Letter written by Hugh E. Naylor on July 21, 1932 in regards to his great grandfather, Captain Leonard Cooper and his wife Christina Throenberger, transcribed by Edith Cooper Shaver.

Leonard Cooper, captain, 4th VA. Regiment, Revolutionary War; great-grandfather of Hugh E. Naylor, of Front Royal, Warren County, VA., who furnishes(July 21, 1932) the following items.

From Veterans Administration Bureau, US War Dept., Washington, D.C.: "Leonard Cooper was born in May 1753 or 1754, place not stated.

"In 1775 he was appointed ensign in a company of minute men in Virginia, and on February 19th, 1776, he was appointed ensign in Captain Richard Campbell's company, Col. Peter Muhlenberg's Eighth Virginia Regiment; in 1777 he was appointed second lieutenant, and in 1778 was appointed captain in the Fourth Virginia Regiment:he was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and in a skirmish at Paramus, where he was wounded, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg, and for which he was pensioned from January1, 1787.

"In 1818 he was a resident of Shenandoah County, Virginia, and on May 21, 1821, he was drowned in the Shenandoah River.

"The soldier married in 1796, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, Christina Throenberger, who was born December 25, 1773 or 1774.

"Soldier's widow, Christina, was allowed pension on her application executed July 31, 1851, while a resident of Middletown, Frederick County, Virginia.

Abraham Cooper, a nephew of the soldier, states he was born September 9, 1774, and that he was married in September 1804 to Elizabeth Troenberger, a sister of the widow, Christina Cooper.

Abraham Cooper and his wife, Elizabeth, were residing in Hampshire County, Virginia in 1851. In 1854, one David Rhodet, age 64 years, was resident of Frederick County, VA. no relation to the family.

In looking over the records of Frederick County, I have found a will recorded, dated April 1825, of John Cooper, in which he names among his other sons an Abraham Cooper, which I am inclined to believe identifies him as the nephew of Capt. Leonard Cooper. (Abraham, Nephew; John, Brother; of Leonard?) This John Cooper was an emigrant from Fawn Parish, York County, PA., and his father was Stephen Cooper. John conveyed certain land in Virginia to his brothers Robert and Thomas for their interest in their father's plantation in Fawn Parish, York Co., PA. xxx Upon investigation, I have found that Stephen Cooper died intestate. xxx I found a marriage record of Abraham, Capt. Leonard's nephew to Elizabeth Throenberger, in the county court records of Shenandoah County, but the Captain's is not there.

My father who has been dead for many years, (who was born in 1835, fourteen years after Captain Leonard Cooper's death) told me that his grandmother, Christina Cooper told him that his grandfather Cooper had a wooden leg, and that he had taught his riding mare to kneel for him to mount. He used to visit court and muster days in Front Royal regularly .On his last trip his mare came home with an empty saddle and reins dragging in the dust. Upon investigation, his body was found in the Shenandoah River. It was supposed that his mare stumbled in the rocky ford and threw him off in the river where he ____went drowned. My great grandmother, Christina Cooper was 91 years old when she died in 1863.

In Greenbrier County, VA in 1783-1786, there were seven Coopers, heads of families. One of them was "Leonard Cooper." He could not have been the son of Leonard Cooper of Shenandoah, but may have been a cousin or other relative. It is possible that Capt. Leonard Cooper of Shenandoah may have lived in Greenbrier County for some years, returning later to Shenandoah County.

The other Greenbrier Coopers, heads of families in 1783-1786 were:

See report of First Federal Census, Heads of families, VA list, page 109.

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