Alexander Y. Copeland was born in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, in 1790. In 1837 he was a magistrate in Merigomish, Nova Scotia. He died January 21, 1967, in Mergomish.

Dr. Joseph Stemmings Copes was born on December 9, 1811, in Broad Creek, Sussex, Delaware.

He studied medicine at the College of Philadelphia and practiced his profession In Tula and Jackson, Mississippi, arriving in New Orleans in 1849. There he continued the practice of medicine for some years, and afterward entered mercantile affairs. For a considerable period and up to the time of his death he was an agent of the New York Life Insurance Company. He also occupied several important and responsible positions on the School Board and Board of Health in New Orleans. He took an active interest in scientific matters and was President of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences.

He married Mary Anick Davis (1812-1865). He died on March 1, 1885, in New Orleans, Louisiana.