Cooper, Alexander

Published: 3 Dec 2014, Updated: 24 Sep 2020
Page contributors: Rosann Beauvais, Andrew Millard, Teresa Rust, Marcia Armstrong.
Editor: Teresa Rust

According to Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell, in, Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018),³ on page 249, Alexander is categorized as: Probable [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity] Cooper/Copper, Alexander/Allexander/Sander. Residences: South Berwick ME. Appears: 1662. D.1684. Associated with other Scots from the Kittery sawmills. [Exiles; Banks; DR; SPOWS; Ch.7 & 8]⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹ For explanations of the category, abbreviations and references see List of Dunbar prisoners from Lost Lives, New Voices.

First Generation in the New World

1. ALEXANDER¹ COOPER, aka SANDER COOPER, was born probably about 1625, in Scotland and died at Berwick, Maine between 9 Feb 1683 (date of will) and 28 Feb 1684, probate (suggested date of 11 Nov 1683)¹⁰ He married at Berwick, Maine, by 1654, (_____).¹¹¹²

Biographical Notes:
Alexander¹ Cooper worked as an indentured servant at the sawmills in Kittery, Maine and is referred to as “Sander Cooper” in Court records in 1662. “His family should be carefully distinguished from that of “Phillip Cooper the Walloon,” who had a grant of land in York, in 1673.”¹³ Alexander¹ was an acquaintance and friend of SPOWs: James Warren, George Gray and Peter Grant, which is shown by their mention in Alexander¹ Cooper’s Will and his leaving the care of his only son, John² Cooper, “…unto my Loueing freinds…” (SEE IMAGE ON PAGE 2)¹⁴ On 9 July 1662, John Neale, a SPOW from the Town of Kittery, sold land (a portion of which he had previously bought 15 July 1656 from another SPOW, Alexander Maxwell, that just so happened to lay on the Northside of James Warren’s lot), to Alexander¹ Cooper, also of the Town of Kittery. The 25 acres were located on the Northeast side of Pischataqua River, “…being neare a place Commanly Called by the name of Whittes Marsh…”¹⁵ Later, it is recorded, “that the selectmen and inhabitants of the parish of Unity, on the 13th of April, 1671, granted sixty acres of land to Alexander Cooper, and as many more to George Gray, by virtue of a general act of the town, made the 24th of June last past.”¹⁶ Alexander¹ Cooper’s land grant location was on the brook coming out of Wilcox pond in Berwick. There is also indications that these Scots did not adapt to the norms and values of the mainstream inhabitants. “In 1669, the York County Court admonished Sander [Alexander] and his wife, as well as John Taylor and several other Scotsmen, [Including SPOW James Warren] “for using profane speeches” and referring to the “divell” in their “common talk.” A few years later, Sander’s daughter Sarah married Scotsman George Gray, who paid his young wife’s fine “for breach of sabboth & for strikeing of Patience Everington.””¹⁷

Children of Alexander and (_____) Cooper:
2. i. SARAH² COOPER, (Alexander), born at Kittery/Berwick about 1656 and died at Kittery in 1726. She may have married, first, at Kittery in July 1672, GEORGE GRAY., and may have married, second, after 30 Aug 1693 and before 1697/8, FRANCIS HARLOW. 4 Jan 1697/8 Court Sessions at York, Maine: “We present ffrancis Herloe for swearing he would cut his wiues throat.”¹⁸
2. ii. JOHN² COOPER, b. at Berwick before 9 Feb 1667; Will d. 13 May 1759 in Berwick; m. in Kittery 13 Dec 1692 SARAH LORD.

Second and Third Generations

2. SARAH² COOPER (Alexander¹) was born at Kittery/Berwick, Maine about 1656. She may have married, first, at Kittery, in July 1672, GEORGE GRAY.¹⁹. She married, second, after 30 Aug 1693, FRANCIS HARLOW. Both were still living 1726. (SEE IMAGE ON PAGE 2)²⁰

Biographical Notes:

Children of SARAH² (COOPER) and GEORGE GRAY:

