Hoopers in Tennessee in 1850

Blount County has suffered courthouse fires (e.g., circa 1880) but most of the early marriage and land records seem to have survived. On the eastern edge of Tennessee, Blount County lies opposite what is now Swain County, North Carolina. In 1850, the surrounding Tennessee counties were Sevier, Knox, Roane, and Monroe. Only the Hooper surname was found; no Hoppers are listed as such within the county.

Several page numbers appear on the 1850 census. At the time of microfilming, the Blount County pages already had suffered deterioration and were in poor condition. The tops of the printed forms are unreadable and parts of the bottom corners likewise are unreadable, particularly for the first pages. For much of the county, finding any page number is impossible. Counting page numbers from the start, or using the household number, may be the easiest method to locate an indexed family. The identifying page numbers used for this web site are the stamped page numbers since they are the first numbers to become readable on the microfilm.

From the perspective of the genealogist, the 1850 enumerator, Robert Russell, was one of the poorer census takers. A note written by Russell on the first page of the enumeration indicates that the column for "value of real estate" was ignored and the value instead was put on "part 4" [which probably refers to the agricultural schedule]. The columns for "married within the year" and for "Color" are empty throughout the county. The only entry giving any indication of race was one where the column "Color" was blank, but the entry for "Occupation" was "free nigger."

Instead of writing the full word for occupations, Russell abbreviated to the first letter for farmers and millers. Many of the birthplaces were blank; apparently, where the state of birth was the same as for a previous individual, he felt no need to write the state again. He was inconsistent with his ditto marks - on some pages, he dittoed every other line; on others, he dittoed every third or fourth line. He never wrote the full name of the intended state, and often abbreviated with a single letter. Only rarely did he bother to mark anything in the "can read or write" column.

When he began the enumeration, Russell obviously misunderstood the intent of the "attended school with year" column - beside the head of household, he marked the total number of individuals who had attended school. Thus, the genealogist cannot be certain which children within the home were being educated. Later, Russell changed his habits and started marking specific individuals regarding school.

Thankfully, there is one thing Russell faithfully did - he wrote out the full surname of each individual. But in view of his other inconsistencies and misinterpretations, he clearly failed to attend to detail. Thus, the data he collected should be carefully compared with other available records.

1. Because Christopher Graves married Elizabeth Shelton (a daughter of Sarah Hooper Shelton) in nearby McMinn County in the 1850s, the family enumerated immediately before this Blount County Hooper might have significance - household #1429 included Silas Graves, 34, a miller; and Nancy, 34; Barbary, 3; and Eliza, 2.
2. This family is mistakenly indexed as that of Elijah Hooper in the Sistler 1850 index; there is no such Elijah Hooper family.

   The apparent husband for this household was listed on the 1850 Blount mortality schedule:
   Moses Hooper, 55, b. NC, d. Jul, from inflammation of the brain.

   This man was the head of household in 1830 Blount County, Tennessee, Eastern District, page 297, line 9:
   Moses Hooper 001001-111001

   Moses Hooper's 1830 family seems to include Moses (aged 30-40), son Milas (aged 10-15), and wife Elizabeth (aged 30-40). The other females aged 0-5, 5-10, and 10-15 are unidentified. However, one of those females is likely to be a Hooper bride shown in Blount County marriage records: Martha Hooper married 15 January 1850 to Jno. A. McCullough [see also note 10 below].

   By 1860, following her son's marriage and establishment of his family, Elizabeth no longer was identified as the head of the household. (See next note.) The land farmed by Elizabeth Hooper in 1850 probably included the 27.5 acres patented to Moses Hooper, with William McLeer, in 1846 (state grant #25702, recorded book 27, page 30). In 1830, a William McTeer, aged between 50 and 60, headed the household immediately after that of Moses Hooper.

   In a message dated 3 August 1998, WSpence106@aol indicated that Moses Hooper had a brother James and a sister Martha. Mr. Spence has indicated that Martha Hooper Spence was born in January 1801 in Wilkes or near Iredell County, NC and that she died in 1867, with burial in Buttram Cemetery near Deyton, Tennessee. She married Stephen Spence. In 1830, just nine households after Moses Hooper family is the Stephen Spence family, with the parents aged between 20 and 30, two sons aged 5-10, and three daughters aged 0-5. The Spences later moved to Rhea County, Tennessee. [See also note 11 below for further reference to James Hooper].

3. Miles/Milas Hooper became the head of the household by 1860. According to Blount County marriage records, Milas Hooper married M R McColloch on 18 September 1851. An index to the 1860 Blount County census lists the family on page 112:

   Milas Hooper 40
   Margarett 36
   Moses 8
   Ellen 6
   Elizabeth 4
   Saml. 2
   Caroline 1
   Elizabeth 70
   Jane Rogers 16
   William Houser 17

   The 1880 Blount County mortality schedule shows
   Milas Hooper, 59, NC NC NC, farmer, d. June of dropsy

   The widow of Milas, Margaret R. McCulloch Hooper, was a head of household in 1880, listed as age 55, on page 31 of District 11. Others in the home were Ellen, 26; Adda, 20; and Emer, 19 (daughter). Milas and Margaret's middle son Samuel (age 23) was two households earlier, with his wife Hester, 25; and their son Homer, 1. Milas and Margaret Hooper's older son Moses A. Hooper (age 28) was listed some distance away in the village of Maryville, with his wife Elizabeth, 24; and his brother John, 17.

