Hooper

The origin of the family name is English. The name denotes one who made hoops (a cooper) or one who lived on the hop, which is a piece of land enclosed in a marsh. The name also derives from the Saxon word hoppere, meaning dancer.

The surname was first used in England in 1275 by a William Hooper who possessed land in Dorsetshire. The Hooper family is an ancient and honorable one in English and Scotch annals. Fox’s Book of Martyrs contains an account of John Hooper, Lord Bishop of Worcester and Gloucester, who was martyred near the doors of his cathedral on February 9, 1555. He was one of a family of Hoopers who had lived in Somersetshire since the reign of Edward the First. When he dedicated his written works to the Duke of Somerset, he signed his name “John Hooper.”

Hoopers were tenants of the Priory of Mont cute and some of the men of the family were priests of that foundation. During the troubled reign of Mary, when Bishop Hooper was killed, the Hoopers of Wiltshire (the county next to Somerset) migrated to the border of Scotland where they settled at Stitchell a town in Berwick, Scotland. From there members of the family domiciled at several sites in the vicinity. Outside the chancel of the Stitchell Church a monument know as the Hooper Stone is inscribed:

Vita miki mortismors ----- Vitae Janua facta est

Which translates:

Robert Hooper

A probable ancestor is Robert Hooper, A.M. (Master of Arts) of Nether, Stitchel who died in 1596 leaving seven children. There is a record of his son and heir, Robert but there are no known records of the next two or three generations until another Robertus Hooperus (as his name is written on his Master of Arts degree taken at Edinburgh) married Mary Jaffray on August 2, 1692.

Reverend William Hooper

Their third and youngest son was born at the village of Ednam/Edenham/Edenmouth on a farm at the junction of the Eden and Tweed Rivers is the parish of Edonam near Kelso, Scotland in 1702. He also gained his Master of Arts degree at the University of Edinburgh in 1723 and then became a Presbyterian minister in Scotland. He came to Boston, Massachusetts where he became the first pastor of the West Congregational Church from 1737 to 1747. The members gathered on June 3, 1737 and unanimously chose him pastor. He accepted the call and was ordained on May 18, 1738. On October 18, 1739 his engagement to Mary Dennie was recorded.

Reverend Hooper continued the exercise of his ministerial functions until the autumn of 1746 when he made a sudden transition to the Anglican Church. The secession from the Congregational and entrance into the Episcopal Church surprised and grieved his first congregation and no doubt produced some asperities in those times of dogmatic severity. It seems that Hooper outgrew the stern Puritanical creed of the day. He wished to preach a more liberal conception of the living attributes.

Doctor Bartol, one of his successors in the West Church, spoke with great feeling of Hooper and his character “I claim not Hooper as one of the great reformers who are voices in the wilderness of the ages, but I do rank him in the class of intellectual and religious pioneers.

He had a nature whose first necessity, like all great natures, was conformity between its thoughts and actions.”

Bishop Phillips Brooks before his elevation to the episcopate, one of Hooper’s successors in the rectorship of Trinity Church, wrote of him as follows: “The Reverend William Hooper had been pastor of the West Congregational Church since it was formed in 1737. Suddenly in 1747 he became an Episcopalian. He had been beloved and honored and everybody was taken by surprise. At once the proprietors of Trinity Church chose him to be their Rector and he went to England for orders. He retained his parish for twenty years and then died suddenly while walking in his garden. He changed partly because of the argument for Episcopacy, but mainly because of the more liberal theology. It does not seem strange to us that our second Rector was the father of one of the signers of the Declaration.”

The Boston Evening Post of November 24, 1746 reported “Wednesday last, the proprietors of Trinity Church in this town made choice of Reverend William Hooper (then settled pastor of the Church in the west part of town) for their minister, in the room of the Reverend Mr. Addington Davenport, deceased. Mr. Hooper immediately accepted the call and is going home for Orders in the Chester Man of War, which we hear is to sail today or tomorrow. This event is the more surprising as Mr. Hooper had never signified his intention to any of his hearers, nor was there the least difference between him and them and it is generally thought no minister was ever better respected and supported by his people than Mr. Hooper.” William received Episcopal Ordination from the Bishop Benson of London. His Orders dated June 1747 existed thru 1894 much mutilated in this form:

By or of these presents. We Martin by Divine po Glocester known unto all men that on of June (being Tuesday in Whitsunweek) in the year of Ou(r Lord) and seven hundred and forty seven, we the Bishop before in administering Holy Orders under the protection of the Alm of Chapel of St. James in Westminster did awarding eremonics of the Church of England admit Our beloved m Hooper, M.A. of Boston in New England to the H ests he being well recommended to us by our Right Rev Edmund Lord Bishop of London who certified to us his exam probation of the said William Hooper in regard to his age ng and Title and Having first before us taken the Oaths the Articles which are in this case by Laws required to b and subscribed – and that We did then and there duly and nominally ordain him Priest. In Testimony whereof We have used Our Episcopal Seal to be here unto affixed. Dated the Day and Year aforesaid, and in the thirteenth Year of our Consecration.

M. (seal) Glocester

This document may still be in the possession of William Hooper’s descendants at Wilmington, North Carolina.

Reverend Hooper returned to Boston from London to begin service at Trinity Church on August 28, 1747. He had served there for 19 years and 8 months when he dropped dead in his garden (see above) without previous illness on Tuesday, April 14, 1767. The Reverend William Walters preached the sermon at his funeral the following Friday.

