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A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF 
 
 EIGHT GENERATIONS OF HOOPERS 
 IN AMERICA 
 
 WILLIAM HOOPER 
 
 1635 
 
 TO 
 
 IDOLENE SNOW (HOOPER) CROSBY 
 
 1883 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM SUMNER CROSBY 
 
 BROOKLINE. MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 1906 
 
 PRINTED FOR 
 PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 -4-^ 
 
GEO. H. ELLIS CO., PRINTERS, 272 CONGRESS ST., BOSTON. 
 
A HOOPER FAMILY IN AMERICA. 
 
 This genealogical sketch of one line of Hoopers in America has 
 been prepared for the benefit of the children of Mrs. Sumner 
 Crosby (Idolene Snow Hooper), now living in Alameda, Cal. 
 No attempt has been made by the compiler of these records, (a 
 grandmother of the children), to establish a distinguished name. 
 Like most families in New England, this family of Hoopers is of 
 good yeoman stock. 
 
 Mr. J. N. Larned, the learned historian, in " Books, Culture, 
 and Character," suggests the thought that human life is lived 
 on a narrow strand, between two great oceans, — the Ocean of 
 Time Past and the Ocean of Time to Come. When you turn, 
 looking futureward, you see nothing with certainty: it is veiled 
 by an impenetrable mist. But, if you look to that other sea 
 and look out upon that measureless expanse of Time Past, you 
 will see that it is covered with ships. Those ships come sailing 
 to us in numbers beyond our counting. They bring us the story 
 of a forgotten life, with its experience, its wisdom, its warnings, 
 its counsels, its consolations, and its discoveries. What if there 
 were no ships to bring us all this ? 
 
 It is through our ancestors that we learn the way in which 
 American independence was won and the Federal Republic of 
 the United States was constructed. It is through these ancestors 
 that we learn of Bunker Hill and George Washington, we learn 
 of the coming of the "Mayflower," and the planting of life in 
 the New World from Old World stocks. "And yet there are 
 those men and women who live as though no ship had ever come 
 to them from the far shores of old Time, where their ancestry 
 dwelt; and the interest of existence to them is huddled in the 
 petty space of their own few years, between walls of mist which 
 thicken as impenetrably behind them as before." It is the hope 
 of this grandmother, that the children of Mrs. Sumner Crosby 
 will not accept life on such narrow terms; that they will not 
 be content to live in ignorance of their own ancestors; that 
 
 
through a study of the lives of these ancestors they may come 
 to have a knowledge of the history of Time Past. 
 
 In England and in America, in the early records, the surname 
 of Hooper is spelled in various ways. In England we have the 
 name as "Hope, Hoope, Hupper, Hopper, and Hooper." In 
 the "Province of Mayne" records, as late as 1761, in the same 
 deed, you will find the name written as "hupper, hopper, and 
 Hooper," referring to the same person; and this is equally true 
 in the "Mayne" wills. 
 
 It is probable that the surname of Hooper was first used in 
 England about the year 1275. There is no record to show that 
 it is older than this date. Whether the name was originally 
 derived from a "trade," as Bowditch claims in his "Origin of 
 New England Family Names," is not now known. 
 
 "In 1275 William le Hopore possessed lands in Dorset, Eng- 
 land. In 1325 the name of Hooper is found in the county of 
 Somerset. The name of Hooper was the Norman French term 
 for a cloth merchant, and it may be presumed that the family 
 which bore it was foreign." — The Norman People, p. 289. 
 
 The name of Hooper does not appear in the Domes-day Book. 
 
 For the benefit of these grandchildren it may be well to insert 
 the following: — 
 
 "Doomsday Book, [so called because its decision was regarded 
 as final] a book containing a digest, in Norman French, of the 
 results of a census or survey of England undertaken by order 
 of William the Conqueror and completed in 1085. It consists 
 of two volumes in vellum, a large folio containing 382 pages 
 and a quarto containing 450. They form a valuable record of the 
 ownership, extent, and value of the lands of England (1) at the 
 time of the survey, (2) at the date of bestowal when they had 
 been granted by the king, and (3) at the time of Edward the 
 Confessor, when a somewhat similar survey had been made; 
 the numbers of tenants and dependents, amount of live stock, 
 etc., were also returned." — The Century Dictionary, vol. ii. 
 
 There are many genealogists, as shown in printed family his- 
 tories, who seem to care more for glory than for truth; and 
 hence you find these same families claiming descent from "Will- 
 iam the Conqueror" (when it is not from Charlemagne), whose 
 family surname had its birth long years after this "survey" was 
 made in England, in 1085. Not always is it dishonesty, but is 
 
the result of either carelessness or ignorance on the part of the 
 family. 
 
 John Hooper (written also hup'er and hop'er) was an Eng- 
 lish Protestant bishop. All authorities agree that he was born 
 in Somersetshire, in England, about the year 1495. This Bishop 
 Hooper is the most distinguished member of the English family 
 of Hoopers. "While a student at Oxford, he was converted 
 to the Protestant faith. In 1539, to escape the Bloody Statutes 
 of Henry VIII. , he retired from England, and passed several 
 years in Zurich. At the death of Henry he settled in London, 
 where he became an eminent and eloquent preacher. In 1550 
 he was made Bishop of Gloucester, and in 1552 received the 
 bishopric of Worcester in commendam. Soon after the accession 
 of Mary he was condemned as a heretic, and, refusing to recant, 
 was burned at the stake in 1553. He wrote numerous theologi- 
 cal works." (See Burnet, History of the Reformation.) 
 
 John Fox, in his "Book of Martyrs," writes, "John Hooper 
 was married in Zurich to a Burgonian" (p. 323). 
 
