Mark Anthony Cooper
Encyclopedia
For other people with the same name, see Mark Cooper
Mark Cooper
Mark Nicholas Cooper is an English former footballer and most recently manager of Darlington. He was a midfielder as a player....



Mark Anthony Cooper (April 20, 1800 – March 17, 1885) was a United States Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, businessman and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. His cousin was U.S. Representative Eugenius Aristides Nisbet
Eugenius Aristides Nisbet
Eugenius Aristides Nisbet was an American politician, jurist, and lawyer.Nisbet was born near Union Point, Georgia. He attended the Powellton Academy in Hancock County, Georgia from 1815 to 1817, the University of South Carolina in Columbia from 1817 to 1819, and graduated from the University of...

.

Cooper was born near Powellton, Georgia, in Hancock County
Hancock County, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,076 people, 3,237 households, and 2,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile . There were 4,287 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...

 in 1800 and graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

) in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

 in 1819. After studying law and gaining admittance to the state bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...

 in 1821, he practiced law in Eatonton, Georgia
Eatonton, Georgia
Eatonton is a city in Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,480. The city is the county seat of Putnam County. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War...

. He later moved to Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...

. In 1825 and again in 1836, Cooper fought in the Seminole Wars
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...

. (He was a Major in these campaigns.)

In 1833, Cooper served in the Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia House of Representatives
The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...

. In 1838, he was elected as a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 Representative from Georgia to the 26th United States Congress
26th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Leadership :- Senate :*President: Richard M. Johnson *President pro tempore: William R. King - House of Representatives :*Speaker: Robert M.T. Hunter -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

 and served one term in that seat from March 4, 1839 until March 3, 1841, as he lost his bid for reeleciton in 1840. He returned to the U.S. Congress in 1842 after winning election as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to fill the remainder of the term of William Crosby Dawson
William Crosby Dawson
William Crosby Dawson was a lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier from Georgia.-Early life, education and legal career:...

, who had resigned in 1841 to run for the Governor of Georgia. Cooper was reelected to that congressional seat in the general election in 1842; however, he resigned in 1843 to run an unsuccessful candidacy for Governor. Cooper's second stint in Congress lasted from January 3, 1842, to June 26, 1843.

Iron Man of Georgia

During his time as an attorney, Cooper was a lender essentially functioning as the local bank in Eatonton. He then invested in a bank in Columbus, Georgia and after a few years, sold out for $300,000
which he used to build his Iron works nearby Etowah, Georgia.

After his political service, Cooper became president of the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company in Etowah, Georgia, in 1859. He died at his home, Glen Holly, near Cartersville, Georgia
Cartersville, Georgia
Cartersville is a town in Bartow County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 19,7314. The city is the county seat of Bartow County.-Geography:Cartersville was named for Colonel Farish Carter....

, on March 17, 1885, and was buried there.

The iron works included large facilities e.g. a plant for making nails and another plant for making pots and pans out of iron. But the most famous plant was one for making cannon during the Civil War. These cannon were highly regarded for their higher quality (not exploding
as others did).

All these ventures in business were highly successful and Cooper was well off, but his iron works was confiscated after the Civil War and his investments in conferate notes and bonds that became worthless left him poor after a lifetime of hard work.

Further family history

Mark Anthony Cooper was the grandson of Capt Thomas Cooper of the Revolutionary War. And he is named for Capt Cooper's wife's family which traces its ancestry back to the famous Mark Anthony of Rome.

Capt Cooper moved to Powelton Area of central Georgia from Virginia and had a large family with many descendants-Iron Man Cooper being the most famous.
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