William Hooper and the churches he served as pastor are described in the Memorial History of Boston as follows: In 1737 the West Church in Boston was formed. The first minister was the Reverend William Hooper who after a service of nine years turned away from the New England Churches and connected himself with the Church of England. He went to England and was again ordained after which he returned and was made minister of Trinity Church,

the third Episcopal Church in town. The house of worship of this church was opened in 1735. It stood on Sumner Street at the corner of Hawley to 1828. It was a plain wooden structure 90 by 60 feet without steeple or tower. The interior was considered the finest in town. Trinity Church was under the partial care of the Reverend William Hooper at the time of the Episcopal controversy. (The historian) Sabine classes him among the Loyalists but there is no evidence of his having taken any active share in the contest even in its earliest states. He dropped dead in his garden without any previous illness on April 14, 1767. He is described as a man of native nobility of spirit and vigor of mind uniting with a fine eloquence, great clearness of thought and earnestness of purpose.

The Reverend William Hooper married Mary Dennie, daughter of John Dennie, an eminent Boston merchant and twin sister of John Dennie, also a prominent merchant. (Reference to the Boston essayist and editor, John Dennie, refers to his father as a member of a prosperous family of West-India merchants. This family may have included Mary’s father, John.) John’s house was described in Price’s view of Boston in 1743. It was “a magnificent house of great size and height and quaint architecture with terraces and gardens called Captain Cunningham’s Seat.” It was burned down in 1770 while occupied by John Dennie a prominent loyalist. His friends generously contributed to his relief. It was at once rebuilt and later became the estate of David Nevins.

An illustration of “Autographs of Boston Merchants in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century” includes the signature of John Dennie. John Dennie is also listed as one of the Boston subscribers to Prince’s History of New England in 1736. Mary (Dennie) Hooper1 was the great granddaughter of James Dennie who was born in 1641 and died May 7, 16912. James Dennie had a son James who was the father of John (Mary’s father). It is interesting to note that Mary remained a staunch Congregationalist even after Reverend Hooper’s conversion to the Anglican Church.

The other four children of William and Mary Dennie Hooper

William and Mary are known to have had five children. The most prominent was the eldest son William who was born in Boston, June 17, 1742. He was educated at Boston Latin School and at Harvard College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1760 and the degree of Master of Arts in 1763. In 1761 he had entered the law office of James Otis, a prominent lawyer and patriot. After adopting law as a career, he migrated to Wilmington, North Carolina and became one member of the family to adopt the patriotic cause. His brother John was one other who did so. He married Ann Clark of Boston, sister of Thomas Clark, a brevet brigadier general in the Revolutionary Army. As a most prominent member of his adopted State, he was named a delegate to the first Continental Congress where he served on several important committees with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.3

He signed the Declaration of Independence with others of the North Carolina Delegation; John Adams in his diminution of the members of the Continental Congress said, “Lee, Patrick Henry and Hooper are the orators.” More detail and greater scope of his life can be found in the Biographical History of North Carolina. As the eldest, he was evidently the only son favored by his father who, in his will, recites “I give to my eldest son William all my books and manuscripts, which with the money I expended on his education will be more than I have to leave any one of the rest of my children.” A monument marks the site of his home in Wilmington.

George, the third child, also migrated to Wilmington where he was the first president of the Bank of Cape Fear. He died in 1821.

Mary, the fourth child, married a Mr. Russell Spence of London, England in 1768 and remained there.

Thomas, the fifth child, also settled in Wilmington where he became very wealthy and married a lady of large estate in England. He later moved to Charleston, South Carolina and is buried at Stateburg, South Carolina.

John Hooper

John, the second son of Reverend William Hooper, is supposed to have died unmarried according to the genealogy in the Biographical History of North Carolina. But the author of that book admits that very little is known of John and his sister Mary. The family tradition in Maryland is that John, born in Boston August 18, 1744 migrated first to New Hampshire where his name appears alone on a deed in 1765, when he was 21 years of age. He later moved to Frederick, Maryland where he married Margaret Hughes. (Her brothers Andrew, Edward and Thomas Hughes served during the Revolutionary War with troops from Montgomery County1.) A John Hooper also enlisted on February 16, 1775 (when he was 31 years of age.) He was a private in the Seventh Company (Captain John Day Scott, commander) of the Battalion of Regular Troops (Colonel William Smallwood commander) from which he was discharged on an unknown date, probably in May 1775. This does not necessarily end his military career however, because it is believed that he was also an ensign in the Frederick Count Militia2. The fifty-second name recorded in Fielder Bowie’s Return, which is a list of persons who took the Oath of Fidelity prior to March 23, 1779 in Frederick County, is that of John Hooper, quite possibly the same person who is our subject here. John’s son James was born in Frederick in 178? The family moved to Baltimore in 1802 where John died on July 27, 1813 at the home of his son James at Fells Point.

The foregoing information about John is not firmly proved as of this writing (July, 1975); however, it is chronologically possible and reflects confirming information from two separate sources of tradition. There were several John Hoopers in Maryland at this same time, in Baltimore City, Caroline, Dorchester, Prince George’s and Talbot Counties. [There was a James Hooper in Captain William Beatty’s Company of Militia in the Committee of Observation of the Middle District of Frederick County form September 12, 1775 to October 24, 1776. This same person may be the James Hooper who is listed in the first census of the United States in 1790. He was the head of a family in Frederick County which included himself, three free white males under 16 years of age, presumably his sons, and five free white females, presumably his wife and for daughters. This James is not believed to be related at all.) Another record of a John Hooper is included in Militia Appointments from Maryland Hall of Records. Here he is included as a Company or Staff Officer in the 28th Regiment of Frederick County from which he resigned on December 12, 1808. If this is our subject, he was 64 years old and had been living in Baltimore for 6 years at that date. Much recorded information of Hoopers in Maryland, many who were more historically prominent, is ignored here since it is believed that subject John, above, was not born and raised in Maryland and had no relations here.]