 In 1635, on the thirteenth day of July, the ship "James," sail- 
 ing from the port of London, England, for New England, brought 
 among its passengers two young men, one William Hooper, age 
 eighteen, the other Thomas Marshall, age twenty-two. This 
 William 1 Hooper was destined to become the father of the family 
 of Hoopers in America. No one has ever searched the English 
 records to see from whence came this William Hooper to New 
 England, and in the absence of such proof, it is all a matter of 
 conjecture with the compiler of these records as to where Will- 
 iam Hooper's home was in England. 
 
 "The under written names, Persons of Quality, are to be trans- 
 ported to New England imbarqued in the James, Jno. May, 
 Mr, for N. E. p. Cert: from the ministers of their conformitie 
 in Religeon : and that they are no subsedy men : William Hooper 
 age 18: Thomas Marshall age 22: porte of London, July 13, 
 1635."— Original Lists: J. C. Hotten, p. 107. 
 
 After this date (1635) there is no record of any one bearing the 
 surname of Hooper in New England until 1642, when the name of 
 William 1 Hooper appears in the First Church records in the town of 
 "Redding," Mass., as oneof the " original members " in this church. 
 This record has also the name of "Elizabeth Hooper." Whether 
 
6 
 
 this Elizabeth Hooper was the wife of William 1 it will be diffi- 
 cult to prove; but it is probable that she was, from the fact that 
 her name did not appear before 1642 in any other record, neither 
 does it appear after this date. If so, she was a first wife, for in 
 1669 and in 1679 the wife of William 1 Hooper was "Ruth Hooper." 
 In this same church record are the names of Thomas Marshall 
 and Elizabeth Marshall, his wife. Pope, in his "Pioneers of 
 America/' claims that William Hooper was a "weaver," and 
 Thomas Marshall a "shoemaker." It is interesting to note that 
 the surname of the " Father of English Poetry," Geoffrey Chaucer, 
 signifies "Shoemaker." (Century Dictionary of Proper Names, 
 p. 239.) 
 
 "My angel, — his name is Freedom, — 
 
 Choose him to be your king; 
 
 He shall cut pathways east and west, 
 
 And fend you with his wing. 
 
 "I will have never a noble, 
 No lineage counted great; 
 Fishers and choppers and ploughmen 
 Shall constitute a state. 
 
 " Go cut down trees in the forest, 
 And trim the straightest boughs; 
 Cut down trees in the forest, 
 And build me a wooden house. 
 
 "Call the people together, 
 The young men and the sires, 
 The digger in the harvest field, 
 Hireling and him that hires; 
 
 "And here in a pine state-house 
 They shall choose men to rule 
 In every needful faculty, 
 In church, and state, and school. 
 
 " Lo, now ! if these poor men 
 Can govern the land and sea 
 And make just laws below the sun, 
 As planets faithful be. 
 
 "I cause from every creature 
 His proper good to flow: 
 As much as he is and doeth, 
 So much he shall bestow." 
 
 R. W. Emerson. 
 
There is no reasonable explanation why William ' Hooper 
 together with Thomas Marshall, should leave England in 1635 
 unless the "trades" were disturbed to such extent that there 
 was little manufacture. Added to this is the fact that between 
 1630 and 1640 religious persecution was at its height. During 
 this period was the largest emigration of Englishmen to New 
 England. Charles I. was ruling England without a Parliament, 
 and was levying a direct tax on the people to support the govern- 
 ment. As shown after, by the Long Parliament, this period, 1630- 
 40, marked the decline in England's prosperity, — a decline she 
 was long years in recovering from. The king's two advisers were 
 Thomas Went worth (Earl of Strafford) and William Laud. 
 Bishop Laud was born in Reading, England, " the son of a weaver." 
 
 If William Hooper was a "weaver," — and he probably was, for 
 he mentions "my Loombs and all my Tackling" in his will in 
 1678, — he came from some place of manufacture in England. 
 
 In 1635 the only town of considerable importance in manufact- 
 ure that was close to the "port of London" was Reading, about 
 thirty-five miles distant from London. The town at that time 
 had a population of 35,000. Its situation was on the Thames at 
 its confluence with the river Kennet. A beautiful town, as well 
 as one of considerable note. It is possible that here was the 
 birthplace of William Hooper. 
 
 A little closer inspection of the records of "Redding," Mass., 
 discloses the fact that among those "twelve first settlers in 
 Redding" was one Dea. Thomas Parker. Mr. Parker was born 
 in Reading, England, in 1605. He sailed from the port of 
 London in the "Susan and Ellen," April 13, 1635. He sailed 
 three months in advance of Hooper and Marshall; came from 
 Reading in England, where "Loombs and Tackling" were in use, 
 sailed from the same port as Hooper and Marshall did a little 
 later, and is recorded in Lynn (Mass.) records (together with 
 Thomas Marshall) as having settled in Lynn in 1635. 
 
 He was one of the "original settlers" in "Redding," Mass., 
 together with Hooper and Marshall, in 1642. The historian of 
 the town of Reading (Mass.) claims that these three men were 
 related. Thomas Marshall is named as "my brother" in Will- 
 iam Hooper's will, in 1678. This circumstantial evidence does 
 not prove the birthplace of William Hooper; but, until some one 
 disproves it, Reading in England is the possible early home of 
 
8 
 
 our William Hooper. It is further possible, that these three men 
 have the honor of naming Reading, Mass., and in memory of their 
 English home. 
 
 In 1639 settlers at "Lynn Commons" petition the Colony 
 Court for the right to change the name of Lynn Commons to 
 "Redding," and ask to be allowed to be incorporated as a sepa- 
 rate town. The answer to this petition was that, when " Lynn 
 Commons" had a settlement of twelve families and could support 
 a minister, the petition would be granted. The names of the 
 signers to this petition were lost, but it is claimed in the History 
 of Reading that William Hooper's name was among them. 
 
