Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 1912
Cope Family Biography
This ancient Pennsylvania family was founded in that state by Oliver Cope, born in Wiltshire, England, came to Pennsylvania among the early English settlers, bringing, it is supposed, a wife and children; another child was born soon afterwards, John, the progenitor of the Copes herein recorded. The following written in 1815 by a grandson seems to contain the most likely facts of the emigrant: "The particular time Oliver Cope came from England and settled at Naamans Creek (now Chester county, Pennsylvania), I am not fully capable of informing you; yet I believe it must be about the year 1687 or 1688, and the time of his decease was when my father was about ten years of age, which must be about 1701." He made his will May 21, 1697. His wife Rebecca died about 1728. Children: William, settled in the south; Elizabeth, married Hugh Blackwell; Ruth, married Thomas Buffington; John, of whom further:
(II) John, son of Oliver Cope, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, about 1691. His will made July 6, 1769, was probated March 12, 1773. He owned a farm of two hundred acres, one mile northwest of the town of West Chester on which he built in 1712 a log house. He became a member of the Society of Friends, his first marriage being by Friends ceremony, the original of his marriage certificate signed by members of the Meeting, and a belt he wore being preserved in the family. The date of his wife's death was as early as 1746, as he married a second wife Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Fisher, December 23, 1746. No issue. He married (first) November 30, 1721, in Chester county, Charity, daughter of Robert and Joan (Jeffries) Evans. Children: 1. Hannah, married, February 10, 1746, John, son of George and Elizabeth Carter. 2. Samuel, married, June 7, 1753, Deborah Parke. 3. Mary, died unmarried, aged fifty-eight years. 4. John, of whom further. 5. Nathan, married, December 7, 1758, Amy Bane. 6. Caleb, married, October 17, 1760, Mary M. Mendenhall. 7. Joshua, twin of Caleb, married Jane Brown and settled in Frederick county, Virginia. 8. Joseph, married, April 6, 1769, Ann Taylor. The sons all became farmers of Chester county except Joshua. The average when all were living was eighty years of age.
(III) John (2), son of John (1) Cope, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, 1739. He was a farmer, and at the time of his second marriage was residing in Salisbury township, Lancaster county. His exact residence for several years is unknown, but in October, 1784, he moved to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where he died July 31, 1812. He settled in the Red Lion Valley in Jefferson, where he and his sons owned farms. The greater portion of the Copes moved from Fayette county to New Salem, Columbia county, Ohio. This branch, however, remained and descendants are still found in Jefferson township and other parts of the county. John (2) Cope retained his birthright in the Society of Friends, always belonging to and faithful to the Society.
He married (first) about 1750, Grace, who died 1758, daughter of Jason Cloud. Children: 1. David, born August 24, 1751, died March 31, 1806; married Margaret Brown, of Chester county. 2. Nathan, born February 6, 1754; married Mary Millson and died in Ohio. 3. Joseph, born January 6, 1756, died July 5, 1776. 4. John, born February 3, 1758, died November 20, 1767. He married (second) January 10, 1760, Grace Dickinson, born November 10, 1741, died November 6, 1805, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Dickinson, of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, Children: 5. Grace, born October 13, 1760, died February 23, 1854; married William Piersol and settled in Fayette county, where he died aged over one hundred years. 6. Samuel, of whom further. 7. Elizabeth, born February 17, 1764, died September 10, 1820; married Thomas Cook, of Chester county; settled first in Washington, then in Redstone township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 8. Isaac, born May 16, 1766, died March 28, 1822; married Sarah Kirk and lived near Brownsville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 9. John (3), born July 15, 1768, died 1823; married (first) Ruth Dixson, (second) Ann Stratton; died in Ohio. 10. Caleb, born July 8, 1770, died October 6, 1834; married Amy Dixson, sister of his brother John 's wife; he died in Ohio. 11. Joshua, born September 5, 1772, died September 8, 1839; married Alice Fisher; died in Washington township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 12. Jesse, born September 28, 1774, died February 25, 1832; married Margaret Dixson, another sister of the same Dixson family; he died in Ohio. 13. Joseph, born April 27, 1778, died 1845; married Elizabeth Dixson, not a sister of his brothers' wives. 14. James D., born March 21, 1780, died May 10, 1832; married Rebecca Cook and lived in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 15. Israel, born December 2, 1782; married Elizabeth Dixson, a sister of his brothers' wives, and making the fourth brother to marry the fourth sister
