William Matthews Cooley
I began following a hunch in September, 2006 that the William Matthews Cooley mentioned in Surry County, North
Carolina records during the 1780s might be the William M Cooley who died in
Stewart County, Tennessse in 1823. William's presence in Tennesse during
the last decades of his life is well documented but there seemed to be
nothing to cover the 20 year period between 1786 and 1806. Although I could
not take William M Cooley back to Surry County in 1786 he could be taken
back with some reliability to the following year in Kentucky on land very
near to where Reuben Cooley later lived. This Reuben was a son of John Cooley of Stokes (formerly Surry) County,
North Carolina. However, much has come to light recently, assuring
William's place as a member of John's family. This includes that fact that
William's patrilineal descendants belong to the haplogroup R1a-YP4491.
The key Joseph Gray, father-in-law of William Cooley, who deeded property
to William's son, Joel Cooley, in 1812. Earlier that year, Joseph drew up
his will in Stewart County, Tennessee, leaving the land he still owned on
the Rolling Fork in Washington County, Kentucky to his son, Joseph Gray Jr.
That southeastern part of Washington County later became Marion County and
home to Reuben Cooley (the Rubin Cooley Branch is a tributary of the Rolling
Fork) and lays adjacent to what was then the Lincoln County border. The
Rolling Fork flows out of that region (now Casey County, Kentucky) and into
present-day Marion County. This Reuben Cooley was the founder of the Marion
County Cooleys. His brother, John Cooley Jr, was the progenitor of the
Casey County Cooleys.
1782 |
A William Cooley and a James
Grey appear in a list for Captain James Downing's Company of
militia in Lincoln County, Kentucky. (Joseph Gray did have a brother named
James.) |
1784 |
Joseph Gray granted 400 acres along the Rolling Fork,
Jefferson co VA (now KY). This area was later Nelson co, later Washington
co, later Marion co KY. (Kentucky Land Grants, bk 9, p357, 15 Mar
1784.) |
1784 |
John Cooley Sr, William Matthews Cooley &
John Cooley Jr app Constable of Willis Dist. 1784, 85, 86. (Surry
Co Deeds, Book C p257) |
c1785 |
Richard Cooley of Stewart County,
Tennessee, son of William M Cooley, is born in North
Carolina. |
1785 |
John Douglas to John Bryson for £5, 2½ A on E
side Loving Creek, middle fork of Arrarat River in sd Bryson's line, wit:
Wm Matthews Cooley, John Cooley, Junr. (SCDB C:258, 8 Feb
1785; quoted in Jo White Linn, Surry County, North Carolina Will
Abstracts, 1992, p. 126.) |
1785 |
Joseph Goode to Morgan Davis, south side Dan
River below mouth Flat Shoal Cr. Witnessed by John Cooley, Sr,
John Cooley Jr, and William Matthews Cooley; 17 Apr 1785 (Deed
Book C page 257.) |
1785 |
Joseph Goode to Morgan Davis 30 pds 100 ac S
side Dan River below mouth Flat Shoal Creek. John Cooley, Senr.;
William Matthews Cooley; John Cooley, Junr.; 17 Apr 1785
(Surry County Deeds Book C, page 264; from notes received from Sandra
Stanton.) |
1786 |
Mark Hardin, Senr. Guilford County to Robert Dearing, Orange
County, VA 150 pds 400 ac both sides Evans Creek adj Isaac Vernon &
Thompson. William M. Cooley; Joseph Vaughn; George Ray; (Surry
County, North Carolina County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions,
1790-1795, Vol 1. Compiled by Agnes M. Wells.)
| 1786 |
William M Cooley mentioned in Surry County records. (North
Carolina County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1790-1795 Vol.
1.) |
1786 |
Joseph Gray appointed Justice of the Peace, 1 Aug 1786.
(Mercer co KY Order Book #1, 1786-1790) |
1787 |
Last mention of William Cooley in Surry County: that it be
"Ordered by the Court that William Cooley be Exempted from
paying a poll Tax for himself for the future." (Feb 16, Surry county court
minutes, p 79.) Note that one of the conditions by which a taxpayer could be
exempt is that he is in the process of relocating. |
1787 |
"Willm Cooley" first appears on the tax list for Madison
County, Virginia (now Kentucky).3 |
1789 |
In Nelson County, Joseph Gray and
William "Cooly" sign a petition to the
Virginia government. (Remember, Kentucky was still part of Virginia.