Records that are possibly of John’s brothers-in-law are the returns of “Patriotic Oaths of Fidelity and Support” in 1778 where Andrew Heugh is 44th on Richard Thompson’s list and Edward Heughs is 134th on Samuel W. Magruders’ list of Montgomery County residents. Edward Heughs, aged 25 was on a list of souls taken and given to the Committee of Observation in Lower Potomac Hundred on August 22, 1776 – Volume 2, page 183, Maryland Records, Brumbaugh. Military records cite private Andrew Hughes who enlisted in the First (Maryland?) Regiment April 18, 1777, missing and discharged August 18?? (year unknown) and/or private Andrew Hughes enlisted in the Second (Maryland) Regiment April 7, 1777 and discharged in January 1779 when he died in the hospital. Also Thomas Hughes is recorded as a private who enlisted in the Fifth Maryland Regiment on July 8, 1777 and deserted on July 6, 1778 and/or Thomas Hughes who was a non-commissioned officer who enlisted in the Fifth Maryland Regiment July 7, 1777 and was discharged on October 4, 1777 because he

had been taken prisoner, then later returned to his unit on May 5, 1778. Add the attached: Thomas Hughes, a resident. find this.

James Hooper Sr.

James Hooper (Sr.) married Mary Davey ca. 1803. Her father was Captain Peter Davey who was a Quartermaster of the 14th Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War. Peter was the son of George Davey, a native of England whose wife Charlotte died March 22, 1795. Peter’s sister Henrietta Maria married John James on October 11, 1783. His sister Jane married Robert Berry Jr. on February 11, 1804. (James Jr’s Bark ‘General Berry,” about there is more below, is supposed to be named for Robert.) Peter’s brother was Alexander Woodrape Davey, gentleman. His wife Ann (b. 1762) is believed to be the daughter of an Andrew Hughes. Ann died September 30, 1800 at age 38.

James Hooper Sr was an officer on the U.S. Schooner Comet where he served while his son was on the same ship (below) and his wife was at home on Fells Point with four younger children during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814 and who was wounded and captured at the Battle of Bladensburg. James Sr. started his business ventures in 1827 as a bay trader. He may have been a ship captain himself.

From various Baltimore City Directories we have James Hooper Sr. listed at 70-75 Bond Street, Fells Point listed with the following occupations:Boarding House Keeper, 1807, 1808;Innkeeper 1810;Waterman 1814, 1815, 1816;Boarding House Keeper 1817, 1818, 1819;Mariner 1824;Bay Trader 1827;Mariner 1829;In 1831 and 1833 he was listed with no occupation.

James Sr. is listed in the Third Census of Baltimore City in 1810 with two free white males under 10 years of age, 41 under 26, 51 under 25, 12 over 45, with three white females under 10 years of age and one under 26. This could well be our subject, his wife and the five children, mentioned above, with 104 tenants. A possible early reference to our subject James Hooper can be found in the 1939 Volume of the Maryland Historical Society Magazine on page 171 which cites a statement by Benjamin S. Davis who sold his interest in the “Lawrence’s” prize money to James Hooper for $60.

James Hooper Jr.

James Hooper Jr. was born near Broadway and Bank Streets at Fells Point, Baltimore Town on July 5, 1804. During the War of 1812 at age 10 he took the place of a man aboard the Schooner “Comet”1 which was at the head of Captain Barney’s flotilla protecting the port of Baltimore (September 1814). He worked as a powder monkey carrying power from the magazines below deck to the guns on deck, dressed in the little uniform of an American soldier. There is some dispute as to whether or not the James Hooper who was also on the Comet was his father.2 As a child James Jr. lived with his mother and grandmother at their home in Fells Point.

At the age of 20 James Jr. married Ann Elizabeth Brannan, born in 1805 (Minister – Van Horsie) on December 29, 1824. Ann was of the same English ancestry as Governor Benjamin Pierce of New Hampshire and President Franklin Pierce of the United States. She was also of the same ancestry as the honorable Thomas Humphreys who died September

1866, aged seventy. Ann’s maternal grandfather was Captain Christian Pierce who fought with the Pennsylvania troops during the Revolutionary War and was wounded at Paoli on September 20, 1777. Her father, Thomas Brannan Jr. was a sergeant in the War of 1812 in Captain Galloway’s Company, 46th Regiment. Thomas Jr. may be the carpenter who resided on Happy Alley from 1808 through 1816. His father, Thomas Brannan Sr. was auditor accountant XXIV, 57 BW in Virginia in the War of the Revolution. Miss Brannan was a graduate of a convent school where she became a Catholic at the age of sixteen.

About 1827, James Jr. started his first business venture as clothing merchant. He developed the first wholesale clothing house in Baltimore under the firm name of Hooper and Graff in 1835 with a warehouse at 68 Center Market Place in Baltimore and branches in Richmond, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, and Farrensville, VA.

Baltimore City Directories list the following information for him:1827 – Tailor at Bond Street1833 – He ran a store at 73 Bond Street1835 – he was a partner in the firm of Hooper and Graff Clothing Store1836 – He was a clothier at 68 Center Market Place1837 – He (or his father) was designated Captain.

By 1842 – He resided at Asquith and Holland Streets and the firm of Hooper and Graff was at Baltimore and Eden StreetsFrom 1845 – 1854 – He _________________ East Baltimore StreetBy 1854 – His office was at Gay and Pratt Streets.

While in the clothing business, James represented the City of Baltimore as a director of the B. & O. Railroad Company from 1839 to 1841 and again represented the State of Maryland as a director of the same company from 1850 to 1853. In 1850 there is a notation in Alfred Jacob Miller’s account book for $75 paid for a portrait or painting by James Hooper. This may be the same portrait of James Hooper Jr. (unattributed) that was restored by the Maryland Historical Society Committee on the Gallery of 1965. In 1852 his father’s shipping and commission firm of James Hooper & Sons was liquidated and was succeeded by the J. Hooper Co. composed of James Hooper Jr. and his brother (or son? John) E(dward?) Hooper with offices at the northeast corner of Gay and Lombard Streets were they remained for more than forty-five years. In 1854 James Hooper discontinued the wholesale clothing business from which he had accumulated quite a fortune.

