Cooper brothers

According to John Chase: "The four Cooper brothers came to Santa Cruz County in the early 1850s, and all engaged in merchandising; Thomas S. (1827-1893) and James A. (1822-1878) in Watsonville; John L. (1829-1887) and William F. (1823-1894) in Santa Cruz. The Cooper family came from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They were related to author James Fenimore Cooper and, further back on the family tree, descendants of James Cooper of Stratford-on-Avon, who arrived in America in 1680. John Cooper, known as “Fatty,” was “a good-natured if somewhat straight-laced man.” William was known as a friend to the mission Indians and in 1876-78 was the first mayor under the reorganized municipal government [charter city]. The two brothers opened their general store in Santa Cruz in 1850 with goods transported across the plains by William."

• John L. Chase, The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture (4th ed. 2023), Chapter Five, item (57), page 169-170

William Burton Cooper (no local burial found), a son of James, has a bio in Guinn. Uncle Cooper, Franklin (1813-1895) Cooper also came to Santa Cruz County, was a Soc. of Pioneers member, and has a bio in Riptide.