North Carolina booklet : great events in North Carolina history

              Vol. V. JULY, 1905 No. 1
THB
NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
"Carolina! Oaholina ! Heaven's Blessings attend Her!
While We Live We will Cherish, Protect and Defend Her."
PUBLISHED BY
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTEKS OF THE REVOLUTION.
The object of the Booklet is to aid in developing and preserving
North Carolina History. The proceeds arising from its publication
will be devoted to patriotic purposes. Editors.
Officers of The North Carolina Society
Daughters of the Revolution, 1903-1905:
regent:
MRS. THOMAS K. BRUNER.
VICE-REGENT
:
MRS WALTER CLARK.
HONORARY KEGENTS
t
MRS. SPIER WHITAKER,
{Nee Hooper),
MRS. D. H. HILL, Sr.*
secretary:
MRS. E. E. MOFFITT.
treasurer:
MRS. FRANK SHERWOOD.
registrar:
MRS. ED. CHAMBERS SMITH.
Founder of the North Carolina Society and regent 1896-1902;
MRS. SPIER WHITAKER.
Regent 1902:
MRS. D. H. HILL, Sr.
*Died December 12, 1904.
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Vol. V. JULY, 1905. No. 1.
THE GENESIS OF WAKE COUNTY.
By MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD.
When the editors of The Booklet requested me to pre-pare
a sketch bearing in some way upon the history of Wake
County, no particular period or epoch was assigned me.
Thus having a space of more than one hundred and thirty
years from which to choose my subject, I have decided that
nothing more profitable can be selected than to start with
"In the heginning"—and so I term this brief dissertation
The Gexesis of Wake County. I shall endeavor to tell
something of the county's origin, of its colonial history, and
of the part its people bore in the War of the Eevolution, clos-ing
with the year 1783, when Great Britain acknowledged
Isorth Carolina (with her sister colonies) to be a "free,
sovereign, and independent State." My narrative will close
about ten years before the foundation of the City of Raleigh,
which is the State capital of IsTorth Carolina and what our
English ancestors would call the "shire-town" of Wake
County.
Probably the first white man who ever set foot in the area
which is now embraced in Wake county was John Lawson,
the explorer and historian, who made his journey in 1700
and crossed Xeuse River at the northern end of the present
county of Wake, about five miles from where the village
and college of Wake Forest now stand. Speaking of the
falls of the river (which he called a creek), Lawson says:
"We went about 10 Miles, and sat down at the Falls of a
4: THE IS^OETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
large Creek, where lay mighty Rocks, the Water making a
strange JSToise, as if a great many Water-Mills were going at
once. I take this to be the Falls of iVews-Creek, called by
the Indians, Wee quo WJiom." Another early reference to
the land now lying in Wake county is found on a large map
made by "Capt. John Collet, Governor of Fort Johnston,"
dedicated to King George the Third, and published by an
Act which passed the British Parliament on May 1, 1770.
This map gives JN'euse River (spelling it iSTuse), and also
shows many of that river's tributaries which flow through
Wake county, and are still known by the same names.
Among these are the two streams on the north and south of
the present city of Raleigh, viz. : Crabtree Creek, and Wal-nut
Creek (which Collet calls "Walnut Tree Creek") ; also
Middle Creek further down, which is now partly in John-ston
county. Then, on the eastern side of i^euse River,
going up-stream, we find 'Eqw Light Creek, Beaver Dam
Creek, and the Ledge of Rocks. One error in Collet's map
is representing Richland Creek as forming part of the head-waters
of Crabtree, when, in fact, it is on the northern side
of ISTeuse River, flowing into the river a few miles below
the Falls, while Crabtree Creek is on the southern side of the
river.
The county of Wake was brought into existence when
England's reigning monarch was George the Third and
when William Tryon was Royal Governor of the Colony of
!N"orth Carolina. It is named in honor of Governor Tryon's
wife whose maiden name was Margaret Wake. With the
exception of Dare county, it is the only county in the State
named for a woman. Though it was not fully organized till
1771, its origin was about the end of the year 1770 when a
bill was introduced into the Lower tlouse of the Legislature
of the Colony at ISTew Bern, on December 23d, providing for
the creation of Wake county; and the Upper House, or
Governor's Council, passed the bill on the 27th of the same
THE NOKTH CAEOLIKA BOOKLET. 5
imontli, thus making it a law—Chapter XXII of tlie Pub-lic
Laws of 1770. This Act, a somewhat lengthy document
of sixteen sections, sets forth as a reason for the creation
'of the new coimtj that "the large extent of the said counties
of Johnston, Cumberland, and Orange, renders it grievous
tmd burthensome to many of the inhabitants thereof to attend
the Courts, General Musters, and Public Meetings therein."
The territory at first included in Wake county was taken
from the three counties named in the above quoted extract.
By the Act referred to, Joel Lane, Theophilus Hunter,
Hardy Sanders, Joseph Lane, John Hinton, Thomas Hines,
and Thomas Crawford were appointed commissioners to lay
off land on which to erect a Oourt-House, Jail, Stocks, etc.,
and Joel Lane, James Martin, and Theophilus Hunter were
authorized to contract with workmen for the erection of the
said buildings and stocks. Joel Lane, John Smith, Theo-philus
Hunter, Farquard Campbell, and Walter Gibson
were then directed to run the boundary as specified in the
Act creating the county. This law will be found in the
Revisal published by James Davis at jSTew Bern in 1773.
x^ccording to its ov^ti provisions, said Act was not to take
effect till March 12, 1771.
During the year in which Wake county was taking shape
as a territory separate and distinct from its mother counties
of Johnston, Orange, and Cumberland, E"orth Carolina was
in the throes of a small civil war—what is known is history
as the Insurrection of the Regulators. The chief seat of
trouble was in Orange county; and in W^ake (a part of
what had been Orange) there was also some disaffection to
the government, but no acts of violence and incendiarism
by the Regulators occurred here, as was the case in Orange,
Granville, and other counties. As early as 1768 Governor
Tryon had gone with some colonial militia against the Reg-ulators
; but, on that expedition, there was no blood-shed,
as the Regulators agreed to cease their lawlessness. In this
6^ THE KORTH CAEOLIJTA BOOKLET.
expedition of 1768 one of the officers in the Governor's
army was Major John Hinton who appeared at the head
of a detachment from Johnston connty. By the Act of
1770, creating Wake, Major Hinton's plantation was
included in the new connty. Thereupon Governor Tryon
promoted him to the rank of Colonel and called for his ser-vices
in a second expedition against the Regulators in the
early Spring of 1771. The chief place of rendezvous for
the colonial militia, which served under Tryon, was Wake
Cross-roads, about where Raleigh now stands. The Gov-ernor's
own headquarters were at a country-seat called Hun-ter's
Lodge, owned by the elder Theophilus Hunter, on the
])resent Fayetteville Road, two or three miles south of
Raleigh. This place is now owned by Ransom Hinton, Esq.,
a descendant both of Colonel John Hinton and Theophilus
Hunter. Hunter's Lodge is not the same as Spring Hill, a
neighboring plantation later owned by Theopilus Hunter,
junior. jSTear Wake Cross-roads Governor Tryon tarried
with his troops from May 2d till May 8th, and then set out
towards the scene of the disturbances. About a week later,
on May 16, 1771, was fought the Battle of Alamance, where
the insurgents were defeated and scattered by the Governor's
little army of ISTorth Carolina militia—a force about half
their own number. In this expedition the Wake county
troops under Colonel Hinton acquitted themselves with
honor, and received high commendation for the part they
bore in the battle.
At the beginning of Tryon's march from Wake Cross-roads
it was found necessary for his Corps of Engineers to
cut a new road, as the old one—the ''Granville Tobacco
Path"—was too rough for artillery to pass over. The new
thoroughfare was called Ramsgate Road. By the mellowing
process of time, Ramsgate assumed a more sentimental form
and became Ramcat, also giving its name to a section of
our county where the more cultured classes write it Rham-
THE KOETH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. 7
tatte. The latter locality, as everyone knows, is a great
trade center which supplies Raleigh with light-wood, 'pos-sums,
and blackberries, and even begins to threaten the com-mercial
supremacy of our sister county of Chatham in its
chief source of support, the rabbit industry.
But my tribute to Rhamkatte has caused me to digress
from the course of this narrative, which has to do with the
history in general of Wake county. The Charter of the new
county was signed by Governor Tryon, in the name of the
King, on May 22, 1771, while he was on the Alamance expe-dition,
and this important document was entrusted to the
personal care of Colonel John Hinton, who presented it in
open court after his return home.
In the early days of Wake county the chief legal tribunal
of a county in jSTorth Carolina was called the "Inferior
Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions." It was composed of
all (or a quorum) of the Justices of the Peace meeting in
joint session four times yearly. There were also Judicial
Districts in the Colony. These districts were composed of
several counties, over all of which the "Superior Court"
had higher jurisdiction than the above county courts. The
Superior Courts were the highest tribunals in the Colony,
and their sessions were presided over by the Chief Justice
of I^Torth Carolina and two "Assistant Judges." Wake
county was in what was known as the Hillsborough Dis-trict,
and all of its business with the Superior Court had
to be transacted at the to^vn of Hillsborough. The lawyers
of that day often came down from Hillsborough, and from
other localities, even Virginia, to appear in the Wake Court
of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. On its Docket between 1771
and 1783 we find the names of a number of practicing attor-neys,
among whom were Bromfield Ridley, John Kinchen,
John Rand, James Forsyth, Joseph Taylor, David Gordon,
D'Arcy Fowler, James Williams, John Ronton, John Penn,
Henry Gifford, Henry Lightfoot, James Spiller, and Alex-
O THE IfORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET".
ander Gray. Some of these gentlemen regularly resided iu
Wake county. Penn lived in Granville and was afterwards-a
signer of the iSTational Declaration of Independence.
The first Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for the
county of Wake met on June 4, 1771. There were present
Theophilus Hunter, Presiding Justice, and the following-
Justices: Joel Lane, Joseph Lane, Benjamin Hardy,
James Martin, Hardy Sanders, Abraham Hill, Thomas
Wootten, James Jones, Thomas Crawford, and Ting-nail
Jones. Among other officers present were Michael Rogers,
High Sheriff; John Rogers and James Alford, Deputy
Sheriffs ; John Rice, Clerk of the Court and Deputy Clerk
for the Crown in the county of Wake; and Bromfield Rid-ley,
King's Deputy Attorney. It is recorded that when
another session of this Court met it was at "Bloomsberry, in
the County of Wake." Bloomsberry, more properly
Bloomsbury, was the name of a hamlet erected at Wake
Cross-roads, the present site of the city of Raleigh. The
hamlet of Bloomsbury was also known as Wake Court-
House.
In days prior to the Revolution, and for some time after
that war, it was the law that any person convicted of per-jury
should have both his ears cropped off by the common
hangman and nailed to the pillory. One ear was so cropped
for subornation of perjury. Hence any person who was
"crop-eared" was always regarded with distiiist. But occa-sionally
a citizen was deprived of his ear without due pro-cess
of law, in consequence of the cannibalistic propensity
of some adversary with whom he was engaged in a rough
and tumble fight—or "battle," as the old records would say.
When such a misfortune befell a man, he generally went into
court and had an entry made of the fact that his ear had
been bitten off, and not cropped for perjury or suborna-tion
thereof. There are several entries of this class on the
old records of Wake county. At September Term, 1771,
THE I^OKTH CAKOLINA BOOKLET. 9
we find tlie following: "Averington McKelroy came into
court, and by the oatli of Mr. Isaac Hunter proved that he
unluckily lost a piece from the top of his right ear by Jacob
Odeni's biting it off in a battle." Islor was Mr. McKelroy
the only belligerent who was wounded in battle by a sharp-toothed
antagonist; for, by a formal. entry made at Septem-ber
Term, 1772, of the above court, we are also informed:
"James Murr came into court and produced John Patter-son,
a witness to prove how and in what manner he lost his
ear, who made oath that after a battle between said Murr
and one Wagstaff Cannady, he (the said Patterson) found
a piece of his (Murr's) ear on the ground: to wit the right
ear." Those "good old-fashioned customs" will never come
again—and for this may the Lord make us thankful
!
There is a homely old proverb, perhaps familiar to some
of my readers, which says : "ISTever trust a nigger with a
gun." Our forefathers in the Colonial Assembly, it would
seem, went even further and were not even willing to trust
a nigger with a club. In examining the proceedings of the
court of Wake County, at September Term, 1774, we find
the following order: "Whereas, it hath lately been a prac-tice
of sundry slaves in this county, especially upon Crab
Tree and Walnut Creeks, to carry clubs loaded on the ends
with lead or pewter, contrary to the Act of Assembly, to the
annoyance of the inhabitants, which may be attended with
dangerous and evil consequences, the court therefore
appoints the chairman to cause to be put up advertisements
at the court-house and other public places in this county,
requiring the masters, mistresses, or overseers of slaves, to
prohibit their slaves from carrying such unlawful weapons,
certifying to them at the same time that, if they therein fail,
the magistrates will strictly put in execution the law against
such an evil and dangerous practice."
On October 6, 1772, Colonel John Hinton made a list of
the officers of his regiment of Wake County troops, and this
10 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
roster is here given ; for so many of the officers therein, now
have descendants living in Wake Connty and elsewhere that
it will doubtless be of interest. The following is a copy in
full:
Colonel—John Hinton.
Lieutenant-Colonel—Joel Lane.
Major—Theophilus Hunter.
Captains—Simon Turner, John Hinton, junior, James
Moore, Samuel Pearson, I^athaniel Jones, Edward Mobley,
Jeremiah Mobley, Michael Rogers, Sandy Sanders, William
Simms, and William Anderson Fowler.
Lieutenants—John Myatt, Swann Thompson, Edward
Mobley, junior, John Beddingfield, Tingnall Jones, Demp-sey
Powell, Jacob Utley, Isham Hendor, and Mosier Jones.