3. i. GEORGE³ GRAY (Sarah², Alexander¹), b. in Maine in 1675; d. in 1723. “… in captivity in 1692 at Montreal, Canada [age 17]. Chose to remain in Montreal “for love of religion” He was deceased without heirs in 1723.”²¹²²
3. ii. ROBERT³ GRAY (Sarah², Alexander¹), b. prob. at Berwick, Maine in 1680; d. in 1771; m. (1) 12 Jun 1701, ELIZABETH GOODWIN, daughter of William Goodwin and Deliverance Taylor; m. (2) in 1706, ELIZABETH FREETHY, daughter of James Freethy and Mary Milbury.²⁰
3. iii. ALEXANDER³ GRAY (Sarah², Alexander¹), b. at Berwick in 1680; d. at Berwick in 1725: m. ELIZABETH HARLOW, dau. of Francis Harlow (Frances Harlow m. Sarah² Cooper, Alexander Gray’s widowed mother).²⁰
3. iv. JAMES³ GRAY (Sarah², Alexander¹), b. at Berwick in 1688; d. in 1726; m. (1) abt 1709, (_____) HARLOW, a dau. of Francis Harlow (Frances Harlow m. Sarah² Cooper, James Gray’s widowed mother), m. (2) at Kittery, 30 Aug 1711 MARTHA GOODWIN, dau. of Moses Goodwin and Abigail Taylor (who was dau. of John and Martha (___) Taylor.²³²⁰
3. v. SARAH³ GRAY (Sarah², Alexander¹), b. abt 1692, m. (1) JOSEPH JELLISON; m. (2) NICHOLAS CANE. Not in father’s will.²⁴

Children of SARAH² (COOPER) and FRANCIS HARLOW:
UNKNOWN TO THIS AUTHOR

2. JOHN² COOPER (Alexander¹) was born at Berwick before 9 Feb 1667. He married at Berwick on 13 Dec 1692, SARAH LORD, daughter of Nathan Lord and Martha Everett.¹¹²⁵)²⁶²⁷²⁸

Biographical Notes:
In Alexander¹ Cooper’s Will, he states that John² was his ONLY SON, aged sixteen years at the writing of the will on 9 Feb 1683. John’s own Will was dated 13 May 1759.¹⁴ John is listed amongst others affected by the “…ravages of the Indians in the first year of Queen Anne’s War…” There was a petition sent to General Court requesting an abatement of the 1704 taxes because the people just could not raise the money. “The Court resolved, “that the Sum of Thirty-eight pounds be abated to the poor of the town of Kittery.”” The individual amounts were to be determined by the Kittery Selectmen based upon them knowing who “…have met with most sufferings by the Heathen.” John Cooper received an abatement in the amount of 7 s. It is worth noting that his mother-in-law, referred to on this list as “Widdow Martha Lord,” received an abatement in the amount of 8 s.²⁹

Children of JOHN² and SARAH (LORD) COOPER:
3. i. ALEXANDER³ COOPER (John², Alexander¹), b. in Kittery, 28 Dec 1697.²⁵)²⁶³⁰
3. ii. JOHN³ COOPER, Jr (John², Alexander¹), b. in Kittery, 7 Oct 1702; d. in Berwick, Apr 1792; m. MARY (GOODWIN) LORD, widow of Richard Lord Jr., Mary was dau. of Thomas Sr. and Mehitable (Plaisted) Goodwin. b. 23 Nov 1708; d.c. 1735. Mary Goodwin’s mother, Mehitable Plaisted, dau. of Lieut. Roger Plaisted was taken captive in 1689 and “She was kept a captive for five years and then returned to Berwick.”³¹²⁵)²⁶³²³⁰
3. iii. SARAH³ COOPER (John², Alexander¹), b. in Kittery, 29 Jan 1703/4; m. in Kittery 30 Oct 1740 NOAH EMERY, son of Daniel Emery and Margaret Gowen. He was “King’s Attorney” for the Province of Maine and a militia captain.²⁵)²⁶³⁰
3. iv. ELEANOR³ COOPER (John², Alexander¹), bapt. in Kittery 3 May 1707/8; m. JOHN HORNE Jr of Dover. (No Sources)

