I have no known relationship to the Van Court or Cooper lines. My connections are through the Sebring, French and other related families of this same area. Hope this helps. J French Elias Vancourt found in: Colonial America, 1607-1789 Census Index State: NJ County: Somerset Co. Location: Bridgewater Twp Page #: 009 Census/Enumeration year: 1781 Census type code: Tax List Note: For the first name in this entry, the person who indexed the record was very uncertain about the transcription due to difficulties in deciphering the original records. The following additional information is provided about the record source: JANUARY ASSESSMENT Elias Van Court found in: Colonial America, 1607-1789 Census Index State: NJ County: Somerset Co. Location: Bridgewater Twp Page #: 006 Census/Enumeration year: 1779 Census type code: Tax List The following additional information is provided about the record source: SEPTEMBER ASSESSMENT ------------------------------ from Index of Wills & Inventories, Vol II, Middlesex Co., Pg 907, 908 Van Court, Anna 11242L. Inv. [inventory] 1827 Van Court, Elias 10707L. Inv. 1818 Van Court, Elias Sr., 2413-2421L. B.E. p. 449 W [will] 1750, Inv. 1750 Van Court, Samuel, 5687-5688L. Inv. 1778 Van Court, Samuel, 11661L. Inv 1833 Van Court, Thomas, 2829-2830L., 2941-2942L. B.F. p. 303 W. 1755 Inv. 1756 ----------------------------- RUN-away, from the Subscriber, living at Bound Brook, County of Somerset, and Province of New-Jersey, two Apprentice Lads, one of them named, William Kelly, 18 Years old, long brown Hair, about 5 Feet and 6 Inches, a well-set likely Boy: The other named Jacob Harris, 18 Years old light coloured Hair, and pretty short, and as they took two Suits of Cloaths each, 'tis needless to describe their Cloathing: They are both Taylors by Trade. Whoever takes up and secures the said Lad, so that their Master may have them again, shall have Ten Dollars Reward for both or five dollars for any one of them, and all reasonable Charges paid, by ELIAS VAN COURT N. B. All Masters of Vessels are forbid to carry them off, and other Persons from entertaining them at their Peril.--The New York Mercury, August 9, 1762. --------------------- Bibliographic Information: Monnette, Orra Eugene. First Settlers of Ye Plantations of Piscataway and Woodsridge Olde East New Jersey part 4. The Leroy Carman Press. California. 1931. VAN COURT OF PISCATAWAY ELIAS VAN COURT, SR., WAS A FIRST SETTLER OF PISCATAWAY. He came from the Isle of Guernsey, where he was born in the parish of St. Andre. He m. 1726, ANN COOPER, a sister of "old DANIEL COOPER." He was b. May 12, 1691, of Dutch parentage, and d. July 28, 1750. His father was THOMAS VAN COURT and his mother WOERKER. "They went to the Isle of Guernsey to escape religious persecution in France, being of the Reformed Faith of the pious Huguenots. The above and what follows are copied from an inscription in a French Testament, on the inside of the book cover in French words, and also from another book on religious essays:" "ELOIS VAN COURT, fils THOMAS VAN COURT, received this book from his uncle, Elois Woerker, on the 12th day of May, 1701, when he was ten years of age." " (O. B. L.) ELIAS VAN COURT had fourteen children, whose names and dates of birth are recorded in this French Testament and accompanying book, as follows: I. THOMAS, b. Feb. 8, 1717. II. ELIAS, b. Apr. 21, 1719. III. MOSES, b. Oct. 20, 1720. IV. JANE, b. May 21st, 1722. V. DANIEL, b. Mar. 22, 1724. VI. AGNES, b. Mar. 8, 1726. VII. JANE, b. Aug. 26, 1727, m. 1745, RICHARD RUNYON. VIII. THOMAS, b. Mar. 11, 1729. Page 327 IX. ANN, b. Aug. 27, 1730, m. 1749, BENJAMIN RUNYON. X. SAMUEL, twin-brother, of ANN. XI. ABRAM. b. May 28, 1732. XII. JOHN, b. Mar. 7, 1734. XIII. ELIZABETH, b. Dec. 20, 1735. XIV. MICHAEL, b. Jan. 6, 1739, (ARCH., Vol. XXX, p. 495), Will, dated April 4, proved Aug. 23, 1750. ------------------------------- The above information from Monnette will need to be verified. He sometimes made claims based on little or no evidence. I do not know who (O. B. L.) refers to. It may be that further information on the "French Testament" can be found in Monnette's research files. Seems I remember they are housed at a library in Los Angeles, but I could be remembering wrong. --------------------------------- Korpor = Cooper Lyas = Elias Bibliographic Information: Sebring, Walter Wilson. Sebring Collections. Yearbook House, INC. Missouri. 