Asahel Walker Cooper, Sr.
1806 - 1883 (76 years)
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Name Asahel Walker Cooper [1, 2] Suffix Sr. Birth 5 Sep 1806 Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania 
Gender Male 
Census1840 New Orleans, Louisiana [3] Census1850 New Orleans, Louisiana Census1860 New Orleans, Louisiana Census1870 New Orleans, Louisiana Census1880 121 Race St., New Orleans, Louisiana [4] Legal Documents a note about probate, The Times-Democrat, 7 July 1883, p3:
Judgment recognizing Mrs. Sarah Jane Cooper, wife of Alden McLellan, Mrs. Margaret Ann Cooper, wife of T.Y.P. Tureman, and the minor Asahel W. Cooper, as sole heirs of A.W. Cooper, and putting them in possession of his estate.Obituary Mortuary notice, The Times-Democrat, Sun. 27 May 1883, p13:
Cooper—On Tuesday, May 22, 1883, at 5 p.m., Asahel W. Cooper, aged 76 years, 8 months and 17 days, native of Lancaster county, Pa., and a resident of this city for 53 years.Death 22 May 1883 New Orleans, Louisiana - vol. 82, page 976
Will probated 29 May 1883 New Orleans, Louisiana [5] Religion Born Quaker; became Presbyterian Burial Lafayette Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana [6] Patriarch & Matriarch 
James Cooper
b. Lancaster, Lancashire, England
d. Aft 1728 (2 x Great Grandfather)
Anne Evans
b. Abt 1677, County Wicklow, Ireland
d. Abt 1731 or 1732, Harmony Grove, Chester Co., Pennsylvania (Age 55 years) (3 x Great Grandmother) Notes - His ancestry is thorougly Quaker for generations, descending from families who emigrated from Ireland, Wales, and England to south-eastern Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
According to his biography (see below), he lived in Sadsbury until he was 17, until about 1823. In the separation of 1828 Sadsbury meeting became part of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends, so this might be part of the reason that he left. There might be a certificate of removal from Sadsbury to Philadelphia Monthly Meetings, if he were still a Friend at that point, though I can’t find one.
He arrived in New Orleans in about 1830, 7 years later, at about age 24. He and Ann were married in 1836, when he was about 30.
Did his marriage to her have to do with why he left Quakerism? I can’t find a record of Disownment in Sadsbury for him. His second wife was Catholic, however, and he became a Presbyterian.
He ran a cotton gin at the foot of Race Street in New Orleans.
From Passmore (1.184):
ASAHEL W., b. 9-5-1806, m. 6-14-1836, to Ann Sullivan. Ann b. 12-25-1815, d. 4-27-1807. Asahel W. m. 2nd time, 6-26-1872, to Eliza A. Loney. Asahel d. 5-2-1883, in New Orleans, La., where he removed when a young man. He became a prominent and influential citizen. Eliza A.’s residence, 917 Race St., New Orleans, La.
Here is a biography of his son which tells much about him; it is taken from Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 108-109. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association:
Cooper, Asahel Walker, the lawyer, is a son of Asahel Walker Cooper, who was born in Lancaster County, Pa., Sept. 5, 1806, and died in New Orleans, May 22, 1883, and who was a son of a Quaker and educated in the common schools of his native state, where he learned the carpenter's trade, being bound out at the age of 17 to learn the trade in the city of Philadelphia, whence he came to New Orleans in 1830, coming by way of a sailing vessel. In New Orleans he applied himself to his trade, became a contracting architect and builder, and grew prosperous, accumulating prior to the war of secession much real estate property in New Orleans. Many buildings stand today in New Orleans as monuments to his excellent craftship as a builder. He retired from business in 1870. One of the noted pieces of property owned by Mr. Cooper was the Cooper Cotton Press, which he acquired before the war and which remained in the possession of the family until 1912, when it was sold to the Texas & Pacific.
