154
VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
tc the house of delegates; he was later a
member of the convention of 1788, of the
Virginia senate, a presidential elector, judge
of the general court, and, in brief, one of
the leading men of Virginia until his death,
which occurred July 11, 1832. He was
father of Alexander H. H. Stuart, secretary
of the interior in Fillmore's cabinet.
Cooper, Thomas, born in London, Eng- land, October 22, 1759; educated at Oxford, acquiring an extensive knowledge of medi- cine, the natural sciences and law; was ad- mitted to the bar, and for a time followed a circuit practice; becoming involved in the political troubles of the time, he was sent to France by the Democratic clubs as a delegate to the French Democratic organ- ization, and there he became an ardent sym- pathizer with the Girondists of the revolu- tion, and upon his return to England cre- ated extreme hostility by his advocacy of that party; he was denounced in the house of conimons by Edmund Burke, and in re- ply he brought out a violent pamphlet which was the cause of great sensation; soon after, he came to the new world with his friend, Dr. Joseph Priestley, and here his extreme views upon questions of gov- ernment were again the cause of misfor- tune; he settled in Northumberland, Penn- sylvania, where he soon built up a law prac- tice, later was appointed judge, but his arbi- trary conduct led to his deposition by his own supporters; he occupied the chair of chemistry in Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from 181 1 to 1814, and in 1816 was appointed to the same position in the University of Pennsylvania; was called to the College of South Carolina in 1820, and remained there until 1834 as president of the institution and professor of chemistry
and political economy; when Mr. Jefferson
was projecting his plans for the University
of Virginia, he entered into correspondence
with Dr. Cooper, seeking his opinion upon
various questions, and the value of Dr.
Cooper's suggestions is evident from the
fact that Mr. Jefferson later brought about
his election as the first professor of Central
College, having the appointment confirmed
by the university; he was not allowed to
serve, however, because of his religious
views ; he was renowned for his knowledge
of law, medicine, chemistry, mineralogy,
politics and political economy ; Jeflferson, in
writing to Cabell, said of him : He is one
of the ablest men in America, and that in
several branches of science * * * The best
pieces on political economy which have been
written in this country were by Cooper;"
ii« politics he was a Republican ; in religion
a free thinker and allied with the Unitarian
denomination: in philosophy a materialist;
he died in Columbia, South Carolina, May
II, 1840, and left an important bibliography
of which notable works are: "Letters on the
Slave Trade," London, 1787; "Tracts, Eth-
ical, Theological, and Political," 1790; "In-
formation Concerning America," 1790; "Ac-
count of the Trial of Thomas Cooper, of
Northumberland," Philadelphia, 1800; "The
Bankrupt Law in America Compared with
that of England," 1801 ; "An English Ver-
sion of the Institutes of Justinian," 1812;
"Tracts on Medical Jurisprudence," 1819;
"Elements of Political Economy," Charles-
ton, 1826. In his "Letters on Emigration"
Cooper used the notable words : **The gov-
ernment of the United States is a govern-
ment of the people and for the people."
Turbcrvillc, George Lee, born September 7. 1760, son of George Turberville, of West-
Digitized by
Google