 Reading in 1642 was a wide-spreading country, including all 
 of what is now known as Wakefield and South Reading. 
 
 The land was originally bought from the Indians of Plymouth 
 Colony for £10 16s., and the deed may still be seen, signed by 
 Sagamore George, his sister Abigail, and Quannapoint. "In a 
 few weeks the first settlers had a comfortable cabin, and in two 
 years extensive fields of corn and wheat, with a young orchard 
 started" ("Recollections of Rev. Timothy Flint," p. 11). But 
 it was not until after long years that they had any manufacture 
 or much trade, for they were isolated and away from those set- 
 tlements that had better opportunities. There was exposure 
 to the Indians, and the internal conditions were such that there 
 was little education in schools. Indeed, the town was complained 
 of as late as 1680 for having "too poor a school." Although 
 such men as "Thomas Bancrofte" and "Captayne Marshall" 
 write a clear and legible hand, it was quite uncommon among 
 the townspeople, as the Registry of Deeds and the records in 
 the Probate Office for Middlesex County will show. 
 
 William ' Hooper is the person named as being absent from 
 home in 1675, "in a battle against the Indians in Middlesex 
 County." His name does not appear often in the county and 
 town records. It is shown, by the town books, that he was taxed 
 in 1642; was a member of the church in 1642-44. He receives 
 several " allottments " of land, — one of fifty acres in 1658, and 
 another of ten acres in that same year, on the " Woburn road." 
 
 In 1669 he sells his "now dwelling house in Redding" to Mrs. 
 Mary Hodgman, and the record to be found in Middlesex Deeds, 
 vol. 4, p. 331, is interesting as showing the form of an original 
 old deed, and in this case that the wife of William Hooper in 
 
1669 was "Ruth Hooper," who relinquishes her right and title 
 in the estate : — 
 
 "Know all men by these p r sents . yt I William Hooper of 
 Redding, in the County of Middlesex in New England for divers 
 causes and consideration moueing me Therearon to and espe- 
 cially for and in consideration of the sume of twenty six pounds 
 to me in hand paid by Mary hogman at or before the sealing 
 hereof whereof & wherewith I do Acknowledge myselfe fully sat- 
 isfied and contented and thereof and every part thereof do ex- 
 honorate aquit and discharge the afore said Mary hodgman her 
 heirs and executors and assigns forever and do by these presents 
 give grante bargaine enfoffe and confirme unto the said Mary 
 Hodgman my now dwelling house being sittewated in Redding 
 with fewer acres of land thereunto adjoining, with the orchard 
 garden fencing thereunto belonging & is bounded on ye north 
 with ye High Waye and on the East w A The Lande of Isaac 
 Harte and on ye South with ye Lande of Robert Burnap Junr 
 & on ye weste w 4 the Lande of Thomas Kendall To have and 
 to hold the said house & the fower acres of Lande be it more or 
 less with the orchard garden and fencing and every part and 
 parcell thereof as it is butted and bounded as above said. To 
 the propper use and behoofe of the aforesaid Mary hodgman 
 her heirs executors and assigns forever and furthermore the 
 said William Hooper do give grante assigne enfoffe the right 
 title claime or demand that euer that the said William Hooper 
 have or euer had in any of the said premises unto the said Mary 
 hodgman her heirs, executors or assigns or from any other per- 
 son or persons whatsoever Laying any title claim or interest 
 thereto by from or under me. 
 
 "7th d. 4th mo. 1669." 
 
 The names of the children of William 1 Hooper, taken from 
 the Reading records and Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, vol. 
 2, p. 450, "all born in Redding." 
 
 Whether "Ruth Hooper" was the mother of these children 
 (she was the mother of Thomas and John) does not appear: — 
 
 "Mary, b. 1647. 
 
 James, b. and d. 1649. 
 
 Susan, b. 1650. 
 
 Ruth, b. 1653. 
 
10 
 
 Rebecca, b. 1656. 
 William, 6. 1658. 
 Hannah, b. 1662. 
 Elizabeth, b. 1665. 
 Thomas, b. 1668. 
 John, b. 1670. 
 
 William 2 Hooper, b. 1658; m. Susanna . He was a se- 
 lectman in Reading, and died in 1692. Of his children whose 
 births were recorded in Reading were William, Elizabeth, and 
 Ruth. Elizabeth m. Enoch Leonard, of Bridgewater, Mass., in 
 1707. Ruth m. John Bolton, of Bridgewater, 1710. Of the 
 children whose births were unrecorded were Susanna, who died 
 in Billerica, Mass., 1738. In her will she mentions "sisters Eliza- 
 beth Leonard and Ruth Bolton, of Bridgewater." The will of 
 Susanna Hooper is probated at East Cambridge, Mass. (Middle- 
 sex Wills, vol. 22, p. 783). Another child was John 3 Hooper, 
 whose birth is not recorded in Reading records. He m. and 
 settled in Bridgewater, Mass., before 1703. He became the 
 father of a numerous posterity, which is scattered throughout 
 New England and the West. (See Mitchell's History of Bridge- 
 water.) 
 
 William ' Hooper died in Reading in 1679. The town rec- 
 ords show the following entry in their books : — 
 
 " 1679: died this day in 62d year of his life — William Hooper 
 — one of the first settlers in the town." 
 
 The burial was in the old cemetery which is described as "so 
 far from the church." It was ordered by the town in 1668 
 "to fence the grave yard with pine rayles." Rev. Jonathan 
 Pierpont, "a Godly and learned man," officiated at the funeral 
 services. 
 
 Mr. Hooper was survived by his widow Ruth and nine chil- 
 dren, with possibly others whose births were unrecorded. 
 