Mr. Cooper was twice married. His first wife bore the maiden name of Ann Sullivan. She died in 1870, leaving 2 daughters, Sarah Jane and Margaret Ann. His second wife he married in 1872. Her maiden name was Eliza A. Loney and she was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, of French and Irish parents. She died in 1910, leaving 1 son, Asahel Walker Cooper, who was born in New Orleans, Nov. 26, 1874, educated at Jesuit College, then took a preparatory course at Andover, Mass., and graduated from Yale College with the degree of A. B. in 1897, and in 1898 obtained his degree of LL. B. from Tulane University. He read law with the late Judge A. G. Brice and was associated with him in the practice of law until the death of Judge Brice. He now holds rank among the lawyers of New Orleans. He comes of an excellent family of New Orleans. His father was a promment citizen of this city for many years, and numbered among that class of citizens who constituted what was known as the American colony in New Orleans. The elder Mr. Cooper was reared a Quaker, but in New Orleans was identified with the Presbyterian church. The present Asahel W. Cooper adheres to the church faith of his mother—the Roman Catholic. [7, 8]
Person ID I4354 Last Modified 7 Feb 2025
Father George Cooper, Jr.
b. 10 Feb 1773, Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania
d. 22 Jan 1843 (Age 69 years)Mother Sarah B. Walker
b. 11 mo. 24, 1785, Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania
d. 18 Mar 1858 (Age 73 years)Marriage 13 Nov 1805 Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania Family Charts Group Sheet | Family Chart
Spouse / Partner 1 Ann Sullivan
b. 25 Dec 1815, Ireland
d. 27 Apr 1870 (Age 54 years)Marriage 14 Jun 1836 [9] Children 1 son and 4 daughters 1 . George Cooper
b. 4 Feb 1839, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 14 May 1839, New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 0 years)2 
. Sarah Ann Cooper
b. 8 Sep 1840, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 14 Dec 1840 (Age 0 years)3 . Mary Ann Cooper
b. 17 Dec 1841, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 12 Jul 1850, New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 8 years)+ 4 . Sarah Jane Cooper
b. 2 Oct 1844, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 18 Oct 1911, New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 67 years)└─ Alden Miller McLellan (Age 84 years) m. 11 Apr 1867+ 5 . Margaret Anna Cooper
b. 16 Jun 1848, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 2 Dec 1902, New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 54 years)└─ Thomas Young Payne "Pap" Tureman (Age 48 years) m. 11 Jul 1869Family Charts Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 12 May 2025
Spouse / Partner 2 Eliza A. Loney
b. 12 Oct 1841, Ontario, Canada
d. 9 May 1910, New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 68 years)
Marriage 26 Jun 1872 Children 1 son and 1 daughter + 1 . Asahel Walker Cooper, Jr.
b. 26 Nov 1874, New Orleans, Louisiana
d. 16 Jun 1935, 1819 Valence St., New Orleans, Louisiana (Age 60 years)└─ Doceleha Ruiz Trolle (Age 78 years) m. 26 Jun 19152 . Eliza A. Loney Cooper
b. 26 Nov 1874, New Orleans, LouisianaFamily Charts Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 12 May 2025
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Event Map 
Birth - 5 Sep 1806 - Sadsbury Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania 
Census - 1840 - New Orleans, Louisiana Census - 1850 - New Orleans, Louisiana Census - 1860 - New Orleans, Louisiana Census - 1870 - New Orleans, Louisiana 
Census - 1880 - 121 Race St., New Orleans, Louisiana Death - 22 May 1883 - New Orleans, Louisiana Will probated - 29 May 1883 - New Orleans, Louisiana 
Burial - - Lafayette Cemetery #1, New Orleans, Louisiana = Link to Google Earth Pin Legend 
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Histories 
Quaker Ancestors from Pennsylvania and Delaware The areas that are now northern Delaware and south-eastern Pennsylvania were not distinguished from each other in the 1682 land grant to William Penn. Maps at the time show one geographical area divided by the Susquehanna, Schuykill, and Delaware rivers (with the Potomac farther west, and the Hudson farther east). Separate sets of representatives for the states began to meet in 1704, in Philadelphia and New Castle, though one Governor remained for both, and pre-Revolutionary Delaware remained under the political sway of its more powerful and populous northern neighbor.
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Reference Pitard, D. "Asahel Walker Cooper, Sr.". Genealogy at Pitard.net. https://ancestors.pitard.net/getperson.php?personID=I4354&tree=1sttree (accessed May 17, 2025).
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