Although I was originally going to send an email to Elaine and Vicki with this question, as it does not deal directly with Indexers site I thought I should present to all in hopes of an answer.
I am currently putting together a Britannia Metal Smith research tree on Ancestry for the Cooper and Jepson families of Sheffield. I have come to a roadblock and I am wondering if there is an error in transcription from the original St.Peter_St.Paul_Baptisms_1813-37 for a Jepson Baptism. If one looks at 31 May 1829 three Baptisms for Charles, John, and William were performed (nos 308, 309, 310 all on p.39. The mother is the same, Sarah. Thomas, a White Smith, is recorded as the father for Charles and John, whereas a 'James', also recorded as a White Smith, is reportedly the father of William. This is important as William becomes a Metal Smith, and is seen living with what would be his step-grandmother in 1841 if he was actually Thomas' son. Otherwise there would be very little to connect him to this Cooper family short of a far distant relationship coincidence.
Thomas, I believe is the son of John Jepson, Bp Ecclesfield c.1785-6. I could find no child named 'James' as a son of John Jepson of Ecclesfield.
Thus, I'm thinking (and hoping) this entry of 'James' instead of 'Thomas' is just a transcription error from the original. Does any one have access to the original document (not the transcription we get from S&DFHS) to see if this is true?
Thank you very much for this wonderful information, Anne! I just sent you an email with a jpeg screen capture of the incorrect transcription from the S&DFHS file. If those files are amenable to correction perhaps this may assist future researchers if that can be changed.
And I will be sure to send you an invite to my research tree on Ancestry in case you wish to review it. Unlike many of my projects this one does not contain as many family members as Metal Smiths, but I'm trying to see if any of these early Cooper members had descendants who gave rise to Thomas Cooper (b1843-) and John William Cooper (b.1845-) of 'Cooper Brothers' and ultimately 'Cooper Brothers & Sons, LTD' fame. I just started the tree a few days ago so am early in the process and currently cannot confirm a connection but there certainly may be.
HI Bruce - Is the Jepson/Cooper family you talk about Thomas Jepson who married Emma Cooper in 1831 Sheffield? If so, I'm descended from their son George William Jepson born 1838.
I have just come back to this family and geographical area after time in other branches. I'd love to correspond with you to check my own research.