1. Stewart, George Sawin. The Bartlett Collection. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. /george-sawin-stewart-documents/ [↩]
2. Black, George Fraser. The Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin Meaning and History. New York : New York Public Library & Readex Books, 1962, Hathi Trust Digital Library, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015011274175;view=1up;seq=257. [↩]
3. Gerrard, Christopher M.., et al. Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Oxbow Books, 2018, p. 249. [↩]
4. Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn. Scotch Exiles in New England. 1922. Coll. 733 & 831, Collections of the Maine Historical Society, Portland ME. [↩]
5. Banks, C.E. 1927. ‘Scotch Prisoners deported to New England by Cromwell 1651-2’. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 61, 4-30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080212 [↩]
6. Rapaport, Diane. Working List of Early New England Scots. 2015. [↩]
7. Stewart, George Sawin. The Bartlett Collection. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. /george-sawin-stewart-documents/ [↩]
8. “Dunbar Prisoners of War Profiles.” The Scottish Prisoners of War Society, Teresa Rust, 18 Feb. 2019, scottishprisonersofwar.com/battle_of_dunbar_pows_america/. [↩]
9. Gerrard, Christopher M.., et al. Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Oxbow Books, 2018. Ch. 7, 8, Appendix B, p. 257-284. [↩]
10. See R1b Lineage 54 at https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cooper?iframe=yresults [↩]
11. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. [↩] [↩]
12. “John Cooper.” Edited by Elizabeth Hyatt, WikiTree: Where Genealogists Collaborate, 6 May 2016, www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cooper-12993. [↩]
13. “The First Permanent Settlement in Maine, c. 1926 – Everett S. Stackpole.” Old Berwick Historical Society, May, 1968, www.oldberwick.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=375%3Athe-first-permanent-settlement-in-maine-c-1926-everett-s-stackpole&Itemid=126. [↩]
14. Maine: Early Wills and Deeds, 1640-1760. CD-ROM. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. (Online database.AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB84/i/12362/54/138195349 [↩] [↩]
15. Maine: Early Wills and Deeds, 1640-1760. CD-ROM. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. (Online database.AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)https://www.americanancestors.org/DB84/i/7516/59/22206577 [↩]
16. Maine: Early Wills and Deeds, 1640-1760. CD-ROM. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. (Online database.AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)https://www.americanancestors.org/DB84/i/7516/7/22206590 [↩]
17. Scots for Sale: Scottish Prisoners in Seventeenth Century Maine and New Hampshire– Diane Rapaport, in “New England Ancestors”- Vol. 5, No.5, p. 26 [↩]
18. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB84/i/7503/283/6011560 [↩]
19. Maine: Early Wills and Deeds, 1640-1760. CD-ROM. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.)
    https://www.americanancestors.org/DB84/i/12362/33/24163050 [↩]
20. The Gray Family of Hancock, Maine by Almon A. Gray and Walter A. Adelbert, c1976. Boston Public Library. Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/grayfamilyofhanc00gray. Image provided by Teresa Rust. [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
21. The Gray Family of Hancock, Maine contributed by Teresa Rust [↩]
22. Coleman, Emma. New England Captives Carried to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars. Heritage Books, 2008. [↩]
23. Goodwin, John Samuel. The Goodwins of Kittery, York County, Maine. Chicago : O. S. Goodwin, 1898, Internet Archives, archive.org/details/goodwinsofkitter00good/page/n6. [↩]
24. The Gray Family of Hancock, Maine by Almon A. Gray and Walter A. Adelbert, c1976. Boston Public Library. Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/grayfamilyofhanc00gray. Image provided by Teresa Rust. [↩]
25. The Descendants of Nathan Lord of Kittery and Berwick– Priscilla Eaton, The Maine Genealogist, Maine Genealogical Society- Vol. 33, pp. 82-4 (May 2011 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
26. Lord, Charles Chase. A History of the Descendants of Nathan Lord of Ancient Kittery, Me. Concord, N.H., Rumford Press, 1912., Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/historyofdescend00lord/page/n10. [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
27. Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn. Old Kittery and Her Families. Lewiston, Me. : Press of Lewiston Journal Company, 1903, PG. 586-588, Internet Archives, archive.org/details/oldkitteryherfam00staciala/page/586. [↩]
28. Scales, John, editor. Piscataqua Pioneers, 1623-1775; Register of Members and Ancestors. Dover, N.H., [Press of C.F. Whitehouse], 1919, pg. 130, Internet Archives, https://archive.org/details/piscataquapionee00pisc/page/130. [↩]
29. Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn. Old Kittery and Her Families. Lewiston, Me. : Press of Lewiston Journal Company, 1903, Internet Archives, archive.org/details/oldkitteryherfam00staciala/page/174. [↩]
30. Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn. Old Kittery and Her Families. Lewiston, Me. : Press of Lewiston Journal Company, 1903, Internet Archives, archive.org/details/oldkitteryherfam00staciala/page/328. [↩] [↩] [↩]
31. Goodwin, John Samuel. The Goodwins of Kittery, York County, Maine. Chicago : O. S. Goodwin, 1898, pg. 32-33, Internet Archives, archive.org/details/goodwinsofkitter00good/page/n6. [↩]
32. “John Cooper.” Edited by Elizabeth Hyatt, WikiTree: Where Genealogists Collaborate, 27 Jan. 2012, www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cooper-3074. [↩]