Isaac Cooper was a mixed blood Cherokee-Choctaw Jewish railroader from Kentucky/Tennessee who died in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He is probably buried in or near the Church of San Francisco, built 1775, restored 1983-84, once part of a Franciscan convent, then used as a hospital by the American army during the 1847-1848 occupation of Vera Cruz. It now houses a small museum, Santuario de la Reforma and is located in the port area, near the Plaza de la Reforma.
He married Jenny Blevins of the Long Hunter Blevins family. Burke family tradition in Texas says that two of Nancy Cooper Burke's brothers went away to the Mexican War, and one never returned to Tennessee but stayed in Texas and raised a large family there. Peter Cooper in his ECA says Isaac was related to Chief Fox (=Black Fox, Inoli) of the Cherokees. Acc. to Peter Cooper, "My grandmother Jane Cooper always said that the Indian Chief Fox always claimed to Be akin to Grandfather Isaac Cooper" (Peter Cooper ECA docket). Peter Cooper also said, "They, Father and Grandfather were recognized as white folks when they lived. They lived with white people. Never heard of them living with the Indian tribe except that they were in this state when the Indians left. They did not leave when the Indians left. I don't know why the Indians left." (Peter Cooper Testimony in care of George A. Cooper #41086 supplementing Application #19589, July 1, 1908).
Black Fox (abt 1746-1811) was the husband of a daughter of Chief Attakullakulla and Ollie, the daughter of Chief Oconostota, a granddaughter of the Smallpox Conjuror of Tellico and member of the family of the principal chief Motoy. Burke family traditions corroborate the connection to Chief Fox and the Cherokee and Choctaw blood.
The Cooper-Blevins connection goes back at least to 1777 in Henry Co., Va., when William Blevins deeded 120 acres on Beaver Creek to John Cooper (Deed Book 1, page 79, October 20, 1777). Coopers and Blevinses were commissioned as lieutenants in the militia in the same county at the outbreak of the Revolution. Coopers and Blevinses are said to have been "Melungeon," with Sephardic Jewish roots.
A James Cooper was living in Jackson Co. on Oct. 8, 1821, when an Isaac Cooper gave a deposition at his home for the law case of Conn v. Francis in Wayne Co., Kentucky. The suit was Stephen T. Conn v. John Francis (1818-1830s), originating with the discovery of saltwater along the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River near the mouth of Beer Creek by John Francis, who received large grants of land for salt production during the War of 1812. Isaac worked in Conn's Big South Fork Salt Works, and his son Harmon later married a Francis girl. This is the earliest documention of these Coopers in what was then the border to Cherokee lands along the Tennessee River. A James Cooper entered land bought from DeKalb Co., June 2, 1842: S 13 T10 R6 (probably a nephew or cousin).
Isaac Cooper bought 50 acres of land on Beaver Creek in Wayne Co. around 1824. The survey was dated Jan. 29, 1824. He then bought land in Marion Co., Tennessee, in the 1830s. He had moved there about 1825. He is counted in the 1830 census on page 58. There were seven in his household: 3 males under 5, 1 male 5-10 years old (Jackson Cooper?), 1 female under 5 and his wife 20-30 years old (Jenny Blevins?). He is mentioned as a landholder on Sequatchie Creek, Marion Co. Deed Book, p. 319. In 1831, he sold land in district four to Mary Porter. About 1838, he settled in Deerhead Cove, Dade County, Ga., on the Alabama line (DeKalb Co.)
Isaac Cooper also evidently served in the "Cherokee Wars" during the latter part of the 1830s. There is a private by that name in Dossett's Company of 3rd Battalion of the Tennessee Infantry, also in Powell's Co. of Lindsay's Regiment of 1st Tennessee Mounted Volunteers. Many "friendly" Indians and halfbreeds joined the army and helped remove the Cherokees, often as scouts--Isaac would probably have been considered a Choctaw quarter-breed and not a Cherokee. See Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances 1815-1858, by Virgil D. White (1994), based on NARA Microfilm M629 ("Cherokee War 1836-1839").