Ensigns—Andrew Collins, Reuben Rogers, Jacob Bled-soe,
Joshua Sugg, Thomas Philips, Aaron Rogers, Ethel-dred
Jones, Joel Simms, and Godfrey Eowler.
The gentlemen who held the office of High Sheriff of the
county of Wake from the foundation of the county to the
close of the Revolution, were the following: Michael Rogers,
from the foundation of the county till June, 1773 ; Thomas
Hines, from June, 1773, till June, 1777 ; Thomas W^ootten,
from June, 1777, till September, 1780 ; Hardy Sanders,
from Se]3tember, 1780, till September, 1782 ; and Britain
Sanders, from September, 1782, till after American inde-pendence
was acknowledged. During the days of our colo-nial
existence the office of High Sheriff was one not only
of importance but of the greatest honor as well, as has
always been the case in Great Britain, where even now
some of the principal peers hold the title as an hereditary
honor—the Duke of Montrose being hereditary High Sher-iff
of Dumbartonshire, the Duke of Argyll hereditary High
Sheriff of Argyllshire, with other noblemen of like rank
who might be mentioned.
At the beginning of the War of the Revolution, field-officers
for the troops of Wake County were appointed by
THE ISrOliTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 11
the Provincial Congress of i^orth Carolina at Hillsborougli
on the 9th of September, 1775, as follows : John Hinton,
Colonel; Theophilus Hunter, Lieutenant-Colonel; John
Hinton, junior. First Major; and Thomas Hines, Second
Major. These officers were re-elected to the same ranks
by the Provincial Congress of North Carolina at Halifax
on the 22d of April, 1776. At a later period Thomas
Wootten was also Colonel; and Michael Rogers, Lieutenant-
Colonel, the latter being appointed in February, 1778.
There may have been some other changes also.
About the beginning of January, 1776, there was a great
uprising of the Tories of ISTorth Carolina, chiefly among the
Highland Scotch of the Cape Pear section, with some of the
old Regulators from further west; and Wake County was
called upon to do her part in suppressing the out-break.
Colonel Hinton then marched eastward with a detachment
of his regiment, which became a part of Colonel Richard
Caswell's command, numbering about eight hundred. These
later united with the lesser command of Colonel Alexander
Lillington, after which the joint forces (about a thousand
men) gave battle to a vastly superior force of Loyalists at
Moore's Creek Bridge, on the 27th of February, 1776. The
scene of this fight was then in aSTew Hanover County, but
is now a part of the county of Pender. The result was one
of the most crushing defeats which ever befell the King's
troops in America. Colonel Caswell (later General and
Governor), who commanded in this battle, afterwards spoke
in high terms of the bravery there displayed by Colonel
Hinton.
A good deal of recruiting was done in "Wake County
while the war was in progress. In the Summer of 1781,
one of the French volunteer officers, Francis Marquis of
Malmedy, mustered into his regiment a company of Wake
Light Horse. Of this company Solomon Wood was Captain,
Mark Myatt was Lieutenant, and Thomas Gray was Cornet.
12 THE TfORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
In connection with the last named rank (now no longer in
use) it may be mentioned that a Cornet was a commissioned
officer in a cavalry company whose duty it was to carry the
colors of his troop.
While the above Whigs were striving for independence,
the Tories were by no means inactive, though few could
stay in Wake County. When a man refused to take the
oath of allegiance to the new State government, he was
ordered to move out of I^orth Carolina. Alexander Munn
and Sampson Strickland were driven out for so refusing,
and there may have been others. Munn's property, Avith
that of other Loyalists, was later confiscated by Chapter VI.
of The Laws of 178 1. He went to jSTova Scotia in 1783.
There were some men who attempted to shirk the mili-tary
duty which the law required of them during" the Revo-lution.
Of this class was one Timothy Duck, who failed to
appear when summoned for military duty in April, 1781.
At that time Colonel Thomas Wootten commanded the mili-tia
forces of Wake County. In accordance with a power
which was given him by law. Colonel Wootten ordered the
Sheriff to seize and sell Duck's plantation. With the pro-ceeds
of this sale, John Abernethie was hired as a substi-tute,
and the unfortunate Duck had to hunt for another
nest.
The most active and daring partisan in l^orth Carolina
on the Tory side during the Revolution was Colonel David
Fanning, a native of what afterwards became the county
of Wake, though that part of Wake was in Johnston at the
time of his birth. The deeds of blood committed by him in
his native State fill a volume which he prepared, entitled
Fanning's Narative. After the war, when ISTorth Carolina
passed an "Act of Pardon and Oblivion," giving a general
amnesty to her late enemies, he was excepted by name from
its provisions, and died an exile in Canada.
Wake county had a good share in establishing the inde-pendent
government of North Carolina. To the Provincial
THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 13
•Congress at 'New Bern in April, 1775, John Hinton,
Michael Rogers, and Tingnall Jones were sent as its dele-gates.
In another Provincial Congress, held at Hills-
Iborough in August of the same year, the county's represen-tatives
were John Ilinton, Joel Lane, Theophilus Hunter,
Michael Rogers, Tingnall Jones, John Rand and Thomas
Hines. On September 9th, while the last named Congress
was in se^ssion, it appointed Committees of Safety for the
several Districts into which the State was divided, and Joel
Lane, Michael Rog'ers, and John Hinton, of Wake, were
made members for the Hilsborougii District, of which their
county was a part. In the Provincial Congress at Halifax
in April, 1776, the representatives from Wake were Ting-nall
Jones, John Rand, John Hinton, Joel Lane and
William Hooper. The last named gentleman, Mr. Llooper,
who is recorded as a delegate from Wake, was not a citizen
of the county. Later he added to his already established
fame by signing the ISTational Declaration of Independence.
Another Provincial Congress met at Halifax in liovember,
1776, and from Wake County to that body went Britain
Puller, James Jones, Tingnall Jones, John Rice and
Michael Rogers. On April 19, 1776, during the session of
the first Provincial Congress at Halifax, Theophilus Hun-ter
and Thomas Hines, of Wake, were made members of
a Committee to procure, by purchase or otherwise, fire-arms
for use by the American troops.
In the State Senate of IsTorth Carolina during the Revolu-tion,
Wake County was represented by James Jones in 1777,
by Michael Rogers from 1778 till 1781, and by Joel Lane
from 1782 till after the end of the war. In the House of
Commons of jSTorth Carolina during the war, appeared the
following Wake County members: John Rand and Ting-nall
Jones in 1777; Lodwick Alford and Hardy Sanders
in 1778 ; Thomas Hines and John Hinton, junior, in 1779
;
JS^athaniel Jones and John Humphries in 1780 ; Burwell
14 THE jSfOETH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
Pope and James Hinton in 1781 and 1782 ; and Tlieopliiliis
Hunter and Hardy Sanders in 1783.
While the above delegates from Wake in the Provincial
Congresses and General iVssemhlies were looking after the
State's general welfare, the interests of the county were
faithfully guarded at home by the Court of Pleas and Quar-ter
Sessions. Among the Justices who sat at different times
in this tribunal during the Revolution were the following:
John Abernethie, Lodwick Alford, Kedar Bryan, Richard
Banks, Thomas Crawford, Joseph Davis, Abraham Hill^
Thomas Hines, John Hinton, John Hinton, junior, James
Hinton, Francis Hobson, Theophilus Hunter, Albridgton
Jones, James Jones, J^athaniel Jones of White Plains,*
Tingnall Jones, Joel Lane, Joseph Lane, James Martin,
James Moore, Burwell Pope, Michael Rogers, Hardy San-ders,
Joshua Sugg:, William Walton, John Whitaker, and
Thomas Wootten. Beginning with the early part of 1777^
the court composed of these Justices cited various citizens
of the county to take the oath of allegiance to the new State
government as required by a recent enactment. W^lien a per-son
refused to take such oath, he was forthwith ordered to
leave the county and State.
In 1781 one of the sessions of the General Assembly of
North Carolina (there were two or more sessions that year)
met at Bloomsbury, the county-seat of Wake. Colonel Joel
Lane's residence (which is still standing in the city of
Raleigh) was its place of meeting. At that time the State
and Continental paper money had become so utterly worth-less
that the sum of fifteen thousand pounds was paid by the
Assembly to Colonel Lane for the rent of this house for
two weeks, with pasturage included. During this session
several detachments of troops were ordered to Bloomsbury
for the Assembly's protection.
The present city of Raleigh, as is well kno"\vn, stands on
*Nathaniel Jones of White Plains lived near the present village of Gary. He died
in 1815. His connection by marriage (though probably not of the same paternal
line), Nathaniel Jones, Sr., of Orabtree, who died in 1810, was a brother of Robert
Jones, Jr. ("Robin" Jones), Attorney General under Governors Dobbs and Tryon.
See Jones Genealogy by Col. Cadwallader Jones. Nathaniel Jones. Jr., of Crabtree
died in 1828, and was father of the late Kimbrough Jones, Sr.
THE NOETII Cx^ROLINA BOOKLET. 15
land purcliased by North Carolina from Colonel Joel Lane
for the purpose of erecting thereon the capital of the State.
Lane's deed to the State is dated April 5, 1T92, and the
streets of tlie new to'wn were laid ont shortly thereafter.
In 1835 and again in 1841 the United States government
published lists of soldiers of the Revolution who were pen-sioned
for services in that war. At the risk of being tedious
I give the Wake County lists in full. Persons desiring a
statement of the war record of any veteran herein named
can obtain the same free of charge by addressing a request
therefor to the Commissioner of Pensions, at Washington
City. Except when otherwise designated, persons mentioned
were privates in the service of JSTorth Carolina. Some of
the names are spelled differently on the two lists, and these
variations I have indicated below. The list published in
1835 was as follows: Berthett Allen, James Adams, Philip
Adams, James Ames, John Amos, Christopher Babb, James
Brown, Jesse Bryant (Virginia), William Burton (or
William H. Burton), Jacob Byrum, Benjamin Carpenter,
James Christian 2nd, William Clifton, George Cole, Robert
Dodd, Reuben Evans, John Green, Jesse Llarris (or Hor-ris),
James Hughes (Virginia), Thomas Jinks (Corporal),
Erancis Jones, Vincent King, Joshua Lynch, David Mabry,
Jesse Manuel, John Marr, Shadrach Medlin, iSTaaman Mills,
James JSTance, senior (Virginia), Jesse Osbourn, Drury
Pittiford (Virginia), William Polk (Major), Elisha Pope
(Virginia), Frederick Rigsby (or Rigsbee), James Rigsby
(or Rigsbee), Thomas Ross, John Rhodes, Aaron Roberts,
Robert Sneed (Virginia), Joseph Shaw (Pennsylvania),
Isaac Smith, Samuel Standeford (Virginia), Samuel Scar-borough,
senior (Virginia), Jonathan Smith, senior (Cap-tain),
John Sherron, John Swenney, William Tate, I^athan
Upchurch, William Wilder, Burrell (or Burwell) White-head,
John Walker, John Williams, and Jesse Wall. In
addition to the above, the list of 1841 gives the following
names, without indicating rank, or State in which they
16 THE iVORTH CTAEOLIJJ'A BOOKLET,-
served: James Harward, Thomas Holland, Eichard Piperr^
William Sledd, Enfiis Willie, and William Wood. Some-of
these veterans were dead before lists were published.
Joel Terrell, whose name also appears on the pension roll
of 1835, appears to have rendered his military service in
the United States Army after the Revolution—possibly m
the War of 1812.
W^hen the county of Wake was first created, and up to the
time of the Eevolution, the Church of England was estab-lished
by law, and each county contained one or more par-ishes.
The one in Wake was called the Parish of St. Mar-garet,
this probably being done to canonize, as it were, the
same lady in whose honor the county was called—Mrs.
Tryon, formerly Miss Margaret Wake, a zealous church-woman
and generous contributor to religious work in tlie
colony. I have also seen it stated that the present townships
of St. Mary's and St. Matthew's in Wake County take their
names from either chapels or parishes of the old Established
Church in the Colony.
By what I have already set forth herein, my story has
been brought to a close. It was not at first intended to im-pose
upon the patience of my readers further than to bring
the history of Wake County down to a time when ]S[ortli
Carolina's independence of Great Britain was acknowl-edged.
But I cannot resist the temptation of adding a few
more words about the men and customs of that day.
The old colonists were a sturdy and substantial race of
men, not the mimic courtiers so finely pictured in the his-torical
novels dealing with that time. They had their vir-tues
and they had their vices, as men always have had and
always will have. They were not devoid of ability as legis-lators,
and possessed a practical knowledge of the needs of
the colony. Personally they were bold, fearless, and inde-pendent,
prompt to answer a call for their services in the
field, and at times too forward in a personal quarrel. At the
THE NORTH CAEOLHSTA BOOKLET. 17
period of which I write, there were places in l^orth Caro-lina,
particularly in the extreme east, where could be found
commodious houses, churches, schools, and private libraries,
together with what were then considered the luxuries of life.
But when some of the bolder spirits of that time pushed
westward and set up new homes in what is now the center
of the State, they had more serious problems to confront
than those to which they had been accustomed. The
early pioneers of Wake County knew more about blaz-ing
paths through the primeval forests by which they
were surrounded than they knew about winding through
the intricate mazes of a minuet. Great houses, servants,
and jfine apparel form no part of the equipment of a back-woodsman.
Even so we find it in the Gospel of St. Luke
that when the multitude sought St. John the Baptist, it was
asked of them: "What went ye out into the wilderness for
to see 2 * * * * A man clothed in soft raiment ? Behold,
they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately,
are in kings' courts." So might an old colonist in Wake
County describe the locality where his lot was cast, not as
a place of soft raiment and delicate living, but a land
—
"Where thoughts, and tongues, and hands, are bold and free,
And friends will find a welcome, foes a grave
;
And where none kneel, save when to heaven when they pray.
Nor even then, unless in their own way."
d
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH EDENTON, N. C,
AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS.
By RICHARD DILLARD, M. D.