 Abstract from the last Will and Testament of William 1 Hooper, 
 made on this "ffifth day of August, 1678": — 
 
 " I give half my lands Upland and meddow to my wife during 
 her life. And the other half of my lands and meddow I give to 
 my son William and his heirs forever. And my will is that he 
 shall improve them all: And his mother to have halfe the profit 
 
11 
 
 During her life. And at her discease He my son William to have 
 all my lands and meddow and Cattle: And to pay to my six 
 children that are unmarried ffive pounds apiece as they shall 
 come to age. But he shall not pay any for two years after my 
 discease. My will is that my two younger sons shall be with 
 their mother and my son William till they be fifteen years of age, 
 to be helpful to them. And then my will is that they may be 
 set to some Trade. And if any of them have a mind to be a 
 Weaver. Then I doo will him to have all my Loombs and all 
 my Tackling to them. And my household stuffs. I give it 
 all to my wife to be at her own Disposal. But if my wife should 
 marry. All my Lands and Cattle shall be my son Williams. 
 Only the household goods: to bee my wifes as willed. And 
 my will is that my brother Captayne Marshall and my cousin 
 Ensigne Bancrofte be my overseers to this my last will as above 
 said."— Middlesex Probate Records, 1679, 17, 4, vol. 5, p. 323. 
 
 To the Inventory of the estate "Captayne Marshall" signs his 
 name as Thomas Marshall, and "Ensigne Bancrofte as Thomas 
 Bancrofte." 
 
 On Nov. 10, 1684, " Ruth, widow of William ' Hooper," becomes 
 the second wife of Thomas Dutton, of Billerica, Mass. (History 
 of Billerica, p. 45). 
 
 Some of the Maine Hoopers, (those of Biddeford), claim that 
 William 1 Hooper was made a "freeman" in Biddeford in 1648. 
 There is no truth in this claim. He was a "freeman" in "Red- 
 ding" in 1648, and the records of the town show that he was 
 living there on this date. There is no official record in New 
 England to show that William Hooper ever lived elsewhere than 
 in "Redding." 
 
SECOND GENERATION. 
 
 John 2 Hooper, b. in "Redding," Mass., 1670; m. Charity 
 Kay (sometimes recorded as Key or Keay) before 1701. 
 Her family name appears in the "Province of Mayne" rec- 
 ords before 1650. Her father was John Kay. (See Province 
 of Mayne Probate Records.) John Kay was a Scotchman. 
 The family came early into Maine, but how early cannot be 
 stated positively. The family surname appears frequently 
 in the court records of "ye old Province of Mayne," between 
 the years " 1636 to 1686." They may have come into Maine 
 at the time of the settlement of the Piscataqua, when " the 
 Laconia grant " was made to Sir Fernando Gorges. It is more 
 likely, however, as shown by the court records, that they 
 were one of those Scotch families who were " disaffected with 
 King Charles I.," and were complained of as "discontented 
 spirits, hostile to the government of the established church 
 who are now settling on the grants made by the Plymouth 
 Company." It is many years since the name of Kay or 
 Keay has appeared in York County records. 
 
 The children of lohn 2 and Charity Hooper, all born in Kittery, 
 afterward known as Berwick, and now known as South Berwick, 
 were : — 
 
 John, b. Jan. 14, 1701; d. 1802. 
 
 Samuel, 6. Feb. 17, 1704; d. 1705. 
 
 Charity, b. Jan. 17, 1707. 
 
 Samuel, b. April 9, 1709. 
 
 Mary, b. April 15, 1711. 
 
 Joseph, b. Jan. 27, 1713. 
 
 Noah, b. and d. in Berwick, April 11, 1715. 
 
 Love, 6. April 28, 1717. 
 
 William, b. April 26, 1719; bap. July 13, 1719. 
 
 Benjamin, b. Feb. 13, 1721; "dismissed to the church in Bidde- 
 ford, Me., July 28, 1743." He is the ancestor of the Bidde- 
 ford Hoopers; and some of his descendants are the Hoopers 
 
13 
 
 of Charlestown, Mass., whose names are found in the early 
 records of that time. Benjamin Hooper was on the "com- 
 mittee of safety" in Biddeford, during the Revolution. 
 He was also a captain, during the Revolutionary War, of 
 one of the Biddeford companies; d. " 1802, age 81." 
 Solomon, b. Jan. 22, 1722; m. Bridget ; d. 1789. 
 
 The name of John 2 Hooper appears on the bond of Mrs. Su- 
 sanna Hooper, of "Redding," in the settlement of the estate 
 of "my late disceased husband William Hooper October 25, 
 1692" (Middlesex County Probate Records, vol. 8, p. 16). 
 
 The name of John Hooper appears again on the petition of 
 Mrs. Mary Taylor, of "Redding," Nov. 14, 1695, requesting that 
 her son, James Taylor, may be appointed administrator of the 
 estate of "my late disceased husband Thomas Taylor" (Mid- 
 dlesex County Probate Records, vol. 7, p. 333). 
 
 After 1695 we find no one bearing the surname of Hooper 
 remaining in " Redding." John Hooper probably left "Redding" 
 soon after this date. It may possibly be he whose name, " John 
 Hooper," appears in the records of the French and Indian Wars. 
 Also his elder brother Thomas (b. 1668), who is mentioned in 
 the father's will as one of "my two younger sons," may be the 
 same Thomas Hooper whose name is also connected with this 
 war. 
 
 The name of this brother Thomas 2 Hooper appears in Kittery 
 records for the first time April 7, 1696. 
 
 Quarterly sessions held at York, April 7, 1696. 
 
 "We present Thomas Hooper for not ffrequenting the public 
 worship of God on ye Lords day" (Part II. Book 5, Fol. 8, 
 York Deeds). 
 