1975. (*) John Cletus Sebring made an extensive study of the Raritan Church records. Some of his notes and conclusions are as follows: Abigail Sebring & Daniel Korpor witnessed baptism of Elias, 7-26-1719, child of Lyas Van Court & wife, Enni (Anna). . . . Hans (Johannes) Sebering & wife, Aeltje, witnessed baptism of Aeltje, 12-17-1721, child of Willem Oolen & wife Abigail. . . . Hans (Johannes) Sebering & wife Aeltje witnessed baptism of Jannetje, 7-8-1722, child of Alias Van Court & wife Anna. . . . The logical conclusion of the aforesaid facts, and in accordance with Dutch patronymics, is that Abigail Sebring who sponsored Elias Van Court in 1719 was the daughter of Johannes Sebring, and was named for her maternal grandmother, Abigail, wife of Leffert Pieterse. ----------------------------- Somerset County Historical Quarterly Vol I p. 311 BOUND BROOK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHYARD INSCRIPTIONS THE PRESBYTERIAN church at Bound Brook dates possibly from before 1700, which is the date assigned to it by the late Rev. Dr. Ravaud K. Rodgers, its former pastor. Its probable regular organization must be dated in 1725, when a plain building was erected. The churchyard contains many old and some illegible stones; perhaps the oldest now readable is over the grave of "Sarah, wife of James McCoy", who died Sept. 5, 1744. The stone of "Hannah, wife of Isaac Dye" is noted as of "1736," but is probably 1756 or 1786 instead, although the writer has made a search for the last-named stone in vain, owing to the high grass and old stones being much sunken in the ground. Other historians have said the "1744" stone was the oldest in the burying-ground. The cemetery is uncared for, and sadly needs attention. The old frame church on the grounds, dating from 1829, burned down Feb. 6, 1896, and a new building was erected corner of Mountain and Union avenues. The following abstract of inscriptions is made from the full inscriptions filed with the New Jersey Historical Society in 1907 by the late Mrs. M. A. Quinby, none, however, being of later date than about 1850. In ABSTRACT OF INSCRIPTIONS, 1736--ABOUT 1850 Van Court, Anna (widow of Elias), d. Nov. 12, 1827, aged 64 yrs. Van Court, Elias, d. Dec. 10, 1817, in 60th yr. -------------------------------- Somerset County Historical Quarterly Vol III p.257 PROVED SOMERSET LOSSES FROM CONTINENTAL TROOPS, 1776-'77 Van Court, Elias (Winter 1777). About 10 panels post and rail fence; 1 saddle about half worn; 1 white pine chest with lock; 1 small pine table and 3 chairs; 1 very good plate griddle; upper part of small desk; 1 iron pot; 1 hogshead; 1 wine pipe and 2 barrels. Also "my dwelling house intirely destroyed except the frame standing and ruff thereon and kitchen of ten feet frunt and twenty-five feet in rear all intirely gone," valued at œ30. Total œ34.10.6. Sworn before Tobias Van Norden. An additional affidavit accompanies above, by Edward Annely, taken before Nathaniel Ayers, "that he saw the troops belonging to the Continental army take down the chimney out of the said Elias Van Court's house and put the bricks in their wagons in June, 1777, and carried them over the mountains in camp." ---------------------------------- -----Original Message----- >From: Webblend@aol.com >Sent: Sep 19, 2007 6:28 PM >To: njmiddle@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [NJMIDDLE] Elias Van Court and the Coopers > >Hello Van Court family members (and also the list). > > I too am a direct descendent of Elias Van Court and Ann Cooper. Their >daughter, Elizabeth married Nathaniel Harned from whom I am descended.