The registry books at the Customs House show that well over fifty vessels carried the Hooper fleet flag all over the globe, with a majority of their interests in the South American trade. A few of the vessels flying this flag were the schooners R.C. Waite, Fredericksburg, Centurian, Avalanche, Independence, Two Sisters, Octavia, Merchant, Rochambeau, Trident, Pentaloon, Mary Augusta, Sara Elizabeth, Falcon, Charran, and General Taylor, the baroques Southerner, Antelope, Cavelier, Hebe, Rainbow and Raindeer; the brigs Fillmore, Owelnee, General Berry and Union; together with the ships Nathaniel Hooper, Ann E. Hooper and William Penn. An 1860 lithograph in color owned ad displayed by the Maryland Historical Society pictures the fleet flags of the J. Hooper Company, James Hooper and Sons, Thomas Hooper and James A. Hooper with 102 other flags flown by ships at the port of Baltimore. James owned all or part of at least ten of the ships listed there.

Earlier, in 1850, James Hooper became President of the Baltimore and Southern Packett Company, which in 1853 built the famous steamer Tennessee (designed and built by Mr. Hooper) which was the first steamer to sail from Baltimore to English ports. The Tennessee was a ride wheel of 1200 tons, length 212, breadth 34, depth 19, with 500 horsepower engine, launched August 31, 1853. His granddaughter states that: “Mr. Hooper’s wonderful love of ships and shipbuilding seemed to have been nothing short of a talent for there was

no part or parts of the most intricate detail that Mr. Hooper could not describe or observe in a moment. An old friend, Mr. Reeder often told him how wonderful a ship he could fashion.” It was sold to seven people on June 12, four days before her historic voyage on June 16, 1855. A painting of her has been exhibited at the Peale Museum. A model of the ship was presented to the City of Baltimore but its location is unknown as of this writing (July, 1975). Acknowledgment of Mr. Hooper’s presentation is as follows:

August 29, 1895James Hooper, Esquireof Hooper and Company

My Dear Sir:

I have your letter of August 29, 1895 in which you state that it gives you pleasure to present to the City a perfect model of the steamship “Tennessee”, the first steamer sailing from the Port of Baltimore to the United Kingdom on the Continent. I assure you it is with equal pleasure and great satisfaction for me as Mayor to receive this most interesting relic or early history of commerce of this Port. One can scarcely realize that from June 16, 1855 when this steamer first sailed from Baltimore to Southampton, to the year 1895, a period of forty years, such a wonderful increase in our commerce has taken place. I assure you that great care will be taken of the model of “Tennessee” and it will be placed among our most valued archives of the municipal government. I avail myself of this occasion to present my compliments to you personally and to wish you a continuance of health and prosperity. I have not hesitated to say very often that you were in my estimation, one of the oldest and most valued citizens of Baltimore. I am with great respect,

Very truly yours,

Signed: F.C. Latrobe, Mayor

James Hooper’s favorite ship was the Ann E. Hooper, a richly furnished clipper ship he named after his wife. On the bow rested a marble statue of Ann Elizabeth Hooper, in her hands a bouquet of sixteen roses representing her children. Her cabins were finished in sandalwood and mahogany panels with mirrors on all sides reaching from the ceiling to the floor. The ship was the subject of both unfavorable and heroic publicity. In the book “This Was Chesapeake Bay” on page 23 of Chapter 8, a section subtitled “This was the Hard Life” deals with the account of a sailor aboard her in 1857. The sailor, George Claflin, wrote a booklet entitled “An Account of the Voyage of the Ship Ann E. Hooper: A Tale of Cruelty and Suffering”1 in which he describes the voyage from Liverpool to Baltimore with eleven Germans, five Frenchmen, and himself. The ship was 1700 tons burthen – Captain Raines, Master; Mr. Johnson, Mate: Second Mate unnamed and the carpenter was the son of the captain. Several paragraphs describe the beatings and other punishments Claflin and the crew received, details of the voyage, the seamanship and the crew’s subsequent treatment by the nuns in a Lombard Street Infirmary.

Footnote: (1) These incidents are also the subject of an article in the Baltimore Sun Magazine dated (copies in Appendix).But the “Ann E. Hooper” is not remembered only for the brutality described in the booklet, a copy of which is preserved at the Mariners Museum at Newport News, Virginia. It is also noted for another event, which is pictured by an oil painting in the same museum.

On April 16, 1859 while crossing the Atlantic under the command of Captain Frank B. Hooper, the stricken ship Ouzel Galley, bound from Dublin to Trinidad, was encountered. As a result of the bad weather, three days were required to affect a total rescue. In recognition, Queen Victoria commissioned one of England’s leading artists to paint the

scene. It, and an engraved telescope, were presented to the captain and were handed down to descendants at Newport News.

The Ann E. Hooper had a relatively brief career. She was built in Bath, Maine in 1855. She lost the statue of Ann, described above, on one of her voyages. On another of her voyages her Captain, Edward Hooper, a brother of James, died of a fever upon arrival at Liverpool, England. One of James’ sons, William Brannan Hooper, as first mate, took command of her and brought her back to Baltimore. In October 1862, bound from Baltimore to Liverpool, she sailed into the English Channel in command of the pilot who assured her master the vessel would be brought to port safely despite severe weather. A hurricane from west north west developed and the ship released a towline from a tug and drifted ashore on a shoal known as Hoosebank. Two masts were cut away to lighten the vessel. A lifeboat removed twelve of the crew. Two seamen were lost launching a boat and two were washed overboard. Of a crew of twenty, four were lost. The Ann E. Hooper broke up, but 1500 barrels of flour, tallow and lard were salvaged. Insurance of $150,000.00 was paid for her loss.

