Samuel Cooper papers | Collections | The Huntington

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Manuscripts

Samuel Cooper papers

Description

This collection contains the letters, manuscripts (including sermons, 4 diaries, and 1 poem), and documents. Includes 195 sermons by William Cooper and Samuel Cooper, 1718-1783 (strongest for the period 1740-1759) and correspondence, covering international politics in relation to the American colonies (1769-1783), French officers in North America (1778-1783), and the Cooper family affairs (1759-1798). Some pieces are in French. Among the correspondents are John Adams (3 pieces), Charles Hector d'Estaing (3 pieces), Benjamin Franklin (5 pieces), Gideon Hawley (2 pieces), Anne César de la Luzerne (6 pieces), Charles Gravier de Vergennes (2 pieces). There are two letters (1771, Feb. 25 and 1776, Jan. 8) from Gideon Hawley describing his life among the Indians. There are 177 pieces of Samuel Cooper and 43 pieces of William Cooper.

The John Adams items include two autograph letters signed to Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, 1779 February 16 and 27 (CO 7, CO 13) and one letterpress copy of a letter to Benjamin Franklin, 1783 September 13 (CO 36), not in Adams' hand.

Some notable items include:

Cooper, Samuel. Letter to the Corporation of Harvard, declining the presidency of the college. [February 10, 1774] Hawley, Gideon. Two letters to Dr. Cooper, describing his life among the Indians. February 25, 1771 and January 8, 1776 Lee, Arthur. Letter to Dr. Cooper, regarding the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line. Jan. 18, 1781 Lovell, James. Letter discussing the neutrality of Russia and Denmark and the possible action of Holland; also, Virginia's relinquishment of [UNK]to western territory. February 1, 1781

The diaries cover the periods 1764 January 1 - 1765 February 2; 1769 October 22 - December 31; 1775 April 18 - September 23; and 1775 April 19 - May 17, 1776. The 1769 diary was published in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 55 (1901), pp. 145-149, and the 1775-1776 diary was published in The American Historical Review, vol. 6 (Jan. 1901), pp. 301-341.

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Diary and miscellaneous accounts of Samuel Cooper
Manuscripts
Fragment of Samuel Cooper's 1775 diary. Brief entries for Apr. 10 - 18 describe Cooper's travels to Milton, Roxbury, Weston, Waltham, and Lexington. A long entry recorded on May 6, 1775, recaps the events that took place since April 10, including the "Troubles in Boston," Cooper's decision to leave the city because of "Menaces & Insults" that he had received, his travel to Weston, the battle of Lexington, and the town meeting in Boston with Thomas Gage on Apr. 30, 1775, and the inhabitants of Boston who "sufferr'd greatly for Want of Supplies... & much more from the Trror & Anxiety."
mssCO 271
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Margaret Jane Cooper diary
Manuscripts
Cooper's diary begins January 1, 1862 while she was living in Pennsylvania. In March 1862, her husband Adam left for the mining town Lincoln City, Colorado. In 1863, she joined him in Colorado. She talks about Denver and mining some. She specifically talks about Indians possibly attacking Denver and martial law being enacted in February 1865. In 1867, she talks about her family's trip back to Pennsylvania (although it seems they later returned to Colorado). She also talks about Lincoln's assassination and funeral. Throughout the whole diary she talks chiefly about her personal life: visits with family and friends; the weather; church going; etc. The diary ends in April 1873. With the diary are six loose pages of writing by Cooper. These include information about her family and some diary entries. There is also a program for "Centennial Federal Reception" in 1876 as well as a letter by J. F. Lewis, MD, to Adam Cooper, also from 1876.
mssHM 80588
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Charles Henry Cooper notes for Annals of Cambridge
Manuscripts
Research notes by Charles Henry Cooper for his Annals of Cambridge, a chronological history of the University of Cambridge and town from the earliest period to 1853. These notes cover the history of Cambridge from 1670 to 1819.
mssCooper
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John Jefferson Cooper autobiography, transcription, and photograph
Manuscripts
John Jefferson Cooper's autobiography is 360 pages and the edited transcript, completed by Cooper's granddaughter, is 189 pages. Cooper's autobiography covers his early life in Tennessee, overland journey to California during the Gold Rush, business ventures including the introduction of camels in Nevada, and involvement with the order of Knights of Pythias. Also part of this autobiography is a letter to his son, Frank J. Cooper, regarding the Visalia Water Company, a silhouette cameo, a photograph of Cooper, and a Knights of Pythias insignia.
mssHM 80969
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Samuel Frank Dexter papers
Manuscripts
Letters, diaries, essays, and other papers of Samuel Frank Dexter. The large portion of the collection consists of the letters that Dexter wrote to his children during the 1901 trip to California. Before moving to Los Angeles in 1902, Dexter and his wife took a trip to California in 1901 leaving their children in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. An expansive and consistent writer, his almost daily letters home to his children describe in minute detail their experiences and observations of various parts of California such as Alameda County, Bakersfield, Kern County, La Jolla, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Mount Lowe, Pasadena, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz County, and Santa Monica. Other places of interest that Dexter wrote about to his children include the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, descriptions of the California coast, and accounts of a trip taken in North Mexico. He also wrote frequently along their railroad trip to California, describing such places as Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa. A noted naturalist and authority on ornithology, Samuel Frank Dexter and his friend Anthony (Gideon Anthony) Hamilton traveled to Sequoia National Park, California, in 1902. Included in this collection is the diary that Dexter kept during their excursion. Other correspondence came from Mattie J. Chase, who along with her family, lived in Vienna, Austria and wrote to her sister Anna Fannie Dexter detailing their life there. In addition to being a prolific letter writer, Dexter wrote a couple of essays that describe and illuminate life in Charleston, South Carolina and Rhode Island.
mssHM 65822-65938
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Charles Henry Cooper notes for Annals of Cambridge
Manuscripts
Research notes by Charles Henry Cooper for his Annals of Cambridge, a chronological history of the University of Cambridge and town from the earliest period to 1853. These notes cover the history of Cambridge from 1670 to 1819.
mssCooper