(Member of North Carolina Historical Commission,)
It is written that Selim, the son Soliman, was accustomed to eat
every day a certain cereal which grew in Turkey, the effect of which
was to erase from the mind every disagreeable circumstance, every
painful emotion, unfortunately I have no such extravagant nepenthe,
I bring no golden apples snatched from the Gardens of the Hesperides.
Edenton, and its environs, was the focal point of civiliza-tion
for ISTorth Carolina, and the history of St. Paul's Parish
is but the history of the early struggling colony. The exact
date of the settlement of Edenton is not known, but as early
as 1658 there was considerable development about this point,
bearing the name of Chuwon Precinct. The beauty and fer-tility
of the country, the mildness and equability of the cli-mate,
together with religious liberty, and the ease of access
by land and water lured the adventurous settler ; so that in
1710 it had grown so rapidly that it was a borough of con-siderable
importance, the capital of the colony, and the home
of the royal governors. It is sometimes alluded to as the
"To\^me in Queen Ann's Creek," the "Towne in Matterco-mock
Creek,"* and "Port of Roanoke." Upon the death of
Governor Charles Eden in 1722, it was called Edenton in
his honor.
In 1708 Lawson wrote of us : "The fame of this new dis-covered
country spread through the colonies, and in a few
years drew a considerable number of families thereto, who
all found land enough to settle themselves, and that which
was very good, and commodiously seated, both for profit and
*"Mattercomock" an Indian word meaning Temple of God. By way of parenthesis
the name of che section of the country near Edenton called Rockyhock was de-rived
from the word "Rakiock," meaning our common Cypress tree, by metathesis
and corruption it has become Rockyhook the "land of Cypress trees."
20 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
pleasure. Thej are kind and hospitable to all that visit
them; and, as for the women, who do not expose themselves
to the weather, they are often very fair, and have brisk and
charming eyes, which sets them off to advantage. They
marry very young, some at thirteen or fourteen, and she that
stays tilltwenty is reckoned a very indifferent character. The
young men are commonly of a bashful and sober behaviour.
The easy way of living in this new and plentiful country
fosters negligence. The women are the most industrious sex
in the place, and by their good housewifery make a good deal
of cloth of their coton, wool and flax, some of them keeping
their families, though large, very decently appareled with
linens and woolens, so that they have no occasion to run into
the merchant's debt, or lay out their money in stores for
clothing."
These copious extracts from our first historian will tend
to give you some idea of the life in this new and undeveloped
country then.
Our historic field is extensive and "rich with the spoils of
time," but, of course, I can only give here a sort of coup
d'oeil, or momentary glance like that obtained by passing on
a train at lightning speed through some beautiful and ever-changing
landscape.
Pursuant to an act of assembly, the vestry of St Paul's
met at the house of Thomas Gilliam, December 15, lYOl.
The Hon. Henderson Walker, then governor, Colonel Wm.
Wilkinson, and Captain Thomas Lewton, were appointed war-dens
for a year, and instructed "to agree with a workman for
building a church twenty-five feet long, posts in the ground,
and held to the collar beams." It was built upon an acre of
land given by Edward Smithwick, and was finished in 1702.
This was the first church ever huilt wpon North Carolina soil.
The vestries of those old days, when church and state were
united, possesses considerable civil authority, and were about
equal in power to our county commissioners. They were em-
THE ISrOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 21
powered to collect tithes, provide standards of weights and
measures, etc.
In 1704 Dr. John Blair presented himself to the vestry as
a minister, and was received by them at a salary of thirty
pounds per year.
The services had previously been conducted by readers em-ployed
at a small salary, whose only qualifications were that
they should promise to live sober and exemplary lives during
their periods of service. This temporary church lasted but a
few years, for in 1T09 the Rev. Mr. Adams, who came here
under the auspices of the "Society for Propagating the Gos-pel"
wrote : "They built a church some years ago, but it is
small, and very sorrily put together, and therefore I prevailed
with them to build another, which they went about when I
came away." The dimensions of the new church were forty
feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and fourteen feet high. In
1714, according to the records, this church was still unfin-ished,
and it was either never finished at all, or soon fell into
decay. It was not until 1729 that the initial step was taken
toward building the present brick edifice. In April, 1729,
Governor Everard wrote the following letter to the Bishop of
London in regard to the church : " 'Tis no small concern I
send you this, to inform you that our church is not built now,
nor is it like to be gone about; for those men that were ap-pointed
commissioners for the building it have six hundred
pounds in their hands, and are now the only opposers of
building one. I was, in order to laying the foundation,
chose church-warden with one Mr. Mosely. We had several
meetings to consult about building it, but could not agree,
being always hindered by our secretary, one Mr. John
Lovick, a man of no religion, fears not God or man, believes
neither, seldom seen at any place of divine worship, his
money is his God, ridicules all goodness. While such a man
is in power no good can be expected." In 1736 a tax was
laid for building this church, and in 1738 the work was
22 THE NORTH CAKOLIiSrA BOOKLET.
actually begun; it was not, however, finished until 1745.
About the latter part of that century the church fell into
decay, and was restored to its present beauty largely through
the munificence of Mr. Josiah Collins, and the stained-glass
window of the apse memorializes this act of generosity.
That curious compound of learning, and good natured
facetiousness Colonel William Byrd, of Virginia, who was
here in 1729, on the commission to run the boundary line
between North Carolina and Virginia, wrote that Edenton
contained then forty or fifty houses, most of them small and
inexpensive, and that a man was called extravagant if he
aspired to brick chimney for his house. "Justice itself,"
says he "is but indifferently lodged, the court-house having
much the air of a common tobacco house, and that this in
the only metropolis in the Christian or Mohammedan world
where there is neither church, chapel, mosque, synagogue or
any other place of worship, of any sect of religion whatso-ever.
This much, however, may be said of the inhabitants
of Edenton, that not a soul has the least taint of hypocrisy
or superstition."
Bishop Spangenburg, of the Moravian Church, wrote in
his diary while in Edenton in 1752 : "Edenton is one of
the oldest towns in America, and yet it is hardly one-quarter
as large as Germantown, although it has a beautiful situation.
There are other cities mentioned in the Law Book, but there
are no houses, they are only created cities by act of assem-bly."
In 1777 a young man named Watson, about nineteen years
old, from Providence, R. I., made a tour through this sec-tion,
and left a valuable account of his trip. He said that
"Edenton contained then about one hundred and thirty-five
dwellings, a brick court house, and was defended by two
forts." There were few roads here then. An early minister
of the S. P. G. (Society for the Propagation of the Gospel),
wrote to England : "I was obliged to buy a couple of horses,
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 23
which cost me 14 pounds, one of which was for a guide,
because there is no possibility for a stranger to find his road
in that country, for if he once goes astray, it is a great hazard
if he ever finds his road again." Edenton was at this time
the court end of the Province, hither had gathered the
wealth and refinement of the colony, who constituted for
themselves a sort of social oligarchy.
Edenton, before the Revolution manufactured harness,
hats, nails and rope. The incorporation of the to^ni in-cluded
four hundred and twenty acres. It had a good for-eign
trade. During one year there were forty-three arrivals
of vessels from foreign ports, and about the same number
of departures.
Those principally engaged in the foreign trade were Jolm
Campbell, Robert Armistead, Richard Brownrigg, Benjamin
Russell, Alexander Miller, John Little and Messrs. Collins,
Allen and Dickinson. The names of the largest vessels
were the Sterling, Roanoke, Providence, Betsy, Liberty, Two
Brothers, the Mary and the Mary Anna.
The first steamboat ever in our waters was the Albemarle.
It was used as a ferry boat between Edenton and Plymouth
and caried the Raleigh mail. The trial trip was made in
two hours and five minutes. It was tendered President
Monroe as a pleasure boat when he visited our town in 1819.
Bancroft, the father of American history, wrote: "Here
was a colony of men from civilized life, scattered among the
forests, resting on the bosom of nature. With absolute free-dom
of conscience, benevolent reason was the simple rule of
their conduct. Are there any," says he, "who doubt man's
capacity for self-government, let them study the early history
of ^N'orth Carolina."
I wish the reader to note, and history confirms the fact,
that resistance to British authority existed here one hundred
years before the Revolution, for the many early disturbances
and frequent rebellions, such as those of Culpepper, Cary,
24 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
and Eastchurcli, wer nothing more than resistance to illegal
and usurped authority, and a contest for political and relig-ious
freedom. There were the long shadows cast before the
mighty Revolution. This little colony might, therefore, be
styled the birthplace of American Independence.
In the history of all governments the oppressed are long-tolerant
of their oppressors, and a revolution is of progres-sive
development. It took nearly five hundred years to free
France of its despots. Brazil, I believe, presents a singu-lar
exception, when, as if by magic, the empire ceased to
exist, and a virgin republic sprang full panoplied upon the
scene.
l^ine ministers officiated in this church up to the time of
the Revolution, the last one being the Rev. Daniel Earle,
D. D., familiar to tradition and history as ''Parson Earle."
He was a man of such strong points of character, and was
so typical of the old fashioned parson of those days, that
it is interesting to study his life and character. Oliver
Wendell Holes has limned his prototype in that matchless
poem the "Wonderful One-Horse Shay." We can see him
now as he passes along the highway in his old stick gig,
working his Sunday text, and "drawn by his rat-tail, ewe-necked
bay." He was the much beloved parson of all this
section, baptizing all the children and ministering at all the
death beds and marriages, he thus became the welcome guest
of every fireside. He was in striking contrast to some of
our earlier ministers, who cared but little for their parish-ioners.
"Parson Earle" was born in the town of Bandon, province
of Munster, Ireland, and was the younger son of an Irish
nobleman. His family was one of prominence and dis-tinction.
One of his ancestors was General Earle, Lord
Chief Justice of Ireland in the reign of Queen Anne. In
early life he was an officer in the British army, but his
marriage with the daughter of a church official changed
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 25
the whole tenor of his life, and he soon resigned his com-mission
to take holy orders. The exact date of his emigra-tion
to America is not known, but he was first sent by the
Bishop of London to that part of Virginia now called Glou-cester
county.
In 1757 he came to the Albemarle section to act as curate
for the venerable Clement Hall, rector of St. Paul's, then in
very feeble health, and upon his death was made full rec-tor.
His charge not only included Edenton, but many
mission stations scattered at great distances throughout the
section now known as Chowan, Hertford and Gtaes counties.
His wife, who had died before his departure for America,
left him with two little daughters, these he committed to
the care of relatives in England to be reared, and educated.
When he first came to this section he settled fifteen miles
above here on Chowan River, and named his residence
Bandon, after his native town. He was soon afterwards
married to a Welch lady, a widow Charity Jones of Smith-field,
Va., by whom he had no issue. As soon as he was
well established in his new home he sent to England for his
two daughters.
Parson Earle was full of energy, public spirit, and enter-prise,
and established at Bandon the first classical school in
North Carolina for hoys, in which he was assisted by his
daughter, Nancy. He instructed in Latin, Greek and
Mathematics, and numbered among his pulpils the chil-dren
of the Baron de Poelnitz, placed there at the sugges-tion
of James Iredell. The Baron, who was Grand Cham-berlain
at the Court of Frederick the Great, and his wife,
who was Lady Anne Stuart, were spending some time in
travel through America.
Parson Earle made improvements in the cultivation of
flax, and taught the people of this section the proper method
of preparing it for the loom, and the manner of weaving
toweling, tablecloths, etc., a household industry still pur-sued
in our rural districts.
26 THE IS'OETH CAEOLIKA BOOKLET.
He was a sympathizer in the struggle of the colonies for
independence, and was on that account debarred from
preaching in his church at Edenton during the Revolution.
Several attempts were made bj the British to capture him.
Upon one occasion he was informed by a messenger that
some scouts were coming to take him prisoner. He imme-diately
buried his silver and treasures in his cellar, and dis-patched
a servant to his plowmen in the fields to tell them
to fly to the woods, and secrete the horses, but his servant
Avas too late, and four of his best horses were captured, the
parson himself barely escaping.
Some, following the beaten track of predecessors, have
claimed that he was a Tory, because he received his stipend
regularly during the Revolution from the S. P. G. This
society, as its name indicates, was a religious organization,
and not a political one. Organized about the beginning of
that century through the untiring zeal of Dr. Thomas Bray
for the dissemination of the Gospel in foreigTi lands, it took
no cognizance of political differences; as a proof of this,
when the infamous "Church Act" was passed in South Caro-lina
through the chicanery of Sir Nathaniel Johnston, this
society finding that it was for his political advantage, and
not for the good of the church, held a special meeting in
London, and resolved to send no more missionaries until it
was repealed. And then, too, it is hardly rational to sup-pose
that he would have espoused the British cause for the
sake of the paltry stipend, when he owned such large inter-ests
here exposed to the revolutionists, and it is not probable
either that he would have antagonized himself to his dear
ones, his daughter and grandson, respectively, the wife and
son of Charles Johnson, an ardent apostle of liberty, and Mr.
Johnson would hardly have been so intimate with a family
whose feelings were so inimical to his in a day when politi-cal
lines were so closely, and so dangerously drawn.
Some stress must also be laid upon the tradition and local
history concerning him. Parson Earle's memory is still
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 27
held in great veneration through all this section, and but
a few years have passed since there were old people living
in this county, who bore testimonj^ to his patriotism and
virtues. The life of a Tory in this liberty-loving section
could hardly have had such a glorious sunset. He was the
exponent of the popular sentiment here then, and was select-ed
to preside over a revolutionary meeting of the freeholders
and other citizens of Chowan county in the court-house at
Edenton, August 23rd, 1774, among whom were such patriots
as Joseph Hewes, Samuel Johnston and Thomas Benbury,
and who passed resolutions condemning the Boston Port Act
and the unjust imposition of tax upon the colonies, no Tory
could have presided over such a meeting.