At least one of James Hooper’s ships, the brig “Union” was in the service of the United States carrying supplies on the Gulf of Mexico to the Army while it was engaged in the Mexican War.

During the Civil War, James Hooper remained a staunch Union man. He is listed in Governor Bradford’s Private List of ‘Union’ Men in 1861, a list of leading union sympathizers in Baltimore, as – James Hooper Jr., Shipping Merchant. He refused to transfer his ships to a foreign flag for protection but, instead, gave strict orders to fly the American Flag whatever the consequences to his property. As a consequence another of his ships was lost.

In June 1864, he charted the baroque ‘General Berry’ to the United States for transporting stores from New York to Fortress Monroe. On the 10th of July 1864, she was captured and destroyed off Cape May, New Jersey by the Confederate cruiser ‘Florida’ which also captured four other Union vessels the same day and took all crews prisoner. James Hooper’s two sons, William and Thomas who were captain and first mate, respectively, were landed with the other prisoners at Cape May.

The account of this event from the viewpoint of the Confederate Navy men is as follows:

“The ‘Florida’ sailed north along the Atlantic Coast from the Hampton Roads area on July 10, 1864 to stage her most dazzling performance. She opened ball at 3:00 a.m. in the pre dawn darkness, 30 miles off the Maryland shore, when the bark ‘General Berry’ hove out of the mist with a cargo of hay for the fifty thousand horses of Grant’s army now investing Petersburg. She made a fine early morning blaze. The ‘Florida’ proceeded to catch the bark ‘Zelinda’ at sun up ________ and so on _________.”

James Hooper later applied to the United States Government for redress of this loss. The application was made to a Mr. Wilson, the third auditor. He received no relief, although he was insured by the government. When the Geneva Board of Arbitration was appointed, Great Britain was required to pay the United States $15,500,000 for losses sustained from Confederate ships that were fitted in England. The loss of the ‘General Berry’ was included with the rest of the claim. Many committee sessions of the House of Representatives passed the necessary appropriation bill but each reached adjournment each time before settling the matter. James visited the Senate only four days before his death seeking remuneration. He had accepted token payment but had retained the right to sue. By 1914 the claim, with interest, was worth $1,000,000.1

In 1866, James Hooper, together with Johns Hopkins2, Thomas Kenset, Henry James, W.E. Hooper, S.M. Shoemaker, James A. Carey and James H. Whedbee, organized the Baltimore

Warehouse with James Hooper acting as its first president. He refused a salary of $5000 a year rather than have the new enterprise thus burdened. The Baltimore Warehouse Company was formed in January 1867 and was chartered by the State of Maryland with an authorized capital of one million dollars. The press of his other businesses forced James to resign in favor of Mr. James H. Barney. (Reference: A book edited by George S. Howard in 1873, page 131.)

Before 1865, James Hooper was living in Baltimore County. Because of his patriotic fervor for the Union, he flew the flag at all times in the midst of neighbors who sympathized with the Confederate cause. They eventually attacked his property and succeeded in burning the gashouse that supplied his home with lighting. The blaze was so immense that crowds came to the scene from all directions. The flag continued to wave from the cupola of his house however, until the war was over. This event occurred at his home on Liberty Road, the seat of his estate “Roseside” which extended from what

.is now Liberty Heights Avenue, south to North Avenue in Baltimore City. This land included all or part of what is now Hanlon Park, the campus of the Baltimore Junior College, the grounds of Gwynns Falls Elementary School, William H. Lemmel Junior High School, the William S. Baer Special Education School, the campus of Coppins State Teachers College, and adjoining housing and commercial developments. The Western Maryland Railroad acquired the right of way through this property from him and it is believe that if the railroad were ever to abandon the property it would revert to James Hooper or his estate.

By 1867, James Hooper Jr. had formed the new firm of James Hooper and Company Shipping and Commercial Merchants located at the northeast corner of Gay and Lombard Streets. James Hooper Sr. (not correct) is listed with both the old and new firms, with residence in Baltimore County. Two of James Jr’s sons, Captain John W. (? – not correct) and Thomas J(ackson), are listed in the directory as mariners with dwellings at 220 Barre Street and 205 E. Pratt Street respectively.

James Jr. was referred to as “Captain” because of his many maritime interests related above. His father is supposed to have been a ship captain and it is certain and his brother Edward and at least one of his sons, William were ship captains. His son Thomas was a least a first mate and son John may be the John mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

James Jr. is reputed to have given each of his nine sons the advantage of a college education. His daughters attended the Visitation Convent where the three oldest daughters were schoolmates of Mary Carroll of Carrollton. They were often guests at “Doughregan Manor” as well as “Alexandrofsky” the estate of the engineer Winan who built the trans Siberian railroad for the Tsars of Russia. Four of his children toured England, Ireland and France before the Civil War and James himself crossed the ocean many times. James’ children also had the advantage of at least one visit to European ports. Before the Civil War, two of his daughters, Julia and Ann embarked on one of their father’s own vessels and visited England, Ireland, and France. James was an indulgent father who imported a Shetland pony for his youngest son George. Yet his word was law and the respect paid to him and his wife by their children was described by his granddaughter as remarkable.

In 1885, James Hooper was living at 206 Maryland Avenue. By 1890, his home was at 1211 West Lexington Street. In 1895, James Hooper and Company was agent for the Liverpool Steamship Line which association he ended in 1894. At one time his home was on Waverly Terrace at Franklin Square where one of his neighbors was Governor Thomas.