 March 5, 1697-98, Thomas Hooper sells to Henry Barter, of 
 Kittery, " 27 acres or more which was bequeathed unto sd Hoopers 
 wife, Elizabeth by Cap m ffrancis Champernown Esq r De cd and 
 Since Delieuvd unto s d Hooper by Mrs. Mary Champernowne 
 Relict and Executrix of ye Deed," etc. (York Deeds, Book VII. 
 Folio 42). 
 
 "At a legal town meeting held at Kittery May 16, 1699: 
 Granted unto Thomas Hooper twenty acres of land provided 
 he improve it within one year." 
 
14 
 
 "For ye year 1714: Paid Thomas Hooper £.5. by John Hooper 
 treasurer of Berwick, by the account presented by constable 
 Joseph Abbott" (Book I. p. 38, Berwick Town Records). 
 
 Kittery, Me., was incorporated as a town Oct. 20, 1647. At 
 this time her territory included all of the Berwicks and Eliot. 
 Berwick was set off from Kittery, and incorporated as a town, 
 June 9, 1713. 
 
 John 2 Hooper, in 1704, bought land from James Emery. 
 His name had not appeared previous to this, in York Deeds, 
 although in the Kittery town records it is shown that John and 
 Charity Hooper had a son, John, Jr., born in 1701. This land 
 of Hooper's purchased from Emery, in 1704, is described in 
 part as " a certain piece of land bounded on ye west by ye coun- 
 try road in Kittery, on ye north and south and east by Philip 
 Hubbards land, and is a part of Lot of Land on which my father 
 did live, and is excepted out of it when he sold to Philip Hub- 
 bard, and lies opposite against ye south east corner of Philip 
 Hubbards orchard" (York Deeds, Book 7, Folio 1). 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1716, John Hooper bought the farm owned in 
 1704 by Philip Hubbard and Elizabeth Hubbard, his mother, — 
 "50 acres of land be it more or less with ye barn, ye dwelling- 
 house orchard land and buildings" (York Deeds, Book 8, Folio 
 200). On this last date, 1716, he had a large farm. 
 
 At this point the writer wishes to consider the evidence which 
 seems to connect the John Hooper, of Kittery, Maine, with the 
 John Hooper born in "Redding," Mass., in 1670. It is nec- 
 essary to do this, because this claim has been questioned. The 
 party who has thus questioned and doubted was justified in 
 doing so. A genealogical chain is only as strong as its weakest 
 link. And when two separate families claim John 2 Hooper of 
 "Redding" as their lineal ancestor, the one family living in Massa- 
 chusetts and the other in Maine, it makes a conservative mind 
 cautious about accepting as a fact, what had become only a 
 "tradition" with the Maine Hoopers, — that their lineal ancestor, 
 John Hooper, of Kittery in 1701, was the son of William Hooper, 
 who came to New England in the "James" in 1635, and settled 
 "Redding," Mass. It is necessary to state that no "vital 
 statistics" has been discovered by the writer, or by any de- 
 
15 
 
 scendant of William 1 Hooper, which connects him with a John 
 Hooper, either in Massachusetts, or in Maine, after the 
 birth of the son John, in Redding, Mass., in 1670. Among the 
 Massachusetts Hoopers there was not even this "tradition" 
 which the writer found among the Maine Hoopers when she 
 commenced these records. It would be confusing to introduce 
 the questions raised by the Massachusetts Hooper in his objections 
 to this claim made in Maine. The writer has been carefully 
 through all of the records of Plymouth County and Middlesex 
 County in Massachusetts, and of York County records in Maine, 
 and with the following results, which has confirmed her in a 
 belief that the "tradition" found in Maine is to be accepted as a 
 truth. Whether she is correct in her judgment is for the Hoopers 
 to decide. First, it is a self-evident fact that, if John 2 Hooper left 
 " Redding" about 1695 (and his name disappeared from Middlesex 
 records in 1695), and there is no record of his death in Massachu- 
 setts, it was necessary for him to settle elsewhere. A John 
 Hooper is in the Kittery records in 1701. A search in the York 
 Country records in Maine, disclosed the fact that before this date, 
 1701, with the one exception of Thomas Hooper, no one bearing 
 this family surname had ever lived in York County. A further 
 search disclosed another fact: that the recorded ages of the 
 children born to Thomas Hooper and his wife, Elizabeth (Small) 
 Hooper (these births are recorded in the years between 1693- 
 1705), make it possible that the father of these children was the 
 Thomas Hooper born in "Redding" in 1668. These records show 
 that those children were daughters. After all these long years it 
 will be impossible to decide what motives there were which led 
 Thomas and John Hooper to settle in Kittery. But the town 
 records of Berwick, Me., as already stated, show that Thomas 
 Hooper, together with John Hooper, were in the same town in 
 1714, — Berwick, Me. If it is true, that these two men — Thomas 
 and John Hooper — were brothers, and were in the same war to- 
 gether, it is clearly understood that in going into Maine and 
 Canada they probably travelled over "that lonely road that 
 runs close to the oceanside (to prevent a surprise from the Ind- 
 ians), and was from Boston to Portsmouth, New Hampshire." 
 They saw the mountain Agamenticus in the distance, and doubt- 
 lessly crossed the Piscataqua into Kittery. One fact is evident 
 in the records of York County, — that, if one cannot determine from 
 
16 
 
 whence these two men came into Kittery, it is certain they both 
 found a wife there; for Elizabeth Small was in the family of Sir 
 Francis Champernowne, and, as already has been shown, John 
 Hooper's wife, Charity, was the daughter of John Kay, which 
 family had been long in the "Province of Mayne." 
 
