Thomas Valentine Cooper (January 16, 1835 - December 19, 1909) was an American politician from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

who served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for Delaware County for the 1870 and 1872 terms. Cooper served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for

district 5 District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * District 5, an electoral district of Malta * District 5, a police district of Malta * Palma-Palmilla, also kno ...

from 1873 to 1874 and for

district 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...

from 1875 to 1889. He was reelected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1901 and served until his death in 1909. Cooper served as a private and an officer in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, was a newspaper editor of the Delaware County American newspaper for 54 years and an author of books on political and civil war history.

Early life and military service

Cooper was born in

Cadiz, Ohio Cadiz ( ) is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,051 at the 2020 census. History Cadiz was founded in 1803 at the junction of westward roads from Pittsburgh and Washington, Pennsylvania ...

, to Dr. J.W. and Henrietta (Fields) Cooper. From 1861 to 1864, Cooper served in the Union Army during the Civil War for three years as a private in Company C,

26th Pennsylvania Infantry The 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 26th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1861 and mustered on ...

and for three months as first lieutenant in the

4th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment The 4th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, also known as the 33rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Pennsylvania Reserves in th ...

. He served in 13 engagements during the war including

Second Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and

Spotsylvania Court House The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 18 ...

Career

In 1855, Cooper founded the ''Media Advertiser'' newspaper. In 1856, the name was changed to the ''Media Advertiser and Delaware County American'' and again in 1859 to the ''Delaware County American''. Cooper served as a delegate to the

1860 Republican National Convention The 1860 Republican National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention that met May 16–18 in Chicago, Illinois. It was held to nominate the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and had a pivotal role in the nomination of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. In 1865, Cooper received an appointment from the Secretary of War,

Edwin Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's manag ...

, as director of government printing. He became the publisher of the ''Soldier's Journal'' but turned down a permanent appointment as director of the Bureau of Military Printing. In 1869, Cooper was elected to the

for Delaware County and was defeated in 1871 and reelected in 1872. The following year, Cooper was elected to the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

and was reelected continuously until 1889. In 1878, he was president of the Senate. In 1889, Cooper was appointed by President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

as collector of the

Port of Philadelphia The port of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River in Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ''Port of Philadelphia'' generally refers to the publicly owned marine terminals located within Philadelphia city limits along the west b ...

, and in 1900, he was elected again to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Delaware County and served until his death in 1909.

Personal life

In 1858, Cooper married Ada F. Turner and together they had six children. Cooper was a member of the George W. Bartram Lodge,

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and of the Bradbury Post,

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...

. Cooper died in his home in a fire started by his own cigar and was interred at

Media Cemetery Media Cemetery is a historic cemetery established in 1857 in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania. It is located at 40 Kirk Lane and is 21 acres in size. In 1928, the cemetery merged with the adjacent West Media Cemetery and became a non-profi ...

Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Upper Providence Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, located around and to the north of the borough of Media, and approximately west of center city Philadelphia. The population was 10,142 at the 2010 census. ...

Bibliography

American politics (non-partisan) From the Beginning to Date
Fireside Publishing Company, 1892
Campaign of '84
Baird & Dillon, 1884
Pennsylvania's Memorial Days, September 11 and 12, 1889: The 26th Pennsylvania Volunteers
Self-published, 1889

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Thomas Valentine 1835 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians American Freemasons Burials at Media Cemetery Deaths from fire in the United States Editors of Pennsylvania newspapers Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Reserves Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Cadiz, Ohio People from Media, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union army officers 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly