38 Facts About William Cooley

William Cooley was one of the first American settlers, and a regional leader, in what is known as Broward County in the state of Florida.

William Cooley's family was killed by Seminoles in 1836, during the Second Seminole War.

William Cooley established himself as a farmer in the northern part of the province before moving south, where he traded with local Indians and continued to farm.

In New River, William Cooley sustained himself as a salvager and farmer, cultivating and milling arrowroot.

William Cooley held administrative positions in Dade County, moved to Tampa in 1837, and had a short stint working for the US Army as a guide and courier.

William Cooley moved to the Homosassa River area in 1840, where he became the first postmaster and was a Hernando County candidate for the Florida House of Representatives.

William Cooley was born in Maryland in 1783; little else is known about him prior to 1813.

William Cooley arrived in East Florida in 1813, during a joint campaign of Tennessee and Georgia forces.

Some sources give credit to the hypothesis that Cooley fought with the Tennessee Volunteers under Colonel John Williams; other sources say he was a lieutenant in the Georgia Militia, fighting under Colonel Samuel Alexander from Georgia.

William Cooley acquired property in Girt's Landing on the St Marys River, close to where the military units crossed East Florida that same year.

William Cooley later moved to Alligator Pond, where he set up a farm and traded with the local Seminole tribe led by Chief Micanopy.

William Cooley negotiated with Don Fernando on behalf of the displaced Indians but was unsuccessful.

William Cooley was appointed as an appraiser of property and slaves for Union Bank of Florida.

William Cooley's conduct was implicitly questioned as well, since as Justice of the Peace, William Cooley conducted the non-secret balloting.

William Cooley maintained friendly relations and trade with the Seminole Indians in the area.

Six days later, William Cooley led a large expedition to free the Gil Blas, a ship that had beached the previous year.

Between fifteen and twenty Indians invaded the William Cooley house, overpowering the tutor and scalping him.

William Cooley's wife grabbed their infant son and tried to run to the river, but was shot about 170 yards from the house.

William Cooley managed to escape, going south by boat to the Cape Florida Lighthouse.

The next day, William Cooley came back to bury the dead; it is unclear who alerted the salvager's team to the attack.

When William Cooley arrived at Indian Key, he was informed that Indians had attempted to acquire arms and munition but had been repelled by the garrison in the island's fort.

William Cooley asked for construction of forts at New River and Cape Sable, but news soon came from the Miami River reporting the total destruction of all white property, stalling all new initiatives.

William Cooley went back to New River and discovered the Indians had returned to loot the settlement and had burned several other houses and plantations.

Powell called William Cooley to be his guide in the enterprise because of his knowledge of Indian leaders and customs.

William Cooley went back to his usual duties in Indian Key ; not long after, he moved to Tampa but still worked occasionally as a guide.

General Thomas Jesup, headquartered in Fort Dade, made William Cooley an express rider in early 1837 to deliver messages between Tampa Bay and Fort Heilman, a corridor of 170 miles.

That same year, reports circulated that William Cooley was spreading rumors about a Seminole chief leading a rebellion involving black slaves and Indians.

Afraid that William Cooley could be directly involved, the general had him interrogated.

William Cooley became involved again in local politics, this time against General Jesup, who wanted to remove all Indians from Florida.

William Cooley was living near the Homosassa River, where the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 allowed the distribution of 160-acre land grants.

William Cooley's leadership enabled him to get not only his own permit but permits for.

William Cooley sold his land grant to Senator David Levy Yulee sequentially between 1846 and 1847 and moved back to Tampa.

From 1848 to 1860, William Cooley acquired several properties in the Tampa region, including one at Worth's Harbor.

William Cooley owned a general store in the city, eventually sold to a member of the Tampa Masonic Lodge.

William Cooley was nominated Port Warden of Tampa in 1853.

William Cooley was brought in as an alternate councilman for two months in the first Tampa council, served a full-year term beginning in February 1857, and returned in 1861 for another full term.

William Cooley's will was written in 1862 but recorded only after Cooley's death, filed by Francis Matthews, who identified himself as his son-in-law.

William Cooley left his estate to friends, charities, a woman called Fanny Anne listed as his daughter, and three grandsons and four granddaughters, but there is no evidence that they were his blood relatives.