FAMILIES A-C: COOLEY ~ William Cooley
Darrtown Pioneer Designation
William Cooley (1756-1837) has been designated as the Pioneer member of the Cooley Family, of Darrtown, Ohio.
Cooley Family History Sought
Unfortunately, as of November 17, 2013, no member of the Cooley family has participated in the creation of this family page.
If you have information to contribute regarding the Cooley family of Darrtown, Ohio, please use the "Contact Me" link at the bottom of this page to inform the Darrtown.com webmaster.
"Birth: Mar. 3, 1756
Goshen, Orange County, New York, USA
Death: Aug. 11, 1837
Darrtown, Butler County, Ohio, USA
William Cooley was the son of Jabez Cooley. He was born in Goshen, Orange County, New York.
He served as a private in the New York Militia during the Revolutionary War. [1]
He was married to Nancy Jones, on January 8, 1793, in Madison County, Kentucky, by the Reverend Feathergill Adams, Baptist preacher. By 1799, William and Nancy moved to Pleasant Run, in Hamilton County, Ohio.
In 1804, the Butler County Commissioners recorded that William had killed two wolves for a two dollar bounty.
He moved to the lower end of Darrtown [2] by 1815, where he lived until his death in 1837.
He was a soldier, a weaver and a farmer.
Both William and Nancy were members of the Baptist Church that was located next to Darrtown Cemetery. He and his wife left no children.
Burial: Darrtown Cemetery
Darrtown, Butler County, Ohio, USA"
Webmaster Notes:
[1] The Hamilton Evening Journal article that appears immediately below, confirms that William Cooley was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.
[2] The "lower end of Darrtown" is a reference to the stone house that William Cooley built at the southern edge of Darrtown, on the west side of the Hamilton-Richmond Road (State Route 177). A photo of his house appears below and more images of the stone structure are available on the Wagonfield Family page; scroll to the section titled, "Before the Wagonfield Era."
BACKGROUND ON WILLIAM COOLEY
A Google search revealed the following about William Cooley.
News article cites William Cooley as an "associate" of George Washington
"ASSOCIATES OF WASHINGTON
Graves of Many Found In Butler County, Search Continues For Others
As the time approaches when the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington is to be celebrated, it becomes know that many of the associates of Washington in the war of the Revolution or in the early development of the United States, became residents of Butler county and that many of them found their last resting place within its borders.
Many of these associates of Washington are positively known, as well as their residences and the places of their burial. But, there are still some whose place of burial still remain unrevealed, although it is known that they too sleep in Butler county.
Every possible effort is being made this year to gain all information possible concerning these early settlers, some of whom no doubt knew Washington; and others who were intimately acquainted with the early development of the territory, west of the Alleghenies. Many of these found their way to the Great Miami Valley and, of these, many settled in Butler county to become the pioneers in the development of the county.
The Known Associates
The associates of Washington, who became residents of Butler county and found their last resting place here and who are positively know are the following:
A list of 59 "known associates of George Washington appeared.
The unknown associates of Washington, who also came to Butler county, but trace of whose whereabouts and whose places of burial are still unknown, were as follows:
A list of 39 "unknown associates of George Washington appeared.
NOTE: William Cooley was included in the list of 59 "Known Associates," as "Capt. Cooley, Darrtown."
The item at the right
is a reprint of a
news article that
appeared in the February 13, 1932 edition of the
Hamilton Evening Journal,
in a section devoted
to the topic of
"Associates of Washington."
The following image shows the headline and the upper portion of the "Associates of Washington" news article.
NEWS STORY CONNECTS WILLIAM COOLEY WITH DARRTOWN STRUCTURE
2013 CHAPS newsletter item connects William Cooley with brick home
CHAPS is defined as the
Citizens for Historic And Preservation Services.
According to the CHAPS newsletter masthead (above), the organization has been communicating and recording news about local preservation efforts in Butler County (Ohio) for 30 years.
As noted in the CHAP's column at the right, William Cooley was the original owner of the property, which later became the property of Gottlieb Wagonfield.
21st century images of the Cooley/Wagonfield homestead appear on the Wagonfield home page.
