Cooper Clan

Cooper Clan Crest: An oak tree with a branch borne down by a weight.

Cooper Clan Motto: Resurgo (I rise again).

Cooper Clan History:

Coupar, Couper, Cowper and Cooper; variations on the spelling of this surname exist throughout Scotland and, in most cases, are said to originate from the town of Coupar in Fife, where a Selomone de Coupir is on record for having witnessed a charter in 1245.  In other instances, however, the occupation of cooper, an individual who constructs casks and barrels, slips into the equation.

A John Cupar held lands in Aberdeen in the late 13th century and a Symon Coupare of Berwickshire rendered homage to Edward I of England in 1296. Thomas de Cupro was Canon
of St Andrews in 1406 and Finla Couper of Belnakeill, Atholl, was fined for giving sanctuary to outlawed members of Clan Gregor in 1618.

In the 17th century, a family of Coupers held the lands of Gogar, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, and in 1638, John Couper was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia. He was killed in 1640 in the explosion which destroyed Douglas Castle during the Covenanting period known as the 'Bishops' Wars'.

One of Sir John's sons settled in Dumbartonshire and from this line originate the Coupers of Banheath in Dumbartonshire; of Failford and Smeithston in Ayrshire, and of Ballindalloch in West Stirlingshire.

The English poet William Cowper (1731-1800), writing to a friend confided that his roots lay in Fife. ' I am originally of the same shire, and a family of my name is still there.'

Places of Interest:
Coupar, Fife. The town was the seat of the Macduff, earls of Fife, whose castle dates from the 12th century.
Coupar, Perthshire. A Cistercian abbey was founded here by Malcolm IV (1153-65) in the 1160s.

Castle Gogar, Edinburgh.  An A-Listed Scottish Baronial L-plan mansion, built in 1625 by the architect William Ayton for John Cowper, whose father had bought the estate in 1601.

Cooper surname distribution in Scotland: The Cooper name is most common in Highland (includes the historic counties of Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland and lesser parts of Argyllshire and Morayshire), Orkney and Aberdeenshire (includes all of the historic counties of Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and parts of Banffshire).

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