(IV) Samuel, son of John (2) and Grace (Dickinson) Cope, was born May 4, 1762, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, died in Jefferson township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1854, In 1784 he came with his father and brothers to Jefferson township. He became a wealthy farmer, also a manufacturer of scythes and sickles. He was a Whig in politics, and a member of the Society of Friends. He was a prominent man in his township, possessed the high attributes of character and lived according to the tenets of the religious sect to which he belonged. He married, December 14, 1797, in Fayette county, Sarah, born January 29, 1776, daughter of John and Sarah Willits, of Preston county, Virginia, now West Virginia. Children: 1. Rachel W., born July 11, 1799, died February 3, 1834; married a cousin, Joseph Cope. 2. Joseph H., born March 15, 1801; married Rebecca Millhouse and moved to Jefferson county, Ohio. 3. Samuel, of whom further. 4. Willits, born October 22, 1805, died August 21, 1833. 5. Lydia, born March 12, 1808; married Benjamin Gilbert, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. 6. Dawsey, born February 1, 1810, died September 24, 1856; married Sarah Ann Brinton, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. 7. Eliza, born August 27, 1812. 8. Elma, born July 23, 1813; married Jesse D. Vail and settled near Benton, Elkhart county, Indiana.
(V) Samuel (2), son of Samuel (1) and Sarah (Willits) Cope, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, September 3, 1803, died April 25, 1843. He was educated in the public schools, and spent his too short life on the home farm. He was a worthy and industrious man, well regarded by his neighbors. He was a Whig in politics, and a member of the Society of Friends. He married, September 2, 1829, Mercy Vail, born January 17, 1808, died March 19, 1862, daughter of Samuel and Agnes Vail, of Fayette county, Pennsylvania. Children: 1. Jasper, died in infancy. 2. Martha V., born August 1, 1836; married Gibson Binns, both deceased, 3. Louis, of whom further. 4. Willits, born May 13, 1838, died March 29, 1859. 5. Elma, born December 25, 1840; married William H. Binns.
(VI) Louis, son of Samuel (2) and Mercy (Vail) Cope, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1836. He was well educated in the common schools, and at Mount Pleasant Academy, an institution maintained by the Society of Friends. He was reared to farm labor and continued on the home farm until 1871, and until 1878 he was engaged in live stock dealing. In the latter year he opened a general store at Gillespie, continuing three years; then purchased the Red Lion store at Redstone Post Office, Fayette county, where he passed the remainder of his active business life, now living practically retired. He was postmaster at Redstone many years. He owned and operated the Fayette City Grist Mill, which he purchased in 1895, and was one of the founders of the Fayette City Bank. He was ever active and influential in his community and stands as one of the substantial and highly regarded citizens. He is a Republican, and a member of the Society of Friends, as is his wife.
He married, September 24, 1861, Hannah Y., born in Ohio, January 4, 1838, daughter of Samuel Hollingsworth, of Ohio. Children: 1. Florence, married T. S. Lackey, of Uniontown. 2. Edith G., married Newton P. Cooper, a merchant of Uniontown. 3. Lily (Precilla P.), married William Goslin, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania. 4. Martha B., married Frank W. Forsythe, of Fayette City, Pennsylvania. 5. Louis, born 1868, died aged thirteen years, 6. Samuel W., born 1871, died February 28, 1896; was engaged in business with his father in the Fayette City Bank and Grist Mill; he married Eleanor Alton, of Fayette City. 7. Elma, married W. E. Forsythe. 8. Jasper, of whom further.
(VII) Jasper, youngest child of Louis and Hannah Y. (Hollingsworth) Cope, was born in Jefferson township, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1881. He was educated in the public school, and when a young man of nineteen began business as a bank clerk. He has been continuously in bank employ until the present time (1912), and is now teller of the Citizens' Title and Trust Company of Uniontown. He is a Republican in politics.
Source: Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, John W. Jordan, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1912.
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