The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: NC
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
One of the 25 citizens to sign in 1777 an "Oath of allegiance and Adjuration", pledging allegiance to North Carolina and renouncing the Crown and Parliament, and by this act making them subject to death by the Crown by an act of Assembly passed at New Bern, NC the 15th of November 1777
Author: Gary Owen Green
Cooper, Fleet, Sr. Reverend (b. 1722, Philadelphia, PA ; d. 2 July 1795, Sampson County, NC)Married in 1747 to Marguereite Coore (b. 1724, Louden County, VA; d. 1795, Sampson County, NC) Fleet Cooper was born in 1722 in Philadelphia and spent his youth in Virginia. We know nothing about his early education but he was married in 1747 to Margaret Coore of Loudon County, Virginia, whose father, Thomas Coore, later move to Northampton County, N.C.
He moved first to Dobbs County, and in 1764, he received a grant of land on Coharie Swamp in Sampson County. Later he received grants for more than a 1,000 acres of land. This was located at Concord, six miles west of Clinton on Highway 24. After the Coopers arrived in what is now Sampson County, they were members of Coharie Baptist (Rowan) Church, which was founded near Clinton in 1749. We do not know when he became a minister, but he was pastor of the Coharie Baptist Church from 1785 to 1787.
At the beginning of the American Revolution Fleet Cooper, Sr. signed the "Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration" (1777). This qualified descendants for memberships in the Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution. In 1784, when Sampson County was established, Fleet Cooper, Sr., was one of the 12 justices appointed to the Court of Pleas and Quarterly Sessions. Source: Cooper, Yates, Choctaw, Cherokee and Sephardic in Ga.-Tenn.-Ala. (from DNAconsultants.com) Entries: 25799 Updated: 2007-04-17 19:37:09 UTC (Tue) Contact: Donald N. Panther-Yates
His will, dated July 2, 1795, was proved by his son Fleet, Jr. in Nov. Court 1801, but was not recorded until 1828. He mentions son John, deceased, Fleet, Jr., William, Coore, Elizabeth Wiggins, Mary Peterson, and Grace Holmes.
A bronze plaque at Concord Crossroads on High 24, 6 miles west of Clinton reads: "Fleet Cooper, Sr. 1722-1795; Civil Officer; Judge, Court of Common Pleas, First Court in Sampson ;, Signer of Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration for Duplin County; Wed Margureite Coore 1747 and had issue: John; Fleet, Jr.; William; Coore; Elizabeth; Mary; Grace."
Fleet, Sr. acquired considerable land acreage on the "West side of Great Cohera." One map shows that 640 acres was surveyed on October 11, 1766, and by Land Grant No. 281, a year later on October 26, 1767, the 640 acres located in Duplin County (now Sampson) "on the West Side of Great Cohera" was issued to him. Chain bearers were John Fairchild and Druria Macklimore. (That name today is spelled McLemore).
His will fractionally reads:..."I give to the estate of my son John Cooper, deceased, one cow and calf, he having received part of his legacy in his lifetime...to my son Fleet Cooper 136 acres of land where he now lives and all the land I own on Sheppard's Branch...to my daughter, Elizabeth Wiggins, five shillings...to Polly Holmes, daughter of the said Grace Holmes, seventy-five acres of land...set my hand and seal; this 2nd day of July, 1795. (Seal) Fleet Cooper, Sr. Test: Fleet Cooper, Jr., William Cooper, Abner Fort."
Service: Civil Officer and signer of “Declaration of Allegiance and Abjuration” for which he was subject to death by the British. He helped to establish the first county government of Sampson County in 1784. Member of the first Court of Common Pleas.
Sources: (NSSAR Membership # 22324, 10451, 59915, 65194, 68113, and 141813) (a)Wurts: Magna Charta Vol. 7 p. 2114; (b)Gloucester Deeds, Trenton, N.J. #1 p. 77-79; (c)Pennsylvania Patent Book A-1 and Philadelphia Exemplification Book 1 P. 65 (d)Philadelphia Will Book E p. 291 # 296; Hinshaw: Encyclopedia of American Genealogy--Philadelphia Monthly Meeting; (f)Record of Marriages in Christ Church, Philadelphia; (g)Cooper: The Cooper Family p. 74; (h)Sampson Deed Book 1 p. 103; (i)Wheeler; N.C. Sketches, p. 138-139 also McGowan: Flashes of Duplin's History and Government, p. 43; (j)Minutes of Sampson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions June 1784; (k)Sampson Will Book 8 p. 255. (This record written by Mamie C. Sawyer and recorded in the book "THE HERITAGE OF SAMPSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA *1784-1984*)
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Additional Information:
Previously had birthplace as Philadephia / / PA per find a grave
Per ACN26991 & ACN 34859, / Isle of Wight / VA Per ACN 35039 it is / / PA