William Cooper Diaries and Photograph

Collection

Identifier: MSS-0357

Scope and Contents note

The collection consists of six diaries for 1864, 1867, 1876, 1882, 1884, and 1887, and a photograph of Cooper in his later years. The diaries contain daily entries made by Cooper and, in his absence from home, his wife, and give a great deal of information about the community, his activities, and his family. Many entries include small drawings, some in color. The diaries chiefly record weather conditions, but include accounts of travels to Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood news, births, deaths, and plantings in Cooper's garden. The diary for 1864 was primarily kept by his wife, who made pencil entries from mid-January until August. The remainder of the diary has few entries. A slip of paper laid in says “All the pencil entries in diary 1864 made by our grand mother -- Papa in Miss valley looking after plantations and negroes.” The entry for August 15, 1887, includes a notice (incorrect) of his death in his own hand. The entry is corrected the next day in his wife’s hand.

Dates

1864-1887

Creator

Cooper, WIlliam (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Due to the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access to certain materials may require additional advance notice.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are responsible for using the materials in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials. The user assumes all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any copyright claimants in collection materials. Copyright for official University records is held by The University of Alabama. The library claims only physical ownership of many manuscript collections. Anyone wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of literary property rights or copyrights. Please contact Special Collections (archives@ua.edu) with questions regarding specific manuscript collections. For more information about copyright policy, please visit: https://www.ua.edu/copyright/. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals without the consent of those individuals may have legal implications, for which the University of Alabama assumes no responsibility.

Biographical/Historical note

William Cooper, lawyer, of Tuscumbia, Colbert County, Alabama, was born January 11, 1802, in Brunswick County, Virginia. His family moved to Nashville from Virginia in 1807 and later to Alabama. He was admitted to the bar in 1823 and practiced first at Russellville. In 1828 he moved to Tuscumbia. He represented the Choctaws in negotiating the Treaty of Pontotoc with the Federal government, served as bank commissioner from 1845-1847, and was a member of the Alabama Secession Convention. He married, first, on November 12, 1824, Susan Henderson McCullock (died 1834). They had three children: Langston, died young; James Parks; and Jane Foster (married James Pettit). He and his second wife, Elizabeth Blocker, whom he married in 1836, had five children: John William; Susan Henderson (married W. A. Nelson); Sarah A. (married John Goodwin); Mollie R.(married Ben Winter); and Julie Francis (married E. R. Rather). Cooper married his third wife, Mrs. Julia Plummber Blocker, December 27, 1869. They had no children. William Cooper died August 16, 1887 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection consists of six diaries for 1864, 1867, 1876, 1882, 1884, and 1887, and a photograph of Cooper, an attorney from Tuscumbia, Alabama. The diaries contain daily entries made by Cooper and, in his absence from home, his wife, and give a great deal of information about the community, his activities, and his family.

Provenance

Purchased from Ms. Ann Campbell, 1989

Related Materials

Additional Cooper diaries for the years 1862, 1865, 1872, and 1886 are located at The Southern Historical Collection, Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

General

To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.