The Cooper Family Papers

Call Number: C 4A C78 P2 Shelf T

Historical Note:

Peter Cooper (1791‑1883) was a manufacturer, inventor, philanthropist, and founder of Cooper Union. His family was prominent among 19th century Americans, and had myriad business, cultural, and philanthropic interests.

Description of Collection:

This collection documents the life of Peter Cooper’s family through personal letters and business correspondence from the mid 1700’s to the mid 1800’s. Included in these manuscripts are land deeds dating back to Peter Cooper’s great-grandparents, Cornelia and Obadiah Cooper; claims made by John Cooper and John Campbell to secure pensions received from serving in the Revolutionary War; poems; prose; and letters from Peter Cooper’s brothers, sisters, cousins, mother, and father -- John Cooper, Margaret Cooper, Sarah Cooper, Martha Cooper, Edward Cooper, Henrietta Cooper, Adelia Cooper, among others.

Provenance:

The acquisition of these papers was made possible by a generous donation from Michael Borkowsky ME’61; Peter Buckley, HSS Faculty; Sean B. Cusack, BSE’98; Barry J. Drogin, EE’83, MEE’86; David H. Ellison, Arch’83; Sangamithra L. Iyer, CE’99; John F. Leeper, Arch’85; James S. Liubicich; ChE’83; Carol Wolf (née Robinson) with Bill Wolf, both A’84, and Robert Q. Topper, Chemistry Faculty.

Extent of Collection: 5 boxes;  1.88 liner feet.

Finding Aid prepared by Katie Blumenkrantz, February, 2018.