Welcome
This site is part of The MOGenWeb and The USGenWeb
With Thanks to James Thoma.
Cooper County is available for adoption.
If you have a local connection to Cooper County or an interest in Missouri in general,
Please consider joining the MOGenWeb as a County Coordinator.
Requirements are simple, peruse them here.MOGenWeb Policies and Procedures
Contact Bob Jenkins if you are interested.
In addition:, we would appreciate any contribution that you would like to make to
this site: biographies, obituaries, birth, marriage, death info, grave info, photographs, etc
History ~ Biographies
I was interested in the reason for the name of Cooper County:
Here is what Gemini AI dug up:
Sarshell Cooper (also spelled Sarshall or Sarshel) was a prominent frontier settler and militia leader in early 19th-century Missouri. He is best known as the namesake of Cooper County, Missouri.
Key Facts & Historical Background
Early Life: Born on August 25, 1762, in Culpeper County, Virginia, he later moved to Kentucky before migrating to the Missouri Territory.
Settlement of Missouri: In 1810, Sarshell and his brother, Colonel Benjamin Cooper, led a group of settlers to the Boonslick region in central Missouri. They established a community on the north side of the Missouri River in what is now Howard County.
Military Leadership: During the War of 1812, Cooper served as a Captain of the Missouri Rangers. He was a primary leader of the settlers in the region, organizing defenses against frequent Native American raids.
Cooper’s Fort: He was instrumental in building "Cooper’s Fort," a large stockade that housed approximately 20 families and served as a critical defensive hub for the Boonslick area settlers.
Death and Legacy
Sarshell Cooper’s life ended tragically during the conflict of 1812. On the night of April 14, 1814, while sitting by the fireplace in his cabin inside the fort with his family, he was shot through a hole in the cabin wall by a hidden assailant. He died instantly in front of his wife and children.
Namesake: When the Missouri legislature formed a new county from the southern portion of Howard County on December 17, 1818, they named it Cooper County in his honor.
Burial: He is buried in the Cooper Family Cemetery in Howard County, Missouri (near the former site of Petersburg).
There is more interesting data: Cooper's Fort and The Santa Fe Trail
Biographies
Note: Links to files will be added tomorrow
History of Cooper County, Missouri
By
W F Johnson
Historical
Publishing company,
Topeka ~ Cleveland: 1919
Possible Chapters of
Interest
Incidents of the War: Ch XIII
Pgs 203-213
Twps History
Ch XV
Pgs 218-249
Biogreaphical History: Ch XXIV
Index: 23-30
Bios: 390
Separate Bio Index
Contains: Name, Date & Place of
Birth, Given Name of Father
Maiden Name of Wife
Read Online or Download
A History of
Cooper County, Missouri
"From the first visit by White Men, in February 1804, to the 5th day of
July, 1876"
By Henry C Leyens and Nathaniel M Drake
St Louis
Perrin & Smith, Steam Book and Job Printers, 701 Washington Avenue
1876
Ch's XIII - XVI - Towns and Townships: Pgs 126-171
Ch
XVII - Bio's of some Old Citizens: Pg 196
Corrections: Pg 249 [232]
'Not placed in the Twp where thye lived':
Robert P Clark, Joseph
Stephens, Sr, John Miller, Pgs 212- 218
![]()
Cooper County Communities

![]()
Cooper Cemeteries: Online Resources
F~A~G ~
Genealogy Trails ~ List, Few Links
LDS, Genealogical Resources [Cemeteries]
American
Cemeteries, MO ~
Missouri Cemetery Registry ~
MO Gravestone Project
People Legacy, Cemeteries,
Memorials ~
People Legacy:
Burial Records
![]()
Historical Maps ~ Military ~ Newspapers ~ "Categorical Resources"
Maps
Historical Landmarks ~ ILGenWeb
Project ~ Maps from the MO Historical
Society
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps [Scroll Down] ~ USGS
Maps for Missouri
Maps from the MO
Historical Society
The American
Civil War in Missouri
Digitized
Newspapers from the Civil War Era
Plat Maps ~ Digital
Library of Missouri
Interactive Atlas ~ David
Rumsey Collection
USGS Historical Topo's ~ Missouri
State and Regional Maps ~ "Route
66"
"Map Geeks" State
and Township Maps ~ Getty
Geographical Thesaurus
Bureau of
Land Management
USGS Maps for Missouri ~ Missouri
State and Regional Maps
Historical Maps ~
Perry Castaneda ~ Quadrangles ~ Surveyor's
Base Maps
Library of Congress: Miscellaneous Maps ~ MapGoose
![]()
Until a new County Coordinator adopts Cooper County,
Military Resources have been gleaned from Family Search and formatted
into Searchable PDf files:
Missouri Catagorical Resources
Below are Searchable & Linked PDFs
Military:
2 Pages:
Link 1 ~ Link
2
Here is the link for the National Archives: A Great Resource
![]()
Newspapers, Miscellaneous Historical Resources:
Digital
Newspaper Project [MO Digital newspapers]
Free Digital Newspapers:
Chronicling America
~ Google
Archives
California Digital Newspapers [There are Articles for MO]
MMO Digital Heritage: Genealogical Collections
![]()
Missouri "Odds and Ends"
Family Search: Catalog Resources
Below is a list of Resources
Biography (6)~ Biography - Indexes (2)
Cemeteries (2)
Church history (1) ~ Church records (2)
Court records (6)
~ Directories (1)
Genealogy (4) ~Genealogy - Periodicals (1) ~
Guardianship (2)
History (10) ~History - Indexes (2)
Land and
property (3) ~Maps (3)
Military history - Civil War, 1861-1865 (1)
Probate records (10)
Schools (1)
Social life and customs (1)
~Societies (1)
Vital records (6) ~ Voting registers (1)
Note:
Census Records are not listed
Crime and Punishment [Scroll]
"Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association"
This pdf file has information of an ecletic nature - Many 'Missouri Only' Resources
![]()
Lookups
'Ask an
Archivist'
National Archives
New Reference Service
Search for Living People:
Zaba Search
~ RAOGK
Local Historical, Museum, and Genealogical Agencies and [Research
Requests]
The above list has local resources, web
pages and information that may help with research.
![]()

