Wife: Nancy (unknown)

Children

Biography

abt.
1798

Washington A. Cooper is born somewhere in Georgia.
1830 Federal census for Thomas county, Georgia, 1840 census Jackson county, Florida, 1850 census Holmes county, Florida

1820

Washington A. Cooper and Nancy Cooper's first son, John Jordan Cooper, was born in Pulaski County, Georgia July 20, 1820. ( John's headstone, at the old Cooper Cemetery, reads - May 20, 1820)  RLDS Jurisdiction record for Mount Olivet branch, Santa Rosa Co. - contributed by Jim Brock

1830

W. A. Cooper, his wife (Nancy), three sons and one daughter were living in Thomas County, Georgia. Washington is listed as being born in Georgia around 1800 and is listed as a farmer. 1830 Federal census for Thomas county, Georgia

1840

Washington A. Cooper and his family were living in Jackson county, Florida. Washington is listed as being between the age of 40 to 50 years old; his wife, Nancy, is also listed as being between the age of 40 to 50 years old. He has one male child living with him between the age of 15 to 20 ( John Jordan Cooper) and one female child living with him between the age of 5 to 10 years old. (It is unknown where his other two sons were staying during the census or if they had died.)  1840 Federal census for Jackson county, Florida

1845

W. A. Cooper (Washington A. Cooper) was list as registering to vote at John William's house in Roguetown community, Jackson county, Florida. 1845 was when Florida was admitted as a state so they compiled a voter's registration list.
Florida voters registration list - contributed by Jim Brock

1848

Washington A. Cooper, is a Juror in Holmes County, Georgia.
From a list of Jurors & Witness Certificates in Holmes Co., FL

Cooper, Washington A.  Juror  Petit Jury 1848
" I Washington A. Cooper endors (sic) the within to O. J. Pinckard. This June the 24th, 1849 /s/ Washington A. Cooper. Pay the within to the bearer /s/ Louis H. Miller."
From a list of Jurors & Witness Certificates in Holmes Co., FL

1850

Washington A. Cooper, his wife (Nancy) and one son are listed as living in Holmes county, Florida. Washington was listed as being a 52 year old Millwright and was born in Georgia. Nancy was 58 years old and was born in South Carolina. John Jordan Cooper is listed as being a 26 year old farmer and was also born in Georgia.
1850 Federal census for Holmes county, Florida

1854

W. A. Cooper, is a Witness in Holmes County, Georgia.
From a list of Jurors & Witness Certificates in Holmes Co., FL

1860

Washington A. Cooper, his son (John Jordan Cooper) and his son's family were living in Santa Rosa county, Florida. Washington is listed as a 60 year old farmer born in Georgia. John Jordan Cooper is listed as a 40 year old, born in Georgia. Louisa Slay Cooper, John's wife, is listed as being 25 years old and having been born in Alabama. Washington's three grandchild: Henry Moses Cooper age 8 was born in Florida, William Erasmus Cooper age 4 was born in Florida and John Robinson Cooper age 2 was born in Florida.
1860 Federal census for Santa Rosa county, Florida

1867

Washington A. Cooper registered to vote with his son John Jordan Cooper on September 12, 1867. Washington is listed as voter #22 and his son as voter #23.
1867 Voters registration for district 12 of Santa Rosa county, Florida - contributed by Jim Brock

1869

Washington A. Cooper dies April 20, 1869.
From headstone at the old Cooper Cemetery, east of Milton, Santa Rosa county, Florida

notes

We know that Washington was born in 1798 or 1800 somewhere in Georgia and that his wife's name was Nancy. Nancy was born in South Carolina in 1792 which would have made her 6 or 8 years older than Washington.  I haven't located Nancy's maiden name yet, but hopefully in time we'll come across a record that will solve that part of the ever growing puzzle. Washington and Nancy had three sons and one daughter. Their oldest son was John Jordan Cooper and is the only one that I have any information on other than the Federal census records. Washington's and Nancy's two younger sons might have died between 1830 and 1840 because they are not listed in any of the following census records after 1840. Another possibility could have been that they were staying with another relative during the 1840 census and by the time of the 1850 census they would have been between the ages of 20 and 25 and might have left their parents home and started families of their own. Washington's daughter would have been between the age of 15 to 20 by the 1850 census and may have been married which explains why she doesn't show up in the 1850 census. Sometime between the 1850 census and the 1860 census Nancy must have died. We find Washington in Santa Rosa County with his son, John Jordan, and his family in the 1860 census but there is no record of Nancy. Nancy might have died in Holmes County, where they lived during the 1850 census, and that is why there is no grave maker in the old Cooper cemetery with her name. In most of the census records, Washington is listed as a farmer except in the 1850 census in Holmes county, Florida where he is listed as a Millwright. Most people were farmers in those days because they relied on what they could grow or raise in order to feed their families. In Florida, the timber industry was flourishing during the 1800s and especially near Milton, Florida. This might have been the reason that Washington moved himself and his son's family to the Blackwater river near Milton. A Millwright would have been very much in demand in those days. In 1856 Washington and his son finished building the homestead next to a basin off the Blackwater River which today is named Cooper Basin. Washington helped his son farm that land until his death on April 20, 1869.