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Kirkwood Genealogy

 

Robert Kirkwood and his Descendants        Last updated Feb 2009

Robert Cooper (1777 - 1857)

A Brief History

Robert Cooper was born in 1777 in (or near) London, England. His parents were Robert and Eliza Cooper.

Prior to 1805 Robert married Mary Ann. Between 1805 and 1812 they had seven children, of whom five survived. In 1812 Robert was convicted of receiving stolen goods and sentenced to transportation (to New South Wales) for 14 years. It is believed that Mary Ann died about 1818, the year that Robert received a conditional pardon and re-married. The five children were sent to him in that year.

In 1818 Robert married Elizabeth Kelly (widow). Between 1817 and her death in 1821 they had seven children, of whom four survived. One of these was William Cooper, who married Margaret Kirkwood in 1840.

In 1822 Robert married Sarah May (1803-1863). Over the next 20 or more years they had fourteen children, of whom ten survived beyond infancy.

The Kirkwood – Cooper Families

While the descendants of Robert Kirkwood are numbered in the hundreds, those of Robert Cooper (1777-1857) are in the thousands. There is a substantial overlap of the two groups.

There are more than 300 direct descendants of David Simpson Kirkwood (1826-1903) and Emma Ann Cooper (1831-1915) and more than 150 spouses of those descendants.

There are about 100 known direct descendants of William Cooper (1819-?) and Margaret Kirkwood (1814-?) and about 50 known spouses.

Trial and Conviction

Summary

Five men were charged with the theft of goods valued at several hundred pounds, a substantial sum in 1812. Robert Cooper and another were charged with receiving stolen goods. Three of those charged with theft were sentenced to death, one got off with a light sentence (one year in prison and a fine of one shilling) and one was found not guilty. Robert was transported for 14 years, and the other was also found not guilty.

The Trial Proceedings

The full text of the trial proceedings (51 A4 pages) can be found at the Old Bailey Online website.

Further Information

Details of some sources of information on Robert Cooper are presented below.

The Robert Cooper Genealogy

The Robert Cooper Genealogy was substantially updated in 1986 by Robert Stewart Cameron, and published in book form (Robert Cooper of Juniper Hall) ISBN 1 86252 128 X. A supplement of corrections and additions was published in 1988.

The Internet

Very little of the information in the Robert Cooper Genealogy has been placed on the Internet, but some parts of it can be found on the Cooper Family website.