He was also unjustly accused of being a Tory because he
did not sever all connection with the Church of England, and
establish an independent church, but he held that the church
was a unit; that it was of Divine origin; that he was a
simple priest, and that the Bishop of London, then the head
of the church, alone had that power. He was a man of the
highest educational attainments, verily a learned Theban
in its broadest sense, he possessed great wit and humor,
blended with the kindest of hearts.
Parson Earle was not only an able and faithful minister,
but proved to be a successful farmer and fisherman. He
was one of the pioneers in the shad and herring fishing in
this country. About the time of the revolution his church
at Edenton became somewhat dilapidated, and the worship-pers
few in number. One Sunday morning, when the par-son
arrived at Edenton to preach to the faithful, he was
shocked and surprised to find that some village witling had
placarded upon the church door the following quartrain:
"A half built church,
And a broken-do^vn steeple,
A herring-catching parson
And a dam set of people."
28 THE NORTH CAEOLHSTA BOOKLET.
He was ever afterwards styled the Herring-catching Par-son.
He died in 1T90, and was bnried near the site of his old
home, but the modest slab, which once marked his resting
place, has long since been covered by the drifting sands, and
the tall pines which surround this lonely spot sigh out to
every passing zephyr, in a weird melancholy monotone, their
requiem for the repose of his soul:
"Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet, and blossom in the dust,"
The original bell of this church was taken down in re-sponse
to Beauregard's call to melt the church bells of the
Confederacy, and cast them into cannon, which incident
inspired that beautiful Southern war lyric "Melt the Bells,"
the beauty and pathos of this poem will excuse its interpola-tion
here.
Melt the bells, melt the bells,
Still the tinkling on the plain,
And transmute the evening chimes
Into war's resounding rhymes,
That the invaders may be slain
By the bells.
Melt the bells, melt the bells.
That for years have called to prayer
And instead, the cannon's roar
Shall resound the valley o'er.
That the foe may catch despair
From the bells.
Melt the bells, melt the bells
Though it cost a tear to part
With the music they have made,
Where the friends we love are laid,
With pale cheek and silent heart,
'Neath the bells.
THE NORTH CAKOLINA BOOKLET. 29
Melt the bells, melt the bells,
Into cannon, vast and grim,
And the foe shall feel the ire
From their heaving hmgs of fire,
And we'll put our trust in Him
And the bells.
Melt the bells, melt the bells.
And when foes no more attack.
And the lightning cloud of war
Shall roll thunderless and far.
We will melt the cannon back
Into bells.
Melt the bells, melt the bells.
And they'll peal a sweeter chime.
And remind of all the brave
Who have sunk to glory's grave,
And will sleep thro' coming time
'^eath the bells.
(F. Y. Rockett in Memphis Appeal.)
This bell helped to form the "Edenton Bell Battery,"
which was organized in the winter of 1861-'62, by that cul-tured
gentleman and gallant soldier. Captain William Bad-ham,*
of this town, whose unmarked grave lies in yonder
silent churchyard, where twilight zephyrs fan the graceful
Eulalias to sleep, and whose feathery aigrettes, in turn, like
sacred aspergills sprinkle the morning dew like holy water
over his grave.
The name of this gun was the St. Paul. It was in numer-ous
actions, and did efficient service during the war, and was
finally surrendered at Town Creek.
The Honorable Jolin H. Small is making a praiseworthy
effort to locate this war trophy, and have it returned to the
parish.
*8ee Appendix.
30 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
This venerable church is the admiration of the stranger;
to us it is the sacred shrine of our religious liberty, the
radiance from whose Shekinah shall pervade—shall live on
through all the eons of eternity. Half clad in ivy, Time's
green uniform, it stands a majestic, but not a voiceless senti-nel
of the Past, and as the sun in his eternal flight traces
the shadow of its tall spire upon the sacred globe below, un-erring
as the Dial of Ahaz, which only the finger of God
could turn backwards, its aereal gnomon points almost every
hour of the day to the grave of some distinguished citizen.
Its gilded cross, silhouetted in bold relief against the crimson
evening sky, suggests the vision of the Emperor Constantine.
Live on thou mighty instrument of good ! Live on thou
granary of God's eternal harvest! Oblivion shall not blur,
nor Time's remorseless hand can alter, one single page of
thy history ! "Thou art the Zion of the Holy One of Israel,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against thee!"
APPENDIX.
NOTES CONCERNING THE EARLY SECESSION
MOVEMENT IN CHOWAN COUNTY.
On February 12th, 1861 a mass meeting was held at the
Court-house in Edenton to consider the interest of l^orth
Carolina, and her relation to the ^National Government.
John H. Leary was elected chairman, and T. J. Bland Sec-retary.
A committee was at once appointed consisting of
John C. Badham, John A. Benbury, Riddick Mansfield,
John Thompson, and John H. Garrett to draft resolutions
expressive of the sentiment of the people of the county.
Three reports were submitted, a majority report by John A.
Benbury, advising prudence, and caution, and discretion,
believing that the Peace Congress then in session would find
THE NOItTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 31
a solution of the trouble between the states; then a minor-ity
report was submitted by John C. Badham urging an
immediate separation from the Union, and the necessity of
adopting means of defense: A third report was offered by
John H. Garrett counselling a strict adherence for the time
to the Union, until the incoming administration should com-mit
some overt act sufficient to cause a rupture with the
National Government. The majority report was, however,
adopted, the minority withdrew at once from the Con-vention,
and nominated John C. Badham as the seces-sion
candidate to represent the County in the State Con-vention,
which had been called to convene in Raleigh.
William E. Bond was nominated as the Union candidate.
At the election held on February 22nd the result was as
follows, Bond, four hundred and twenty-seven; Badham,
seventy-nine ; Bond's majority, three hundred and forty-eight.
On the 4th of March Lincoln was inaugurated, but those
who loved the Union, and hoped for so much perceived in
his inaugural address not a straw to cling to, and he soon
afterwards issued his celebrated proclamation calling upon
Xorth Carolina to furnish troops to invade her sister states,
and to force them again into the Union; so on the 1st day
of May a second convention was held in Edenton, and nomi-nated
Dr. Richard Dillard, senior, who was elected without
opposition to the State Convention called by Gov. Ellis,
Mdiich met in Raleigh on May 20th, the anniversary of the
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, and severed our
connection with the Union. This convention is considered
the ablest body of men which ever assembled for any pur-pose
within the borders of the State.
Warlike preparations at once began, the "Dixie Rebels,"
a six-month's volunteer company, was at once organized by
Capt. James K. Marshall, he was afterwards promoted to
the ranli of Colonel. John C. Badham, a Lieutenant in
32 THE jSTOETII CAROLINA BOOKLET.
this company, afterwards became a Major in the 5th ^. C,
and gave his life for his country at Williamsburg, Va., May
5th, 1862, at which time he held a commission of Lieut.-
Colonel. Capt. T. L. Skinner also organized a company, he
fell at Mechanicsville, and was succeeded by John A. Ben-bury,
who soon shared the same fate. The few survivors of
this famous company are Kader McClenny, R, S. Hedrick,
Jerry Mitchell, and W. H. Pratt.
In I*^ovember, 1861, the entire militia of Chowan county
was ordered to Roanoke Island for its defense, it consisted
of four companies, commanded by Captains Jno. C. Pearce,
Thos. Wilson, Isaac Byrum and J. C. Johnston. These com-panies
constituted the 5th Regiment of ]Sr. C. militia. The
regimental officers were W. A. Moore, Col., R. G. Mitchell,
Lt-CoL, Wm. H. Bonner, Major, Wm. Badham, Quarter
Master, Jos. G. Godfrey, Commissary, Dr. R. H. Winborne,
Surgeon and Dr. L. P. Warren, Assistant Surgeon.
The Edenton Bell Battery was recruited by Capt. Wm.
Badham in the winter '61-'62, and left Edenton soon after
the fall of Roanoke Island, then went to Weldon, and on
to Raleigh with sixty men, there they were joined by Lieut.
I*^elson McClees, of Tyrrell County, with twenty-two men,
and by Lieut. Gaskins with about twenty men.
It was understood that Mr. McCleese in attaching him-self
to this battery would receive a commission as Lieut.
Lieut. McCleese was to command one section and two guns,
and Lieut. John M. Jones another section and two guns
also. After drilling in Raleigh about two months, they
were ordered to Camp Lee near Richmond for instruction.
As gun metal was scarce, Capt. Badham sent Lieut. Jones
to Edenton to secure the church bells, and any others that
he might obtain, to be cast into cannon, in response to Gen.
Beauregard's famous call. Pie readily secured all the bells
except the Baptist (several members objecting), including
the town and court-house bells, the Academy bell, and the
THE NOKTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. 33
shipyard bells; these were conveyed to Suffolk across the
country in a wagon, and shipped to the Tredegar Iron
Works at Richmond, where they were cast into four cannon,
and named respectively, the "St. Paul," the "Fannie Roul-hac,"
for a devout and patriotic lady, a staunch member of
the Methodist Church, the "Columbia," and the "Edenton."
As the complement of the artillery corps of Gen. Lee's army
was then complete, an order was issued that all other artill-ery
in camps should be transferred, for the time, to the
infantry service; this produced great mortification, and dis-appointment
in the company, and Capt. Badham at once
dispatched Lieut. Jones to President Jefferson Davis with
the following note: "Sir: The guns of my company were
made of the bells of my towm, and have tolled to their last
resting place a great many of the parents and relatives of
my command, and sooner than part with these guns they
had rather be taken out and shot. But, if allowed to keep
these guns they will stand by them till they die."
This spirited, and patriotic letter was handed to Colonel
Dorcas then chief of ordinance, who conveyed it at once to
President Davis. Lieut. Jones had not long to wait, the
reply came at once that the company would be furnished
as soon as possible with both artillery-horses, and harness.
The Battery was then assigned to Moore's Third K'orth
Carolina Battalion. Horses were difficult to procure, in the
meantime McClellan had assumed the offensive around
Richmond, and the battery was ordered to Redoubt ISTo. Y,
until the horses arrived, when they were sent to Winches-ter
to report to General Pendleton, after being there three
months the battery was ordered to report for duty to General
McLaw, but the order was soon rescinded. Then came a
call from ISTorth Carolina ordering the battery to Wilming-ton,
the guns were immediately shipped by rail to Wilming-ton,
and Lieut. Jones with a special detachment carried the
horses, and accoutrements through the country. When he
34 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
arrived at Goldsboro, Gov. Vance, finding that the enemy
were threatening, and near, ordered him to halt there, and
the guns which had already arived in Wilmington were im-mediately
ordered by telegraph back to Goldsboro. From
Goldsboro they marched to Kinston, and reported to Gen.
R. F. Hoke.—Capt. Badham, upon receipt of news that an
engagement was in progress, sent Lieut. McCleese with sec-tion
ISTo. 2 to Whitehall bridge, Lieut. Jones was ordered
down ten hours later, when he found that McCleese had
lost two of his men. Jones was then sent six miles up the
river, but as no demonstration was made there, he was
ordered on to Goldsboro to protect that town. After about
a week the battery was ordered to Wilmington, and guarded
the railroad bridge at jSTortheast, from there they went to
Bald Head Island, and did guard duty on the coast until
the fall of Fort Fisher, when they fell back on Fort Ander-son:
after the flank movement of the enemy, and the evacua-tion
of Fort Anderson, the battery was located at Town
Creek, where they were attacked by the enemy with con-siderable
force, Capt. Badham sent Sergeant B. F. Hunter
with one gun, the "St. Paul," to prevent them from making
a flank movement, while he was engaging them at Town
Creek ; Hunter was supported by a detachment of South
Carolina infantry, who broke and ran, leaving him on the
field with but a squad of men. Hunter stood his ground
fearlessly, and when the enemy arived at the very muzzle
of liis gun, a Federal officer shouted to him, "If you fire that
gun I will kill you:" the Confederate Sergeant, with that
coolness, and intrepidity which always characterized him, re-plied,
"Kill, and go to hell," and then ordered his gumier,
William Hassell, to fire immediately. He was captured, and
would have been cut down at once, but the Federal officer
ordered his men to spare his life, saving, "He's too brave a
man to be killed." About fifteen men were captured along
with Sergeant Hunter and sent to prison at Point Lookout,
amona; them Mr. A. T. Bush of this town. The remainder
THE NORTH CAEOLIIfA BOOKLET. 35
of the battery fell back to Wilmington, and were subse-quently
engaged at Cox's Bridge, finally surrendering to
General Sherman at Greensboro.
The names, dimensions, and officers in command of the
Edenton Bell Battery taken from the note-book of the late
Capt. Wm. Badham.
The ^*St. Paul"—made from St. Paul's church bell in
charge of Sergeant B. F. Hunter. Howitzer 1533, E. B. face
1862, left trunnion I. E. A. & Co., F. F. right trunnion 7760
breech.
The "Fannie Roulhac"—made from the Methodist Church
bell, and in charge of Sergeant Harry Gregory. Howitzer
—1532 face E. B. also 1862, left trunnion I. R. A. & Co.,
F. F. Eight trunnion breech 770.
The "Columbia"—made from the bells of the two ship-yards,
o^vned by Col. T. L. Skinner, and Col. E. T. Paine.
Gun in charge of Sergeant Ed. Davenport, 1534 face E. B.
also—1862 left trunnion I. E. A. & Co., F. F. right trun-nion,
breech 860.
The "Edenton"—made from the Academy, Court House,
and Hotel bells, and other bells presented by private individ-uals.
Gun in charge of Sergeant George Parish. No. 1531
face E. B. 1862—left trunnion I. E. A. & Co., F. F. right
trunnion 860 pounds breech.
The "St. Paul," and the "Edenton" were commanded by
Lieut. John M. Jones, the "Fannie Eoulhac," and "Colum-bia"
were commanded by Lieut. jSTelson McCleese. The guns
did service at the following places, Winchester, Culpepper
Court House, the Seven days fight around Eichmond in re-doubt
'No. 7, Goldsboro, Kinston, Whitehall Bridge, Bald
Head, Smithfield, (now called Southport), Fort Anderson,
Town Creek, the streets of Wilmington, Bentonsville, Cox's
Bridge, and surrendered to General Sherman at Greensboro.
