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Samuel Cooper Papers: Finding Aid
mssCO 1-271
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Title: Samuel Cooper Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1718-1798
Collection Number: mssCO 1-271
Creator:
Cooper, Samuel,
1725-1783.
Extent:
271 pieces in 3 boxes and 1 folder
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of Massachusetts scholar and
Congregational minister Samuel Cooper (1725-1783). Includes sermons by Cooper and his father
William Cooper (1694-1743), dating from 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.
Language: English and French.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Samuel Cooper Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Chiefly purchased from Marvin C. Taylor, 1926.
Diary and miscellaneous account (1775, Apr. 18 -- Sept 23 ) Purchased from Mary O'Neal,
Nov. 1, 2010.
Custodial History
Diary and miscellaneous account (1775, Apr. 18 -- Sept 23) was held on deposit at The
Massachusetts Historical Society until 1999.
Samuel Cooper (1724-1784), scholar and Congregational minister, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts. Following in the footsteps of his father, William Cooper, he was educated for
the ministry and was graduated from Harvard in 1743. In the same year, before his ordination
took place, he was called to be assistant pastor of the Brattle Street Church in Boston.
Four years later he became sole incumbent and remained in the same pastorate to the end of
his life.
For many years Dr. Cooper was a member of the Corporation of Harvard College. He was an
ardent patriot, and took an active part in the politics of his day. He numbered among his
most intimate friends many famous Americans, and all of the distinguished Frenchmen who
visited Boston during the course of the war.
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.
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.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Cooper, William,
1694-1743.
Cooper, Samuel, 1725-1783 --
Archives.
La Luzerne, Anne-César,
chevalier de, 1741-1791 -- Correspondence.
Estaing, Charles Henri, comte
d', 1729-1794 -- Correspondence.
Hawley, Gideon, 1727-1807 --
Correspondence.
Vergennes, Charles Gravier,
comte de, 1719-1787 -- Correspondence.
Church in Brattle Square
(Boston, Mass.)
Harvard College
(1636-1780)
Sermons, American -- Early works to 1800.
Congregationalism -- New England -- History --
18th century -- Sources.
Indians of North America -- Massachusetts --
Early works to 1800.
Missionaries -- Massachusetts --
Correspondence.
Boston (Mass.) -- History --
18th century -- Sources.
United States -- History --
Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 -- Sources.
United States -- History --
Sermons -- Early works to 1800.
United States -- History --
Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources.
United States -- Foreign
relations -- France.
France -- Foreign relations --
United States.
Diaries -- United States -- Colonial period,
ca. 1600-1775.
Diaries -- United States -- Revolution,
1775-1783.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States 18th
century.
Sermons -- United States -- 18th
century.
Personal papers -- United States -- 18th
century.
Family papers -- United States -- 18th
century.
Cooper, William, 1694-1743.
Adams, John, 1735-1826.
La Luzerne, Anne-César, chevalier de,
1741-1791.
Estaing, Charles Henri, comte d',
1729-1794.
Hawley, Gideon, 1727-1807.
Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de,
1719-1787.