Brief Biography and Genealogy of William Hooper

Much of this information was first posted on 2 December 1998 at another site [homepages.rootsweb.com/~hoops/hooper/signer.htm] held by this webmaster. The version at that other site is static and will not be updated. The version below will be revised periodically as new information becomes available.
An extensive review of the entire ancestry and descent (to about 1900) of this family appeared in Volume 2 of the Hooper Compass.

First Generation

William Hooper "Signer" was born 17 Jun 1742 in Marblehead, Suffolk Co., Mass. He died 14 Oct 1790 in Hillsborough, Orange County, NC and was buried in Old Town Cemetery, Hillsborough, NC. See Sources 1

Abbreviated Biography

Studied at Boston Public Latin School. Graduated Harvard in 1760 with A.B. and received M.A. 1763. Studied law under James Otis. Probably first practiced law in Wilmington, NC 1763. Jun 1766, unanimously elected recorder of Cape Fear borough. His poor health suffered in this low area. In 1767, inherited from father "all my Books and Manuscripts." 1769 appointed deputy attorney general of Salisbury District. 1768 Anson County, September 1770 Hillsborough, incidents with the Regulators (Hooper reportedly was dragged by them through the streets of Hillsborough). 25 Jan 1773, representative of Scots settlement of Campbellton (later Fayetteville) in the Provincial Assembly. Built home "Finian" eight miles below Wilmington about 1774. In Dec 1773, returned to Provincial Assembly as representative of New Hanover Co., and was appointed to the Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry.

Named by first Provincial Congress as first of three delegates from NC to the First Continental Congress of 20 Sept 1774 in Philadelphia. Returned to Wilmington to serve on the Committee of Safety. Traveled many times between Philadelphia and NC on horseback.1 Feb 1776, went to aid of mother in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She had only "lately got out of Boston," and Hooper was alarmed for her safety. Hooper served on Thomas Jefferson's committee to compose the Declaration of Independence, but was absent when it was actually voted and declared on the 4th of July. He affixed his name to the amended Declaration on 2 August 1776. In 1777, Hooper was stricken with yellow fever, and resigned his seat in April.

He attended the General Assembly from 1771 to 1781, representing Wilmington. He suffered British depredations after his return to the Carolinas. A house of Hooper's 3 miles from Wilmington was burned and his home, Finian was shelled. He suffered malaria and a badly swollen right arm, and fled the British, going "from friend to friend." His wife had fled to Wilmington, but when that town taken by British, she fled by wagon to Hillsborough, where her brother General Clark sheltered her and two of her children.

Above biography compiled from:

• Samuel G. Drake, History and Antiquities of Boston [1630-1770]:, Luther Stevens [publisher], 1856, pp. 583, 601, 640.
• Wheeler, Historical Sketches of NC: Wheeler, 1964, pp 282ff.
• Clark, Myrtie June, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War:, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore [MD], 1981.
• A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston - Marriages: 1700-1751, p. 232; 1752-1809, p. 399.
• B.J. Lossing, Signers of the Declaration of Independence:, George F. Cooledge and Bro., New York, 1848, p. 201ff.
• N. Dwight, Signers of the Declaration of Independence:, A. S. Barnes and Co., New York, 1895 (originally published 1851).
• John Sanderson and Robert Waln, Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence: W. Brown and C. Peters [publishers], Philadelphia, second edition, 1828; pp 109-130 of volume 5.

For additional citations, see UNC Collection

William married Anne Clark, daughter of Thomas Clark Sr. and Barbara Murray, on 16 Aug 1767 in King's Chapel, Boston, Massachusetts. Anne was born in New Hanover County, North Carolina. She died before Aug 1795 in Orange County, North Carolina. See Sources 2.

William Hooper and Anne Clark Hooper had the following children:

1. William Hooper was born 1768 and died 15 Jul 1804.
2. Elizabeth Hooper was born 1770 and died 31 July 1844.
3. Thomas Hogg Hooper was born in 1773. He died in 1805. Thomas Hogg Hooper's birth date is suggested in Powell's Dictionary of North Carolina Biography and confirmed in the family records of his nephew Professor William Hooper. Thomas H. Hooper's death date is indicated by the date of his will and the probate date thereof.

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Second Generation

William Hooper (son of William "Signer") was born 1768. He died 15 Jul 1804 in Brunswick County, NC. William married Helen Hogg, daughter of James Hogg, on 26 Jun 1791. After the death of her first husband, "Helen Hooper moved to Chapel Hill in order to provide for the best educational opportunities for her three sons." See Sources 3.

