Dr. Cooley, born on Staten Island, became a prominent physician in Lexington, Kentucky.
He was a member of the Cooley family who settled in Tottenville, and was the grandson of Phillip and Eliza Cooley. Phillip was a slave bought by his wife, Eliza, of 45 years and she then petitioned the state of Virginia to free him. When they refused the family came north and settled on Staten Island.