Benjamin Cooley (1681 - abt. 1745)

Born 28 Oct 1681 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Colonial America

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Bliss) Cooley — married 30 Jan 1701 in Springfield, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 1745 at about age 63 in Greenwich, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Colonial America

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Biography

Unless otherwise noted, extracted from: Cooley, M. E. 1855-1944. (1941). The Cooley genealogy^[1]

Benjamin Cooley was born on 28th Oct 1681^[2] in Springfield (Longmeadow), Hampden, Massachusetts.

He grew up and married there, 30 January 1700/01^[3], Margaret Bliss, daughter of Samuel Bliss and Sarah Stebbins.

Benjamin was an assessor and selectman in Springfield. His service with Major Hawks' company in the Canadian Expedition may qualify descendants for membership in the Society of Colonial Wars.^[4]

In about 1719, the family became settlers in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Benjamin's name appears on court documents there and he was a Town Trustee in 1732.^[5]

He and Margaret at some point moved to Greenwich, Massachusetts as it was being settled. Families there had to farm ten acres. A family story recounts there being many bears and Benjamin catching enough one fall to buy a yoke of oxen, though it is not clear exactly which of the Benjamin Cooley's it refers to.^[5]

Benjamin died about 1745 probably in Greenwich. His children settled the distribution of his property at Brimfield in 1772.^[5]

Children

All born Springfield, Massachusetts:

1. Benjamin, b 5 Nov 1701
2. Keziah, b 29 Oct 1702^[6]; m 1723 Philip Goss
3. Azariah I, b 21 Aug 1704
4. Nathaniel, b 24 Jun 1706
5. Zerniah, b 29 Feb 1709; m Joseph Jennings, Brimfield
6. Margaret, b 30 Jan 1710; m Joseph Morgan, Brimfield
7. Son. A child was also born 19 Aug 1716^[7] which seems to conflict with Ebenezer however a further record exists for 19 Aug 1715^[8] This child died on the 31st of the same month. The image is not clear but I (Meredith-1182 08:44, 7 July 2016 (EDT)) believe that this unnamed infant was born on the 19th August 1715 and died on August 31st, 1715. This fits in with the statement below the list of children.
8. Ebenezer, b 5 Jul 1716.^[9][10]
9. Son, b 22 Feb 1718.^[11]

This was incorrectly transcribed from another record^[12] as 1717 but the image clearly shows 1718; d 23 Feb 1718

O'Neill notes that "the first six sons and daughters all lived to adulthood, as did the eighth child, but the seventh and ninth child died soon after birth", suggesting there was another child born between Margaret and Ebenezer; (see notes against children above) she also suggests a last daughter was born after the move to Brimfield in about 1719.^[5]

Untriangulated DNA Match

Researcher Randolph-1145 has identified an autosomal DNA segment which which may have passed from either Benjamin Cooley or Margaret Bliss to their sons Azariah and Benjamin Cooley: Thomas Fitz Randolph (GEDmatch kit M011134) and R. Douglas Anderson (GEDmatch kit M612162) share a 15.5 cM segment on Chromosome 1 from 190,325,645 to 203,909,013. MRCAs have been tentatively identified as Benjamin Cooley (1681-1745) and Margaret Bliss.

Benjamin was born before 1690. He passed away after 1708.

Sources

1. ↑ Cooley, M. E. 1855-1944. (1941). The Cooley genealogy: the descendants of Ensign Benjamin Cooley, an early settler of Springfield and Longmeadow, Massachusetts; and other members of the family in America. Rutland, Vt.: The Tuttle publishing company, inc. Accessed online at Hathi Trust. Entry No. 263, pp. 457-458. Name: Benjamin Cooley
2. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-WZ4 : 12 December 2014), Benjamin Cooley, 28 Oct 1681; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
3. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJJ-1HW : 12 December 2014), Benjamin Cooley Jr. and Margerit Bliss, 30 Jan 1701; citing p 132, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
4. ↑ Benjamin's service in the Canadian Expedition is often cited, but may need to be verified. A quick check for Major Hawk's company in a Canadian Expedition only finds references to a campaign in 1758-1760, which is well after Benjamin's death.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Donna O'Neill, 2011, My American Family. Xlibris Corporation, pp. 127-128. Accessed at Google Books.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-8G9 : 12 December 2014), Cooley, 29 Oct 1702; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-VZK : 12 December 2014), Cooley, 19 Aug 1716; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJN-C4D : 12 December 2014), Cooly, 19 Aug 1715; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJN-C4F : 12 December 2014), Ebenezer Cooley, 05 Jul 1716; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414. (Image is a transcription)
10. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-VZG : 12 December 2014), Ebenezer Cooley, 05 Jul 1716; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414. Image is a transcription)
11. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-KXJ : 12 December 2014), Cooley, 22 Feb 1718; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.
12. ↑ "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJN-88Z : 12 December 2014), Cooley, 22 Feb 1717; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.

See also:

• Andrew Wood Cooley Family Association, "The Ancestors of Andrew Wood Cooley: Section I," in The Family of Andrew Wood Cooley, 2003, Book Design & Typesetting by Mary Benton Judy. Some excerpts are posted on Ancestry family trees, e.g. Nugent Ancestry Family Tree; Has a quarter-page biosketch of Benjamin Cooley and Margaret Bliss which presents the same information about Brimfield and Greenwich noted from the later O'Neill reference.

• AGBI entry for Benjamin Cooley

• Cooley, Mortimer E. The Cooley Genealogy: the Descendants of Ensign Benjamin Cooley. (Rutland, VT., M. E. Cooley, 1941).
• "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC3Q-LQM : 24 January 2020), Benjamin Cooley Jr., 1701.

• "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJJ-1HW : 9 February 2018), Benjamin Cooley Jr. and Margerit Bliss, 30 Jan 1701; citing p 132, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springfield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.

• "Massachusetts, Springfield Vital Records, 1638-1887," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPJX-X94 : 9 February 2018), Zeruiah Cooley birth, 29 Feb 1708; citing , Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, Springfield City Hall; FHL microfilm 185,414.