John Copp Explained

John Copp
Office:Member of the
House of Representatives
of the
Colony of Connecticut
from Norwalk[1]
Term Start:May 1706
Term End:October 1706
Predecessor:Thomas Betts,
Samuel Hanford
Alongside:Samuel Keeler
Successor:Joseph Platt
Term Start2:May 1716
Term End2:October 1716
Alongside2:John Betts
Successor2:Joseph Platt,
John Raymond, Jr.
Term Start3:October 1718
Term End3:October 1719
Predecessor3:John Bartlett,
Samuel Marvin
Alongside3:Joseph Platt
Successor3:Samuel Hanford,
Joseph Platt
Office4:Town Clerk of the Town of Norwalk
Term Start4:1708
Term End4:1740
Predecessor4:Samuel Hanford
Successor4:Elnathan Hanford
Birth Date:9 June 1673[2]
Birth Place:Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony
Death Date:[3]
Death Place:Norwalk, Connecticut Colony[4]
Restingplace:East Norwalk Historical Cemetery, Norwalk, Connecticut
Residence:Stamford, Connecticut Colony,
Bedford, Connecticut Colony,
Strawberry Hill, Norwalk, Connecticut Colony
Spouse:Mary Jagger Phelps (m. March 16, 1698),[5] Ruth Hayes Belden (daughter of Samuel Hayes, widow of John Belding, m. December 30, 1701)[6] [7]
Occupation:Teacher, deacon, surveyor, doctor
Battles:Queen Anne's War

John Copp (June 9, 1673 – May 16, 1751) was a member of the House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut from Norwalk in the sessions of May 1706, May 1716, October 1718, and May 1719. He served from 1708 to 1740 as the town clerk of Norwalk. He was one of the purchasers of the land for the present town of Ridgefield, Connecticut from the Ramapoo Indians, as well as the town's clerk and surveyor. He also laid out the lots and roads of the present town of Bedford, New York.

Early life and family

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on June 9, 1673, the son of David Copp, and Obedience Topliff.[5] His father was a cordwainer, a clerk of the market, and a sealer of leather.[8] He was also a surveyor and adviser to selectmen of Boston on matters dealing with the laying of bounds for highways and property listings.[8]

John Copp moved to Stamford, Connecticut Colony, while still in his twenties.[8] There he married the widow Mary Jagger Phelps on March 16, 1698, but soon thereafter she died. He worked in Stamford for some time as a schoolteacher.[8]

Settlement at Bedford

In 1699, he temporarily moved to Bedford (which was, at the time a part of the Connecticut Colony, but would later be a part of New York.)[3] [9] On November 14, 1699, he was granted 23 acres with the condition that he settle on the land for three years.[9] Copp was appointed to a committee to negotiate with the Natives to purchase more land. By February 1700, he was appointed town treasurer and chief surveyor.[9] As town surveyor, he laid out the lots and roads of the town.[9]

Life in Norwalk

In 1701, a town meeting in Norwalk, Copp was hired as a schoolteacher.[8] [10]

In 1705, the selectmen of Norwalk recommended that Copp apply for a medical license. He was subsequently granted a license. On July 24, 1711, at a meeting in New Haven, the Governor's Council of Assistants voted to dispatch Copp as a surgeon with a Connecticut regiment which was assigned to attack the French in Port Royal.[8] Whether or not Copp actually had any medical training is not known.[8]

Purchase of Ridgefield

On May 9, 1706, the Connecticut General Assembly appointed Captain Jonathan Selleck, David Waterbury and John Copp to visit the area north of Norwalk, and south of Danbury for the purpose of inspecting the land for a settlement.[11] However, complications arise and no action was taken.[11] On May 3, 1708, John Copp and John Raymond, Jr. visited the area.[11] They may have camped at Settlers Rock at the south edge of today’s Ridgefield Cemetery on North Salem Road.[11] They reported that the land was good and would sustain 30 families or more.[11] As a result, about 20,000 acres of land were purchased from Catoonah on behalf of the Ramapoo Indians.[11] In 1710, the original proprietors of Ridgefield chose John Copp, Josiah Starr and Major Peter Burr to survey their land.[11] [12]

Copp was Ridgefield’s first doctor, first schoolmaster and first Town Clerk. He recorded all the land sales, took the minutes at town meetings and listed all marriages, births, and deaths in the town records. When the Reverend Hauley arrived in 1712, Copp returned to Norwalk.

Copp's Island[12] (41.0589°N -73.387°W), Copp’s Hill Road, Copp’s Hill Shopping Plaza and Copp’s Mountain are all named in his honor.

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=YCgBAAAAYAAJ&dq=Samuel+Keeler+norwalk&pg=PA77 An Historical Discourse in Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of Norwalk
  2. "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHM3-16X : accessed 13 May 2014), John Copp, 09 Jun 1673; citing Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, 90-91; FHL microfilm 592866.
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=FulEAAAAYAAJ&dq=John%20Copp&pg=PA67 Norwalk vol. 1
  4. "Ancestral File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MZCZ-TZQ : accessed 2014-05-13), entry for John COPP.
  5. "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/9438-G51 : accessed 2014-05-13), entry for John Copp, submitted by wdecoursey2723591.
  6. "International Genealogical Index (IGI)," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/MPCW-Q4F : accessed 2014-05-13), entry for John Copp.
  7. https://books.google.com/books?id=vwYCAAAAYAAJ&dq=John%20Copp&pg=PA206 The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Connecticut
  8. http://www.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=767 Professional Surveyor
  9. https://books.google.com/books?id=8qgtnfJ1Un8C&dq=John%20Copp&pg=PA104 Bedford
  10. Web site: Norwalk Historical Society . 2014-05-13 . 2014-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140514094650/http://norwalkhistoricalsociety.org/mill-hill-historic-park/about-the-schoolhouse/ . dead .
  11. http://jackfsanders.tripod.com/1700s.htm Ridgefield Timeline
  12. Web site: The Ridgefield Press . 2014-05-13 . 2014-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140514114221/http://www.theridgefieldpress.com/22077/who-was-the-copp-of-copps-hill/ . dead .