Williai
Hooper, Patriot
Ho was one of Norlli Carolina's tliroo sign¬
ors of tlio Declaration of Independence. He
also was an oiilslaniling lawyer and a load¬
er in llie political life of (lie slate.
JULY 4. 1776 and the Decla¬
ration of Independence pre¬
pared by Thomas Jefferson,
containing its declaration that all
men are created free and equal,
was adopted at Faneuil Hall in
Philadelphia; and the liberty bell
boomed forth its message, pro¬
claiming "Liberty unto all the land,
and unto all the inhabitants there¬
of.” Dr. Benjamin Franklin had
cheerfully advised his colleagues
to stick together, telling them that
if they failed to hang together,
they would assuredly hang separ¬
ately.
Among the immortal names
fixed to this immortal document
were three from the Colony of
North Carolina: William Hooper,
Joseph Hewes, John Penn. Hewes
was also a member of the Con¬
tinental Congress; a merchant, the
patron of John Paul Jones, and in
this sense father of the American
Navy. He died while in attendance
upon the Congress and his body
was buried in Philadelphia where
his funeral was attended by all
the notables from President Wash¬
ington and the Diplomatic Corps
on down. John Penn, of Granville
County, was a lawyer by profes¬
sion. and he also was a member of
the Continental Congress, where
he challenged its President. Henry
Laurens, to fight a duel over some
question of political difference —
a duel happily averted. It is a
somewhat singular fact that none
of the three men who signed the
Declaration on behalf of North
Carolina was a native of our State.
• Selected Over Others
The bare fact that William
Hooper was a member of the Con¬
gress which adopted the Declara¬
tion does not distinguish him; but
the fact that such men as James
Iredell, Alfred Moore. Samuel
Johnston, William R. Davie, Rich¬
ard Caswell. Abner Nash, and
other leaders were passed over
and that Hooper was made a mem¬
ber of the Congress does serve to
show clearly his place and position
in the life of Colonial Carolina.
Happily the names of all three
By R. C. LAWRENCE
representatives from our Colony
were affixed to the Declaration,
but no such good fortune was at¬
tendant upon the signatures to our
Federal Constitution. Governor
Richard Caswell refused to serve
in the Convention which adopted
that instrument, pleading ill
health; Wiley Jones of Halifax re¬
fused a seat, making no excuse
at all; General William R. Davie
and Governor Alexander Martin
both left Philadelphia before the
Constitution was adopted, and
therefore their names were not
affixed to that instrument. It is
particularly unfortunate that the
honored name of Davie was not
affixed, inasmuch as he had ren¬
dered such outstanding service to
the Revolutionary cause in Caro¬
lina.
Was Born in Boston
William Hooper was born at
Boston June 17. 1742, where his
father was pastor of Trinity
Church. He received the best edu¬
cation his day afforded and was an
M.A. from Harvard class of 1763.
His father wanted him to be a
preacher, but he himself wanted
to be a lawyer and he had his wish.
He came to the New England Bar
under the tuition of James Otis,
an American lawyer and patriot,
famous for his opposition to the
encroachments of the British upon
American rights. Possibly from
his mentor, Hooper acquired some
of the zeal which was to distinguish
his life in behalf of the patriot
cause.
The historian quaintly tells us
that Hooper found the Boston Bar
“full," so he looked around for a
permanent location for the prac¬
tice of his profession. In 1764, the
very year that saw the rising of
the patriots of lower Cape Fear
against the British stamp act.
Hooper became a resident of our
City of Wilmington.
From his very beginning. Hooper
assumed leadership in the legal
and political life of that county.
He attended court in many places,
as far distant from Wilmington as
Salisbury; and. as the makeshift
roads were wretched, he made his
way from court to court on horse¬
back. He appeared in practically
every case of importance tried in
eastern Carolina; one of his out¬
standing cases being State v. Mc-
Gufford. where a master was in¬
dicted for the atrocious murder of
his slave, a case which was the
forerunner of State v. Will, 18
N. C. 121, where Judge Gaston
wrote the opinion upholding the
right of even a slave to claim self-
defense. Another historic suit in
which Hooper appeared was that
involving the estate of Colonial
Governor Arthur Dobbs. The wid¬
ow of Governor Dobbs married an¬
other Carolina Governor — Abner
Nash — and there was a somewhat
heated suit over the Dobbs prop¬
erty. and in this case Hooper
found himself opposed by several
eminent Carolina counsel, includ¬
ing Governor Nash himself, who
appeared in propria persona.
Strange to say, Hooper was an
adherent of Governor William
Tryon in his struggles against the
Regulators which culminated in
the battle fought on Great Ala¬
mance Creek in May, 1771; and
Hooper was also the firm friend
of Martin Howard, the Royal Chief
Justice.
Member of Assembly
We first find Hooper in political
life as a member of the Assembly
from the Borough of Wilmington
in 1773; and the following year
he was again in the Assembly, this
time from the county of New Han¬
over. When the Revolution drew
on. he was a member of the New
Hanover Committee of Safety. He
was a delegate to the First Provin¬
cial Congress held at Newborn in
1774, and he was a delegate to
the first Continental Congress held
at Philadelphia in 1775.
When the abortive attempt was
made to frame a State Constitution
at the Hillsboro Convention in the
(Continued on page 18)
THE STATE. ScrTfcMBEH 15. 1945
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