EICHAED DILLAED.
"BEVEELY HALL."
Edenton, E". C.
o^n^^iy.-C^
LIFE OF
WILLIAM HOOPER
SIGNER OF
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
BY HIS NEPHEW
ARCHIBALD MACLAINE HOOPEK
First Printed in the Hillsboro Recorder of Nov. 13th, 20th, 27th.
and December 4th, 1822.
ayc^^
Preface by hisflLraat'grand-daughter, Mrs. Spier Whitaker of Raleigh,
N. C, formerly Fannie De Berniere Hooper,
19 05.
^^tf^^^T^^^W-OF
NORTH CAROLINA
Signer of The DecJarntion of Independence
Son of Rev. \Vm. Hooper. Rector of Trinity Oliurcli, Boston, and ilary (Dennie) Hooper.
Born at Boston the 17thi day of June, 1742. Died and was buried at Hillsboro, N. C, October 1790
Removed to Guilford Battle Ground, April 25, 1894.
PREFACE.
Being assigned the task of conti-ibutng to the Boolilet a sketch
of the life of William Hooper, one of the Signers from North Caro-lina,
of the Declaration of Independence, I can not do better than
to present that written in 1822, by his nephew Archibald Maclaine
Hooper, over the signature Callisthenes, as it originally appeared
in a series of articles entitled "Biographical Sketches," in the
HiJlshoro Recorder for November and December of that year. Mr.
Griffith J. McRee, in his pamphlet, Life mid Character of Archibald
Maclaine Hooper, published in 185G, referring to this sketch, says:
"About this time Mr. Hooper wrote a memior of William Hooper,
to be seen in Wheeler's History and elsewhere, which is decidedly
superior to any other of that great patriot as yet offered to the
public."' Wheeler, publishing in 1851, in expressing his obligations
to Mr. Heartt, editor of the Recorder, for a copy of the memoir,
characterizes it as "from the pen of one of the best writers of his
day. whose connection with the distinguished subject of his biogra-phy
gave him facilities for procuriny facts jwssessed hy no other
person."* This sketch is, without doubt, the first—as Mr.
McRee says that up to his time it was the best—of William
Hooper ever written, and is the source from which his subsequent
biographers have largely drawn their material, and to which, as
far as regards him, the bibliography of the Lives of the Signers is
most indebted.
The author of the Life of William Hooper, in Volume VII of
the work entitled "Sanderson's Biography,'" published by R. W.
Pomeroy—this seventh volume in 1827—with the addition of some
subject matter, has incorporated into his essay the vrhole of A. M.
Hooper's article published five years before, sometimes verbatim,
sometimes with slight changes of phraseology, sometimes liberally
paraphrasing, but fails to credit its author with the transcriptions
so freely made, except in the case of one passage and then with a
note of disparagement, without designating him by name, and as
if this extract were his first or only draft on the sketch in ques-tion.
Introducing therefrom, A. M. Hooper's description of thesociety
of Wilmington, N. C, at that time, he comments : "A flattering
picture of it has been drawn by one of his (William Hooper's) rela-tives,
which if somewhat highly colored, may at least have the
advantage of exciting or gratifying local recollections." Mr. McRee
retorts upon the writer, that while quoting this account he inti-mates
a suspicion that it is "too highly colored," and that, "unable
to realize upon the distant Cape Fear, the existence of a society at
that period less numerous but more refined than that of Boston or
Philadelphia, with shallow arrogance he insinuates his doubt."
Incidental, internal evidence of the respective dates of publica-tion
of the articles above enumerated, may be seen in their different
renderings of a single passage. A. M. Hooper, in his narrative in
the Hillsboro Recorder, in 1822, says: "He (William Hooper) died
October, 1790, in the forty-ninth year of his age, leaving a widow
two sons and a daughter, all of whom, except Mrs. Elizabeth Wat-ters,
of Hillsboro, are deceased. Tliere survive also, of his descend-
*Italics not in the original.
40 THE NOKTH CAEOLI]SrA BOOKLET.
auts, three grandsons, children of his eldest son, William, to wit.
:
William, pastor of the Episcopal Church and superintendent of the
academy at Fayetteville ; Thomas, a lawyer ; and James, a mer-chant,
all residents of the same place." The author of the life of
Hooper in "Sanderson's Biography" copies this passage almost ver-batim,
until, reaching the name of the eldest grandson, Rev.
William Hooper, of North Carolina, he mentions him, not as '"pas-tor
of the Episcopal Church and superintendent of the academy
at Fayetteville," but as "Professor of Logic and Rhetoric at the
University of North Carolina* he having occupied that position
from 1825 to 1828—thus correctly bringing up the facts to the date
of his oivn tcriting. Wheeler, though always loyal to the people
of his State and University, while admittedly copying A. M.
Hooper's sketch, of 1822, in this passage takes liberties with the
text and commits anachronisms in endeavoring to make it conform
to the time of his own publication, 1851, in its statements regard-ing
Rev. William Hooper, of North Carolina, who, he says, "was
distinguished as a literary writer, was Professor of Languages at
the University, a Baptist minister*" and resides in Raleigh." It
was correct that he had been (1828-1837) Professor of Languages
in the Uuivei'sity, that he had become (1831) a Baptist minister,
and that he resided for a few months of the year 1851 in Raleigh
;
but it is obvious that these statements could not have been con-tained
in a paper written in 1822 ; and, in the meantime, the two
brothers, Thomas and James, mentioned by Wheeler as still living
had died, the former in 1828, the latter in 1841.
Rev. Charles A. Goodrich's sketch of William Hooper, in his
Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of American Independence,
published in 1829, Lossing's in Biographical Sketches of the Signers
of the Declaration of Independence, and those of other writers or
compilers bear evidence, with that in "Sanderson's Biography," of
a common deviation from A. M. Hooper's sketch. These facts and
the consideration that the file (probably the only one extant) of
the HiUshoro Recorder, which is in the possession of the descend-ants
of Mr. Dennis Heartt, for so long editor of that paper, is
inaccessible to most persons and must eventually be disintegrated
by time, and that Wheeler's History of North Carolina has long been
out of print, furnish sufficient ground for the republication of the
original article. It had been intended to publish, in connection
with it, a number of documentary records relating to William
Hooper and his family, but having been found too extended for the
space usually occupied by a contribution to this periodical, they
do not appear.
*Italics not in Sanderson.
**Italics not in Wheeler.
FROM THE HILLSBOKO RECOFkDER.
(Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1822.)
"Au obliging correspondent has furnished us with sketches of the
life and character of William Hooper, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, the introductory number of which we
give to our readers in to-day's papers. It is now forty-six years
since that memorable period, and the hands which affixed their
imj)erishable names to the instrument which proclaimed to the
world the birth of our independence, with three exceptions only, are
now mouldered into dust. The actors in that proud period are fast
fading from our view ; and though a dazzling brightness is spread
over that portion of our history, the names only of many once
prominent individuals are all that remain to us of them ; the evi-dences
of their eloquence, of their zeal, of their prowess, of their
patient endurance of suffering, and of their patriotism, are irrecov-erably
lost. While the oblivious hand of time is thus burying in
the dark mists of revolving years the memory of the heroes of the
revolution, the broken fragments and detached incidents of their
lives will be seized upon as sacred relics and cherished in fond
remembrance. It is therefore highly gratifying to us, and we are
persuaded that it will be not less gratifying to our readers, that
we are enabled to lay before them the following sketches of the life
and character of one of those hardy patriots who fearlessly signed
the instrument which declared us free and laid the foundation of
civil liberty throughout the world." [Editor of the Recorder.]
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCH ^^O 1.
To the Editor of the Hillshoro Recorder.
Sir—It is much to be regretted that the State of ISTorth
Carolina has never possessed a good historian. Thence it
has happened that her eminent patriots in the cabinet and
in the field are unnoticed and unknown; and thence it is,
that the most interesting incidents connected with their lives
are irretrievably lost.
This State certainly had her full portion of men of talent,
when she was a British colony, during her revolutionary
contest, and even after that eventful period, forming an
epoch from about 1737 to 1790. Many of these enjoyed
the advantages of a liberal education, but many were
indebted for their stores of knowledge to the exertions of
vigorous intellect availing itself of books, of experience in
42 THE NOETH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
the transactions of business, and of extensive intercourse
with enlightened society. The specimens of genius, which
appeared in the prints and pamphlets of the epoch alluded
to were lost, either in the ordinary casualties of peace or
destroyed during the ravages of the revolutionary war. Yet,
these, important as they might seem, are not to be com-pared
with the eloquence of the bar and of the senate.
How much is it to be deplored, that means were not
adopted to preserve memorials which would cast a splendor
over the annals of the state, which would enable us to do
justice to names that once adorned her literary and political
circles, and above all, to those illustrious patriots who
planned and achieved her independence
!
The bold and animated discussions which occupied our
provincial assemblies, which shook our popular meetings,
our conventions and our state assemblies during the prog-ress
of the revolution, and the angry and obstinate debates
which succeeded the ratification of the treaty of peace were
consigned to oblivion. All the actors in these memorable
and anxious scenes have sunk into the grave ; and we have
now nothing to assist us in forming an estimate of their
moral worth and intellectual greatness but imperfect hints
and broken outlines caught from the representations of those
who have received them by transmission, and whose second-hand
intelligence may be suspected of being embellished by
partiality or distorted by prejudice.
I have, sir, been involuntarily led into this train of reflec-tions,
by the publication of the proposals for compiling the
lives of the signers of the declaration of independence. It
is natural that a native citizen of Korth Carolina should
feel a solicitude that the delegation from his state, whose
names are subscribed to that instrument, should be treated
with a consideration due to their high political career and
to their successful exertions in the cause of civil liberty. The
merits of Penn and the worth of Hewes are entitled to
historical notice, yet I am at a loss, after the lapse of so
THE ]SrORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 43
many years, where to seek for the incidents of their lives,
which preceded that ever memorable act that has immortal-ized
their names. Of William Hooper, who was the head or
efficient member of that delegation, some traditionary ac-counts
have come to my knowledge. These, I endeavored
to preserve for the purpose of composing, at some convenient
season, a volume of memoirs. The undertaking is, however,
too much for my ability, and is certainly incompatible with
my business and my numerous engagements.
The fame of this distinguished statesman has suffered
more from the injuries of time and neglect, than that of any
of his competitors. His political life comprehended a wider
extent of the exigencies and emergencies of the times than
that of any of them; and his various talents were kept con-tinually
in action. Instead, therefore, of attempting to
write memoirs of his life, I have resolved to commence the
humble task of furnishing sketches for the assistance of his
biographer. These sketches written amid the bustle of busi-ness
and under the weight of many cares, shall appear in
a series of numbers in your journal. There seems to me,
sir, to be a peculiar propriety in selecting the columns of
your journal, for the occurrences of the life of William
Hooper. The tomb of the patriot is the shrine where offer-ings
should be made to his memory. The town of Hills-borough
was his last and chosen residence. There he
enjoyed years of the purest domestic felicity, and there his
warmest friendships were cemented by social intercourse.
There he poured forth the last fervours of his genius, and
there he last awakened emotions of delight and admiration.
Indeed, sir, this is ground which, even if it had not been
the residence of the signer of independence, ought to be
held sacred. It has been the scene where orators and states-,
men have engaged in emulous debate, where patriotism has
achieved her highest purposes and where eloquence has risen
in her noblest flights.
callisthe:^es.
44 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. ' ^ ^
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH NO 2.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1822.
To the Editor of the Hillsborough Recorder.
Sir—In tlie narrative which I have undertaken to furnish
for your columns, I entertain no fear of incurring the
imputation of incorrectness in detailing ordinary facts ; but
I must at the same time apprise you that I am not equally
confident of that accuracy which consists in the full rela-tion
of circumstances, or the precision which is desirable
in recurring to dates. A careful biographer will no doubt
have it in his power to rectify errors of the last mentioned
kind, and to supply deficiencies by reference to the public
ofiices and to the departments of state.
William Hooper, the subject of these sketches, was born
17th June, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, the Rev.
William Hooper, pastor of Trinity Church in that town, is
mentioned briefly and imperfectly in Elliott's Biographical
Dictionary. The addition of a few words would have pre-vented
the suspicion that the account was penned in the
spirit of prejudice. Certain it is, that no minister ever
enjoyed more fully the affection and reverence of his congre-gation,
and few have been so much admired for elegance of
manners and a bold and impressive eloquence. Besides the
learning and the sciences which are obtained at universities,
he possessed accomplishments* such as are not considered,
in any degree, essential in forming the erudite and well-bred
divine. He married in Boston, the daughter of Mr.
John Dennie, an eminent merchant. William was the eldest
of five children by this marriage.
The plan of his education commenced in his infancy. At
the age of seven he was removed in part from the pupilage
of his father, and placed at a free grammar school in Bos-ton,
the master of which was John Lovel, almost as much
*In a letter from the late venerable Doctor Lloyd, of Boston, dated 24th September,
1796, to one of the sons of W. Hooper, pastor of Trinity Church, he says, "Your
father's memory will ever be dear to me. He was the most accomplished gentle-man,
and one of the best friends I ever had."
THE NOETH CAEOLIKA BOOKLET. 45
celebrated in America, in his day,"^ as was once the famous
Doctor Busby in England. Here he was distinguished for
his proficiency in the studies preparatory to his entering into
College, and completed the regular course of seven years
with commendation and praise, f At this early period he
was remarked on for the weakness of his constitution. His
nerves 'were so sensitive, that he became an object of inces-sant
raillery to his gronp of little relatives and to his father's
domestics. With increase of years his constitution grew
firmer, but his nerves always retained much of their early
delicacy. Aided by the instruction of his father, which was
never remitted, he made literary acquirements uncommon
for one of his age, and advanced himself in his scholastic
studies beyond his cotemporaries. It was, no doubt, owing
to this circumstance that he was admitted, contrary to estab-lished
rules, into the sophomore class at Harvard College, ^
There he took rank among the most distinguished, and
signalized himself in oratory. He graduated A. B. in 1760,
and A. M, in 1763.