Washington County was later formed out of Nelson County.) |
1789 |
"W.M. Cooley purchased land on Dyers Creek in present day
Stewart County, from Robert Fenner in 1789." (Jeff Clark's website, no
longer extant.) |
1789 |
William Cooley v Jeremiah Gray on debt, 25
Nov 1789, Mercer co KY. Several appearances in court. Suit was dismissed 24
Aug 1790. |
1794 |
Washington co KY tax list, 22 May 1794, William Cooley, 15
cattle, 2 horses.6 |
1795 |
Washington co tax list: William Cooley, 1 white male above
21, 20 cattle, 3 horses.6 |
1796 |
Washington co KY tax list: William Cooley, 52 acres,
Rolling Fork, land was entered by Jonathon Ingram, land was surveyed for
Joseph Gray and grant issued to Joseph
Gray. 1 white male over 21, 2 horses, 9
cattle.6 |
1797 |
William Cooley and Joseph Cooley appear on
the Washington co KY tax lists.6 |
1800 |
Will Cooley appears on the tax list for Washington County,
Kentucky. |
1800 |
Joseph Gray commissioned Captain of the 4th Regiment of the
Kentucky Militia (1 Apr 1800). |
1800 |
William Cooley and John Cooley are
witnesses to the will of John Good of Lincoln county KY.
John's "trusty and well beloved friend" Major Joseph Gray
of Washington county is one of the executors. John's son, Timothy
Good and father, Thomas Good, are
named.5 Note that the Goodes and Cooleys were closely aligned in
Surry (later Stokes) county NC. The senior John Cooley and
Richard Goode, nephew of Thomas, served together 1755 from
Caroline co VA. |
1801-1804 |
William Cooley appears on Washington co tax list for each
year. |
1803 |
Joseph Gray of Washington County, Kentucky
sells "negroe Girl Slave named Betty" to Anne
Cooley, wife of William Cooley of the same county.
[link] |
1803 |
Court Order Book 2 for 7 Nov 1803, p 67: "For reasons appearing to the Court
it is ordered that William Cooley be released from the
payment of county levies in the future."6 Again, he had probably
made claim that his residence had moved, this time to TN. |
1804 |
Joseph Gray sells to Bird Lawless land
that is adjacent to "William Cooleys line."1 [link] Eula Ray Kirkland states, "This
land is located south of Gravel Switch about 1 1/2 miles on Hwy. 337." That
would place it near to or right at the Rubin Cooley Branch. That same year,
John Cooley Sr deeds land (Stokes County NC) to sons
Reuben and James Cooley. |
1804 |
William Cooley sells Washington County, Kentucky land to
Bird Lawless (Washington County Kentucky Deed Book C). [link] |
1804 |
William Cooly, Joseph Gray and
Richard Cooly witness deed of John Butler
of Washington co KY to William Crowdes of Washington co KY
for land in Mercer co KY. (Bk 5 p 340 19 Oct 1804). |
1805 |
Hezekiah Boyce vs. Isaac Brunson - "This day comes into court, by their
consent their suit is taken out of court, and let to the award of William
Cooley, Thomas French, William Haggard and Aaron Fletcher as
arbitrators, to settle and adjust all the accounts and disputes between the
said Boyce and Brunson now depending in said court. And the said
arbitrators come into court and are sworn as such proceeds." (Minutes of the
Stewart County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Minutes of the Stewart
County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 11 June 1805). |
1806 |
John and Reuben Cooley taxed for land on
the Rolling Fork, Lincoln County, KY. Perrin Cooley appears
on the Washington co tax lists for 1806-1809 and 1811, the year he moved to
Missouri with brothers Joseph and James
Cooley. Joseph Cooley appears on the Washington co
tax lists for 1806 and 1811. |
1806 |
"William Cooley records his ear mark, a crop and a
hole in each ear." (Minutes of the Stewart County Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sessions, 10 March 1806). |
1806 |
Joseph Gray deeds Stewart co TN land to William
Cooley, witnessed by A Atkins and Richard
Cooley (Stewart co TN deed bk 2 pg 25, 4 Nov 1806). |
1812 |
Joseph Gray, now of Stewart County, Tennessee wills his
Rolling Fork, Washington County, KY land to son Joseph Gray
Jr: "...gets land in Washington Co., KY on the Rolling Fork of the
Salt River, and gets part of land shared with Peter R
Booker (originally granted to Joseph Gray Sr and
his brother James Gray)." Earlier that year he gifts land
in Stewart County to Joel Cooley, son of William M
Cooley. |
Robert Fenner, from whom William Cooley purchased his land in Stewart
County, received the land from his father Richard, one of the original
military grantees in Tennessee following the end of the
Revolution.2 The land that Joseph Gray granted to Joel Cooley was
originally owned by James Cole Montflorence, also an original military
grantee.
Jeanette Pollard notes (website now defunct) that the Stewart County
Cooleys found themselves in Houston county when it was carved out of Stewart
county in 1871. She visited the gravesite there of Richard W Cooley's son,
William Mathis Cooley. (Note that Mathis and Matthews are alternate
spellings of the same.) The Houston county 1880 census record for this
William states that his father (Richard) was born in North Carolina. That
places his birth at the time and place of William Matthews Cooley's presence
in Surry county, North Carolina.
William M Cooley, d. 1823
m Anna (Gray?)
|
|-------|------- ----|---------|-------|
Ann Richard W Jonathan Joel William
| d 1812
Simeon W
A compilation of notes for Williams descendants is found at Patrilineal
Descendants of John Cooley.
And here's a collection of Stewart County, Tennessee records for
the Cooleys
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Michael Cooley, OrbitInternet.net -
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