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William Hooper

WILLIAM HOOPER was born in Boston, on the 17th of June, 1742. He entered Harvard University at the age of fifteen, and was graduated in 1760. His father, who was pastor of Trinity Church, in Boston, had destined his son for the ministerial profession; but the latter having an inclination for the law, he was placed in the office of the celebrated James Otis, to pursue the study of his choice. On being qualified for the bar, young Hooper removed to North Carolina, and having married, finally established himself in the practice of his profession at Wilmington.

He was soon placed, by his talents, among the foremost advocates of the province, and was chosen to represent the town of Wilmington in the General Assembly. He was elected to a seat in the same body the following year, and was always one of the boldest opposers of the tyrannical encroachments of the British Government. In 1774, Mr. Hooper was chosen a delegate to the memorable Congress which met at Philadelphia. He took an important share in the discussions of this assembly, and was remarkable for his fluent and animated elocution. He was a member of the same body the following year, and during the session, drew up, as chairman of different committees, several able addresses and reports. In 1776, the private affairs of Mr. Hooper requiring his attention in North Carolina, he did not, for some time, attend upon the sitting of Congress. He returned, however, in season to share in the honor and danger of signing the imperishable instrument which declared the Colories of North America free and independent. Having been elected to Congress a third time, Mr. Hooper was obliged to resign his seat in February, 1777, and return to the adjustment of his own embarrassed affairs.

In 1786 he was appointed, by Congress, one of the judges of a Federal Court, formed for the purpose of settling a controversy which existed between the Stated of New York and Massachusetts, in regard to certain lands. In the following year, his health being considerably impaired, he sought to restore it by private retirement. This, however, he did not live long to enjoy. He died in October, 1790, at the age of forty-eight years, leaving a wife and three children. Mr. Hooper was distinguished for his conversational powers, his good taste, and his devotion to his profession. As a politician, he was constant, judicious, and enthusiastic. He never gave way to despondency; possessing an unshaken confidence that Heaven would defend the right.