 To the bond of Mrs. Susanna Hooper in " Redding," John 
 Hooper's signature appears in a writing that is clear and distinct. 
 He spells his name Hooper, and not "huper," "hopper," or 
 "hupper." In the early deeds, in York County, this name is 
 frequently written with a small h, and is "huper," "hoper," or 
 "Hupper." This fact was a very troublesome one to the writer, 
 for it was impossible to understand how the same person could 
 change the spelling of his own name inside of six years. A long 
 search failed to disclose the written signature of John Hooper in 
 York County. To be sure, John Hooper was for several years 
 town treasurer of Berwick, and it was hardly supposable that a 
 man holding such an office could not write his own name. Still, 
 the written signature could not be found, or any proof that he 
 did not change the writing of his name to "huper" after he went 
 into Maine. At last the writer discovered her own blunder. 
 She had been reading the deeds wherein John Hooper was the 
 grantee, and not the grantor. And thus the name had been written 
 by other parties. After a long time a deed was discovered which 
 bears the date 1721, in which John Hooper's name appears for 
 the first time as a grantor in York County. In this deed he 
 writes his name John Hooper, and names "my wife Charity." 
 With the aid of tracing paper, a copy of the two signatures of 
 John Hooper in Middlesex records was made, and, when com- 
 pared with the signature of John Hooper to the deed of 1721 in 
 York County, Maine, were found to be so very like as to leave 
 no doubt in the mind of the compiler of these records that the 
 three signatures were written by the same hand. Before introducing 
 this deed as evidence, the writer will again refer to the "tradition" 
 in Maine. It is to be remembered that of John 2 Hooper's children 
 three sons, John, b. 1701, lived until 1802; William, b. 1719 
 d. in Berwick, 1809; Benjamin, b. 1721, d. in Biddeford, 1802' 
 Their father died in Berwick in 1761. You will note that the 
 birth of one son, John, Jr., covers a century. If you think care- 
 fully, you will find it hard to believe that these three sons did not 
 know the birthplace of their own father; further, that it will be 
 
17 
 
 equally hard to believe that they never heard the Christian name 
 of their grandfather Hooper, and never learned where he lived 
 and died. Admit this much, and it is easily understood what 
 foundation the Maine Hoopers have for the statement that they 
 are descended from William 1 Hooper, of "Redding." 
 
 It is well for the Maine Hoopers to have a record of this deed : 
 " To all People to whom these presents shall Come John Hooper 
 of ye town of Barwick in ye County of York in his Majestyes 
 Province of ye Mafsachusetts Bay in New England Cordwainer 
 & Charity ye wife of s d John Hooper sendeth Greeting. Know 
 ye for divers good causes us hereunto moving & more Espe- 
 cially for & in Consideration of ye full and whole sum of One 
 hundred and Thirty pounds Current money of New England 
 to us in hand well and truly paid before ye signing and sealing 
 of these presents by Daniel Stone of ye town of Barwick afores d 
 Cordwainer ye Rect thereof we do acknowledge ourselves fully 
 Sattisfyed Contented & paid for every part, have given granted 
 Bargained & Sold & do by these presents for ourselves onr 
 heirs Executors Administrators & Assigns forever fully & 
 freely & absolutely give grant Bargain Sell aleine enfieffe as- 
 sign Convey pass over & Confirm unto him ye fores d Daniel 
 Stone & to his heirs Executors administrators and assigns 
 forever a Certain peece or tract of land Containing Three Quar- 
 ters of One acre & Eleven Rods thereabouts lying between 
 and Situate in ye town of Barwick afors d with ye Dwelling-house 
 Barn outhouses & orchards & fences & fencing Stuff & all 
 whatsoever Standing Lying or growing in or upon s d land 
 being butted & bounded as Followeth," etc. 
 
 "In witness whereof we ye fores d John Hooper and Charity 
 his wife have hereunto set sett our hands & Seals this fourth 
 day of December Anno Domini one Thousand Seven Hundred 
 and twenty one & in ye eighth year of King George reign," etc. 
 
 JOHN HOOPER 
 CHARITY HOOPER her mark t 
 Signed Sealed & 
 Delivered in the pres- 
 ence of us 
 
 James Warren 
 Moses Goodwin his mark X 
 Thomas Abbott his mark X 
 York fs Dec. 27, 1721. 
 
18 
 
 The above named John Hooper & Charity his wife Came 
 before me & acknowledged ye above written Instrument to 
 be their free act and deed 
 
 Charles ffrost Jus Peace 
 
 Recorded according to ye originall Dec r . 27 th 1721 
 
 p Abram Preble Reg r ." 
 
 (York Deeds, Book X. Folio 234.) 
 
 John Hooper was on the building committee of the little church 
 in Kittery in 1704. He succeeded Mr. Philip Hubbard as town 
 clerk and treasurer in 1712, and continued in office until 1730. 
 He was made a deacon of the First Congregational Church in 
 1721. He was active in county and town affairs, — a selectman, 
 moderator at town meetings, and often one of the grand jurors. 
 The county records show that he was appointed to settle disputes 
 "out of court"; and his name appears more frequently than 
 that of any other man in York County, in the settlement of 
 estates. He died in 1761. The date of the death of his wife 
 Charity is not known; but, as she is not mentioned in her hus- 
 band's will, it is probable that she had already died. They are 
 buried on their farm at " Old Fields," Berwick, now owned by 
 Mr. Isaac Libbey, a lineal descendant. 
 
 The Will of John Hooper. 
 
 "In the name of God Amen: I, John Hooper of Berwick, 
 in the County of York, within ye Province of ye Massachusetts 
 Bay, in New England, cordwainer, being aged and infirm of 
 body, but of sound mind and memory, expecting the time to 
 be near that I must die, and to prevent difference in my family 
 about my estate do make and ordain this my last Will and Tes- 
 tament. Resigning my soul into the hands of God my Creator 
 in Christ my redeemer, and my body to a decent Christian burial 
 as my executor shall think most convenient, hoping for a res- 
 urection among the Just. 
 
