William Cooper was born about 1699, the son of James and Hester Cooper.1 William grew up on Mulberry Street in Philadelphia, where his father was a shoemaker, and later a shopkeeper. When William was young his mother Hester died. His father did not remarry for sixteen years, about the time that William himself married.

About 1722, William married Mary Groom of Byberry about 1722. She was born about 1700, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Groom. Their marriage was not recorded in Quaker records, either in Philadelphia or Abington (which would have been the monthly meeting for Byberry). William may have met Mary six years before, when her parents sold land to his parents, and Mary served as a witness. She would have been about fifteen, just old enough to witness a deed. In the deed, Thomas and Elizabeth sold 260 acres of land to James Cooper.2 In 1725 James and Hester sold that land to their son Samuel. Years later Samuel would leave most of it to Mary’s children.

It is not clear where William and Mary lived at first. He bought a tract in Southampton, Bucks County, in 1724, but sold it two years later.3 At the time he bought it he was a “husbandman” of Philadelphia County. They were probably living on some of the land in Moreland that his father James bought in 1711. In 1732 James Cooper and his second wife Mary were buried on the same day. William and his siblings inherited valuable land from their father, to be shared equally. The heirs sold the tract in the Great Swamp of Bucks County to John Parratt in February 1734.4 Parratt paid £30, which had to be split among the six heirs. A more valuable inheritance was the land on Mulberry Street between 2^nd and 3^rd Streets, which was shared among the heirs. It was a simple procedure of drawing lots out of a hat, written up in a complex partition deed.5 William and his brothers and sisters met together in the Manor of Moreland and drew the lots. William drew paper number eight, a less valuable tract than the others, but the heirs balanced the values with a system of payments between themselves. Whoever drew lot eight would get yearly payments from the holders of three other lots. This appears to have been an amiable process, since it bound the siblings together in yearly payments for as long as they owned the land. The lots yielded not only payments from other Coopers, but also groundrents from craftsmen and tradesmen who rented there. Soon after, William and Mary sold the rents from their share to John Robinson, a merchant of Philadelphia, for £50.6

By 1734 William and Mary were living in Byberry and were taxed there for 150 acres.7 All six of their children were probably born by then. In 1736 Mary faced a double loss. William died, leaving her with six children.8 In the fall of 1736, her father Thomas died and made her his executor.9 Normally a son would be an executor, but Thomas’ only son William died four years before his father. Thomas left his daughter Mary the residue of 45 pounds reserved for his care, if not expended already. This suggests that she had been caring for him before he died. Her mother Elizabeth had died some time before, leaving him widowed.

William’s brother Samuel Cooper had no children of his own, and was generous to Mary and her children in his 1750 will.10 He left her a plantation “that I bought of her father Thomas Groom deceased”, probably the tract in Moreland that James bought from Thomas Groom and later sold to Samuel.11 After Mary’s death it was to go to her sons Joseph and Samuel. To her other sons Thomas and James, Samuel left two plantations in Buckingham, “to Thomas Cooper that plantation that William Preston did clear out of the woods and to James Cooper the other plantation that Nathan Preston did clear out of the woods”. He also provided for Mary’s daughters. After the death of his sister Rebecca Kelly, Samuel’s land at Huntingdon was to be sold and the proceeds shared between Mary’s daughters Rebecca and Letitia and several of their cousins.12 All six of Mary’s children also got a share of the residual estate.

Mary outlived her husband by many years, dying in the spring of 1772. Henry Tomlinson referred to her as “Mary Groom an ancient widow” in his book of local deaths.13 She was living in Byberry. In her will she named her surviving children. Thomas inherited the plantation she lived on in Byberry. Thomas was also the executor. Her son Joseph received £10, and her sons Samuel and James each got 20 shillings. Her surviving daughter Letitia got the wearing apparel.14 The inventory was taken on April 18, 1772. It itemized her clothes: four petticoats, some gowns, two aprons, a pair of gloves, two shifts, some caps and handkerchiefs. She had few household goods and no farm implements or animals or crops, suggesting that she already considered these as Thomas’ property.

Children of William and Mary:15

Rebecca, b. ab. 1724, d. 1757, m. William Hibbs, had a daughter Rebecca who m. William Trego in 1768.16

Thomas, b. 1726, d. 1805, m. ab. 1750 Phebe Hibbs, daughter of Joseph and Rachel, settled in Solebury. They were members of Middletown Meeting, and later transferred to Wrightstown. Children: Phebe, Thomas, and Mary.

James, b. 1729, d. 1795, m. at Christ Church in 1750 Hannah Hibbs, dau. of William and Ann, 2) 1778 Elizabeth Wager. James and Hannah had eight children, including a son William who became the father of James Fenimore Cooper. They later moved to Chester County, and are buried in West Caln.

Joseph, d. ab. 1730, d. 1789, m. Elizabeth Stevens; lived in Bensalem. Joseph left a will naming sons Joseph and Benjamin, and six daughters: Catherine, Mary, Rebecca, Charity, Ann, and Letitia. Elizabeth was the residual heir and the executor.17

Samuel, b. ab. 1732, m. Grace Ridge, b. 1731, daughter of William and Mary; the Ridge family owned land near the Grooms in Southampton. Samuel is supposed to have “died very old” according to the Cooper Genealogy. He did not leave a will. He and Grace may have had children Grace and William.18

Letitia, b. ab. 1733, m. about 1753 Abraham States, son of Abraham and Elizabeth, lived in Southampton. Letitia died in 1818 when letters of administration were granted on her estate. Abraham died before her.19 The Staats family was originally Dutch and moved to Bucks County from Staten Island. Abraham was christened in April 1730 at the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and died after 1810.20 Children: William, Abraham, Letitia, Cooper.