Mark A. Cooper letters to Emily Branham


Descriptive Summary
Title: Mark A. Cooper letters to Emily Branham
Creator: Cooper, Mark A. (Mark Anthony), 1800-1885
Inclusive Dates: 1854-1855
Language(s): English
Extent: 1 folder(s) (3 letters)
Collection Number: ms1446
Repository: Hargrett Library

Collection Description

Historical Note

Mark Anthony Cooper - a soldier, lawyer, politician, farmer, and entrepreneur - is best remembered as an industrialist whose ironworks was one of the leading businesses in antebellum northwest Georgia. He founded the town of Etowah in Bartow County. (...) Cooper was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1838 as a states rights Whig and in 1842 as a Democrat. In 1840 he lost his bid for reelection but was chosen to fill the unexpired term of William C. Dawson, who had resigned. Six months into his last term, Cooper himself resigned to run unsuccessfully for governor. Moving to Bartow County in 1842, Cooper embarked on his most ambitious enterprise. Believing the area's mineral resources could bring in more wealth than "King Cotton," he partnered with the pioneer ironmaster Moses Stroup to establish the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company and the town of Etowah and undertook a lifelong campaign to promote the economic development of northwest Georgia.

"Mark Anthony Cooper (1800-1885)" from the New Georgia Encyclopedia (Accessed March 5, 2009)

For more information, see the article Mark Anthony Cooper (1800-1885) in the New Georgia Encyclopedia and his congressional biography.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of three letters and one envelope from Mark A. Cooper (1800-1885) of Etowah, Georgia, to his sister Mrs. Emily Branham of Eatonton, Georgia. The letters, dated December 27, 1854, March 3, 1855, and July 18, 1855, discuss family matters, problems, and business transactions as Cooper seeks to straighten out some family difficulties. The envelope bears a fine embossment advertising Cooper's manufactory.