William B. Cooper - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

William Barkley Cooper (December 16, 1771 – April 29, 1849) was an American farmer and politician from Laurel, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, then later the Whig Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.

Early life and family

Cooper was born in Laurel, Delaware, son of Isaac and Comfort Townsend Barkley Cooper. His grandfather, Barkley Townsend, came to Laurel in 1768 from Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County, Maryland

Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

and at one time owned nearly the whole area. His father served in the Delaware General Assembly, was a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787, and was a member of the 1792 Delaware Constitutional Convention. His brother, Thomas Cooper

Thomas Cooper (representative)

Thomas Cooper was an American lawyer and politician from Georgetown, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U. S. Representative from Delaware....

, also served in the Delaware General Assembly and was one of the U.S. Representatives from Delaware from 1813 until 1817.

William Cooper married Nancy Jones in 1795, and had one child, William T. After her death, he married Nelly Warren in 1816, and after her death, he married for the third time, Jane Townsend Palmer in 1828. There were no children by either of the later marriages. They lived at the southeast corner of 4th and King Street in Laurel and were members of the Methodist Church. He served as an ensign in the Delaware militia, 5th Company, 9th Regiment, and later was commissioned captain of the 3rd Brigade of the Troop of Horse.

Professional and political career

Cooper was appointed a Justice of the Peace from 1797 until 1805 and was also Sheriff of Sussex County from 1800 until 1812. He served in the State House in the 1816 and 1817 sessions and then again in the 1835/36 session. In 1817 he was appointed as an Associate Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Sussex County. He was elected Governor of Delaware in 1840 by defeating Warren Jefferson of Seaford

Seaford, Delaware

Seaford is a city located along the Nanticoke River in Sussex County, Delaware. According to the 2010 Census Bureau figures, the population of the city is 6,928, an increase of 3.4% from the 2000 census...

, the Democratic candidate, and served as Governor from January 19, 1841 until January 21, 1845. Cooper is noted for complaining to the General Assembly that penal code was antiquated, requiring the Governor to issue an excessive number of pardons to properly administer justice according to the standards of the day.

Upon leaving office in 1841, Cooper, in his message,

“congratulates the State that her finances are free from embarrassment, and the surplus remained undiminished, while every demand which had been made on the Treasury had been promptly discharged. The currency, though reduced, was perfectly sound; the credit remained unimpaired, and no imputation or suspicion of fraud or public dishonor rested on the fair fame of the Commonwealth; while every consideration conspired to prove that the people of the State, as far as their condition was affected by the action of the State Government, were still preeminently prosperous and happy.”

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!Speaker
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1841-1842
|61st

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

|
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

| |Charles Polk, Jr.

Charles Polk, Jr.

Charles Polk, Jr. was an American farmer and politician from Big Stone Beach, in Milford Hundred, Kent County, Delaware...

|
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |Robert Houston
|-
|1843-1844
|62nd

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |Presley Spruance

Presley Spruance

Presley Spruance was an American merchant and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist and later the Whig Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S...

|
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |William O. Redden
|-

Death and legacy

Cooper died at his home and is buried in the Old Methodist Cemetery at Laurel. His only son, William, went South during the Civil War and, according to some, served in the Confederate Army, was held captive for a time at Fort Delaware

Fort Delaware

Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...

, and escaped in 1862. Governor Cooper is remembered "as a man of great force of character; an educated man, being polished in manners with intellectual gifts of a high order and a fascinating conversationalist." Another recalls that,"he was a high tempered man...and was in the habit of swearing very hard in his angry moments. When reproved, he said he couldn't help it."

There is thought to be a portrait in existence of William B. Cooper.

Alamanac

Until 1831, elections were held the first Tuesday of October. Members of the Delaware General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State Representatives had a one year term. After 1831, elections were held the first Tuesday after November 1st and the terms of State Representatives were increased to two years. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four year term

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

|Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

|Georgetown

Georgetown, Delaware

Georgetown is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. According to 2010 census figures, the population of the town is 6,422, an increase of 38.3% over the previous decade...

|1800
|1812
|Sussex County

Sussex County, Delaware

Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...

|-
|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 19, 1841
|January 21, 1845
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1816
|40th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

|Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney was an American merchant and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, and later the National Republican Party, who served as Governor of Delaware, U. S. Representative from Delaware and U.S...

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1817
|41st

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|John Clark

John Clark

-Entertainers:*John Clark , opera singer known as Signor Brocolini*John Clark , British actor, ex-husband of Lynn Redgrave*John Clark , jazz horn player and composer-Politicians, judges, and civil servants:...

|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

|-
|1835-1836
|58th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Whig

Whig Party (United States)

|Caleb Bennett
|
|Sussex at-large

Sussex County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1840
|Governor
|
| |William B. Cooper
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |5,850
| |54%
|
| |Warren Jefferson
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |5,024
| |46%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.