 "What estate it has pleased God to bless me with in this life, 
 I give, devise and bequeath and dispose of the same in the fol- 
 lowing manner. Viz: — First my will is that all my just and 
 honest debts be well and truly paid by my son Solomon Hooper, 
 who I appoint sole executor of this my last Will and testament. 
 
19 
 
 "Item: I give and bequeath unto my son John Hooper 13. 
 pounds five shillings and eight pence lawful money, or an equiva- 
 lent thereto of Good vendable lumber of that value at money 
 price, to be paid by my son Solomon Hooper, my executor, 
 in one year after my discease, at some convenient landing place 
 in Berwick aforesaid without interest. I also give my son John 
 one half of all my common rights undevided in Berwick. 
 
 "Item: I give and bequeath unto my son Samuel Hooper 
 9 pounds six shillings and eight pence lawful money or an equiv- 
 alent thereto in cattle or good vendable lumber of that value 
 at money price to be paid by my son Solomon Hooper, my exec- 
 utor, in one years time, after my discease, at some convenient 
 landing place, in said Berwick without interest. 
 
 "Item: I give and bequeath unto my sons William and Ben- 
 jamin, to each of them, nine pounds, six shillings and eight pence 
 lawful money or an equivalent in good vendable lumber, to that 
 value at money price at some convenient landing place in Ber- 
 wick within one year after my discease, said sum to be paid to 
 each of them said William and Benjamin by my son Solomon 
 my executor. 
 
 " Item : If any of my said sons John, Samuel, Benjamin, Will- 
 iam, or either of them shall die before their respective legacies 
 above mentioned shall become due, the same shall be paid to 
 their respective heirs, or lawful representatives and all without 
 interest if within one year after my discease. 
 
 " Item : My three daughters namely Charity Key, Mary Shorey 
 and Love Sprague having already had what I intended to give 
 each of them for their portion, my will is that my son Solomon 
 pay to each of them the said Charity, Mary and Love his sisters 
 five shillings lawful money out of my estate which shall be in 
 full of their portion of the same. 
 
 "Item: I give and bequeath unto my son Solomon Hooper 
 and his heirs and assigns forever all of my house and land where 
 I now live in Berwick: tillage lands, mowing lands, pasture lands, 
 woodlands, marshes, meadows, and one half part of all my com- 
 mon rights devided and undevided, and all the residue of my 
 estate real and personal in Berwick. And in any and every 
 place and places whatsoever and wheresomever, money, goods 
 and chatels of every sort and kind; debts, dues and demands 
 be the same more or less, my said son Solomon paying all 
 
20 
 
 debts and legacies in this my will mentioned and ordained to 
 be paid. 
 
 "Lastly: I hereby revoke and disallow every other former 
 will and wills, testament, legacies and bequests, by me in any 
 manner before this made by word or writing. Ratifying and 
 allowing this and no other to be my last will and testament. 
 
 "In witness whereof, I the said John Hooper hereunto set 
 my hand and seal the 22d day of May 1756." 
 
 Signed sealed and wit- 
 nessed, pronounced and 
 declared by the said 
 John Hooper to be his 
 last will and testament 
 in the presence of us. 
 
 Thomas Goodwin. 
 
 Walter Abbott. 
 
 Joseph Hubbard 
 
 David Goodwin 
 
 Noah Emery 
 
 "JOHN HOOPER his mark X." 
 
 Recorded from the original 
 
 Samuel Frost register. 
 
 Probated 7th day of January 1762. 
 
 Will recorded in Probate Office York Co. 
 Vol. 10, p. 274. 
 
 Letter administration and Inventory p. 
 274, 275. Vol. 10. 
 
THIRD GENERATION. 
 
 William Hooper, b. at "Old Fields," Berwick, April 29, 1719; 
 to. Oct. 29, 1743, Elizabeth Emery, b. at "Old Fileds," Sept. 24, 
 1725. She was the daughter of Elder Daniel 4 Emery and Mrs. 
 Mary (Lord) Hodgdon. The line of Elizabeth Emery's ancestors 
 is as follows: — 
 
 Anthony Emery, second son of John and Agnes Emery, 
 
 was b. in Romsey, Hants, England; to. Frances . He 
 
 came to America in 1635. He was in Dover, N.H., about 
 1640, and October 22 of that same year he signed the 
 " Dover Combination." He kept an ordinary at Dover Neck. 
 He removed to Kittery, Me., in 1649. He was juryman 
 several times, selectman 1652, 1659, and constable. At four 
 different times he received grants of land from the town. 
 He was one of the forty-one inhabitants of Kittery who 
 acknowledged themselves subject to the government of 
 "Massachusetts Bay, Nov. 16, 1652." In 1656 he was fined 
 £5 for mutinous courage in questioning the authority of the 
 court of Kittery, and in 1660 again fined for entertaining 
 Quakers. In 1660 he sold his house and all his lands to 
 his son James, and moved with his wife to Portsmouth, R.I. 
 (The writer has seen the record of the above deed.) Anthony 
 Emery was made a "freeman" in Portsmouth, Sept. 29, 
 1660. He served as juryman on several occasions, was chosen 
 constable June 4, 1666, and deputy to the General Court, 
 April 25, 1672. There is no record of his death or place of 
 burial. 
 James 2 Emery came to America with his father in 1635; to. 
 
 first Elizabeth (she d. after 1687); to. second, Elizabeth 
 
 Pidge, of Dedham, Mass (Dedham Records, p. 27). James 
 Emery had grants of land in Kittery, 1674, 1676, 1677, 
 1684, 1685, 1692, 1693, 1695; elected representative to the 
 General Court, 1693, 1695; grand juror and constable, 1670; 
 d. 1705. It is related that when he went to Boston his car- 
 riage was a chair placed on an ox-cart drawn by a yoke of 
 
22 
 
 steers, as there was not a carriage in Kittery strong enough 
 to carry him. He was a large man, weighing three hundred 
 and fifty pounds. 
 
