The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1883-04-13
Death Of Peter Cooper.
PEACEFUL CLOSING TO A TlFE OF
NINETY Two YEARS.

PEACEFUL CLOSING TO T,FE OF
NINETY Two YEARS.
Peter Cooper died at his home, 8
Lexington avenue, at o'clock Wednes-
day morning, of pneumonia. He was
in his ninety third year. He had been
in good health during the winter,
occasionally suffering from colds. He
visited the Cooper Union on Saturday,
as was his almost daily practice, and
on his return cold with which he was
then atilic ed was worse. Or Sunday
morning he felt so i'll that his family
physician, DR.. J. j. Hull of 1853 West
Thirty -fouth street, was called in. On
Monday morning he was worse, and in
the afternoon his condition was so Sc
rious that his son, Mr.. Edward Cooper,
was summoned from Albany. In the
evening Mr.. Cooper rallied partially,
but on Tuesday he grew worse rapidly,
until it became evident that his end
was near. There were present at his
bedside when he died ex-Mayor Coop
er, Mr. and Mrs Hewitt and their six
children, other members of the family,
and his physician. He called Mrs.
Hewitt to him and whispered a fare
well message to her. Then he spoke
few words to the others, in SO low a
tone as to be barely audible. His deaf h
was peaceful and seemingly painless.
Peter Cooper was born on Feb. ~,
1871, in the city of New York. His
mothers father, John Campbell, was
deputy quartemaster and an Alderman
of New York during the Revolutionary
war, and sacrificed a fortune in his
country's behalf. His father was a
Lieutenant in the Revolutionary army,
and after the war made competency
in the manufacture of hats in New York.
When Peter was about years old his
father. bought a place at Peekskill, n.
Y, where ne establi 'hed country
store and built a church His hat bus
mess was continued on in New York,
and Peter learned, when he was not
much taller than the leg of the table,
to pull the hair out of rabbit skins.
Subsequently he learned to make every
part OF hat While at Peekskill his
father went into the business of max
ing bricks, and Peters services were
utilized N carrying and handling bricks
for the drying process. As this did
not prove profitable enough, his father
resumed the ale business at Newburgh,
n Y, where Peter worked until he
wds nearly II. The first $40 that he
saved was invested in lottery tickets,
which all drew blanks, and impressed
him with the folly of gambling.
In his seventeenth year he was ap-
prenticed TO the busines of coach max
ing, receiving $25 year for his servi-
ces. He worked hard nights at coach
carving and saved money. He made
for his employer a machine for NOR
tising the hubs of carriages, the first of
the kind in this country. This EN-
ployer offered to set him up in bust
ness, but he declined. He had a hor-
ror of being in debt, and he never lost
that feeling.
At the termination of his apprentice
ship Peter Cooper went to Hampstead,
L. l., where he worked isor three years,
earning Sl.50 day making machines
for shearing cloth. He saved enough
out of his wages to buy the right tc
manufacture the machine in the State
of New York on his own account
The first money he reviewed for the
sale of these machines was from Mr.
Vassar, the founder of Vassar College
When Peter Cooper found himself
possessed Of 5000, which was to hin
a small fortune, with that generosity
which marked all his life, he gave it tC
his father who was then involved il
business difficulties. This and othel
gifts saved his father from failing
The war of 1912 created so great a de
maud for the loth-shearing machines
that Mr.. Cooper sold them as fast a
they could be made. His inventive
genius suggested an important i'm
provement in the machines, which in
creased his profits. The principle of i
was the same as that of modern NOW
er. He always spoke of it with pride
| His first venture in mercantile bust
ness was grocer opposite the Coope
Union. He had twenty years leas
of this property, and built four dwell
ing houses there. With the profits of tn
cloth shearing and grocery business h'
purchased a glue factory on the oil
"Middle road" between Thirty first am
Thirty-fourth streets, paying for it il
cash, as was his custom in all opera
tions. He did not believe in loans
mortgages, or banks, and prided him
self on doing busines on cash basis
He manufactured glue, oil, whiting
prepared chalk, and isinglass for twer
ty one years at that place. Then h
, moved that business to Maspeth ave
nue. Brooklyn, where it is still carrie
. on. He made many Improvements i
{ the manufacture of different article,
{ especially of isinglass, which up to h
| advent in the business was costly a
Z ticle. His method of making chea
! isinglass alone secured him fortun
| The secret of it was that when Russia
t islngass was selling at S4 a pound /
5 produced an article that could be use
D as a substitute, and which cost hil
- about 10 cents a pound, while it read
= ly sold for rs cents a pound.
= One of the very few instances
which Mr.. Cooper was imposed upc
by sharpers in business was in 1872
1 when two men persuaded him to uni
with them in the purchase of 800
acres of land at Baltimore, Md, beir
' the whole shore for three miles fro
Felrs Point dock. Mr., Cooper 500
found out that his associates had |
= capital, and that he was furnishing a
the money for the enterprise. He G
g rid of them at their own price and to,
u all of the property into his own hanC
I expending 100000 for the land.
I then erected the Canton iron work
e which he subsequently sold to Mr.. A
V bolt of Baltimore,
81 Peter Cooper's treless energy a
apt invention We're well displayed
this enterprise, The original plan
yOlvp1 aHnppt otionS Of ON aarly no,