Misc. Notes
Nicholas Copeland, the son of Nicholas Copeland and Nancy Jane Lott, was born in 1732 in Essex County, Virginia. He married Dorothy Ripley in Essex County, Virginia and they had ten children [sic].
In 1718, a John Ripley was arrested at the “suit” of Robert Elliott. He failed to appear and a judgment was therefore issued against John Ripley and Nicholas Copeland (probably Nicholas Copeland, the father of Nicholas Copeland 3rd).
In about 1755 he moved to Orange County, North Carolina, which was later subdivided into several other counties including Chatham County, which was formed in 1771. He is said to have died on 30 Sep 1773 in Chatham County, North Carolina.
Based on later pension applications, we know that at least three sons of Nicholas Copeland served in the Revolutionary War, one of whom was Ripley Copeland who served as a Private and was at the
Battles of Monmouth and
Stoney Point and was with Washington at
Valley Forge.
He subsequently lived in South Carolina, where he died in 1843.
Although 1773 is commonly given as the death date for Nicholas Copeland, there is some doubt regarding the date. Two of his sons, Aaron and Ripley Copeland, later applied for pensions for their service in the Revolutionary War, and their statements in support of their applications reference to their father being alive as late as 1781. Also, one of the children commonly attributed to Nicholas Copeland, Absalom Copeland, was not born until September of 1775.