William and Helen had the following children:

1. William Hooper (Professor) was born 31 Aug 1792 and died 19 Aug 1876. He and his offspring were the only direct descendants of "the Signer" who were alive after 1845.
2. Thomas Clarke Hooper was born in September 1794 and died 24 November 1828 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was a lawyer at Fayetteville. He married Miss Eliza Donaldson on 25 May 1825 at Fayetteville, North Carolina. She died less than six months after the marriage.
3. James H. Hooper was born 10 September 1797 at Hillsborough, North Carolina. He died 26 June 1841 at Fayetteville. He is listed on the Cumberland County 1830 and 1840 censuses, living at Fayetteville. He married the former Margaret S. Broadfoot on 14 November 1821 at Fayetteville. The widow Margaret S. Hooper, aged 50, lived alone in Fayetteville in 1850. She then controlled real estate valued at over $10,000.

After the death of her first husband, Helen (Hogg) Hooper remarried to Professor Joseph Caldwell (who was the first president of the University of North Carolina).

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Elizabeth Hooper (daughter of William "Signer") was born in 1770. She died in Massachusetts on 31 July 1844. Elizabeth married Colonel Henry Hyrn Watters, a wealthy planter, on 15 Oct 1790. See Sources and Notes 4.

Henry and Elizabeth Watters had the following child:

• Henry Watters Jr. was born between 1791 and 1793. Although this child was yet alive in 1800, his mother was later described as a childless widow when she supported the education of one of her Hooper kinsman.

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Third Generation

(Professor) William Hooper (son of William, son of William "Signer") was born 31 Aug 1792. He died 19 Aug 1876 in Chapel Hill.

He entered the University of North Carolina preparatory school in the winter of 1804. He earned his B.A. in 1809 and M.A. in 1812. Next, he studied theology at Princeton from 1812-3, receiving his M.A. from Princeton in 1817; The University of North Carolina awarded his LL.D. in 1833 and a D.D. in 1857. Professor Hooper taught at the preparatory, college, and university level for 65 years. He served as president of Furman Theological Institute, then went to South Carolina College from 1840-46, at times as acting president. In October of 1845, he was elected by the trustees of Wake Forest College as president (but did not take office until January 1847.) Hooper left there in December 1848. Later, he served several other institutes and colleges of North Carolina. After 1875, he retired to Chapel Hill, living the rest of life with his daughter and son-in-law Professor John De Berniere Hooper.

In religious life, he was confirmed in the Episcopal church in 1818, and became a lay reader in 1819, and deacon in 1820. He was ordained a priest of St. Johns Church of Fayetteville on 24 Apr 1822, until he resigned in 1824. In 1831, he was baptized into Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Orange County, NC. He served as pastor of Wake Forest Baptist Church (1847-8), New Bern Baptist (1852-4), Buckhorn Baptist of Hertford County (1855ff.) and Wilson Baptist (1868).

William married Frances Pollock Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, in Dec 1814 in Chatham County, North Carolina. (She was born between 1794 and 1799 and died 10 March 1863.) See Sources and Notes 5.

William Hooper and Frances P. Jones Hooper had the following children:

1. William Wilberforce Hooper
2. Edward Jones Hooper
3. Joseph Caldwell Hooper
4. Thomas Clark Hooper. He worked with his cousin/brother-in-law John De Berniere Hooper to conduct Fayetteville Female Institute in 1860.
5. DuPonceau Hooper
6. Mary Elizabeth Hooper was born 1819/1822 and died 23 Jun 1894. Mary married John De Berniere Hooper (see JDB Hooper notes), son of Archibald Maclaine Hooper and Charlotte De Berniere, on 20 Dec 1837.
7. Elizabeth Watters Hooper

Further data about the above children of Professor William Hooper appears in the transcription of their family Bible.

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Sources 1:

• William S. Powell, editor; 1988; Dictionary of North Carolina Biography: Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, Volume 3 (H-K), pp. 196-203.
• Edwin Anderson Alderman, "Address on the Life of William Hooper, 'The Prophet of American Independence,'" (Guilford Battle Ground, 4 July 1894).
• Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 7 (1908).
• Walter Cleark, ed., State Records of NC, vols. 11-24 (1895-1905).
• John De Berniere Hooper papers (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill).
• Crockette W. Hewlett and Mona Smalley, Between the Creeks: A History of Masonboro Sound 1735-1985: revised edition, Wilmington [NC], New Hanover Printing and Publishing).
• Archibald Maclaine Hooper, "Life of William Hooper, signer of the Declaration of Independence ... Written in 1822 ... by Callisthenes," Hillsborough Recorder, 13, 20, 27 Nov, 4 Dec 1822.
• William Hooper Papers (Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina Library, Chapel Hill).
• Griffeth J. McRee, ed., The Life and Correspondence of James Iredell, 1857.
• William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vols 7-10 (1886-90).
• "Unpublished letters of William Hooper," Historical Magazine (August 1868).
• Fanny De Berniere Whitaker, "The Hooper Family," North Carolina Booklet, vol. 5, (July 1905).
• William Hooper Memorandum Book, 1780-83 (microfilm in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, from the original in the New York Historical Society Library.)
• Will of Anne Hooper (Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough). See transcription.
• Will of William Hooper (NC Division of Archives and History, Raleigh). See transcription.

