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Established in 1862, the William J. Cooper Company dealt in millwork, i.e., finished lumber, such as moldings, windows, and doors. Early in the 20th century, William J. Cooper became a principal and officer in the Broadway Trust Bank at 938-944 Broadway, in association with John J. Burleigh and Anthony Kobus. 

William Cooper was born at Kaighns's Point in Camden to John and Mary M. (Kaighn) Cooper in 1851. He was a direct descendant of William Cooper, one of the first Englishmen to settle in the area, and for whom Cooper's Point and the Cooper River is named.

John Cooper, William J. Cooper's father, was born in Woodbury NJ, and spent his youth on a farm in that place. When a young man he went to Camden, and engaged in the wood and coal business, building up a large trade. He was in business in Camden many years, with John W. Stone, at 32-34 Kaighn Avenue John Cooper retired around 1888, and passed away on April 18, 1894 at the age of 80. At that time he was vice-president of the Camden National Bank. Mary M. Cooper was the daughter of Joseph Kaighn and Sarah Mickle, both members of prominent families in early Camden. William J. Cooper's older brother Howard M. Cooper was a prominent attorney in Camden in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century.

William J. Cooper made his home at 633 Cooper Street in Camden. The city directories show him there from 1887 through 1891. By the 1920 census he was living, with his wife Emma, at 715 Cooper Street. Having worked in his father's business, he had moved that enterprise to 221 Kaighn Avenue by 1890. The original business dealt with wood and ice and hardware, but by 1897 William Cooper had specialized in millwork and window sashes. 

William Cooper remained a principal in the Broadway Trust after the death of John J. Burleigh in 1916 and Anthony Kobus in 1920. He does not appear in the 1930 Census for Camden. The business was listed in October 1936 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory. By 1947, the William J. Cooper Company was gone, and the building had been subdivided for use by two separate businesses.