Hooper, William, 1742-1790

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William Hooper (June 28, 1742 – October 14, 1790) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777. Hooper signed the Continental Association and the United States Declaration of Independence.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Hooper graduated from Boston Latin School and Harvard College before studying law under James Otis, a popular attorney in Boston who was regarded as a radical. Once completing his bar exam, he decided to leave Massachusetts in part because of the abundance of lawyers in Boston. In 1764 Hooper moved temporarily to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he began to practice law and became the circuit court lawyer for Cape Fear. Hooper began to build a highly respected reputation in North Carolina among the wealthy farmers as well as fellow lawyers. Hooper moved quickly up the ranks, first in 1769 when he was appointed as deputy attorney of the Salisbury District, and then in 1770 when he was appointed deputy Attorney General of North Carolina. Initially, Hooper supported the British colonial government of North Carolina. As deputy attorney general, in 1768 Hooper worked with Colonial Governor William Tryon to suppress a rebellious group known as the Regulators who participated in the War of the Regulation.

Hooper's support of the colonial governments began to erode, causing problems for him because of his past support of Governor Tryon. Hooper had been labeled a Loyalist and therefore he was not immediately accepted by Patriots. Hooper eventually was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1773, where he became an opponent to colonial attempts to pass laws that would regulate the provincial courts. This in turn helped to sour his reputation among Loyalists. During his time in the assembly Hooper slowly became a supporter of the American Revolution and independence. After the governor disbanded the assembly, Hooper helped to organize a new colonial assembly. Hooper was also appointed to the Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry. In 1774, Hooper was appointed a delegate to the First Continental Congress, where he served on numerous committees. Hooper was again elected to the Second Continental Congress, but much of his time was split between the congress and work in North Carolina, where he was assisting in forming a new government. This caused him to miss the vote approving the Declaration of Independence; however, he arrived in time to sign it on August 2, 1776.

In 1777, because of continued financial concerns, Hooper resigned from Congress and returned to North Carolina to resume his law career. Throughout the Revolution the British attempted to capture Hooper, and with his country home in Finian vulnerable to British attacks, Hooper moved his family to Wilmington. In 1781, the British captured Wilmington, to where Cornwallis and his forces fell back after the Battle of Guilford Court House, and Hooper found himself separated from his family. In addition, the British burned his estates in both Finian and Wilmington, so Hooper was forced to rely on friends for food and shelter during this time, as well as nursing him back to health when he contracted malaria. Finally, after nearly a year of separation, Hooper was reunited with his family, and they settled in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where Hooper continued to work for the North Carolina assembly until 1783.

After the Revolution Hooper returned to his career in law. In 1786, he was briefly called back to public service when he was appointed a federal judge in a border dispute between New York and Massachusetts, though the case was settled out of court. In 1787 and 1788, Hooper campaigned heavily for North Carolina to ratify the new United States Constitution, but by this time Hooper had become quite ill, and he died on October 14, 1790, at the age of 48.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Engstrom, Mary Claire, 1906-1997. Mary Claire Engstrom photographic collection, 1930s-1979 (bulk 1950s-1976). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Williams, John. Papers, 1775-1824. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, 1785 May 13, Edenton, to Governor Livingston. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf William Hooper Papers, ., 1770-1822 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
referencedIn Iredell, James, 1751-1799. Papers of James Iredell, Sr., and James Iredell, Jr., 1724-1890. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Letters and documents of signers of the Declaration of Independence, 1750-1933. Houghton Library
referencedIn Henry A. Willard II Collection, 1743-1888, (bulk 1770-1840) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, [1776 February 6, New York, to Joseph Hewes and John Penn, Philadelphia.]. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, 1777 February 1, Baltimore, to Robert Morris. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, 1776 April 17 : Halifax, North Carolina, to Joseph Hewes, Philadelphia. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
creatorOf Massachusetts. Treasury Dept. Warrant, 1777 March 6. Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, 1775 May 23, Philadelphia, Pa., to Samuel Johnston, Edenton, N.C. Rosenbach Museum & Library
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. ALS, 1776 November 6 : [s.l.], to Joseph Hewes and Samuel Johnston. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Dunbar, Hooper Cameron. Application of Hooper Cameron Dunbar for membership to the Society, Sons of the Revolution, in the state of California, March 27, 1922. Sons of the Revolution State of California
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. Letter to Richard Bannehan, 1773 August 8? University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Thomas Addis Emmet collection, 1483-1876 (bulk:1700-1800) New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952,. Signers of the Declaration of Independence autograph collection, 1756-1818. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Mercier, Louis-Sébastien, 1740-1814. Memoirs of the year two thousand five hundred : typescript, n.d. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Hooper, William, 1742-1790. Notebook, 1780-1783. New-York Historical Society
creatorOf Morris, Robert, 1734-1806. [Letter] : October 23rd 1776, Philad[elphi]a, [to] Silas Deane, Paris. Haverford College Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith aHall, Henry Bryan, fl. 1850-1900. person
associatedWith Bannehan, Richard, person
associatedWith Clinton, Henry, 1738-1795. person
associatedWith Cornwallis, Charles, 1738-1805. person
associatedWith Craig, John H., fl. 1781. person
associatedWith Cumming, William. person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Dickinson, Philemon, 1739-1809. person
associatedWith Dunbar, Hooper Cameron. person
associatedWith Emmet, Thomas Addis person
associatedWith Engstrom, Mary Claire, 1906-1997. person
associatedWith Harrison, Benjamin, ca. 1726-1791. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard University corporateBody
associatedWith Hewes, Joseph. person
associatedWith Hooper, Archibald Maclaine, 1775-1853. person
associatedWith Hubbard, John, collector. person
associatedWith Iredell, James, 1751-1799. person
associatedWith Johnston, Samuel, 1733-1816. person
associatedWith Livingston, William, 1723-1790. person
associatedWith Massachusetts. Treasury Dept. corporateBody
associatedWith Mercier, Louis-Sébastien, 1740-1814. person
associatedWith Morris, Robert, 1734-1806. person
associatedWith Otis, James, 1725-1783 person
associatedWith Penn, John, 1741-1788. person
associatedWith Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952, person
associatedWith Ross, George, 1730-1779. person
associatedWith Willard, Henry A. (Henry Augustus), 1902- person
associatedWith Williams, John. person
associatedWith Wilson, James, 1742-1798. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Cambridge MA US
Wilmington NC US
Boston MA US
Hillsborough NC US
Subject
Slavery
Courts
Finance, Personal
Occupation
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Jurists
Lawyers
Activity

Person

Birth 1742-06-17

Death 1790-10-14

Male

Britons,

Americans

English

Information

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