Peter Cooper (1823 - 1906)

Born 22 Aug 1823 in Morris Co., New Jersey, USA

Descendants

Died 23 Jan 1906 at age 82 in Rochelle, Ogle County, Illinois, US

Biography

COOPER PETER, Farmer; Sec. 12; P. O. Rochelle; born Aug. 22, 1823, in Morris Co., N. J.; went to Franklin Co., O., in 1846; came to Ogle Co., in 1848, an entered 172 acres of land; then returned to N. J., and remained about eighteen months; then returned to Ohio, and in 1854 returned to Ogle Co. and settled on his farm; owns 337 acres valued at $50 per acre, and 1,200 acres in Kas., valued at $6 per acre; married Mary Serick May 29, 1855; she was born Dec. 12, 1836; had twelve children --- ten living: Mary E. (now Mrs. J. Haynes), born May 28, 1856; Garret P., Jan. 14, 1858; Oliver, Dec. 9, 1859; Eda A., Aug 10, 1861; Catherine, Nov. 30, 1862; Albert, Dec. 12, 1866; Minnie, Oct. 1868; William, Nov. 14, 1870; Charles, Jan. 9, 1873; Howard, Aug. 7, 1876.

According to the 1880 USCensus for Flagg, Ogle, Illinois, fifty-seven-year-old Peter Cooper was a married, white, farmer of the Flagg area. He was married to forty-three-year-old Mary Cooper, who kept house. Peter was born about 1823 in New Jersey. The Coopers had a large family of ten living children:

Garret, 22, son, was a farm laborer Oliver, 19, son, was a farm laborer Eda Ann, 18, daughter, was a farm laborer Catharine, 7, daughter, did housework Albert, 13, son, was going to school Minnie, 12, daughter, was going to school William, 9, son Charley, 7, son Howard, 3, son Florence, 7 Mos., daughter

Peter was born in 1823. He came from Newfoundland, NJ, to Ogle County and bought his first land with a soldiers' land warrant for $125. He added 12 acres for $1.25 per acre, making 200 acres. He boasted of building his house, making his furniture and getting married all in one week. His granddaughter, Blanche, owned the land in 1975. He died in 1906.

Sources

• The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing A History of the County---Its Cities, Towns, Etc., A Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, PORTRAITS OF EARLY SETTLERS AND PROMINENT MEN, History of the Northwest, History of Illinois, Map of Ogle County, Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., ILLUSTRATED, Chicago, H. F. Kett & Co., Times Building, 1878, p. 654.
• 1880 United States Census, Flagg, Ogle, Illinois, Family History Film 1254239, NA Film Number T9-0239, page 83C.

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 March 2020), memorial page for Peter Cooper (22 Aug 1823–23 Jan 1906), Find A Grave: Memorial #39904418, citing Lawnridge Cemetery, Rochelle, Ogle County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by ogleCounty (contributor 46623374) .
• * Daughters of The American Revolution, Rochelle Chapter, 5-100-IL, Rochelle, Illinois, May 1900 - May 1975, National Chapter 503, State Chapter 31; pp. 9-10.