James Copeland (1756 - 1828)

Born 1756 in County Down, Ireland

Husband of Mary Margaret (Chambers) Copeland — married about 1798 in County Down, Ireland

Descendants

Died 22 Aug 1828 at about age 72 in Franklin Township, Adams, Ohio, United States

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Biography

James was born in 1756. He passed away in 1828.

Nancy Wickerham Sharpe was the eldest daughter of Peter Wickerham II and Elizabeth Copeland, his second wife. In 1931 she wrote a short remembrance of the James Copeland family, transcribed below:

The first American Copelands

The Copelands to escape religious persecution, left County Down, Ireland with 6 children. The came across the ocean on a slow boat, taking 6 wks. They sold their farm in Ireland, and hid their money in a feather bed, for the trip. Settled in Pittsburg, stayed 2 yrs. Then came to Hackleshin, Adams Co. O. Grandpa always said he scratched his shins there, so came to Palestine a fortune teller on the boat told them they would have 7 more children, which they did.

The Copelands were Covenanters, and always entertained other Covenanters at their hotel. Sometimes they had as much as 4 barrels of liquor in the cellar. But the Covenanters ever had a drop. They had a hotel at Manchester, also, and another on the Columbus State Rd.

Copeland sons were John, Joe, William, James (youngest), Chambers (Infant son Wm died).

Daughters, Nancy, Letty, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth (Nancy Sharpe’s mother), Sarah, Infant Jane died while crossing the ocean.

3 Copelands married 3 Teners. The Teners were of the first families of Virginia. Grandmother Copeland was a great reader – she loved to sit with her books.

Sources

• The First American Copelands, an unpublished document written by Nancy Wickersham Sharpe and passed down through the Tener family bible.

• Irish Flax Growers List, 1796, County Down: "Irish Flax Growers List, 1796"
  Ulster Historical Foundation. Flax growers Bounty List 1796. Belfast, Ireland: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1999
  Ancestry Record 3732 #15874 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  Unknown in Down.

• Passenger List: "U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s"
  Place: Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania; Year: 1795; Page Number: 22
  Ancestry Record 7486 #5146470 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  Name: James Copeland; Arrival Year: 1795; Arrival Place: Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania; Primary Immigrant: Copeland, James; Source Publication Code: 2896.1.90; Annotation: Date and place of first mention. Place of origin, birth, marriage and death dates, and names of family members may also be provided.; Source Bibliography: HANNA, CHARLES A. Ohio Valley Genealogies: Relating Chiefly to Families in Harrison, Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio and Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania. New York, 1900. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1968.;
  Household Members (Name):
  James Copeland.

• Early Land Owners, OH River Basin: "U.S., Indexed Early Land Ownership and Township Plats, 1785-1898"
  National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Township Plats of Selected States; Series #: T1234; Roll: 49
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2179 #60326 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  Name: Jas Copeland; Year: 1805; State: Ohio; Principal Meridian: Ohio River Base.

• 1820 Census: "1820 United States Federal Census"
  1820 U S Census; Census Place: Meigs, Adams, Ohio; Page: 56; NARA Roll: M33_86; Image: 42
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7734 #318081 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  James Copeland in Meigs, Adams, Ohio.

• Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current"
  URL: Find A Grave: Memorial #30736430
  Ancestry Record 60525 #88169570 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  James Copeland burial (died on 22 Aug 1828) in Locust Grove, Adams County, Ohio, United States of America.

• Probate: "Ohio, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998"
  Wills; Probate Place: Adams, Ohio
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8801 #13246955 (accessed 13 December 2022)
  James Copeland probate.