Cherokee wives, sisters named Mary and Rebecca. The grandparents of the white wife, Sarah Anthony Clark, were Penelope Bolling (a granddaughter of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury, Lord High Chancellor, and Lord Proprietor of the Carolinas), Christopher Clark (son of Edward Clark, a trader, and Diana Howard, of the same family as the dukes of Norfolk), Isabella Hart (of an old Jewish trading house), and Mark Anthony (Marrano of Amsterdam). Pittsylvania Co., Va.. tax list, 1767. Named executor of John Goode's will in Henry Co., Va., 1779. Thomas Cooper acquired a large tract on both sides of Beaver Creek "adjoining Lomax and Company," July 26, 1791, and in 1793, land on Reedy Creek adjoining Murphey's Line. On Oct. 20, 1779, he had bought 159 acres on Beaver Creek adjoining Shelton in Pittsylvania Co., Va. Henry Co. was cut out of Pittsylvania, and the Coopers had been in the same place (Beaver Creek) all the time. Died in Hancock Co., Ga.

Cooper, Thomas T. (about 1750 – 1821, Pendleton District, S.C.), carpenter and blacksmith, served three years in the Virginia Line, Capt. Nathaniel Reid's company, 14th Regiment, Col. William Davis, during the Revolution.

Cowper, William, 1^st Earl Cowper (1665-1723). Married Judith Booth.

Cooper, William fl. 1655, mentioned as administrator of Justinian Cooper's will (Albert Wallace Cowper, The Cowper family of North Carolina, 1971).

Cooper, William (lived in Norfolk, Va. circa 1700) patented 142 acres on the south side of Daniel Tanner’s Creek in Lower Norfolk Co., June 5, 1678, apparently a tradesman from the West Indies, hence his wife of color, Ann Bailey (“mulatto”). William and Ann Cooper may be buried in England and are possibly the same as a couple named in an old Franciscan burial record from Warwickshire. William Cooper was christened March 02, 1654/55, St. Phillips, Barbados, West Indies.

Cooper, William, cordwinder, St. George’s, Southwark, London, married Elizabeth Lawrence, daughter of Robert Lawrence, a merchant of London, Oct. 27, 1696, St. Katherine by the Tower, Middlesex, London. He witnessed wills in Surry Co., Va., during the 1670s, and after 1700 came to the Americas, adopting his brother Robert’s orphan children and later his nephew James’s orphans. Grandson David Cooper, son of Markham and Sarah Cooper of Warwickshire, England (1725-1792), was a mineral prospector in South Carolina. One of his sons was John Cotton Cooper (1758-1829), a Mississippi plantation owner. In a typical transaction, on Nov. 19, 1751, David Cooper bought 100 acres in Edgecomb Co. from Joe Wilder and sold it in 1755 with profit of 23 pounds. From Nancy Cooper and The Proprietors of Carolina, by William S. Powell, 1963: "Cotton, John, owned the original Anthony Ashley-Cooper share in Carolina in 1729 when the charter was surrendered to the crown. Cotton, who lived in East Barnet near London, was an attorney and a member of the Middle Temple. He acquired his Carolina share in 1727 from his son-in-law, Sir John Tyrell, who had purchased it in 1725 and vested it in Archibald Hutcheson in trust for Cotton. ... Sir John Tyrell of Heron and Woodham Mortimer, Essex, purchased the original Anthony Ashley Cooper share in Carolina from Maurice Ashley prior to May 28, 1725. In 1727 he vested his share in Archibald Hutcheson in trust for John Cotton (whose daughter Elizabeth he had married about 1725).” Cotton was also an antiquarian who endowed Cambridge University with the famous Beowulf manuscript among many others.

Cooper, William (about 1725-1782), North Carolina trader, guide, scout and commissioner for Daniel Boone and Gen. James Robertson. He raised a corn crop in 1775-1776 on the left bank of Otter Creek above Clover Bottom near Boonsboro, said to be the first corn raised in Kentucky (Kentucky State Historical Register, vol. 21, p. 97; Revolutionary War Pension #W3001, Filson Club, Louisville; Deed Books "C", "G" pp. 272 & 374, and "M" p. 134, Wayne Co. Kentucky County Clerk's Office.) Employed by Richard Henderson to assist Boone and others in clearing the Wilderness Road (Record of the Tax, Paid for the paying of, the Militia employed in cutting the road and escorting families from the town and of Clinch Mountain to the Cumberland Settlements August 25th 1789, Part I, by Linda Carpenter, Compiled by E. James Keen, 1997). William Cooper died in the defense of Ft. Nashborough and on Jan. 12, 1783, "The heirs of William Cooper deceased obtained a preemption of 640 acres of land lying on the north side of Cumberland River on the second branch above the mouth of Gasper's Lick Creek about 2 miles up said branch, including a spring and tree marked thus R E running down said branch for compliment" (The Preemptors. Middle Tennessee's First Settlers, Vol. 1, by Irene M. Griffey). On May 10, 1784 the legislature voted a grant in Sumner County to his heirs for the defense of Nashville. Heirs were represented by Henry Labon Cooper, James Cooper, William Cooper, John Cooper and Huston Cooper.

Cooper, William (about 1750 – bef. 1810), old resident of Wayne Co., Ky., married Sarah Green. His mother appears to have been Lydia Chase of New York City.

