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 Historical Background |
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1791. Cooper born on the English Channel Island of Alderny
John Rogers Cooper born to Thomas Cooper and his wife Ann Rogers. He was the only child of this marriage. His father, who came from Christchurch, Hampshire, England was lost at sea with his ship when John was quite young. Like his father, Cooper too pursued a life at sea.
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1823. JBR Cooper lands in Monterey.
As captain of the trading schooner, “Rover”, Cooper came to Monterey from New England in 1823. Born in the British Isles, he became an American citizen by naturalization.... Recognizing the future of the area, Cooper became a Mexican citizen, took the name Juan Bautista Rogerio Cooper, joined the Catholic Church, and married the charming Encarnacion Vallejo.... Her brother was General Mariano Vallejo, one of the better known figures in the history of Mexican California.
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1827. Cooper marries Marie Geronima Encarnacion Vallejo
With his marriage to Encarnacion Vallejo, from a prominent family of Castillean descent, Cooper began a new, and most productive phase of his life. Headquartered in Monterey, he developed a California land and political empire that would stretch from Sonoma to San Diego.
1830. Cooper naturalized as a Mexican Citizen
Along with his half brother, Thomas Larkin, the first and only U.S. consul to Mexico, Cooper begins his efforts on establishing California Statehood. According to his biography, written byWoolfendon & Elkington, “He was an international trader, wealthy landowner--though perennially short of cash--and just as determined as Larkin that California should become part of the United States, a goal towards which he worked incessantly, though always without fanfare”. |
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1864. Cooper retires to San Francisco
JBR & Mrs. Cooper moved to San Francisco to house they built located at 821 Bush St. where, according to The History of the State of California , by J.M. Guinn, 1910 Mr. Cooper assumed “the tranquil existence of a landsman, finding his chief pleasure in the society of his family and in the care of his vast estates....” |
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1872. Juan B.R. Cooper dies in San Francisco
Mr. Cooper past away at his San Francisco home, February 9, 1872 and was buried from St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sunday February 11. His widow, Encarnacion, outlived him by nearly 30 years, dying in San Francisco, January 15, 1902. She had also outlived their son, John B.H. Cooper who died June 21, 1899 at Rancho El Sur.
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1902. Encarnacion Vallejo dies in San Francisco.
Her Death Notice, as described in SF Geneology: “COOPER--Mrs. Encarnacion COOPER, sister of the late General Mariano G. VALLEJO, and wife of the late Captain J.B.R. COOPER, a pioneer of 1823, died last week at her home in San Francisco, aged 93 years. She was born at Monterey, Mar. 25, 1809. For many years her home was the center of social life in the old Capital of the State." |
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