Thomas Cooper (1764–1829) was a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

lawyer and politician who was a

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member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. He served in the

Thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...

and Fourteenth Congresses.

Early life and career

Cooper was born in Little Creek Hundred in the

Delaware Colony Delaware Colony in the North American Middle Colonies consisted of land on the west bank of the Delaware River Bay. In the early 17th century the area was inhabited by Lenape and possibly the Assateague tribes of Native Americans. The first Eur ...

, the son of Isaac and Comfort Townsend Barkley Cooper. Cooper's grandfather, Barkley Townsend, came to Laurel in 1768 from

Dorchester County, Maryland Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 census, the population was 32,531. Its county seat is Cambridge. The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts (t ...

and at one time owned nearly the whole area. His father Isaac served in the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

, and was a member of the Delaware convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Isaac was also a member of the 1792 Delaware Constitutional Convention. Cooper's brother was Governor William B. Cooper. Cooper completed his preparatory studies at his home in Little Creek Hundred. After studying the law with James P. Wilson, he was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1805 and began a lifelong practice at Georgetown, Delaware.

Political career

Cooper was a member of the Federalist Party and began his political career as a member of the State House of Representatives, where he served from 1803 to 1807. He then served a term in the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

from 1808 to 1810, until he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1813. Cooper served in the House from March 4, 1813 to March 3, 1817.

After leaving Congress

In 1817 Cooper retired from the U.S. House, but continued the practice of law in Georgetown until his death. Among Cooper's students were Edward Wooten and Caleb S. Layton. Cooper was regarded as a professional and knowledgeable lawyer to his peers. Cooper died at Georgetown, Delaware in 1829 and was buried in the Cooper family cemetery near Laurel, Delaware.

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State Senators had a three-year term and State Representatives terms of one year. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term.

References

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