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Sources 2:

• A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston - Marriages: 1752-1809, p. 362: William Hooper and Ann Clark(e), 16 Aug 1767.
• Powell, ibid.
• The will of Anne C. Hooper was probated August 1795. See link above for transcription.

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Sources 3:

• Powell, ibid.
• Brent Holcomb, Marriages of Orange Co., North Carolina, 1779-1868: Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983.
• Lois Smathers Neal, 1979, Abstracts of Vital Records from Raleigh, North Carolina Newspapers 1799-1819, volume 1, p. 246. #2294

  "Died in Brunswick County, Sunday 15th, Mr. William Hooper. Minerva AJ Monday 23 Jul 1804 3:4 and Raleigh Register 23 July 1804 3:5.

  #738. "Married at Chapel Hill, Thursday 17th, by Rev. William L. Turner, the Rev. William Caldwell, President of the University, to Mrs. Helen Hooper." The Minerva Thurs 24 Aug 1809 3:3 and Raleigh Register Thursday 24 Aug 1809 3:5. Raleigh NC Star Thursday 24 Aug 1809 171:4. Marriage bond of Orange County shows Joseph Caldwell to Hellen Hooper on 17 Aug 1809, bond Walter Alves.

• William Hooper is listed on 1800 New Hanover County, NC census, page 11:
  --Will Hooper 30010-00100-09,
  and in Orange County, NC was also head of a household consisting only of slaves.

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Sources and Notes 4:

• Powell, ibid.
• Elizabeth Hooper's husband is listed on the Orange County 1800 census with a household consisting only of 30 slaves. His actual household is given on page 11 of the New Hanover County census (same page as her brother William Hooper) as Henry Walters 10010-00100-9 slaves. Elizabeth Hooper Watters's death date is assumed to be after 1840 because Elizabeth Hooper Watters was identified as the only surviving child of William Hooper in 1812, and since Eliza. Watters is listed page 249 of Orange Co., NC 1830 census and Elizabeth Waters is listed on page 2121 of the 1840 Orange County, NC census. No other Watters (Walters, Waters) households are listed in Orange County for these years.

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Sources and Notes 5:

• Card catalogue citations by the NC State Library give dates of 1792-1876 for Professor William Hooper.
• Neal, ibid.

  #2295 "Married in Chatham County, Mr. William Hooper of Chapel Hill to Miss Frances Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, attorney at law, of Chatham County. Raleigh Register 20 Jan 1815, 3:5 and Raleigh NC Star Friday 23 Dec 1814 203:4.

• William Hooper appears on the Orange Co., NC 1820 census on page 84.
• Powell, ibid. Cited in Powell as sources were:
  • Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 7 [198?].
  • Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. 1 [1907].
  • Charles L. Coon, "Imperfections of Our Primary Schools," North Carolina Schools and Academies, 1790-1840 [1915].
  • John De Berniere Papers [Southern Historical Collection, University of NC Library, Chapel Hill].
  • George Washington Paschal, History of Wake Forest College vol. 1 [1935].
  • Thomas Jerome Taylor, A History of the Tar River Baptist Association, 1830-1921 [no date].

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JDB Hooper notes:

• The citation for the John De Berniere Hooper papers [Southern Historical Collection, University of NC Library, Chapel Hill] gives his lifespan as 1811-1886; papers cover 1778-1911, with 785 items, 1.5 linear feet of material.
• Powell, ibid. cites
  • Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 7 [1907]
  • John De Berniere Hooper papers [Southern Historical Collection, University of NC Library, Chapel Hill]
  • University Magazine, vol 18 [1886]
  • University of North Carolina archives

John De Bernier Hooper was born 6 Sep 1811 in Smithville, NC. He was a son of Archibald MacLaine Hooper, who was a son of George Hooper (the brother of William Hooper, the Signer). John De B. Hooper died 23 Jan 1886 in Chapel Hill, NC. "Through the interest and support of a cousin who was a prosperous widow, he entered The University of North Carolina as a freshman in the middle of ... 1827-28." He was a specialist in languages and tutored them at Chapel Hill. In July, 1836, he became a professor of modern languages at the University of North Carolina, and in 1838 became professor of Latin. Later, he conducted school for boys with his father-in-law Professor William Hooper in Warren County, NC in 1848. William Hooper left that venture 1852, and De Berniere Hooper remained there until 1860, when he joined his brother-in-law Thomas C. Hooper in the Fayetteville Female Institute. In 1866, he rejoined his father-in-law at Wilson Female Institute. When UNC reopened after the war, in 1875, Hooper became professor of Greek and French. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
John De Berniere Hooper and Mary Hooper Hooper had four children who survived the death of their father on 23 Jan 1886. Two other children had died as toddlers:

1. Helen Hooper (1838-1911) married James Wills in 1867.
2. Frances DeBerniere Hooper (born 1842, died after 1905) married in 1866 to Spier Whitaker.
3. Henry De Berniere Hooper (born 1849, died after 1905) married Jessie Wright.
4. Julia Hooper (1856-1944) married Ralph H. Graves.