Such was the anxious attention which his father bestowed
on him in order to form him as an orator, that his vacations
were periods of more laborious study and exertion than the
terms of his scholastic exercises. And here it is worthy of
observation, that the genius of the father and son were
diametrically opposite. That, of the father was of a loftier
cast, and was formed in the school of Demosthenes ; that
of the son was Ciceronian in its features. The characteristic
of the father was vehemency; that of the son insinuation.
Were it not a presumptuous comparison, I would say, the
father was Chatham, the son was William Pitt.
It was the early intention and earnest wish of his father
to devote this son to the ministry. To this, however, the son
was disinclined, for reasons that were considered satisfac-tory
by his father, who agreed to alter his destination. Find-
*1749. +1756. 11757,
46 THE NOETH CAEOLIjSTA BOOKLET.
ing that he preferred the study of the law, he placed him
with James Otis, Esq., who was then a lawyer of eminence.
At this period commenced the attempts of the English
Parliament against the rights and privileges of the subjects
in the provinces. Mr. Otis took an early and decided stand,
by his writings and open declarations, against this assumed
power of the British government. He was exceeded by none
in zeal, and equalled by few in abilities. The high esteem
and respect which the subject of these sketches entertained
for Mr. Otis, naturally rendered him partial to his political
principles ; and there can be no doubt, had the effect of
assisting to engraft those principles on his mind, and to
establish them permanently there. Subsequent events
ripened them into maturity, and rendered them active.
Mr. Hooper, having prepared himself for the practice of
law, and finding the bar in his native State so overflowing
that there was no encouragement for juvenile practitioners,
determined, about 1763, to try the experiment of making
liis fortune in I^orth Carolina. To this he was invited by
the circumstance of his family's having very particular
friends, influential characters in the province. Accord-ingly,
in 1764, he embarked at Boston for Wilmington, on
Cape Fear. He did not remain long in jSTorth Carolina at
that visit, but returned to Boston in about a year. In
1765 he again visited ]Srorth Carolina, and advanced in the
practice of law. His health, however, sustained such severe
shocks, that he resolved, conformably to the wishes of his
father, to abandon it.
In 1767, the death of his father made it necessary that
he should revisit his native place, and at the same time
blasted the hope of his quitting I^orth Carolina, which, on
account of his health only, he wished to do. In the fall of
1767, having determined to fix his residence permanently
in Wilmington, he married, in Boston, Miss Ann Clark, of
the former place, daughter of Thos. Clark, Esq., deceased,
THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. 47
and sister of Gen. Tlios. Clark, afterwards of the United
States Armj. The choice was most fortunate, considered
in reference to the qualifications of the lady to adorn and
sweeten social life, and most fortunate, too, considered in
reference to that firmness of mind, which enabled her to
sustain, without repining, the grievous privations and dis-tresses
to which she became peculiarly exposed in conse-quence
of the prominent station which Mr. Hooper held
in the War of the Revolution.
CALLISTHEXES.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH KO. 3.
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 1822.
To the Editor of the Hillsborough Recorder.
Sir—In relating the events and circumstances in the life
of an individual who has acquired distinction by the exer-cise
of superior faculties, it is proper to notice every partic-ular
which has an influence on the progress of the mind.
The fatigue of attending to the practice of the law is, in
our days, considered excessive. When Mr. Hooper came to
the bar, and for several years after, it was infinitely greater.
Then the luxury of carriages for travelling, was not com-mon.
Mr. Hooper attended the county courts of Rowan, and
other counties in the back country, at least one hundred and
eighty miles distant from Wilmington, and he travelled
always on horseback. Such fatigue was too great for a con-stitution
naturally delicate.
The manners and customs of the people of Cape Fear, at
that period, were not more favorable to a proficiency in
legal science, than was the organization of the courts. Hos-pitality
carried to an extreme, and an excessive fondness
for conviviality, were the characteristics of those days. In
fact, every class of society became infected by the example;
and numbers of old families, now reduced to comparative
48 THE NOKTII CAROLINA BOOKLET.
poverty, have reason to rne the prodigal liberality of their
ancestors. Hospitality is indeed a virtue, which travellers
and geographists, who have attempted to describe N^orth
Carolina, very generally allow to her, however penurious
their praise may be in other respects.
The British Governor Martin, on a visit to Wilmington,
having occasion to reply to an address of the inhabitants,
presented by Mr. Hooper, styled it "the region of politeness
and hospitality." The commerce of Wilmington was then
improving, and derived great advantage from a bounty on
naval stores. Many of the families residing in it were
possessed of fortunes, and all of them in respectable stations,
obtained subsistence without painful exertion.
But the dissipation which arose out of an excess of hospi-talty,
exhibited a more animated picture in the surround-ing
country. Whole families, and frequently several fami-lies
together, were in the practice of making visits ; and,
like the tents of the Arabs, seemed continually in motion.
The number of visitants, the noise and bustle of arrivals
and greetings, the cries of the poultry yard, and the bleating
of the pasture, require some sounding polysyllable to con-vey
an idea of the joyous uproar; some new-coined word
to disinguish their caravan approaches from ordinary visits
or formal visitations. Every visit was a sort of jubilee.
Festive entertainments, balls, every species of amusement
which song and dance could afford, was resorted to. The
neighing courser and the echoing horn, the sports of the
turf and the pleasure of the chase, Avere alternately the
objects of eager pursuit. Every^vhere, on the eastern and
western branches of the River Cape Fear, were men of for-tune,
related by blood or connected by marriage, whose set-tlements
extended almost as far as the then lowly hamlet
of Cross Creek, since dignified by the name of Fayetteville,
and now swollen into importance by a numerous population.
This general ease and prosperity was highly favorable to
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 49
the cultivation of polite literature, and to the development
of talents of a certain kind. The state of manners tended
to awaken a spirit of improvement, which pervaded the
whole community. Every family possessed a collection of
the best English authors, besides which there was a public
library, supported by a society of gentlemen, and styled
"the Cape Fear Library." Wit and humor, music and
poetry, were dra^vn into action in social and convivial inter-course.
Conversation was cultivated to a high degree.
Emanating from letters or science, or rising out of the busy
scenes of life, it always teemed with instruction and
imparted delight. The point of honor was understood and
recognized, and the slightest approach to indignity resented.
In this exercise of colloquial talent, the ladies participated
and heightened the pleasures. Then they were not, as now,
early instructed, or perhaps, w^ere not instructed at all in
the rudiments of knowledge; but they derived from read-ing,
and imbibed from an association with eminent persons
of the opposite sex, a tincture of taste and elegance, and
they had softness, sentiment, grace, intelligence—every
quality which in the female sex can inspire and exalt the
enthusiasm of romantic passion.
In the hospitable conviviality of those times, allurements
to dissipation were greater than social life usually presents.
The actors were far above the cast of ordinary hon vivants.
I once hoped to be able to present a biographical sketch of
each of them, but my cares and avocations have compelled
me to relinquish the task. Among these was Eustace,*
the correspondent of Sterne, who united wit, and genius,
and learning, and science; Harnett, f who could boast a
genius for music, and a taste for letters; Lloyd, :|: gifted
with talents and adorned with classical literature; Penning-ton,
§ an elegant writer, admired for his wit and his highly
*Doctor John Bustace. iCorneUus Harnett, afterwards member of Congress.
JColonel Thomas Lloyd. ^William Pennington, comptroller of the customs of the
port of Wilmington, and afterwards Master of ceremonies at Bath.
50 THE IN^OETH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
polished iirbanitj; Maclaine,"" whose criticisms on Shake-speare
f would, if they were published, give him fame
and rank in the republic of letters; Boyd,:{: who, with-out
pretentions to wit or humor, possessed the rare art
of telling a story with spirit and grace, and whose elegiac
numbers afforded a striking contrast to the vivid brilliancy
of the scenes in which he figured; Moore, § endowed with
versatile talents, and possessed of extensive information—as
a wit, always prompt in reply, as an orator, always "daring
the mercy of chance;" Howe|| whose imagination
fascinated, whose repartee overpowered, and whose conver-sation
was enlivened by strains of exquisite raillery. Wit
and humor, and music and poetry, displayed all their
charms among the festive deities, and heightened the glow
of delight. Is it to be wondered at that the banquet was
often carried to an inj urious excess ?
Mr. Hooper did not escape the contagion. He played his
'-^
j)^i"t among these distinguished wits, and shed a classic
;^ lustre over these refined revels. He kept, however, his pro-fessional
pursuits in view, advanced himself, and was con-sidered
eminent in 1763. T[ The cause of The State vs.
McGufford, tried in the Superior Court of ISTew Hanover
county, seemed first to establish his claims to eminence.
It was a case of atrocious murder, committed by a master
on his slave, tried before a Court of Oyer and Terminer.
In that cause he was counsel for the defendant; and he dis-played
such extent of research, and such powers of argu-ment,
as excited universal admiration. Maurice Moore was
also employed in the same cause, and displayed great dex-terity.
He thought, and he thought justly, that nature and
feeling would resume their rights in time to defeat the
force of eloquence. He, therefore, moved to set aside the
commission of Oyer and Terminer, and succeeded.
*Archibald Maclalne. fNow in possession of his deseendents.
JThe Rev. Adam Boyd. $Judge Maurice Moore. ||Gen. Robert Howe.
1T(Bvidently a mistake ; probably intended for 1768.—Copyist.)
THE NOETII CAROLINA BOOKLET. 51
Mr. Hooper distinguished himself about the same time
at Halifax Superior Court, as counsel for the heirs of Gov-ernor
Dobbs, in a suit instituted for the recovery of a landed
estate, against Abner JSTasli, who had married the widow
of Governor Dobbs. In this suit he was opposed by several
advocates, and among the rest, by the defendant, Abner
j^ash.
Such is the effect of impressions early received, that the
name of Abner Nash always brings to my imagination the
inflamed energy of Demosthenes, and produces some of that
perturbation which is felt in reading his orations. The
eloquence of J^ash and that of Mr. Hooper, must, indeed,
have exhibited a very fine contrast. Nash was vehemence
and fire; Mr. Hooper was stately and diffusive elegance.
Having noted, in the commencement of this number,
those particulars which influence the progress of the mind,
let me here observe, that the adverse or the prosperous situa-tion
of communities depends very much on the state of man-ners.
This observation will be illustrated by a hasty view
of the comparative situation of North and South Carolina
at this period.
South Carolina was destined to become a mine of wealth,
in consequence of most laborious exertions in opening her
swamp lands for the cultivation of rice. Economy pre-served
what industry acquired.
On the contrary, the planters of Cape Fear, many of them
holders of great possessions in lands and slaves, scarcely
regarded these lands, though superior undoubtedly, to those
of South Carolina, and producing a grain larger, more solid,
and more nutritious. Content to raise from naval stores a
sufficiency to pay the interest on continually increasing debts,
they indulged themselves in habits of ease and dissipation.
The consequence is, that while the fruitful lands of South
Carolina afford an inexhaustible source of riches, the fertile
52 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
soil of Cape Fear is destined to remain uncultivated, and to
furnish evidence of its superior fertility only in its baneful
effects on the health of the inhabitants.
CALLISTHEISrES.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ^O. IV.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1822.
To the Editor of the Hillsborough Recorder.
Sir—At this distant day, it is impossible to enumerate
the many public appointments which Mr. Hooper filled. It
is proper, however, to mention, that he was active in behalf
of the government against the insurgents denominated Reg-ulators,
who were defeated at Alamance in 177 1.
Tryon, the provincial Governor, and Martin, his suc-cessor,
and also Howard the Chief Justice, distinguished
him by their regard, and showed a desire to conciliate his
friendship. In 1773, Mr. Hooper represented the to^vn of
Wilmington in the General Assembly. In 1774 he repre-sented
the county of ISTew Hanover in the same body. There
he united himself with a band of patriots, in resisting the
demand of the British government, to insert a clause into
the bill for establishing a court system, favoring British
subjects, on the article of process b}^ attachment, to the prej-udice
of creditors on this side of the Atlantic* This meas-ure
at once deprived the province of courts, and the gentle-men
of the bar of their professional emoluments. On this
occasion Mr. Hooper took the lead in legislative debate. He
also addressed the people of ISTorth Carolina in a series of
letters, under the signature of Hampden. These, it is said,
were much admired. What effect they produced, in accom-plishing
the views of the writer, we cannot, at this time,
*Among the papers of the late Archibald Maclaine, of Wilmington, are some mem-oranda
that seem to be intended as the groundwork of a defence of his (Maclaine's)
political character, which had been attacked. In one item he refers to his con-duct
"at the time the ministerial instruction came to alter the attachment law."
THE NORTH CAKOLIIS'A BOOKLET. 53
ascertain. The province remained without a judiciary until
1777, when it was revived under the new order of things;
meanwhile the law practitioners sacrificed their dependency
for subsistence, and the other classes suffered greatly.
In the provincial and State assemblies, Mr. Hooper, on
various occasions, brought forward high-toned and energetic
measures, and supported them with all the powers of his
persuasive oratory. The patriots most conspicuous in oppo-sition
to the arbitrary acts of the British government, at
that memorable era, were Ashe,* Iredell, f Johnston,:}:
Moore, § Harvey, | Harnett,T Caswell,** Mclaine,tt N"ash, :{::{:
Burke,§§ and Henderson. || || These was all eminent men.
Some of them were natives of the province, and entitled
to great weight from their age, their fortune, and the extent
and respectability of their connections. From this band
Mr. Hoper, at an early age, with small estate, with but few
connections, and those few without influence, was selected
for the most important public appointments, and that too
at conjunctures which called for first rate talents and un-daunted
firmness.