   Information collected by Dale Morton (Demi938642@aol.com), Renae Harmon (Lilady1458@aol.com), and Joan Morton at Clarks Grove Cemetery, Maryville,TN, lists some of the members of this family. They show that Milas Hooper was born 13 November 1819 and died 20 June 1879. At least two of his children and a grandchild are also buried at this cemetery.

4. This child attended school within the year.
   There were no other Rogers families on the previous or following page. Despite the age discrepancy, this 1850 Nancy Rogers appears to be the same as the Jane Rogers of the 1860 household. Blount County marriage records show that Nancy J. Rogers married William Houser on 1 December 1861. How or even if they might be related to the Hoopers is unknown.
5. Mary Hooper was illiterate.

   This household reappears in Blount County 1860, page 115 as
   Mary Hooper 40
   Harvey 22
   Wilson 08
   Elvira 38

   By 1880, Mary's son had become the head of household. They were enumerated in District 13 on page 5: Willson F. Hooper, 28 (father b. TN mother b. NC), Mary, 27; Emily E., 4; James H., 2; son not named, b. Apr 1880, Mary Hooper, mother, 65, marital status: single, (b. NC and her parents b. NC).

6. Elvira Hooper was illiterate. Whether she was a sister or sister-in-law of Mary Hooper (with whom she was enumerated in 1850 and 1860) is unclear. However, her 1880 listing gives more detail: District 13 page 4 (8 households from Willson F. Hooper) gives William McClory? [or McClorg], Sr. 73 TN [father PA, mother VA]; Matilda 70 NC [father NC, mother VA]; Elisabeth, 35; William, Jr., 32; John Davis, 20 (black, servant); and Elvira Hooper, 56, sister-in-law, crippled.

   The William McClorg and wife Matilda of 1880 likely are the couple whose Blount County marriage is recorded as William McCerg to Melinda Hooper, license issued 22 Nov 1831, no returns.

7. James Hooper attended school in 1850. He probably is identical with the Harvey Hooper shown in the 1860 Mary Hooper household. See note 5 above. Perhaps the James H. Hooper, b. about 1878, shown in the 1880 home of Wilson Hooper was named for this older James Harvey Hooper.

   Could this James Harvey Hooper could have been named for a grandfather? Was the older James Hooper of 1830 Blount County census his ancestor? See note (11) below.

8. Samuel McNelly was a farmer. The 1880 census shows the family in District 13 on page 17: Samuel McNelly, 59, TN (parents b. VA) (farmer); Mary, 56, TN (parents b. NC); Sarah, 23; Samuel B., 21; Russel, 18; John, 15; Andrew, 10; Joseph 25 (blacksmith).
9. Blount County marriage records show Samuel McNally to Mary Hooper 12 Mar 1850. Not far away from the Samuel McNelly household of 1880 was that of William H. McNelly (District 13, page 11), who was 29. This William H. McNelly easily could be the eldest child of Samuel McNelly and Mary Hooper McNelly. Perhaps the H in William H. McNelly's name stands for Hooper. Others in the William H. McNelly home are his wife Elisabeth, 24; daughter Esther S, 1; and brother Samuel, 21.
10. The 1880 census also shows in District 13, page 14: Martha C. McCullock, 53 (widowed), TN (parents b. NC); Robert P., 23; Martha E., 17; Edward G. Poston, 18 (boarder). This could be the Martha Hooper who married Jno. A. McCullough on 15 Jan 1850. Because Milas Hooper married Margaret McCullough about a year and a half later, this Martha Hooper McCullough seems likely to be a sister of Milas.
11. The 1830 Blount County, Tennessee census shows two Hooper heads of household on page 301:

    James Hooper 10001-10001
    James Hooper00100001-01111001

    The second, older James Hooper in 1830 has several females within the home who could be Elvira and her sister Matilda/Melinda. The Mary Hooper with whom Elvira lived in 1850 and 1860 might be the widow of the young male (b. 1815-1820) within the older James Hooper's home. Neighbors in 1850 and 1880 for Mary and Elvira are compatible with the names seen near James Hooper in 1830. The Mary Hooper who married Samuel McNelly could fit either into the older James Hooper home, or into the Moses Hooper home. The younger James Hooper 1830 household is compatible with a James Hooper household in Rhea County in 1850 and in Saline County, Arkansas in 1860; however, no confirmatory data has yet been located to prove definitively that the families are identical. See also Rhea County 1850 for more about the younger James Hooper of early Blount.