In 1894, a news item was reported in the Baltimore American newspaper of September 12, 1894, which read as follows:

Saw the Bombs Burst: An Old Defender Who Battled with the BritishMr. James Hooper Did His Share, Although a Small Boy, Toward the Defense of Fort McHenry and Passed the Day and Night Under the Roar of Its Guns - He Was a Powder Boy on the Schooner Comet - Afterward Prominent in Shipping Circles

_________

Very few of the thousands of patriotic citizens who will today aid in celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the battle of North Point and the gallant defense of Fort McHenry know that an actual Old Defender is still living in Baltimore, and takes a deep interest in the events of the memorial day. He was a very young defender at the time of the bombardment, but he did what he could to help repel the invader. He saw the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air during that fateful period, and with Francis Scott Key, his heart thrilled when the dawning day still revealed the banner of freedom waving triumphantly over Fort McHenry. This is Mr. James Hooper who is now ninety years of age, who resides at No.1211 West Lexington Street, and who is still actively engaged in Business at Lombard and Gay Streets. Mr. Hooper was only ten years of age when the British fleet assailed Baltimore harbor, yet at that tender age was regularly enlisted in the American navy, and was a powder boy on the schooner Comet, which had won fame as a privateer, had retreated up the Chesapeake before the overwhelming British force, and during the battle lay close under the guns of Fort McHenry, and from there pounded away

with her own pieces to help defend the flag and the city. Mr. Hooper, late in life, sent out the first steamship to go from this city to Europe.

Mr. Hooper was born July 5, 1804, in the neighborhood of Broadway and Bank Street. His father, James Hooper, was an officer on the United States schooner Comet, Captain Boyle, and when the lad wished also to enter the service he obtained his mother's permission to go with the father. At the present day, despite his great age, he is erect and active, and still engages in business pursuits. Sitting in a cozy room at his home recently, Mr. Hooper briefly sketched the important events of his life.

"During the war of 1812," he said, "my father, after whom I was named, was an officer of the United States schooner Comet, Captain Boyle commander. I was a powder boy, and I signed regular articles as such, the same as others do in the navy. It suited better in those early days to have a boy to carry the powder to the guns than to employ men for that work, for the cannon only required for a charge from one to two pounds of powder. The Comet had been guarding the Chesapeake Bay as a sort of picket boat, or lookout for the British ships. We came up from Annapolis ahead of the British fleet. On arriving at Baltimore we ran in under the walls of Fort McHenry. Ships had been sunk from the Lazarretto to Fort McHenry, just leaving room for a ship to pass in, for the purpose of preventing British ships coming close to the fort. I remember that I used to act as coxswain in charge of the small boat, for young as I was, I was perfectly at home in a boat.

My memory of events is pretty clear in regard to some things during the battle of North Point, while it is not so clear as to others, because eighty long years have gone by since then, and that is a goodly length of time to remember matters of minor detail. After so many years I remember rather in a general than in a more definite way. I have a general recollection of when Webster, an officer of the United States navy in charge of the battery on the Patapsco side, drove the British off and killed a number of them. The troops landed at North Point, and came up on that side of the Patapsco as far as Murrey's, on the Philadelphia road. They remained there a day or two, General Ross having been killed in the meantime. Then they backed out and got aboard the fleet after doing some reconnoitering. Of course, I saw the bombs bursting in the air during the bombardment, and of course, I saw the Star Spangled Banner floating over the fort, as it did all the time. I went to North Point after the battle. My mother and her children had gone to the other side of North Point, and on the way home I passed the battlefield, and I remember the wells were filled with dead British soldiers, while others had been buried so hastily that parts of their bodies were exposed. As well as I can remember, the ships which bombarded the fort lay about two miles off this side of Hawkins Point. The Comet had ten small guns, about the size of the old cannon now at Patterson Park. This schooner had won quite a reputation as a privateer before she guarded the Chesapeake, her captain having privateered on the coast of Ireland and England."

Mr. Hooper is very proud of his later achievements in the business world, and of his prominent connection with the early shipping interests of Baltimore. He said in this connection: "I claim the undisputed honor of having sent the first steamship from Baltimore to Europe. This steamship was the Tennessee, of twelve hundred tons. She was built by John A. Robb, in this city. The Tennessee had been making three trips a month to Charleston and Savannah when I sold her to an English company. She carried troops during the Crimean war, in 1855, from England to the Crimea. I was superintendent of the company which ran her to Charleston and Savannah, and I was her principal owner. I owned ships of from forty-five to seventeen hundred tons. At that time seventeen hundred tons was considered an immense ship. Such a clipper ship was the Pride of the Sea, one of that style of ships which made Baltimore's name famous. The Pride of the Sea was lost off the British coast in 1858. I built the steamship Palmetto before I did the Tennessee. The Palmetto was one of the first screw steamers ever built. Her machinery did not work satisfactorily. The Tennessee was a splendid side-wheeler, schooner rigged. Among my clipper ships were the Pride of the Sea, the Ann A. Hooper, named after my wife, the Wm. Penn, the General Berry, and the brig Union."

Mr. Hooper is the ancestor of five generations. His living descendants number ninety-three and twenty-four are dead. Among them are sixteen children, sixty-five grandchildren, thirty-four great grandchildren, and two great-geat grandchildren. Mr. Hooper laughingly says that it is a difficult matter to keep track of all his grandchildren and their children. "My grandchildren and great grandchildren come to my office,' he said," and I ask "Who do you want to see?' when they reply 'Why we came to see you, grandpa.' I then

often ask: 'And pray, what one of the numerous branches of my family do you belong to?' "

Mr. Hooper was married three times, and his last wife is living. He says his children were so healthy that he raised fifteen of the sixteen to adult age, and the total cost for medical attendance on these fifteen was only $13(hard to read -uncertain of exact figure).

Mr. Hooper has in his office, corner of Lombard and Gay streets, a model of the steamship Tennessee, which made the first trip out of Baltimore to Europe, and has in his sitting room at home tow fine old paintings of ships, one of which is a good picture of the Tennessee, while the other represents the clipper ship Pride of the Sea. He takes deep interest in current events and keeps himself well posted. "I have been a subscriber to the Baltimore American for sixty years, " he said, "and I could not get along without it. It is a first-class paper, and I have always had abundant proof of its readability."

