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EARLY SETTLERS OF SANGAMON COUNTY - 1876
By John Carroll Power

These biographies were submitted by a researcher and evidently abstracted from the 1876 History of Sangamon County, IL. Errors could occur, so one should always verify the correctness by obtaining copies of vitals and performing all necessary research to document what is contained herein.



COOPER, JOHN, born in 1772, married in South Carolina, and seven of his children were born there. He moved with his family to Jefferson county, Tenn Some of his children preceded him to Sangamon county. He came with his wife Elizabeth, and remaining children, about 1822, to what is now Cooper township. Nine daughters and three sons came to Sangamon county. The following are the names of the daughters, with the surnames of the men they married--

BETSY, Moffit; NANCY, Smith; MARY, Smith; LYDIA, Moore; RACHEL, Bragg; FANNY, Dickerson; LUCY, Mathews; EDITH, Saunders; and SUSANNAH, Keagle.

Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper died March 10, 1845, and John Cooper died April 10, 1846, both in Cooper township. Of their three sons--

COOPER, EPHRIAM, brother to Rev. John and Jacob Cooper. He was born about 1802. in Jefferson county, Tenn., came to Illinois when a young man, married, raised a family in Christian county, and died there Feb. 20, 1847.

COOPER, JOHN, was born June 3, 1794, in South Carolina, and was taken by his parents to Jefferson county, Tenn., where he was married to Susannah Peyton, had one child, JULIA G., and Mrs. Cooper died. Mr. Cooper was married in the same county to Susannah Giger, who was born Sept. 26, 1795, had two children in Tennessee, and moved to Sangamon county, Ill., arriving April 2, 1820, and settled two miles north of where Rochester now stands and one year later moved to what is now Cooper township, south of the Sangamon river. They had nine children in Sangamon county. Of all his children--

JULIA G., born Feb. 1, 1814, married in Sangamon county to John Weich. He died in 1840, leaving three children. JOHN C. died, aged seventeen. WILLIAM H. married Harriet Cooper. He enlisted in 1861 in Co. C, 27th Ill. Inf., for three years, re-enlisted as a veteran Jan. 1, 1864, and was severely wounded. He died January, 1870, and Mrs. Welch died later. They left two children. JAMES S. WELCH is a practicing physician at Sullivan, Moultrie county, Ill. Mrs. Julia G. Welch married Chesley Dickerson. They had one child. SUSANNAH married Dayid Clark, and resides at Breckenridge. Chesley Dickerson died in 1846, and Mrs. Julia G. Dickerson married Daniel D. Johnson. See his name. They reside near Breckenridge.

Children of John Cooper by the second marriage--

MARY A., born Aug. 18, 1817, in Tennessee, married in Sangamon county to Lewis Churchill. See his name.

WILEY S., born July 30, 1819, in Tennessee, married in Sangamon county to Eliza Clawson, and live in Shelbyville.

LEWIS W., born Aug. 5, 1822, in Sangamon county, married to Elizabeth Todd. He died July 19, 1872.

BENJAMIN H., born Nov. 11, 1824, died Aug. 1, 1841, aged seventeen.

PATRICK, born June 29, 1826, in Sangamon county, married Elizabeth Firey, have four children, JOHN H., JACOB P., MARY E. and LAURA B., and reside near Edinburg, Christian county, Ill.

JAMES M., born Aug. 3, 1828, in Sangamon county, married April, 1851, to Mary A. Sutcliffe. They had three children, and all died under five years. Mrs. Cooper died Dec. 29, 1858. James M. Cooper was married Feb. 14, 1860, at Rochester, to Susan Stier, who was born May 19, 1833, in Harrison county, Va. They had four children, EMELINE F., IDA B., JAMES F. and MARY MAUD, and reside in Cooper township, fives miles east of Rochester, on a part of the farm where his parents settled in 1821, and where Mr. Cooper was born.

MIVERVA J., born June 12, 1830, died in Sangamon county March 4, 1842.

SARAH A., born Nov. 2, 1832, in Sangamon county, married William T. Sudduth. See his name.

JOHN S., born Aug. 14, 1836, in Sangamon county, married to Minerva Ross, who was born in Ohio. They have three children, AMY, SARAH ELIZA and ANNIE, and reside at Shelbyville, Illinois.

GEORGE G., born June 8, 1839, in Sangamon county, died Nov. 10, 1842.

Mrs. Susannah Cooper died Sept. 21, 1859, and Rev. John Cooper died January, 1860, both in Cooper township. He was a local minister in the M. E. church, and preached almost as regularly as the ministers in the traveling connection. He solemnized the marriage of many couple among the early settlers. He was a justice of the peace and one of the county commissioners for many years, and when the township organization was affected his name was given to the township in which he lived as a mark of respect to his memory.



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