Lord Brigadier Don Jose Maria Coppinger
,Military Cross Fourth Class, Knight of the Orders of San Fernando and San Hermenegildo by Royal Decree, Governor of East Florida 1816-1821.

was my G.G.G.G.G. Grandfather. ( Spanish )

I am trying to find out more about him.
I know he is buried in
St. Augustine,Florida.
Where was he born in Spain? or Was he?
He married Ann McQueen B. 1747- daughter of
James McQueen B. 1683-1811
First white man accepted into the Creek Indian Tribe. (died at age 127 )
.Ann's mother was Katherine Frazer, a full Blood Creek Indian
daughter of a Creek Chief of the "Wind Tribe.".
Don Jose is also the Grandfather of Billy Powell known as "OSCEOLA ", War Chief of the Seminoles.
I would like to know

If he (Coppinger) was also known as JOHN SMITH.

Changed his name and left his wife Ann and moved to St. Augustine from the area of Savannah, Ga.
Did he change his religion to the Catholic faith while in St. Augustine.? I understand he wrote letters., I would love to find out where they are.
And that the reason he left Georgia was avoid debtors prison.

Some say he would not ransome his son held prisioner on a ship. I would like to know the name of that son and anything more about this man and his family .
Thank you ,

Betty Wadford

e mail - fjwadford@aol.com

According to the monograph "Gobernadores Cubanos de la Florida" (Cuban Governors of Florida) by J. Isern, Don Jose Coppinger was born in Havana, Cuba and died in Cardenas, Cuba. Before being Governor of Florida, he had been Governor of Bayamo, Trinidad and Sancti Spiritus in Cuba. He was Governor of Florida from 1816 to 1821 and was the Spanish officer (Colonel) who officially turned over Florida to Colonel Robert Butler, representing the United States, on 10 Jul 1821 at the old Fort St. Marcos in San Agustin (Saint Augustine). The book states that 4 years later as Governor of the Castle of Saint Juan de Ulua in Mexico he was forced again to surrender the last stronghold held by Spain in that country to the Mexican revolutionary forces. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1824. The book states he died in poverty in Cardenas, Cuba where he lived as a retired officer of the Spanish army. There is no mention of his ever having changed his name or of any marriage or descendants. Being a Spanish officer it is fairly certain that both him and his ancestors were Catholics "de pura sangre". The book says he is a descendant of Irish Catholics who formed part of the Irish Brigade of Spain organized in 1709. You can probably obtain his military records from the Spanish Archives in Spain - see http://www.cubagenweb.org/mil/ for details.

Estimados Betty y Ed:

Jose Maria COPPINGER y LOPEZ DE GAMARRA, nacio el el 5 de abril de 1773 en La Habana, bautizado el 18 de abril de 1773 en la Catedral de La Habana, hijo de Cornelio COPPINGER y O'BRIEN y de Maria de los Dolores LOPEZ DE GAMARRA y HERNANDEZ-ARTURO.

Jose Maria fue Capitan del Regimiento de Hibernia y Ayudante Mayor de su Segundo Batallon (1797).

Brigadier de Infanteria de los Reales Ejercitos.

Gobernador politico y militar de la Nueva Filipina (hoy provincia de Pinar del Rio), y de la villa de Bayamo (1801), Capitan a Guerra de Las Cuatro Villas con residencia en Trinidad (1814-1817). Gobernador Militar interino, y despues Gobernador Militar (1817-1820) de la plaza de San Agustin de la Florida y de la Florida Oriental (en remplazo del Brigadier Kindelan). Gobernador del castillo y de la plaza de San Juan de Ulua, en Nueva España.

Caballero de las Ordenes Militares de San Fernando y de San Hermenegildo.

Se caso en primeras, el 11 de julio de 1797 en la Parroquia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje, La Habana, con Antonia Josefa SARAVIA y VILLEGAS, hija de Manuel SARAVIA y GARCIA y de Josefa Luciana VILLEGAS y MACEDA-HIDALGO, con quien tuvo 4 hijos: Maria de la Trinidad, Jose Maria, Cornelio Jose, y Antonia Maria COPPINGER y SARAVIA.

Caso en segundas, con Narcisa ARMENTEROS. No tengo descendencia de este matrimonio.

La fecha de nacimiento que pone Betty no corresponde, pero segun las informaciones que da, debe ser la misma persona.

No creo que cambio su religion estando en St Augustine. Era catolico y venia de una familia catolica (irlandesa) .

Saludos cordiales
CV

Thank you for the reply Ed, and Victor

I will look up this information.
I found that he was my g.g.g.g.g.Grandfather in the LDS file.
Coppinger was listed in history books by the Indian Agent as the husband of Ann McQueen.
References:,
1.Martin County Florida
First National Bank and Trust Company . Stuart,Florida.
2. Florida's Seminole Indians By Wilfred T. Neill Page 25

Again , many thanks.
I would never have found that site without your help.

Betty

Do you have his lineage or any information regarding his wife?

Thanks - Lisa