Biographical Note

There are at least two James Copleys (or Copleas) living in southwest Virginia in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is unclear which, if either, is the person of this document.

James Copley or Coplea was born in Virginia in the late 1700s. On March 18, 1792, one James Copley married Etey Hearson in Wythe County, and on March 18, 1800, one James Copley married Celey Hearon, also in Wythe County. In 1798, the Copley of this collection was granted a large stretch of land near the New River in Montgomery County. On the 1810 census, a James Copley lived in Giles County, with 5 members of his household, and in 1820, both James Copleas lived in Pearisburg in Giles County, one with 9 members of his household and the other with 10 members. In 1830, a James Copley lived in Cabell County, with 12 members of his household. Both Copleys are listed on the 1840 census in Cabell County, one with 12 household members and one with 4.

In the 1850 census, a James Coplea born in Virginia around 1785 was living with relatives and working as a farmer in Wayne, Illinois. It is unclear if he is one of the two from southwest Virginia listed above.

External sources:

U.S. Federal Censuses, 1810-1850

"James Copley" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/4742996:60214, accessed Dec. 14, 2023.

"James Copley" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/5394981:60214, accessed Dec. 14, 2023.

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