How he advanced himself so highly in the esteem and
confidence of the people of ISTorth Carolina, we can at this
time only conjecture. It was probably owing to the wider
comprehension of his views, to the uncommon fervor of his
zeal, to the fascinating splendor of his eloquence ; and above
all, to the extraordinary activity and perseverance of his
exertions.
Samuel Ashe, afterwards Governor Ashe. -f-James Iredell, afterwards Judge Ire-dell.
ISamuel Johnston, afterwards Governor Johnson. ^Maurice Moore, Speaker
of the House of Commons, one of the judges appointed by the crown. ||John
Harvey. ITGornelius Harnett, one of the members of the first Congress. **Richard
Caswell, afterwards Governor Caswell. -H-Archibald Maclaine. IJAbner Nash,
afterwards Governor Nash. ^^Thomas Burke, afterwards Governor Burke.
llllRiehard Henderson, for some time Judge Henderson.
54 THE NOKTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
In 1775* Mr. Hooper was delegated by the Assembly
to Congress, and continued in that capacity till 1777, at
which time his private concerns compelled him to resigTi.
The proceedings of the first Congress, having been from
policy, conducted with great secrecy, the debates were not
recorded. When Mr. Hooper first addressed that illustrious
assemblage of compatriots, his speech occupied about half
an hour; and it is said, upon authority which seems to be
too respectable to be questioned, that he commanded the
most profound silence, and was listened to with the most
earnest attention. The encomium was, however, qualified
with this observation, that the house was seized with aston-ishment
at the display of such powers of elocution from
J^orth Carolina. He spoke, it is said, more than once on
the floor of the House, and always inspired respect and
admiration.
During the same period he was a prominent member and
distinguished speaker in the Conventions which sat at Hills-borough
and Halifax. At the Convention which sat at the
former place, in April, 1776,** he reported an address to
the inhabitants of the British Empire. This was, without
doubt, the exclusive production of his pen, and it was, at
the time, universally admired. Many other public docu-ments
emanated from the same source.
On the most trying occasions, the loftiness and elasticity
of his spirit were strikingly manifest. Events which cast
a gloom over the minds of others, had no effect in damping
his ardor, or in depressing his hopes. The disastrous result
of the battle of Germantown, which spread dismay among
the whigs, seemed to give fresh courage to his zeal. When
the report of the battle reached Wilmington, he was among
a party of patriotic friends, who were overwhelmed with
consternation. He instantly started from his chair, with
unusual animation, and exclaimed, "We have been disap-
*(Evidently an inadvertence, intended for 1774.—Copyist.)
**Obviously intended for Aug. 1775 (Copyist.)
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 55
pointed ! Xo matter ! Xow we have become tlie assailants,
there can be no donbt of the issue."
Johnston sometimes endeavored to restrain in him what
he considered an excess of zeal. "I have," said that great
patriot and statesman, "1 have resolved to stake my life and
my fortune in the contest for liberty, but I am not without
painful apprehension of the result. I am indeed afraid
that when independence shall have been achieved, talents
and virtue may be thrown into the shade, and the mob may
govern." In relating this anecdote to me, in May, 1802,
Judge Johnston thought that his prediction was rapidly
fulfilling.
In the early part of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Hooper's
name was extremely obnoxious to the British officers. The
captain of a sloop-of-war stationed in the River Cape Fear,
meanly descended to fire a house which he had built about
three miles below Wilmington.
On his return to private life, his family resided at his
seat on Masonborough Sound, about eight miles from Wil-mington.
There he continued taking part as occasion
required, in public measures, until January, 1781. At this
time a force under Major Craig, arrived in Cape Fear
River. Mr. Hooper found it necessary to remove his fam-ily
; and having no place to resort to less dangerous, he
removed them to Wilmington, preferring to trust them to
the humanity of an open enemy, rather than suffer them to
remain exposed in a predatory warfare"' He sought for
safety for himself by flight into the country. His family
remained at Wilmington without any outrage until October,
*He had made arrangements for taking refuge in one of the French West India
islands in the event of the success of the British arms. Mrs. Hooper understood
him that an arrangement of this kind was projected by aU the members of Con-gress,
aud that it was understood by the French minister. An exile such as this
would liave been less irksome to him than to many of his compatriots. His father,
who was intimately acquainted with French, gave him a critical knowledge of
that language, and it is probable that he would soon have acquired fluency in
speaking it.
56 THE NOKTH CAKOLINA BOOKLET.
1Y81, when they with others were ordered at a short notice
to leave the town. Mr. Hooper and his family returned to
it immediately after its evacuation by the enemy in J^ovem-ber
of the same year; and shortly afterwards removed to
Hillsborough, in Orange county. After this and until about
1787, he continued to hold a distinguished rank in the coun-cils
of his country, and to maintain a very high station at
the bar. Speaking of him, the late Judge Iredell observed
that his latest exertions were equal to the most splendid
of his meridian days.
Meeting with opposition in his elections Mr. Hooper
became soured,* and seemed inclined to retire. He grad-ually
relaxed his exertions and at length withdrew wholly
from public life. His withdrawal excited much speculation.
Some ascribed it to a solicitude for the interest of his fam-ily,
wdiich had suffered much by his devotion to the public
weal, and others attributed it to disgust occasioned by some
legislative measures of the State. It is probable, however,
from circumstances, that a union of both causes influenced
him. The few years which he lived after his retirement,
were spent in domestic enjoyment, for which, indeed, he was
better fitted by his temper and sensibilities, than for public
life.
*He was probably soured by finding himself in collision -with some of his com-patriots
and best friends. Maclaine, who was one of these, became irritated by
the difference of opinion between tliem. After the ratification of the treaty of
peace, Maclaine was anxious to shield the disaffected from persecution, and in the
pursuit of tliis object he exercised no address. Mr. Hooper, wlio no doubt coincid-ed
with him so far as respected the justice and liumanity of this course, thought
that great prudence and eircnmspection ouglit to be observed; and this prudence
and circumspection was the more necessary on his part, from the circumstance of
all his connections haying espoused the royal cause. Aware that his station was
such that lie ought to be above suspicion, he suppressed, on this occasion, the best
and warmest feelings of his heart. In a letter to a friend, dated 18th February,
1785, Maclaine adverts to Mr. Hooper's conduct in this respect, and in the asperity
of his temper puts a construction on it which in his cooler moments he would
have retracted. In this letter he speaks, in tlie style of complaint, of the superi.
ority which Mr. Hooper's education gave him, of the deference paid to him by Ire.
dell, and of the homage he received from Johnson, and adds, "I never pay him
compliments, but, on the contrary, have opposed him."
On his return from the Assembly, which met for the purpose of carrying into
effect the State Constitution, many inquiries were made by the crowds which col-lected
around him. relative to the powers confided to the several departments of
the government. Mr. Hooper having satisfied curiosity as to other particulars, one
of the crowd aslced, ''And what powers, sir, have the Assembly given to the gov-ernor?"
"Power, sir," replied Mr. Hooper, "to sign a receipt for his salary."
THE NORTH CAKOLHSTA BOOKLET. 57
He died October, 1790, in the forty-ninth year of his age,
at Hillsborough, leaving a widow, two sons and a daughter,
all of whom, except Mrs. Elizabeth Watters, of Hills-borough,
are deceased. There survive also of his descend-ants,
three grandsons, children of his eldest son William, to
wit. : William, pastor of the Episcopal Church, and superin-tendent
of the academy in Fayetteville ; Thomas, a lawyer;
and James, a merchant, all residents of the same place.
In person he was of the middle size, elegantly formed,
delicate rather than robust. His countenance was pleasing
and indicated intelligence. His manners were polite and
engaging. With his intimates and friends, his conversation
was frank and animated, enlivened by a vein of pleasing
humor, and abounding with images of playful irony. It was
sometimes tinctured with the severity of sarcasm, and some-times
marked by comprehensive brevity of expression. His
father, himself a model of colloquial excellence, had culti-vated
this talent in his son with great assiduity.
From the same preceptor he learned the art, rarely
attained, of reading with elegance. In this respect the
grace and propriety which marked his manner, communi-cated,
it is said, a pleasure even when he read cases from
the law reporters, or the ordinary documents of a suit in
court. In mixed society he was apt to be reserved. Sin-cerity
was a striking feature in his character. He never
practiced disguise. Hospitality he carried to excess.
In his domestic relations he was affectionate and indul-gent.
Failings he certainly had, but they were not such as
affected the morality of his private or the integrity of his
public conduct.
As a writer we cannot fairly graduate his pretensions.
The letters of Hampden, which would have furnished the
best criterion for this purpose, have perished with the
prints which contained them.
As a letter writer he was, I think, deficient in ease and
simplicity; but his epistolary compositions must have been
58 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
unequalled. Major Craig intercepted one of these, which
impressed him with such an exalted opinion of the writer,
that afterwards, when Mr. Hooper, accompanied by
Maclaine, visited Wilmington under the protection of a flag
of truce, Craig scarcely noticed the latter, while to Mr.
Hooper he paid the most marked and respectful attention.
On all important occasions he was called upon by the
inhabitants of Wilmington and its vicinity to exercise his
pen. A very flattering testimony to his talents, considering
the number of eminent men who then resided in the same
part of the country, some of whom had cultivated the art
of composition with great success. Among these were
Maclaine, Eustace, Lloyd, Pennington, and Moore.
In classical learning and in literary taste he had few
superiors; yet he was never ostentatious in the display of
these qualifications. He possessed a talent for elegant ver-sification,
which he exercised in his moments of recreation.
His ode on the birthday of Washington, which circulated
only among a few friends, was pronounced, by a competent
judge, superior to any which had been published.* I have
never been able to procure the manuscript.
Among his friends were some of opposite political princi-ples,
but it produced no change of regard towards them,
nor did he in any instance depart from an inherent benevo-lence,
by becoming the persecutor of any on account of his
principles or prejudices.
In his private concerns his probity and honor were unim-peached.
His estate was moderate, and he was not avari-cious.
His religion was that of a sincere Christian, free from
bigotry to any sect or denomination.
He appears to have been free from envy. In a letter to
Maclaine he describes the death of Judge Henderson in a
strain of enthusiastic admiration of the talents of that extra-ordinary
man.
*In 1789.
THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. 59
After John Haywood, now Judge Haywood, appeared
at the bar, and before his faculties were developed, or per-haps
even known to himself, he had to contend with men
of great intellectual powers and profound legal science. Mr.
Hooper sustained him in the unequal contest. This patron-age
of rising merit, if it arose from generous feeling, is
worthy of mention; and it is not less worthy to be noted
if it arose from a sentiment of friendship, for that revered
personage* who has rendered the names of Haywood dear
to the people of JSTorth Carolina, whose boundless benevo-lence
pointed him out as the Atticus of his native State,
until more recent events presented him in the sterner aspect
of Aristides the Just.
His penetration into character was obvious in the choice
of his friends. He always selected them from the most
worthy; and he experienced in every instance, that warm
reciprocal attachment which was due to the ardor and con-stancy
of his friendship.
The champion of that illustrious band, which in ISTorth
Carolina first opposed the encroachments of arbitrary power,
no man ever entered into the public service on more correct
principles, or with purer or more disinterested motives.
When he engaged in revolutionary measures, he was fully
aware of the dangers to which he exposed his person and
estate; yet in spite of untoward events, his enthusiasm
never abated, his firmness never forsook him. In times the
most disastrous he never desponded, but sustained his sit-uation
with increased intrepidity.
CALLISTHEKES.
It seems fitting to subjoin to the foregoing memoir some
estimates of William Hooper by more recent writers and
who are not related to him by ties of blood. Says Wheeler
:
"The life and character of William Hooper, who was long
a resident and representative of !N^ew Hanover county,
John Haywood, Treasurer of tlie State.
60 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
deserve our especial attention. It was most strangely
aspersed by Mr. Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams, dated
9th July, 1819, in which he says, that Ve had not a greater
Tory in Congress than Hooper.' This remark produced in
1834, Jones' 'defence of ISTorth Carolina.' That his prej-udices
had clouded Jefferson's judgment in regard to this,
as well as to our Declaration of Independence at Charlotte,
there can be no doubt. It is, however, a matter of no regTet,
since these very errors have stimulated the sons of J^orth
Carolina to examine the records and vindicate her character
and the integrity of history. The character of William
Hooper has been placed beyond all cavil, and the Declaration
of Independence at Charlotte in May, 1775, now rests on
as solid foundations for truth and reality, as the ISTational
Declaration at Philadelphia, on 4th July, 1776."
Mr. Griffith J. McRee, in his invaluable work. Life and
Correspondence of James Iredell, now like Wheeler's His-tory
out of print, noting the friendship between Iredell and
Hooper, says
:
"Mr. Hooper was nine years Mr. Iredell's senior and
already a man of mark at the bar and in the Assembly. To
estimate at its full value his deference to Iredell, these facts
must be borne in mind. Mr. Hooper was a native of Boston,
and a graduate of Cambridge, Mass. After studying law
with James Otis, he removed to l^orth Carolina in 1764.*
He became a citizen of Wilmington. That town and its
vicinity was noted for its unbounded hospitality and the ele-gance
of its society. Men of rare talents, fortune and attain-ment,
united to render it the home of politeness and ease
and enjoyment. Though the footprint of the Indian had,
as yet, scarcely been effaced, the higher civilization of the
'Old World' had been transplanted there and had taken
vigorous root." Then, after enumerating the eminent
patriots and literati among whom William Hooper figured
*Mr. Hooper did not settle permanently in Wilmington until 1767. See Memoir
ante.—[Copyist.]
THE NOKTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 61
in the Cape Fear region, lie continues: "These were no
ordinary men. They were of the remarkable class that seem
ever to be the product of crises in human affairs. Though
inferior to many of them in the influence that attends years,
opulence and extensive connections, yet in scholarship and
genius Mr. Hooper was pre-eminent. I use the word genius
in contradistinction to talent. He had much nervous irrita-bility,
was imaginative and susceptible. With a well-dis-ciplined
mind and of studious habits, he shone with lustre
whenever he pleased to exert himself. He had generous
impulses, and his intercourse with his family and friends
was marked by a caressing tenderness. In the course of the
Revolution he never wavered, though he often desponded.
