COOPER
Our COOPER line comes from Nottingham, in the north of England. William COOPER was born there about 1799. His father's name was Jonathan, but his mother's name is unknown. William COOPER was a chimney sweep by trade, and a bit of a rogue. In 1818, he and an accomplice, James FORREST, burgled the shop of one William STUBBS in the village of Bingham, east of the town of Nottingham, stealing several silver watches. They were caught, convicted, and condemned to death, but reprieved and sent to the hulk at Woolwich for the terms of their natural lives.
William COOPER was transported to Van Diemen's Land in 1818 aboard the Lord Melville. He got into a bit of strife there, before being sent to Newcastle in New South Wales in 1822. He met the daughter of a fellow-convict, Mary Ann MORLEY, and eventually settled down to raise a family. William was granted a Conditional Pardon in 1847, and died in Newcastle in 1859.
These characters appear in the story of The Burglar from Nottingham.
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