James was married three times. His first wife Ann Elizabeth Brannan was mentioned previously. She died at the age of sixty-six on December 7, 1871. He married for the second time, date unknown, Elizabeth Ann Kimberly, daughter of Nathaniel of Baltimore. She died on March 26, 1880. His last wife was Sarah E. Hook of St. Louis where they were married. She survived him. Two of the wives were Catholic, Ann and Sarah. However, James remained a Protestant until a few years before his death. James Cardinal Gibbons called at Mr. Hooper’s home to give his special blessing on the occasion of his conversion. He died on March 14, 1898, aged 94 years and was buried with his first wife in Greenmount Cemetery.

Death of an Old Defender

(The obituary of James Hooper Jr in the Baltimore American, dated March 15, 1898.)

Captain James Hooper, Who Served as a Powder Monkey During the War of 1812

Captain James Hooper, one of the few survivors of the War of 1812, and for half a century of his life a prominent ship owner of this port, died suddenly early yesterday morning of a bronchial affection, at his late home, No. 121 North Front street. Captain Hooper had reached the venerable age of ninety-three years, and in a few months would have completed another, having been born on July 5, 1804. Despite his age, however, he was hale and vigorous until a few hours before his death. Every effort was made to relieve the sufferer, but his strength gradually failed, and at 2:03 o'clock he died.

Throughout his life Captain Hooper played a prominent part in the maritime activity of this city, and during the years of his greatest business enterprises the colors of his craft were to be seen flying in all of the prominent North American, South American, and West Indian ports, and were not unknown in the European trade. A generation of shipowners however, has arisen since Captain Hooper's retirement, and his name has dropped out of the maritime life of the port, except among grayheads long out of active service.

Captain Hooper served his country through three wars, and was throughout his life, an ardent lover and defender of the flag. So prominent, indeed, was this trait of his character that, in deference to his oft-repeated wish, an American flag will rest upon the coffin during the funeral service.

His cheerfully rendered service to his country began in the war of 1812-13, when though but ten years of age, and serving as a powder monkey, he did a seaman's duty, and a man's fighting on board the Comet, which was at the head of Barney's flotilla, and commanded by Captain Boyle. For services rendered during these stirring times Captain Hopper drew a puny pension of $3 a month.

When the Mexican war broke out Captain Hooper was an extensive vessel owner, and throughout that struggle his ships were constantly in use by the government carrying supplies and serving as transports for troops. The Civil War again found the Captain with number of vessels to place at the disposal of the government and valuable service was rendered by each of them. The service however was apparently not fully appreciated and the aged Captain's efforts to be reimbursed by the government for the loss of one of them, which was destroyed in 1864 by a Confederate cruiser, when in the government's employ, and the repeated disappointments he suffered in these long years formed a ....hetic incident of the closing years of his life.

The story of the loss and the basis of the Captain's complaint at the action of the government officials may be briefly told as follows:

One of the vessels belonging to Captain Hooper was the bark General Berry. She was engaged by the government in carrying stores to the United States troops between New York and Fortress Monroe, and was in charge of Thomas J. Hooper, son of the owner. On the night of July 10, 1864, while off Cape Charles, a Confederate cruiser, the Florida, which, by the way, had been fitted out in England, steamed up in the darkness, hauled the General Berry to, and, after confiscating everything of value on board, the Confederates took Mr. Hooper and his crew prisoners, and, setting fire to the bark, burned her to the water's edge. The cruiser captured three or four other vessels during that night, and sent all the crews North on a fruit schooner, landing them at Cape May. Captain Hooper, applied to the United States government for redress (see docs), making his application to the third auditor, John Wilson, but got no relief, though the vessel was insured by the government. Wilson contended that she wasn't on military service. But when the Geneva board of arbitration was appointed, among the items inquired into was the loss of the General Berry, and the English government being required to pay over to this government for the use of those who had lost by the expeditions fitted out in England for the Confederacy, $15,500,000, the amount of Captain Hooper's claim among the rest.

Captain Hooper, however, died without receiving a penny of the claim, though time after time sessions of the House of Representatives passed the necessary appropriation bill. Each time, however, the Senate reached adjournment without acting in the matter, while on

one occasion a Senate bill was passed, but the House adjourned, and thus disappointment after disappointment for a quarter of a century. Capt. Hooper was persistent, however, and during the present session of Congress the claim has been entered in the United States Senate by Senator Gorman, and in the House by Congressman McIntyre.

Captain Hooper is survived by a widow, four sons and four daughters. His sons are Messrs. Thomas J. Hooper, Samuel E. Hooper, George W. Hooper, and Charles B. Hooper. The daughters, all of whom are married, are Mrs. Mary R. Rex, of St. Louis; Mrs. Julia A. Boyle, Mrs. Annie E. Duncan, of this city, and Mrs. Virginia Clogg, of Walbrook. The Captain is also survived by 130 grandchildren, great grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

The funeral will take place tomorrow morning at ten o'clock from St. Vincent's Catholic Church, when a requiem high mass will be said by the pastor, Rev. J. D. Boland.

The Society of the War of 1812, in the State of Maryland, at a special meeting held last night, passed resolutions of sympathy, together with a historical resume of Mr. Hooper's gallant services.

The funeral and interment will be conducted by Undertaker M.A. Daiger, of Messrs. M.A. Daiger & Son.

Throughout James Hooper’s life, he was an ardent lover and defender of the flag. So prominent was this trait of his character that in deference to his oft repeated wish, an American flag was placed upon his casket by Mr. Albert Hadel and other member of the Society of the War of 1812 in the State of Maryland and a special meeting was held by the Society to pass a resolution of sympathy, together with a historical resume of Mr. Hooper’s gallant services. Forty-nine years later the following item appeared in the Baltimore Sun dated July 13, 1947 under the by-line “Fifty Years Ago in Baltimore.”