In 1840, Isaac Cooper appears to have been in Muscogee Co., Ga., perhaps in Columbus, a railroad hub. The household consisted of 1 male 10-15 years old, and 4 females ranging from under 5 to 15-10 years old, together with a female 30-40 years old (=Jenny Blevins). He appears as part of a whole page of men engaged in manufactures and trades; three of his household apparently worked for the railroad, which must have included his wife, Jenny.
Isaac Cooper bought land on cash sales from the Lebanon land office in Dekalb Co., Ala., Sec. 27, Tsp. 3S, Range 10E (next to James Blevins, apparently right across the state line from Deerhead Cove, Dade Co., Ga.) on two occasions: June 1, 1845 and April 10, 1847 (80 and 40 acres). In August of 1847, he enlisted in the army.
Isaac Cooper fought in the Mexican War at age 43 and died in Mexico. According to Billie Groening, Isaac Cooper joined the army August 5, 1847, in Dade Co., and was a private in Calhoun's Battalion (D Company, Calhoun's Mounted Battalion, Georgia Infantry--his brother William was in the same outfit as a scout). He may also have served in Company J 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, enlisting in Alexandria and being discharged in New Orleans in 1847. Evidently, he was part of the gunnery, because of his metal-working and mechanical skills. He entered the hospital in Vera Cruz November 7, 1847 and died December 23, 1847. Gen. Winfield Scott, the conqueror of Mexico, was from Kentucky.
On the Mexican War, in an interview, an Isaac Cooper of DeKalb Co., Tenn., who is one of the survivors of Captain Goodner's company, said: "I joined Company I, First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Infantry, for service in the Mexican War about the time I reached my majority. Our colonel was Jonas E. Thomas, while our company was organized at Alexandria and sworn in at Nashville. Our uniform was gray and was made at home. We went to Tampico and crossed the Gulf to Vera Cruz. A fourteen days' storm overtook us, and we had to throw overboard the horses of Colonel Thomas and Major Waterhouse. The other horses followed on transports. After the battle of Vera Cruz we fought at Cerro Gordo, then marched to Jalapa across the mountains, I being one of the guards of four wagonloads of gold and silver from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. On our return home we took ship at Vera Cruz for New Orleans, thence by boat to Nashville. The government bought our horses at Vera Cruz, and I received about $700 for my absence of twelve months and eight days from home."
He married Jenny Blevins of the Long Hunter Blevins family. Burke family tradition in Texas says that two of Nancy Cooper Burke's brothers went away to the Mexican War, and one never returned to Tennessee but stayed in Texas and raised a large family there. Peter Cooper in his ECA says Isaac was related to Chief Fox (=Black Fox, Inoli) of the Cherokees. Acc. to Peter Cooper, "My grandmother Jane Cooper always said that the Indian Chief Fox always claimed to Be akin to Grandfather Isaac Cooper" (Peter Cooper ECA docket). Peter Cooper also said, "They, Father and Grandfather were recognized as white folks when they lived. They lived with white people. Never heard of them living with the Indian tribe except that they were in this state when the Indians left. They did not leave when the Indians left. I don't know why the Indians left." (Peter Cooper Testimony in care of George A. Cooper #41086 supplementing Application #19589, July 1, 1908).
Black Fox (abt 1746-1811) was the husband of a daughter of Chief Attakullakulla and Ollie, the daughter of Chief Oconostota, a granddaughter of the Smallpox Conjuror of Tellico and member of the family of the principal chief Motoy. Burke family traditions corroborate the connection to Chief Fox and the Cherokee and Choctaw blood.
The Cooper-Blevins connection goes back at least to 1777 in Henry Co., Va., when William Blevins deeded 120 acres on Beaver Creek to John Cooper (Deed Book 1, page 79, October 20, 1777). Coopers and Blevinses were commissioned as lieutenants in the militia in the same county at the outbreak of the Revolution. Coopers and Blevinses are said to have been "Melungeon," with Sephardic Jewish roots.
