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William Cooley (1783–1863) was one of the first American settlers, and a regional leader, in what is now known as Broward County, in the US state of Florida. His family was killed by Seminoles in 1836, during the Second Seminole War. The attack, known as the "New River Massacre", caused immediate abandonment of the area by whites. Cooley was born in Maryland, but little else is known about his life prior to 1813, when he arrived in East Florida as part of a military expedition. He established himself as a farmer in the northern part of the territory before moving south, where he traded with local Indians and continued to farm. He sided with natives in a land dispute against a merchant who had received a large grant from the King of Spain and was evicting the Indians from their lands. Unhappy with the actions of the Spanish, he moved to the New River area in 1826 to get as far as possible from the Spanish influence.〔 In New River, Cooley sustained himself as a salvager and farmer, cultivating and milling arrowroot. His fortune and influence grew: he became the first lawman and judge in the settlement, besides being a land appraiser. Local Indians held him responsible for what they saw as a misjudgment involving the murder of one of their chiefs and attacked the settlement in revenge on January 4, 1836.〔 Cooley survived the attack and lived for a further . He held administrative positions in Dade County, moved to Tampa in 1837, and had a short stint working for the U.S. Army as a guide and courier. He moved to the Homosassa River area in 1840, where he became the first postmaster and was a Hernando County candidate for the Florida House of Representatives. Returning to Tampa in 1847, he was one of the first city councilors, serving 〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.tampagov.net/dept_City_Clerk/Information_resources/archives/previous_city_council_members/Tampa_City_Council_Members_February-1856%20_June-1904.asp )〕 before he died in 1863.〔〔〔 ==Early life and arrival in East Florida== Cooley was born in Maryland in 1783;〔 little else is known about him prior to 1813. Cooley has been referred to as William Cooley Jr., William Coolie, William Colee and William Cooly.〔 Cooley arrived in East Florida in 1813, during a joint campaign of Tennessee and Georgia forces. Some sources give credit to the hypothesis that Cooley fought with the Tennessee Volunteers under Colonel John Williams;〔〔 Although this is a good indicative, Colonel Williams was the leader of the Mounted Volunteers of East Tennessee; the 2nd Regiment West Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Gunmen was headed by Thomas Williamson. ()〕 other sources say he was a lieutenant〔 The references put him alternatively building forts to protect the Telfair and Tattnall Counties in Georgia against Indians in 1813.〕 in the Georgia Militia, fighting under Colonel Samuel Alexander〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=East Florida Papers-Col Samuel Alexander through Adjutant William Cooley ) Colonel Samuel Alexander was part of the same campaign, but from the Georgia counterpart. The units from Tennessee and Georgia met in East Florida.〕 from Georgia. Cooley acquired property in Girt's Landing on the St. Marys River,〔 close to where the military units crossed East Florida that same year.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Brief History of TN in the War of 1812 – East Florida Campaign )〕 Later, he went to the west bank of the St. Johns River, settling in an area south of modern Jacksonville.〔 Cooley later moved to Alligator Pond (near present-day Lake City, Florida), where he set up a farm and traded with the local Seminole tribe led by Chief Micanopy.〔 The territory of East Florida was formally transferred from Spain to the United States in 1819, under the Adams-Onis Treaty. In 1820, Spanish merchant Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo began settlement of a claim in the Alachua territory, which had been granted to him by King Ferdinand VII of Spain. Cooley negotiated with Don Fernando on behalf of the displaced Indians but was unsuccessful.〔 Cooley moved away in 1823〔—possibly to escape the Spanish influence—to the north bank of the New River.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William Cooley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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