Cooper
(prepared by John W Loder)[Note 1]
| Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Current region |  Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Place of origin |  England |
| Founded | 1812 |
The first Cooper to live in the Random Island area[Note 2] was Edward Cooper (born in 1781, sometimes referred to as “Edward I”) who moved to the community of Ireland’s Eye after marrying Ann (Nancy) Emmery in 1812[1]. We will consider them to be the “First Generation” of the Cooper Family of Random Island.
Edward I and Ann had at least 8 children (the “Second Generation”), several of whom stayed and raised large families of their own in IE or elsewhere on RI. In turn, many of Edward I and Ann’s grandchildren (the “Third Generation”) stayed and raised families in the area. Consequently, Edward I and Ann have a large number of descendants in the RI area.
Pre Random Island
There is some uncertainty regarding the earliest Cooper ancestor of the Random Island Cooper Family to have lived in Newfoundland. It seems most likely that he was William George Cooper, who is believed to have been born around 1758 in England, and who died in 1819 in Grates Cove. William George’s wife was Margaret Elizabeth Thomas who was born in 1760 in either England or Newfoundland, and died in 1842 in Grates Cove. It seems likely that William George and Margaret moved to Newfoundland with their son Edward I in the late 1700s, and settled in Grates Cove.
However, there are reports of a Charles Cooper, son of a West County (England) merchant, settling in Grates Cove around 1705, and of another Charles moving from Lower Island Cove (Conception Bay) to Grates Cove around 1790. There are other reports[2] of Coopers in the Conception Bay and St. John’s areas in the 1700s, such that all of these other Coopers are candidates for early relatives of the RI Coopers in Newfoundland.
Notes
- ↑ John W Loder (JWL) is a great-great grandson of Rachel Cooper and Silas Loader Cooper of Ireland’s Eye. He has carried out extensive research on the Loder and his other ancestral families, including communications with his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cousins descended from Rachel and Silas. He can be contacted at JohnWLoder@gmail.com
- ↑ The term “greater Random Island” here refers to Random Island with Ireland's Eye and nearby small islands included, while the term “Random Island area” refers to greater RI and communities on the mainland sides of Smith and Random Sounds such as British Harbour. This is in contrast to some works (e.g., the books by W.B.W. Martin, see References 9&10) which do not include IE as a part of RI.
References
- ↑ Toope, Eugene (1992). Eye Your Roots’ (and more), The Chronicles, Ireland’s Eye and Rise’s Harbour. Grand Falls – Windsor: E and Eye Enterprises. pp. xi, 221..
- ↑ E.R. Seary, W. Kirwin (1998). Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland. McGill-Queen’s University Press. pp. iv, 574.
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