Mr. James Hooper, the only surviving “Old Defender” in Baltimore was 93 years old yesterday and the anniversary was celebrated at his home at 121 Front Street. In the battle of North Point, Mr. Hooper was a powder boy on board the U.S. Schooner Comet (Captain Boyle commanding) and was active during the whole engagement.

James had sixteen children by Ann E. Brannan. They were (in order) Maria (who married Thomas Kemp1), John Edward (who married Jane Barbara Kemp), Mary Elizabeth (who married John Rex of St. Louis), Julia E. (who married James A. Boyle), James Hooper III (who married Mary E. Lnu), Thomas Jackson, the first mate, (who married ((1) Eliza J. Codd and (2) Maggie Maxwell), William Brannan (who married Helen L. Boyle), Avarilla E. (who married Edward J. Codd), Andrew Washington who died young, at the age of 11 after a “long, and painful illness.”), Ann Elizabeth (who married Adam Duncan of New York), Samuel E., Edward Henry, Charles Henry, Virginia Caroline (who married Lewis R. Clegg), Emma Rosalia, and George Washington (who married Lula Gambrill).

Footnote: (1) Thomas is the same Kemp as Richard C. Kemp who married Captain Alexander J.C. Adams’ granddaughter (by his son William F.), Mary Jane Adams. Therefore the Codds are related to the Kemps through the Adams and Hooper lines. Thomas Kemp and Maria Hooper had a son Simon who owned a liquor distillery that produced a brand called

Thompsons Rye. The plant is still in operation as a vinegar distillery at Jones Falls and Cold Spring Lane. One of his sons was a partner in the Kemp-Boone Company, a wholesale liquor dealership. Simon built Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Glyndon and resided between Pikesville and Reisterstown. He married Gertrude Dorsey. One of Simon’s sons, Frank, built the house in Harrisonville later purchased by the building contractor John K. Ruff. Frank married an Offutt one of the old, prominent and wealthy families from western Baltimore County. Frank’s family later moved to Newburg Avenue in Catonville where his daughters Dorothy and Lillian operated the Crosby private elementary school on Beaumont Avenue. These two women were pioneers in Womens Liberation (or Rights) movements as quiet but persistent pursuers of their careers before World War I. One of the Kemps married Kate Worthington of the family e of her sons, James, was president of the Carrollton Bank at Baltimore and Carey Streets until it was assumed by the Maryland National Bank at which time he became one of the Maryland National Vice Presidents. One of the family, Dr. Joseph Kemp became a nose and throat specialist in Washington, D.C. His brother Worthington was a farmer and another brother (or cousin) Sim Kemp who lived on Madison Avenue at Bolton Hill (still a very high class neighborhood) had two of his daughters (or sisters) make their debut into Baltimore Society in the early part of this century.

Footnotes: (1) Mary is believed to have had a twin brother named John. (2) The earliest Dennys (Dennis, Dinny, or Dennie) that came to New England were 4 men and 1 woman. Edward was a servant, Robert was a carpenter and planter, William was a shoemaker, Edmund’s occupation was not listed and Mary was a servant. Since it is not known how each spelled their surname it cannot be decided which, if any, are ancestors. There is also no apparent relationship, background, origin, etc. for these persons. (3) The Maritime Committee: the Committee of Secret Intelligence (which was perhaps the most important working committee instituted by Congress because it was authorized to conceal important information from Congress itself); chairman of the committee to take measure to supply North Carolina with arms; committee sent to Canada to pay tribute to General Montgomery who fell at Quebec; and others.

Footnotes: (1) Records in Montgomery County indicate that some of the Hughes family emigrated from Wales to Port Tobacco in Charles County. Other Hughes were Quakers, one of whom was the found of Damascus, Montgomery County. A Samuel Hughes who may have been from one or the other, both or neither of the above early families who settled in Maryland founded the Hughes Foundry in Montgomery County. The foundry produced cannon for the Revolutionary. Note that no connection has been made between any of the above with James Hooper Senior’s wife’s family. (2) It should be noted that in 1900 the authors of Volume 18 of the Archives of Maryland, “Maryland Muster Rolls and other records of service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution 1775 – 1783,” state on page 2 of the preface “Unfortunately, we have not found the rolls of those two companies who marched from Frederick to the siege of Boston.” John, aged 31 to 39 during this period, may have been enlisted in one of these companies that set out to relieve his home city.

Footnotes: (1) The novel “The Cruise of the Comet” by James Otis is a story about this ship, events and people undoubtedly know to James Hooper. (2) The statement by Ann Elizabeth Hooper Boyle in her biography of her grandfather, “The Family Life and Connections of James Hooper Jr.” which ran as follows: “He was not relation to another James Hooper who was also on the “Comet” which was commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle,” was contradicted by James Hooper Jr. himself in his own recollections as quoted in the Baltimore American newspaper dated September 12, 1894. Note that no other James Hooper is listed on the “Comet” in William H. Marine’s comprehensive list of participants in the War of 1812 in his book entitled “British Invasion.” Footnote: (1) This fact was determined by a descendant of James Hooper who resided in Norfolk, Virginia who had successfully sued the government for $400,000 for using an invention of a special valve in foreign ships which he had patented. (2) James Hooper and

Johns Hopkins were well known to each other, if not good friends. In addition to their relationship regarding the organization of the Baltimore Warehouse, they both had adjoining offices in the same building at Gay and Lombard Streets. The two men were supposed to have loaned money back and forth without documentation or interest. The practice stopped when Mr. Hopkins asked for interest on one of his loans to Mr. Hooper. Earlier, before the wealth of Mr. Hopkins was apparent, he asked Mr. Hooper’s financial assistance to tide him over a great difficulty. Mr. Hooper cheerfully granted the request and the wheel of fortune was the result for Mr. Hopkins