Benjamin Cooper (d. 1772)
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-04398
- Given Name
- Benjamin
- Family Name
- Cooper
- Death Date
- 1772
- Sex
- Male
- Occupation
- Transportation
- Biographical Description
-
Benjamin Cooper was an 18th-century ferry operator in the area that is now the City of Camden. Benjamin's family was in the ferry business in the area since the 1690s, transporting people and goods across the Delaware River to Philadelphia. Benjamin's cousin William Cooper (1694-1767) operated the older ferry that went from the foot of present-day Cooper Street to Arch Street in Philadelphia. Benjamin was in charge of the second ferry terminal, which was located at Cooper's Poynt, north of the old ferry. He operated this ferry terminal from about 1728 until about 1762.
From 1762 to 1764, Benjamin Cooper leased the ferry operation to a Philadelphia man named Roberts. Thus, during that brief period in the 1760s, historical records refer to this terminal as "Roberts' Ferry." Slave trafficking activities at this ferry terminal peaked during Roberts's tenure. In 1765, the Cooper family took control of the ferry again, and Benjamin Cooper's son, Samuel Cooper, soon became the primary operator. - Keywords
- white person
- Child of
- Joseph Cooper (1666-1731)
- References
-
“Enslaved Africans Sold Here,” Camden County Historical Society, accessed January 23, 2025, https://cchsnj.org/enslaved-africans-sold-here/.
“Enslaved Africans of Pomona Hall,” exhibit researched and curated by Bonny Beth Elwell with artwork by Erik James Montgomery (Camden County Historical Society), https://cchsnj.org/online-exhibits/.
Garry Wheeler Stone, Coopers Ferry During the American Revolution, Report to the American Battlefield Protection Program, the National Park Service, September 28, 2015, https://www.camdennj.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Coopers-Ferry-during-the-American-Revolution-2015.08.17.pdf.
This person is represented on the following page(s):
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cooper-11027 - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Resource class
- Agent