A James Cooper was living in Jackson Co. on Oct. 8, 1821, when an Isaac Cooper gave a deposition at his home for the law case of Conn v. Francis in Wayne Co., Kentucky. The suit was Stephen T. Conn v. John Francis (1818-1830s), originating with the discovery of saltwater along the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River near the mouth of Beer Creek by John Francis, who received large grants of land for salt production during the War of 1812. Isaac worked in Conn's Big South Fork Salt Works, and his son Harmon later married a Francis girl. This is the earliest documention of these Coopers in what was then the border to Cherokee lands along the Tennessee River. A James Cooper entered land bought from DeKalb Co., June 2, 1842: S 13 T10 R6 (probably a nephew or cousin).
Isaac Cooper bought 50 acres of land on Beaver Creek in Wayne Co. around 1824. The survey was dated Jan. 29, 1824. He then bought land in Marion Co., Tennessee, in the 1830s. He had moved there about 1825. He is counted in the 1830 census on page 58. There were seven in his household: 3 males under 5, 1 male 5-10 years old (Jackson Cooper?), 1 female under 5 and his wife 20-30 years old (Jenny Blevins?). He is mentioned as a landholder on Sequatchie Creek, Marion Co. Deed Book, p. 319. In 1831, he sold land in district four to Mary Porter. About 1838, he settled in Deerhead Cove, Dade County, Ga., on the Alabama line (DeKalb Co.)
Isaac Cooper also evidently served in the "Cherokee Wars" during the latter part of the 1830s. There is a private by that name in Dossett's Company of 3rd Battalion of the Tennessee Infantry, also in Powell's Co. of Lindsay's Regiment of 1st Tennessee Mounted Volunteers. Many "friendly" Indians and halfbreeds joined the army and helped remove the Cherokees, often as scouts--Isaac would probably have been considered a Choctaw quarter-breed and not a Cherokee. See Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances 1815-1858, by Virgil D. White (1994), based on NARA Microfilm M629 ("Cherokee War 1836-1839").
In 1840, Isaac Cooper appears to have been in Muscogee Co., Ga., perhaps in Columbus, a railroad hub. The household consisted of 1 male 10-15 years old, and 4 females ranging from under 5 to 15-10 years old, together with a female 30-40 years old (=Jenny Blevins). He appears as part of a whole page of men engaged in manufactures and trades; three of his household apparently worked for the railroad, which must have included his wife, Jenny.
Isaac Cooper bought land on cash sales from the Lebanon land office in Dekalb Co., Ala., Sec. 27, Tsp. 3S, Range 10E (next to James Blevins, apparently right across the state line from Deerhead Cove, Dade Co., Ga.) on two occasions: June 1, 1845 and April 10, 1847 (80 and 40 acres). In August of 1847, he enlisted in the army.
Isaac Cooper fought in the Mexican War at age 43 and died in Mexico. According to Billie Groening, Isaac Cooper joined the army August 5, 1847, in Dade Co., and was a private in Calhoun's Battalion (D Company, Calhoun's Mounted Battalion, Georgia Infantry--his brother William was in the same outfit as a scout). He may also have served in Company J 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, enlisting in Alexandria and being discharged in New Orleans in 1847. Evidently, he was part of the gunnery, because of his metal-working and mechanical skills. He entered the hospital in Vera Cruz November 7, 1847 and died December 23, 1847. Gen. Winfield Scott, the conqueror of Mexico, was from Kentucky.
On the Mexican War, in an interview, an Isaac Cooper of DeKalb Co., Tenn., who is one of the survivors of Captain Goodner's company, said: "I joined Company I, First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Infantry, for service in the Mexican War about the time I reached my majority. Our colonel was Jonas E. Thomas, while our company was organized at Alexandria and sworn in at Nashville. Our uniform was gray and was made at home. We went to Tampico and crossed the Gulf to Vera Cruz. A fourteen days' storm overtook us, and we had to throw overboard the horses of Colonel Thomas and Major Waterhouse. The other horses followed on transports. After the battle of Vera Cruz we fought at Cerro Gordo, then marched to Jalapa across the mountains, I being one of the guards of four wagonloads of gold and silver from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. On our return home we took ship at Vera Cruz for New Orleans, thence by boat to Nashville. The government bought our horses at Vera Cruz, and I received about $700 for my absence of twelve months and eight days from home."
