Hiram Cooley (abt. 1796 - 1864)

Born about 1796 in South Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Susan (Cochran) Cooley — married 1814 in South Carolina

Husband of Mary Ann (Woodson) Cooley — married 1823 in Greenville County, South Carolina

Descendants

Died 21 Apr 1864 at about age 68 in Greenville, South Carolina, United States

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Biography

Hiram Cooley ...

Hiram Cooley was born in 1796 and passed away in 1864. ^[1][2]

Burial

Hiram Cooley Plantation Cemetery Greenville County, South Carolina, USA. ^[1]

Notes from the FAG Memorial

"Hiram Cooley was the son of Jacob Cooley Jr. and Nancy Gover Cooley.

"Hiram had 12 children, 2 with Susan and 10 with Mary.

"The first bridge built across the Saluda River was built near Pierces Ford and Clarks Ferry in the early 1800's. On March 10th 1836, Hough Poor sold his half interest in the bridge to Hiram Cooley and then on March 16th John C. Cothran also sold his half interest to Hiram. Poor had owned the Anderson county side and Cothran had owned the Greenville County side. The sale include the privilege of landing rights in each county, and also the rights to build and rebuild forever, Since the bridge was now privately owned it became a toll bridge. In 1841, Hiram was given a charter to operate the bridge in his own name, and so was called Cooley's Bridge. During the early days of the bridge people had to pay a toll of 5 cents to walk or ride in a buggy or wagon across the bridge. The people complained that the toll was such an extravagant price, being about a full days wages. But since the ferry was so far down the river and it being dangerous most people decided to pay the toll to cross. The main use of the bridge, was for the Cooley families who lived on both sides of the river. After Hiram's death in 1864, the wooden bridge fell into disrepair, until November 6th 1895, when a contract was given to J.H. Whitner of Knoxville, TN for a steel frame bridge with a wooden floor for $4800. This steel bridge served the public until August of 1927 when it was washed away in a flood. In the early 1930's a new concrete bridge was built a short distance down stream from the old bridge site and the road was rerouted to it, and the road was named Cooley Bridge Road.

"Hiram built his house in 1830 and it stood until it was burned down on January 27th 1983. According to the owner Louise Gaines, she had put wood on the wood stove in the kitchen and then had gone outside for about half an hour. When she returned, the kitchen wall was on fire. Everything was lost. She later rebuilt a brick house on the same site. The site is off the main road (Highway 247), which is called Cooley Bridge Road." ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25824932/hiram-cooley : accessed 13 January 2022), memorial page for Hiram Cooley (1796–2 Apr 1864), Find A Grave: Memorial #25824932, citing Hiram Cooley Plantation Cemetery, Greenville County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Anthony Smith (contributor 46544975)
2. ↑ https://www.ancestry.co.uk/genealogy/records/hiram-cooley_32560991

• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QN-CJH : 23 December 2020), Hiram Corley, Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZT8-HQC : 18 February 2021), Hiram Cooley, 1860.

• Source: Find A Grave, Ancestry, Family Search, and Cooley Family Notebook

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Margaret Cooley for creating Cooley-1131 on 14 Aug 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Margaret and others.