If hope seemed sometimes about to desert him forever, and
he felt in his heart the rustle of her wings as she prepared
for flight, his deep-rooted principles were never shaken. He
lived long enough to see the political edifice, to whose con-struction
he had so largely contributed, completed, and its
soaring dome to the nations of the earth 'a lamp unto their
feet, and a light unto their path.' As his fame is national,
I need not dwell longer upon his career." Life of Iredell,
VoL I., pp. 194, 195, 196.
"Was Jefferson jealous of Hooper?" asks McRee later
on. "Was he impatient of what he did not himself "possess
—splendid elocution, as he was notoriously envious of mili-tary
fame? Was there a feud between these two eminent
men? An affirmative answer to these interrogatories will
certainly throw much light upon the calumny of Jefferson,
that ^there was no greater Tory in Congress than Hooper,'
and explain Mr. Hooper's personal dislike to Jefferson and
his followers, in the early days of the Republic. If Hooper's
fame, so well defended by Jones, needed further vindiction,
his letters to Iredell place upon impregnable ground his vir-tue
and patriotism." Ibid. jSTote on p. 427.
Dr. Alderman, now President of the University of Vir-
62 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
ginia, then Professor in the University of iNorth Carolina,
in his address on William Hooper delivered at Guilford Bat-tle
Ground, July 4, 1894, says : "In the first decades of this
century our grandfathers were filled with indignation and
astonishment at Mr. Jeiferson's remarkable letter to John
Adams in which he declared that 'there was no greater Tory
in Congress than William Hooper.' Jo. Seawell Jones,
choking with rage, rushed to the rescue in his celebrated
Defence of ^tsTorth Carolina, and with an uncommon ming-ling
of invective, passion, partizanship, critical power and
insight, effectually disposed of his great antagonist. The
charge on the face of it was absurd. * * * * It is a hard
thing to say of so illustrious a man as Mr. Jefferson, that he
had strange moments of liability to post-mortuary slander,
but the poisonous scraps of the 'Anas' and the researches of
two generations into his accusation against Hooper abun-dantly
and mournfully attest its truth. Mr. Hooper's mental
attitude toward the idea of independence is a matter of vital
interest to our people, however, and his private and confi-dential
correspondence reveals this attitude in a most com-plete
and perfect way : 'Before April 19, 1775,' said Thomas
Jefferson himself, 'I had never heard a whisper of a disposi-tion
to separate from the mother country.' 'When I first
took command of the army (July 3d, 1775) I abhorred the
idea of independence,' said George Washington. Over one
year before these words were uttered, April 26, 1774, Hooper
wrote a letter to James Iredell in which occurred the follow-ing
prophetic words : 'They (the Colonies) are striding fast
to i7idependence, and ere long ivill build an empire upon the
ruins of Great Britain; will adopt its Constitution purged
of its impurities, and from an experience of its defects, will
guard against those evils ivhich have wasted its vigor/
"
Says Mr. McRee: "Of this letter Jones remarks, 'I look
upon this letter as not inferior to any event in the history of
the country ; and in the boldness and originality of its views.
THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET. G3
I say that it is a clociinient without a rival at the period of
its date. It takes precedence of the Mecklenburg Declara-tion
as that does of the national Declaration of Indepen-dence.'
" Dr. Alderman adds : "This is the most note-worthy
personal letter of the Revolution. It antedates all
known expressions on the subject of separation and confers
upon William Hooper the proud title of the Prophet of
American Independence.* Let me not conclude," says the
same writer, "without speaking of Mr. Hooper, as a man.
'No more fascinating and courtly figure graces the life of our
simple, earnest past. His slight, fragile form, his serene,
beautiful face wherein is blended masculine strength and
womanly sweetness, 'a face that painters love to limn and
ladies to look upon' stands out, like some finely wrought
cameo, against a background of choas and revolution. In
his letters we catch a glimpse of the ceremoniousness, the
sleepless deference, the delicate punctilio of an unhurrying
age; in his merry-makings we are able to reproduce the
stately minuet, the vanished draperies, the personal royalty
expressing itself in stately dignity, of a time forever gone.
He was a tender, sensitive, loyal, happy gentleman, a fear-less,
forceful, vigorous-minded citizen, a great orator—
a
great lawyer ; he loved his friends and was by them beloved.
* * * * He loved the people of his state and was willing
to spend himself in their service. * * He had that proud
faith in family and breeding which taught him the sacred-ness
of noblesse oblige, unfailing self-respect and freedom
from sordidness or any sort of stain."
Another accomplished writer of to-day thus concludes an
account of William Hooper: "Of Mr. Hooper it may be
*In this letter of April 26, 1774, Hooper pays a warm tribute to Iredell, as follows
:
**I am happy dear sir, that my conduct in public life has met your approbation. It
is a suffrage which makes me vain, as it flows from a man who has wisdom to dis-tinguish
and too much virtue to flatter. * * * * While the scene of life in which I
was engaged would have rendered any reserve on my part not only improper but
even culpable, you were destined for a more retired but not less useful conduct
;
AND WHILST r WAS ACTIVE IN CONTEST YOU FOKGED THE WEAPONS WHICH WEbE TO
GIVE SUCCESS TO THE CAUSE which I Supported.
64 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
truly said, that as brilliant as were Howe, Harnett, Iredell,
Ashe and Moore, and all those renowned names that adorned
jSTorth Carolina's annals during his time, taking a view of
the entire galaxy, none surpassed him in shining talents and
fifie accomplishments, and none deserves more grateful appre-ciation
by North Carolinians." Noting the historic friend-ship
between Judge Iredell and Mr. Hooper, he quotes the
former as writing to Mrs. Iredell: 'I wish to be like him,'
adding: "Indeed, the admiration of Judge Iredell for him
was unbounded."
Says Capt. S. A. Ashe, of Raleigh, N. C, in a letter
under date of June 5, 1905 : "Of late years I have come to
still further appreciate the influence of Mr. Hooper in deter-mining
patriotic action on the Cape Fear. I think he was
the leader in stirring up feeling in 1774, in response to Bos-ton
sentiment, his connection with Boston being close. And
he certainly was the prime mover in calling together the
meeting that issued the address requesting the voters in the
different counties to elect delegates to the first Provincial
Congress."
Still another able writer of the present time, refers to
William Hooper, as "one of the greatest and best men of
whom the annals of North Carolina can boast."*
SUPPLEMENT.
THE HOOPER FAMILY.
(BY MRS. FANNY DEBERNIERE (HOOPER) WHITAKER.)
As William Hooper, Signer of the Declaration of Inde-pendence,
like the other founders of this Republic, belongs
in a sense to the nation, it was hoped that the addition to
the reprint of the preceding sketch, of a number of mis-cellaneous
and desultory records relating to himself and his
family would not be deemed impertinent and that they would
*Mr. Marshall DeLancey Haywood, of Raleigh, N. C, in his Life of Govkenob
Tbton.
imj^ii^^^
Rev. Wm. Hooper. (1704-1767) second Rector of Trinity (Jhurcli, Boston, from 1747 to 1767; father
of William Hooper, Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 65
be found of interest to that public the foundations of whose
existence and prosperity he aided in establishing. Further-more,
mistakes have been made by certain persons whose
names are on the Lineage Books of the "Daughters of the
American Revolution," in entering that Society through
alleged descent from him, whose claims to this descent can
not be other than apocryphal, as a careful perusal of the doc-uments
referred to would show.
Doubly descended from the Rev. William Hooper, of Bos-ton,
Mass., who was the founder of his family in this country
and second Rector of Trinity Church in that city, from
1747 to his death in 1767—on my mother's side through his
son, the Signer, and on my father's through his son George
—
and having made a study of the family history, I may be
pardoned a double interest in its exposition as the facts
warrant. In the pursuit of this object, by investigation and
by the collection of all available data bearing upon the sub-ject,
no pains have been spared and much expense has been
incurred, and it was intended, as above-intimated, to publish,
in connection with the foregoing memoir, the documents
obtained, but the plan has been found ^compatible with the
limits of this periodical, and the following outline of the
family is submitted.
The name Hooper is vndespread in America, only less so,
perhaps, than those respectable and time-honored patrony-mics
Smith and Jones, and embraces very many entirely
unconnected families. That to which William Hooper,
Signer of the Declaration, belongs, is restricted to well
defined and demonstrably narrow limits. The frequent
occurrence in this family of the names William and Thomas,
renders somewhat difiicult, without awkward circumlocu-tion
or repetition, a perfectly clear account of it, the Rev.
William Hooper, of Boston, his son William, his grandson
William and his great-grandson, Rev, William Hooper, of
IsTorth Carolina, each having had sons by those names. It
66 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
is convenient in this account to speak of tlie second William
as the Signer. As stated in the memoir, he married on
1767, Anne Clark, of Wilmington, sister to Thomas Clark,
Jr., Colonel and Brevet-Brigadier-General in the Eevolu-tionary
army, and his children were three in number,
namely
:
William,
Elizabeth,
Thomas.
Thomas died, unmarried, about 1806, probably in Bruns-wick
county, where he owned considerable property and most
likely resided.
Elizabeth married in 1790, Col. Henry Hyrn Watters,*
and her only child, Henry H. Watters, Jr.-, died, unmarried,
at Wilmington, ISTov., 1809, aged eighteen years, while at
home on vacation from the University.
William, the eldest, married, June 26, 1791, Helen
Hogg, daughter of James Hogg, of Hillsboro, and died
in Brunswick county, July 15, 1804, leaving, like his father,
three children, as follows:
William (Eev.),
Thomas,
James.
Of these, James, born in Hillsboro in 1797, married Mar-garet
Broadfoot, daughter of Andrew Broadfoot, of Fayette-ville,
]Sr. C, and died, without issue, in Fayetteville, June
26, 1841.
Thomas, born in Hillsboro, 1794, married. May 25, 1825,
Eliza Donaldson, daughter of Kobert Donaldson, of Fay-etteville,
and he also died childless, 'Nov., 1828, at Chapel
*Col. Henry H. Watters is said to have commanded a regiment of Continental
troops at the battle of Cowp^. He died at Wilmington, October 1809. Mrs. Wat-ters
died June 30, 1844, aged seventy-four years.
•hMrs. Helen Hogg Hooper married August 17, 1809, Rev. Joseph Caldwell, D. D.,
first President of University of North Carolina, and died October 30, 1846. There
were no children by this marriage.
THE NOKTH CAROLINA BOOKLET. 67
Hill, his wife having died October, 1825, within five months
of their marriage.
The line of descent was thus left in the eldest son, Rev.
William Hooper, of ]^orth Carolina, who was born in Hills-boro,
1792, married in 1814, Frances Pollock Jones,* eldets
daughter of Edward Jones for many years Solicitor Gen-eral
of North Carolina, and died at Chapel Hill August 19,
1876. He was father of seven children, namely: William,
M. D., Edward, M. D.,t Mary,:j: Joseph, | Elizabeth,
Thomas! and Duponceau, M. D.,1^ all of whom, except
Elizabeth and Duponceau, are represented by posterity, and
concerning whom and their posterity, information may be
had from the latter.
It is thus apparent that two (Elizabeth and Thomas) of
the Signer's three children, and three (Henry H. Watters,
Jr., and Thomas and James Hooper) of his four grand-children,
having died leaving no issue, the line of descent
from him was left solely and exclusively in his grandson.
Rev. William Hooper, of ISTorth Carolina, and that no one
not descended from the latter has a right to claim descent
from his grandfather, William Hooper, Signer of the Dec-laration.
Which, as above said, may be demonstrated.
In this account we shall go no further back than the Rev.
William Hooper, of Boston. His children were
:
*Mrs. Hooper died iu Fayetteville, March 10, 1863.
+Dr. Kdward Hooper's daughter, Theresa, Is wife of ex-Governor Joseph F. John-ston,
of Alabama.
JMary, my mother, -who married her 4th cousin, John DeBernierc Hooper, son of
Archibald Maclaine Hooper.
§Joseph, sole survivor of these—"84 years young"—now residing in Jacksonville,
Florida.
IIThomas spent his life in teaching. One of his sons, James S. Hooper, Is in busi-ness
in Wilmington, N. C.
ITDr. DuPonceau Hooper, Assistant Surgeon 8th Fla. Reg., mortally wounded at the
battle of Fredericksburg, died at Fayetteville, unmarried, April 4. 1863.
68 THE JSTORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
'William (the Signer),
John,
'' George,
Mary,
" Thomas.
Mary married in 1768, John Russell Spence, of London,
who died in Boston, 'Nov. 1771. John died about 1795.
Administration on his estate, granted in Boston in that year,
does not mention widow or children. George and Thomas,
like their eldest brother William, whose history is recounted
in the foregoing pages, came to ISTorth Carolina, and both
prospered in merchandising. Thomas married, Dec, 1778,
Mary Heron, daughter of Capt. Benj. Heron, of Bertie
county, Korth Carolina, removed to South Carolina and
died without issue, Aug. 1, 1798, in the 48th year of his
age, being survived by his widow twenty-two years.
George, though a loyalist from conviction, was a man of
unimpeachable integrity, and charming personality, and
possessed the esteem and confidence of his acquaintances.
He was considered by competent judges to be the equal of
either of his brothers in ability and literary taste. He mar-ried
Catharine Maclaine, only daughter of Archibald
Maclaine, an ardent Revolutionary patriot of Korth Caro-lina,
and died in 1820 or 1821, leaving two children, Archi-bald
Maclaine Hooper, and Mary; Spence, an intermediate
child, having died in infancy.
Archibald Maclaine Hooper, lawyer and journalist, "a
ripe scholar and one of the most graceful and accomplished
writers of his day," was born in Wilmington, North Caro-lina,
December 7, 1775, married, June 8, 1806, Charlotte
DeBerniere, daughter of Lieut. Col. Jo