Person:Thomas Cooper (80)

Thomas Cooper was a carpenter who had a wife named Sarah and children baptised in Bexley, Kent, England: Elizabeth (1796), Thomas (1810), William (1812), John (1814) and Sarah (1816). The gap between Elizabeth and the other children possibly indicates this is two different families, or that other children were baptised elsewhere in between, but with such common names and father's occupations not being included in early baptism records it's difficult to be sure baptisms in different locations belong to the same family. A Sarah Cooper was buried in Bexley on 14 May 1797 so it's possible this was the mother of Elizabeth and that the mother of the other children was a different person.

No marriage record for Thomas and Sarah has yet been found. There are a number of marriages of a Thomas Cooper to a Sarah in other parishes within 10 miles of Bexley between 1790 and 1810 however with no occupations listed it's difficult to be sure if one of these Thomas Cooper's is the right one. Thomas and Sarah gave their last known daughter the middle name "Bower" so it's possible that was Sarah's maiden name, however no marriage record has yet been found for a Thomas Cooper marrying a Sarah Bower. A search for families with names similar to Bower living in the area of Bexley has not yet yielded any clues.

No record for Thomas and Sarah's daughter Elizabeth has been found after her baptism in 1796 however there was an Elizabeth Cooper buried in Bexley in 1807 that could be the same person.

Thomas Jr. married in Putney in 1833 and lived in Hammersmith from 1834 to at least 1844 before moving to Woolwich where he died in 1877. He worked as a carpenter and joiner and had 7 children.

William Cooper was in London until at least 1838 when he was a witness to his sister Sarah's wedding. There are records for a William Cooper born in Bexley who later lived in Liverpool however there was another William Cooper baptised in Bexley in 1813 and it has not yet been determined which William Cooper went to Liverpool.

John Cooper has not yet been found after his baptism in 1814. With such a common name there are many possible record matches so definitive evidence will be needed to link them to this person.

Sarah Bower Cooper married Thomas William Kirkham, son of customs house officer Major Kirkham and Sarah Stoneham, at the Hammersmith parish church (St. Paul's) on 21 January 1838. Witnesses to the marriage were William Cooper and the groom's sister Matilda Kirkham. The marriage certificate lists Thomas Kirkham's occupation as "comb maker" and he later worked as a porter, marine store dealer, and greengrocer.

Thomas Sr. and his wife Sarah haven't yet been found in the 1841 census. There's a Thomas Cooper who worked as a carpenter in St Giles Camberwell but he's living with an Eleanor. Or there's a Thomas and Sarah living in Bethnal Green but the occupation is illegible.

There are 1851 census and burial records which are a likely match for Thomas. In the 1851 census there was a widowed carpenter named Thomas Cooper who was an inmate in the Dartford Union Workhouse. His birth was listed as Dartford around 1781. He was buried in Bexley in 1854 with his abode listed as Dartford Union. It may be possible to find more information about this person on the workhouse admission and discharge register which is available at FamilySearch Family History Centres.

No record has been found for Thomas' wife Sarah after the baptism of their youngest daughter.

FamilySearch

Bexley Parish Church

1. ↑ Bexley, Kent, England. Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1812
   St Mary the Virgin, Baptisms, 1810, Thomas Cooper bap. 22 Jul 1810.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Bexley, Kent, England. Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1812
   St Mary the Virgin, Baptisms, 1814 pg 13, John Cooper bap. 28 Dec 1814.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Bexley, Kent, England. Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1925
   St Mary the Virgin, Baptisms, 1816 pg 24, Sarah Bower Cooper bap. 13 Oct 1816.
4.   Bexley, Kent, England. Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1558-1812
   St Mary the Virgin, Baptisms, 1796, Elizabeth Cooper bap. 23 Oct 1796.
5.   General Register Office. Marriage Certificate
   marriage certificate for Thomas William Kirkham and Sarah Bower Cooper, married 21 Jan 1838; citing 3/145/389, Jan-Mar quarter 1838, Middlesex registration district, Hammersmith sub-district.