Cooper, William (1753-after 1820), son of William Cooper, the guide for Daniel Boone, lived mostly in Spanish West Florida among the Choctaw relatives of his mother, Malea Labon. First found in 1787 on the Spanish census of Second Creek district. In 1790, he was back in North Carolina. He took a Choctaw wife (unnamed) about 1800. Their son William Cooper married Susan King, the daughter of Chief Moshulatubbee, and they eventually emigrated to Leflore District, Indian Territory (Choctaw-Chickasaw Citizenship Court Case Files, Case 39. 7RA324, Roll 13). Another son, James Cooper, resided in Tishomingo Co., Miss. with a household of eleven next him in 1837 and also on the 1840 census (p. 232) and in the 1845 state census (that is, he managed to stay in the East and not be removed). William Cooper the father was a partner of the Choctaw trading company Turnbull & Associates. He seems to have left his Choctaw children with their mother Susan, for a William Cooper married the widow Polly Banks Warner and was justice of the peace in Washington Parish, La. (1806). He next entered a land claim in Spanish West Florida (1809). William Cooper is last mentioned as a widower farmer from North Carolina in Spanish Pensacola, Oct. 20, 1820.

Cooper, William, R.S., (about 1725 – 1782) was born in the James River section of Virginia and married Polly Harrison, then moved to Granville Co., N.C., and finally Union Co., S.C. He explored Kentucky with Daniel Boone, who recorded his name as Cook; his family refused to move to Kentucky, however (Leonardo Andrea Papers Roll 80, South Carolina Historical Society, letter from Mr./Mrs. Adlai Robin Yates of Bogalusa, La., Dec. 4, 1955). Parentage unknown.

Cooper, William Labon (1805-1860), second lieutenant, Capt. Fulton's Company D Mounted Georgia Volunteers, in the Mexican War where he served as scout. Married Sarah Glass, daughter of Thomas Glass and granddaughter of Chief Glass, and the family moved to Wilkes Co., N.C. After his brother Isaac’s death, he took care of widow Mahala Jane Cooper in Anawaika. On one of his trips to visit her, he was shot and killed in July 1860 in Dade Co., Ga. (Mortality Schedule).

Cooper, William (1807-1859), son of Thomas Cooper, R.S., born October 19, 1762, in Chester Co., Penn., and Mariah Burton of Fentress Co., Tenn. Campbell Co., p. 218, 1100010000000 000001010000. The female b. 1770-1780 in William's household in Campbell Co., Tenn. 1830 is probably his mother, Thomas' widow, half Cherokee. Joined other Coopers in Anawaika, Ala./Ga. and is listed on the DeKalb Co., Ala. 1840 census. In 1850, he was acting justice of the peace. He was murdered in 1859 (Mortality Schedule, 1860). Son James Cooper, married to Lucinda Hawkins of McMinn Co., Tenn., was elected DeKalb County constable in 1884. He and his family were living in T4 10E of DeKalb County in the 1866 Alabama state census.

Cooper, William (about 1820-1847), first-born of Isaac and Jane (Blevins) Cooper. The military records show that Pvt. William Cooper, Co. K, was killed in action at the battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico, April 18, 1847. He was in the Second Division under Gen. Twiggs, Colonel Harney's First Brigade Mounted Rifles. His widow, Susan Burke, then married his brother James back in Deerhead Cove, Ala., another example of Levirate law.

Cooper, Zachariah (about 1783-1855), son of John Cotton Cooper. Moved from York District, S.C., to St. Clair Co./Lawrence Co., Ala., where three of his children married into the Looney family.

Davis

William Davis was born about 1753 in Hanover Co., Va. He fought in the Revolution and filed for pension, cert. #31986, issued by the Alabama agency, Sept. 18, 1842, under the act of June 7, 1832. In 1787, he signed the State of Franklin petition as William Daves, and he appears on the 1790 tax list in Hawkins Co., Tenn. Around that time, he married Mary Ann Black, a daughter of Black Fox, who had briefly been married to a trader by the name of Pogue. Gen. John Sevier, governor of Tennessee, 1796-1801, mentions "Davis" as a prominent Chickamauga chief. His son William Alexander Davis also became a chief, marrying the daughter of Chief Arthur Burns about 1830. On William Davis' tombstone in Proctor Cemetery, Maynards Cove, Jackson Co., Ala. is: Alabama Pvt Lindsy's Va Regt. Rev. War. According to secondhand information, "In his pension application William Davis stated that he was acquainted with Col. James Lewis in Albemarle County, Va., who resided later in Franklin Co, Tenn. A letter from Col. Lewis stated that he and William Davis were boys in the same neighborhood. The history of Albemarle County, Va. gives the location of Col. James Lewis' residence as being on the western part of the present University of Virginia. William Davis also stated in his pension application that he lived in Albemarle County, Va. at the time of his enlistment." William Davis lived to be 95.

From Chapman Roll:

Hamilton County, TN (Cherokee by Blood)

1609 Nancy Davis 28 w

1610 Eliza Davis 11 d [20563]

1611 James Davis 9 s

1612 Newton Davis 7 s

1613 Wesley Davis 3 s

1614 Sarah Ann Davis 2 d

1615 Nelly Davis 28 w [6292]

1617 *Eliza Ann Davis 15 d

1618 Cynthia Davis 13 d [6292]

1619 Jane Davis 10 d [6292]