William Frierson Cooper (March 11, 1820 – May 7, 1909) was a lawyer, planter and politician. He was nominated to the Supreme Court of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

by President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, but the court never sat because of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After the war, he served as the Dean of the

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

from 1874 to 1875. He was a judge of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...

from 1878 to 1886.

Early life

Cooper was born on March 11, 1820 in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. His father, Matthew D. Cooper, was a merchant who later became a banker in

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

. His mother was Mary Agnes Frierson. His paternal grandfather, Robert Cooper, served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He had three brothers, including Senator

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...

, and two half-brothers, including Duncan Brown Cooper. He grew up in

, where he was raised as a Presbyterian. He wintered in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1832, and learned to speak French. Cooper graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1838. While he was at Yale, one of his professors was

Alphonso Taft Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, politician, United States Attorney General, Attorney General and United States Secretary of War, Secretary of War under President of the United States, President U ...

. Following college, he returned home to Columbia and began the study of medicine. After two years' study in Tennessee, he went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where he attended medical lectures at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, then abandoned the medical field for law. He joined the law offices of his uncle, Chancellor Samuel Davies Frierson, in

Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia, Tennessee, C ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1841.

Career

Cooper was the manager of his family Mulberry Hill Plantation in Maury County, Tennessee from 1840 to 1845. Meanwhile, he also practised the law alongside Samuel Davies Frierson. From 1845 to 1846, he formed a law firm with Alfred Osborne Pope Nicolson. From 1846 to 1851, he practised the law on his own. In 1851-1852, with

Return J. Meigs III Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

, Cooper were appointed to codify the laws of Tennessee. They completed their project in 1858, and their work was adopted, almost without modification, as the state's official code. Cooper was initially reluctant to embrace secession, but he fully supported the

(CSA) once it was established. Meanwhile, he was nominated to the Supreme Court of the CSA by President

, but the court never came to fruition. Meanwhile, he traveled in Europe. Cooper resumed legal practice in Nashville after the war. He served as the Dean of the

from 1874 to 1875, when he was succeeded by Thomas H. Malone. He was elected again to the Tennessee Supreme Court in August 1878 and served on the court until 1886. In 1890 he was awarded

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

s by

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, and the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

Personal life

Cooper never married. He resided at Riverview in

East Nashville East Nashville is an area east of downtown Nashville in Tennessee across the Cumberland River. The area is mostly residential and mixed-use areas with businesses lining the main boulevards. The main thoroughfares are Gallatin Ave (also known as Ga ...

until he purchased Riverwood, another mansion in Nashville, in 1859. He renamed the property Riverwood because of its location on bluffs on the north side of the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

Death and legacy

Cooper died on May 7, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York City. He was buried at the Zion Presbyterian Church Cemetery in

Ashwood, Tennessee Ashwood is an unincorporated community in Maury County, Tennessee, in the United States. Most of the community has been annexed by the city of Mount Pleasant. Location It is located six miles southwest of Columbia, Tennessee. History Ashwoo ...

. Upon his death, Riverwood passed to his half-brother, Duncan Brown Cooper.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, William Frierson 1820 births 1909 deaths People from Franklin, Tennessee People from Maury County, Tennessee People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Brooklyn Yale College alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni Tennessee lawyers American planters Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court Vanderbilt University Law School faculty 19th-century American judges