Isaac Cooper was a mixed blood Cherokee-Choctaw Jewish railroader from Kentucky/Tennessee who died in Vera Cruz, Mexico. He is probably buried in or near the Church of San Francisco, built 1775, restored 1983-84, once part of a Franciscan convent, then used as a hospital by the American army during the 1847-1848 occupation of Vera Cruz. It now houses a small museum, Santuario de la Reforma and is located in the port area, near the Plaza de la Reforma.
He married Jenny Blevins of the Long Hunter Blevins family. Burke family tradition in Texas says that two of Nancy Cooper Burke's brothers went away to the Mexican War, and one never returned to Tennessee but stayed in Texas and raised a large family there. Peter Cooper in his ECA says Isaac was related to Chief Fox (=Black Fox, Inoli) of the Cherokees. Acc. to Peter Cooper, "My grandmother Jane Cooper always said that the Indian Chief Fox always claimed to Be akin to Grandfather Isaac Cooper" (Peter Cooper ECA docket). Peter Cooper also said, "They, Father and Grandfather were recognized as white folks when they lived. They lived with white people. Never heard of them living with the Indian tribe except that they were in this state when the Indians left. They did not leave when the Indians left. I don't know why the Indians left." (Peter Cooper Testimony in care of George A. Cooper #41086 supplementing Application #19589, July 1, 1908).
Black Fox (abt 1746-1811) was the husband of a daughter of Chief Attakullakulla and Ollie, the daughter of Chief Oconostota, a granddaughter of the Smallpox Conjuror of Tellico and member of the family of the principal chief Motoy. Burke family traditions corroborate the connection to Chief Fox and the Cherokee and Choctaw blood.
The Cooper-Blevins connection goes back at least to 1777 in Henry Co., Va., when William Blevins deeded 120 acres on Beaver Creek to John Cooper (Deed Book 1, page 79, October 20, 1777). Coopers and Blevinses were commissioned as lieutenants in the militia in the same county at the outbreak of the Revolution. Coopers and Blevinses are said to have been "Melungeon," with Sephardic Jewish roots.
A James Cooper was living in Jackson Co. on Oct. 8, 1821, when an Isaac Cooper gave a deposition at his home for the law case of Conn v. Francis in Wayne Co., Kentucky. The suit was Stephen T. Conn v. John Francis (1818-1830s), originating with the discovery of saltwater along the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River near the mouth of Beer Creek by John Francis, who received large grants of land for salt production during the War of 1812. Isaac worked in Conn's Big South Fork Salt Works, and his son Harmon later married a Francis girl. This is the earliest documention of these Coopers in what was then the border to Cherokee lands along the Tennessee River. A James Cooper entered land bought from DeKalb Co., June 2, 1842: S 13 T10 R6 (probably a nephew or cousin).
Isaac Cooper bought 50 acres of land on Beaver Creek in Wayne Co. around 1824. The survey was dated Jan. 29, 1824. He then bought land in Marion Co., Tennessee, in the 1830s. He had moved there about 1825. He is counted in the 1830 census on page 58. There were seven in his household: 3 males under 5, 1 male 5-10 years old (Jackson Cooper?), 1 female under 5 and his wife 20-30 years old (Jenny Blevins?). He is mentioned as a landholder on Sequatchie Creek, Marion Co. Deed Book, p. 319. In 1831, he sold land in district four to Mary Porter. About 1838, he settled in Deerhead Cove, Dade County, Ga., on the Alabama line (DeKalb Co.)
Isaac Cooper also evidently served in the "Cherokee Wars" during the latter part of the 1830s. There is a private by that name in Dossett's Company of 3rd Battalion of the Tennessee Infantry, also in Powell's Co. of Lindsay's Regiment of 1st Tennessee Mounted Volunteers. Many "friendly" Indians and halfbreeds joined the army and helped remove the Cherokees, often as scouts--Isaac would probably have been considered a Choctaw quarter-breed and not a Cherokee. See Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances 1815-1858, by Virgil D. White (1994), based on NARA Microfilm M629 ("Cherokee War 1836-1839").
