Editing Job Adams Cooper

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name        = Job Adams Cooper
|image       = Job_Cooper.gif
|order       = 6th
|office      = Governor of Colorado
|term_start  = January 8, 1889
|term_end    = January 13, 1891
|lieutenant  = [[William Grover Smith]]
|predecessor = [[Alva Adams (governor)|Alva Adams]]
|successor   = [[John Long Routt|John L. Routt]]
|birth_date  = {{birth date|1843|11|6|mf=y}}
|birth_place = [[Greenville, Illinois]]
|death_date  = {{death date and age|1899|1|20|1843|11|6}}
|death_place =
|party       = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse      =
|profession  =
|signature   = Signature of Job Adams Cooper.png
}}
'''Job Adams Cooper''' (November 6, 1843 – January 20, 1899) was a U.S. [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] politician. He served as the [[List of governors of Colorado|sixth governor]] of the [[State of Colorado]] from 1889 to 1891.

==Early life==
Job Adams Cooper was born in [[Greenville, Illinois]], to Charles and Maria Hadley Cooper, one of seven children. He attended [[Knox College, Illinois|Knox College]] in [[Galesburg, Illinois]], but took a leave of absence to fight in the [[American Civil War]] for the [[Union Army]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_colorado/col2-content/main-content-list/title_cooper_job.html|title= Colorado Governor Job Adams Cooper|publisher= National Governors Association |accessdate= September 25, 2012}}</ref>

Cooper enlisted as a sergeant in the [[137th Illinois Volunteer Infantry]], and was stationed in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], during the Confederate raid on the city by troopers under the command of General [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]. Following the war, he returned to complete his studies. Upon graduation from Knox College in 1867, he returned to his hometown of Greenville and was admitted to practice law in [[Illinois]].

That same year, Cooper married Jane O. Barnes, the daughter of a prominent minister, and they had four children together. Leaving his family behind in 1872, he accompanied A. C. Phelps on a westward journey hoping to find entrepreneurial opportunities, and eventually settled in [[Denver|Denver, Colorado]], where they started the law firm of Phelps and Cooper. In between 1872 and 1888, Cooper expanded his business interests to include [[insurance]], [[bank]]ing, [[mining]], and the [[cattle]] industry.

==Governor of Colorado==
In 1888, Cooper was nominated for Governor, and went on to defeat ''[[Rocky Mountain News]]'' editor [[Thomas M. Patterson]] in the general election. Following his inauguration as the state's sixth Governor in January, 1889, he signed legislation that created thirteen new counties, including: [[Baca County, Colorado|Baca]], [[Cheyenne County, Colorado|Cheyenne]], [[Kiowa County, Colorado|Kiowa]], [[Kit Carson County, Colorado|Kit Carson]], [[Lincoln County, Colorado|Lincoln]], [[Montezuma County, Colorado|Montezuma]], [[Morgan County, Colorado|Morgan]], [[Otero County, Colorado|Otero]], [[Phillips County, Colorado|Phillips]], [[Prowers County, Colorado|Prowers]], [[Rio Blanco County, Colorado|Rio Blanco]], [[Sedgwick County, Colorado|Sedgwick]], and [[Yuma County, Colorado|Yuma]]. Furthermore, he opened a state [[orphanage|orphans home]] in Denver and a state [[reformatory]] in [[Chaffee County, Colorado|Chaffee County]].

==Retirement==
Cooper declined to seek reelection in 1890, and returned to his law practice. He later formed a construction business and built Denver's Cooper Building. From 1893 to 1897, he served as President of the local [[Chamber of Commerce]]. He died at the age of 55 and is buried in Denver's [[Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado)|Fairmount Cemetery]].

==Family life==
Cooper had a daughter, Mary Louisa Cooper, wife of geologist and railroad official, [[Lucius Seymour Storrs]].  The Storrs had two children, Lucius Seymour Storrs Jr., and [[Margaret Storrs Grierson]].<ref name="Marquis">{{cite book|last=Marquis|first=Albert Nelson |title=Who's who in New England|publisher=A.N. Marquis & Company|location=Chicago|year=1915|edition=Google Books Digitized June 4, 2007|pages=1032|oclc=22884556|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jk1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1032 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
 <!-- for current and future use if material is uploaded -->
*{{Find a Grave|7363026|accessdate=2008-02-14}}
*[http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_colorado/col2-content/main-content-list/title_cooper_job.html National Governors Association]

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William H. Meyer (Colorado politician)|William H. Meyer]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Colorado]]|years=[[1888 Colorado gubernatorial election|1888]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Long Routt]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Alva Adams (governor)|Alva Adams]]
|title=[[Governor of Colorado]]
|years=1889–1891
|after=[[John Long Routt]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Colorado}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Job Adams}}
[[Category:1843 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Colorado]]
[[Category:Knox College (Illinois) alumni]]
[[Category:People of Illinois in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People from Greenville, Illinois]]
[[Category:Politicians from Denver]]
[[Category:Union army soldiers]]
[[Category:19th-century Colorado politicians]]