William Hooper
| William James Hooper | |
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| Born |
June 28, 1742 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | October 14, 1790 (aged 48) North Carolina |
| Resting place | Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Greensboro (re-buried) Hillsborough Old Town Cemetery, Hillsborough (original) |
| Occupation | lawyer, politician |
| Known for | Signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence |
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William Hooper (June 28, 1742 – October 14, 1790) was an American lawyer, politician, and a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina from 1774 through 1777. Hooper was also a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, along with fellow North Carolinians Joseph Hewes and John Penn.
Hooper was the first child of five, born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 28, 1742. His father, William Hooper, was a Scottish minister who studied at the University of Edinburgh prior to immigrating to Boston, and his mother, Mary Dennie, was the daughter of John Dennie, a well-respected merchant from Massachusetts. Hooper’s father had hoped that Hooper would follow in his footsteps as an Episcopal minister, and at the age of seven placed Hooper in Boston Latin School headed by Mr. John Lovell, a highly distinguished educator in Massachusetts. In 1757, at the age of sixteen, Hooper entered Harvard University where he was considered an industrious student and was highly regarded. In 1760 Hooper graduated from Harvard with honors, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts. However, after graduating, Hooper did not wish to pursue a career in the clergy as his father had hoped. Instead, Hooper decided on a career in law, studying under James Otis, a popular attorney in Boston who was regarded as a radical. Hooper studied under Otis until 1764, and once completing his bar exam decided to leave Massachusetts in part due to the abundance of lawyers in Boston.
In 1764 Hooper moved temporarily to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he began to practice law and became the circuit court lawyer for Cape Fear. Hooper began to build a highly respected reputation in North Carolina among the wealthy farmers as well as fellow lawyers. Hooper increased his influence by representing the colonial government in several court cases. In 1767, Hooper married Anne Clark, the daughter of a wealthy early settler to the region and sheriff of New Hanover County. The two had a son, William, in 1768, followed by a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1770 and then another son, Thomas, in 1772. Hooper quickly was able to move up the ranks, first in 1769 when he was appointed as Deputy Attorney of the Salisbury District, and then in 1770 when he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of North Carolina.
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