In 1840, Isaac Cooper appears to have been in Muscogee Co., Ga., perhaps in Columbus, a railroad hub. The household consisted of 1 male 10-15 years old, and 4 females ranging from under 5 to 15-10 years old, together with a female 30-40 years old (=Jenny Blevins). He appears as part of a whole page of men engaged in manufactures and trades; three of his household apparently worked for the railroad, which must have included his wife, Jenny.
Isaac Cooper bought land on cash sales from the Lebanon land office in Dekalb Co., Ala., Sec. 27, Tsp. 3S, Range 10E (next to James Blevins, apparently right across the state line from Deerhead Cove, Dade Co., Ga.) on two occasions: June 1, 1845 and April 10, 1847 (80 and 40 acres). In August of 1847, he enlisted in the army.
Isaac Cooper fought in the Mexican War at age 43 and died in Mexico. According to Billie Groening, Isaac Cooper joined the army August 5, 1847, in Dade Co., and was a private in Calhoun's Battalion (D Company, Calhoun's Mounted Battalion, Georgia Infantry--his brother William was in the same outfit as a scout). He may also have served in Company J 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, enlisting in Alexandria and being discharged in New Orleans in 1847. Evidently, he was part of the gunnery, because of his metal-working and mechanical skills. He entered the hospital in Vera Cruz November 7, 1847 and died December 23, 1847. Gen. Winfield Scott, the conqueror of Mexico, was from Kentucky.
On the Mexican War, in an interview, an Isaac Cooper of DeKalb Co., Tenn., who is one of the survivors of Captain Goodner's company, said: "I joined Company I, First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Infantry, for service in the Mexican War about the time I reached my majority. Our colonel was Jonas E. Thomas, while our company was organized at Alexandria and sworn in at Nashville. Our uniform was gray and was made at home. We went to Tampico and crossed the Gulf to Vera Cruz. A fourteen days' storm overtook us, and we had to throw overboard the horses of Colonel Thomas and Major Waterhouse. The other horses followed on transports. After the battle of Vera Cruz we fought at Cerro Gordo, then marched to Jalapa across the mountains, I being one of the guards of four wagonloads of gold and silver from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. On our return home we took ship at Vera Cruz for New Orleans, thence by boat to Nashville. The government bought our horses at Vera Cruz, and I received about $700 for my absence of twelve months and eight days from home."
He married Jenny Blevins of the Long Hunter Blevins family. Burke family tradition in Texas says that two of Nancy Cooper Burke's brothers went away to the Mexican War, and one never returned to Tennessee but stayed in Texas and raised a large family there. Peter Cooper in his ECA says Isaac was related to Chief Fox (=Black Fox, Inoli) of the Cherokees. Acc. to Peter Cooper, "My grandmother Jane Cooper always said that the Indian Chief Fox always claimed to Be akin to Grandfather Isaac Cooper" (Peter Cooper ECA docket). Peter Cooper also said, "They, Father and Grandfather were recognized as white folks when they lived. They lived with white people. Never heard of them living with the Indian tribe except that they were in this state when the Indians left. They did not leave when the Indians left. I don't know why the Indians left." (Peter Cooper Testimony in care of George A. Cooper #41086 supplementing Application #19589, July 1, 1908).
Black Fox (abt 1746-1811) was the husband of a daughter of Chief Attakullakulla and Ollie, the daughter of Chief Oconostota, a granddaughter of the Smallpox Conjuror of Tellico and member of the family of the principal chief Motoy. Burke family traditions corroborate the connection to Chief Fox and the Cherokee and Choctaw blood.
The Cooper-Blevins connection goes back at least to 1777 in Henry Co., Va., when William Blevins deeded 120 acres on Beaver Creek to John Cooper (Deed Book 1, page 79, October 20, 1777). Coopers and Blevinses were commissioned as lieutenants in the militia in the same county at the outbreak of the Revolution. Coopers and Blevinses are said to have been "Melungeon," with Sephardic Jewish roots.
A James Cooper was living in Jackson Co. on Oct. 8, 1821, when an Isaac Cooper gave a deposition at his home for the law case of Conn v. Francis in Wayne Co., Kentucky. The suit was Stephen T. Conn v. John Francis (1818-1830s), originating with the discovery of saltwater along the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River near the mouth of Beer Creek by John Francis, who received large grants of land for salt production during the War of 1812. Isaac worked in Conn's Big South Fork Salt Works, and his son Harmon later married a Francis girl. This is the earliest documention of these Coopers in what was then the border to Cherokee lands along the Tennessee River. A James Cooper entered land bought from DeKalb Co., June 2, 1842: S 13 T10 R6 (probably a nephew or cousin).
Isaac Cooper bought 50 acres of land on Beaver Creek in Wayne Co. around 1824. The survey was dated Jan. 29, 1824. He then bought land in Marion Co., Tennessee, in the 1830s. He had moved there about 1825. He is counted in the 1830 census on page 58. There were seven in his household: 3 males under 5, 1 male 5-10 years old (Jackson Cooper?), 1 female under 5 and his wife 20-30 years old (Jenny Blevins?). He is mentioned as a landholder on Sequatchie Creek, Marion Co. Deed Book, p. 319. In 1831, he sold land in district four to Mary Porter. About 1838, he settled in Deerhead Cove, Dade County, Ga., on the Alabama line (DeKalb Co.)
Isaac Cooper also evidently served in the "Cherokee Wars" during the latter part of the 1830s. There is a private by that name in Dossett's Company of 3rd Battalion of the Tennessee Infantry, also in Powell's Co. of Lindsay's Regiment of 1st Tennessee Mounted Volunteers. Many "friendly" Indians and halfbreeds joined the army and helped remove the Cherokees, often as scouts--Isaac would probably have been considered a Choctaw quarter-breed and not a Cherokee. See Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances 1815-1858, by Virgil D. White (1994), based on NARA Microfilm M629 ("Cherokee War 1836-1839").
In 1840, Isaac Cooper appears to have been in Muscogee Co., Ga., perhaps in Columbus, a railroad hub. The household consisted of 1 male 10-15 years old, and 4 females ranging from under 5 to 15-10 years old, together with a female 30-40 years old (=Jenny Blevins). He appears as part of a whole page of men engaged in manufactures and trades; three of his household apparently worked for the railroad, which must have included his wife, Jenny.
Isaac Cooper bought land on cash sales from the Lebanon land office in Dekalb Co., Ala., Sec. 27, Tsp. 3S, Range 10E (next to James Blevins, apparently right across the state line from Deerhead Cove, Dade Co., Ga.) on two occasions: June 1, 1845 and April 10, 1847 (80 and 40 acres). In August of 1847, he enlisted in the army.
Isaac Cooper fought in the Mexican War at age 43 and died in Mexico. According to Billie Groening, Isaac Cooper joined the army August 5, 1847, in Dade Co., and was a private in Calhoun's Battalion (D Company, Calhoun's Mounted Battalion, Georgia Infantry--his brother William was in the same outfit as a scout). He may also have served in Company J 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry, enlisting in Alexandria and being discharged in New Orleans in 1847. Evidently, he was part of the gunnery, because of his metal-working and mechanical skills. He entered the hospital in Vera Cruz November 7, 1847 and died December 23, 1847. Gen. Winfield Scott, the conqueror of Mexico, was from Kentucky.
On the Mexican War, in an interview, an Isaac Cooper of DeKalb Co., Tenn., who is one of the survivors of Captain Goodner's company, said: "I joined Company I, First Tennessee Regiment of Mounted Infantry, for service in the Mexican War about the time I reached my majority. Our colonel was Jonas E. Thomas, while our company was organized at Alexandria and sworn in at Nashville. Our uniform was gray and was made at home. We went to Tampico and crossed the Gulf to Vera Cruz. A fourteen days' storm overtook us, and we had to throw overboard the horses of Colonel Thomas and Major Waterhouse. The other horses followed on transports. After the battle of Vera Cruz we fought at Cerro Gordo, then marched to Jalapa across the mountains, I being one of the guards of four wagonloads of gold and silver from Vera Cruz to Jalapa. On our return home we took ship at Vera Cruz for New Orleans, thence by boat to Nashville. The government bought our horses at Vera Cruz, and I received about $700 for my absence of twelve months and eight days from home."
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