 Daniel 3 Emery was b. in Kittery, Nov. 15, 1678; m. March 
 17, 1695, Marg^rett Gowen (her mother was Elizabeth Frost, 
 daughter of Nicholas ffrost, and her uncle Charles ffrost 
 was one of the first "Chief Justices" appointed in "ye old 
 Province of Mayne." He was a very distinguished man, as 
 shown by public records). 
 
 Daniel 3 Emery was a noted land surveyor in York County. 
 He was appointed by the General Court to mark the line 
 between the common rights of Berwick and Kittery, and to 
 mark the division between Kittery and Berwick. He was 
 one of the "foundation members" of the Congregational 
 Church, and was chosen elder Nov. 11, 1720. He died in 
 Berwick, Oct. 15, 1722. Will was probated Nov. 8, 1722. 
 His wife Margerett (Gowen) Emery d. in Berwick Nov. 21, 
 1751. 
 
 Elder Daniel 4 Emery, b. June 25, 1697; m. June 16, 1720, 
 Mrs. Mary (Lord) Hodgdon. He d. September, 1779. Will 
 probated Oct. 4, 1779. His sixth child, Elizabeth Emery, m. 
 William 3 Hooper. 
 
 The children of William 3 and Elizabeth (Emery) Hooper were: 
 
 Daniel, b. 1744; m. Sept. 24, 17$1, Hannah Heard, and settled 
 in Lebanon, Me., where he d. March 24, 1820. He was a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary War, and served in a New Hampshire 
 company (see Military Rolls of New Hampshire). 
 
 William, b. 1746; bap. 1746; m. June 21 \ 1770, Mary Lord, 
 daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Davis) Lord. 
 
 Elizabeth, bap. July 28, 1751; d. young. 
 
 Noah, bap. Nov. 15, 1755. A soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 Elizabeth, bap. Sept. 13, 1761; m. Sept. 13, 1779, Tristram Heard. 
 He was in the same New Hampshire company with Daniel 
 Hooper, who afterwards became his brother-in-law. 
 
 John 4 bap. July 25, 1761; m. May 11, 1784, Elizabeth Plaisted; 
 m., second, Mrs. Jane Wood. He was the father of fifteen 
 children. He lived after 1796 on the William 3 Hooper farm 
 in Berwick. He d. in the home of his unmarried daughter 
 in Dover, N.H., March 8, 1844. His eldest child was Frances 
 
23 
 
 Hooper, who married James Lord. Of their children, William 
 F. Lord, born May 17, 1819, was well known as the historian 
 of Berwick; and to his daughter, Mrs. Frances Hooper 
 Moore, the writer is indebted for assistance in her researches 
 in Berwick. Another descendant of John Hooper is Mrs. 
 Anna M. McCoy, of New York City. 
 
 John 4 Hooper's son, John 5 Hooper, m. Caroline dishing, and 
 lived on "Mast Road," Dover, N.H. Among his grand- 
 children are Dr. Fred Hooper Hayes and Mr. Frank Hooper, 
 of Dover, N.H. 
 
 Mary, b. March 29, 1764; m. Love Keay. 
 
 Sarah, bap. May 14, 1767; m. June 29, 1790, Rev. Joshua Roberts. 
 
 Martha, bap. May 14, 1767; m. Richard Hovey. 
 
 James, b. Dec. 17, 1769; bap. Feb. 5, 1772; m. Sally Merrill, 
 of New Gloucester (she d. January, 1802); m., second, Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Hubbard. He had two children by his first 
 marriage, both of whom died in 1805. 
 
 Mr. Hooper became the first settled minister of the town 
 of Paris, Me. He was ordained in 1795, and the ordination 
 services were held in a barn. His brother, Rev. William 
 Hooper, of Berwick, preached the ordination sermon. He 
 occupied the position as " first minister of the town of Paris " 
 until his death in 1842. Mr. Hooper represented the town 
 of Paris in the legislature several times, and was on the 
 committee in the convention in Brunswick to frame the 
 State Constitution. His nephew, George Plaisted Hooper, 
 lived with him, and had charge of his farm. He died, leav- 
 ing no descendants. 
 
 The History of Paris, Me., gives a full account of Rev. 
 James Hooper. 
 
 "William 3 Hooper died in Berwick, Me., July 26, 1809, in 
 ninety-first year of his age; his widow, Elizabeth (Emery) 
 Hooper died January, 1812, age eighty-seven" (Berwick Town 
 Records). 
 
 On April 30, 1744, William 3 Hooper bought from Thomas 
 Wooster a tract of land, "five acres more or less," which was 
 in the north parish, five miles north of the homestead of his 
 father. It was "bounded southerly by the common way lead- 
 ing from Great Falls to Salmon Falls road, westerly by land of 
 
24 
 
 Joshua Roberts, and easterly by land of Moses Nock," etc. (York 
 Deeds, vol. 25, pp. 66, 67). 
 
 This deed describes the land on which William Hooper built 
 his house in 1744-45. It is still standing, and is in good condi- 
 tion. In this house the children of William and Elizabeth (E nery) 
 Hooper were born, with the possible exception of Daniel, the 
 eldest. Across the road he built a tannery and shoe-shop, and 
 he is described in York Deeds as a "Cordwainer." 
 
 In 1746-47 William Hooper was a private in George Berry's 
 company, Sergeant James Tuttle in command. 
 
 Mr. Hooper, with his family, worshipped until 1766, in the 
 South Parish, in the church of his childhood, where his wife's 
 father was ruling elder, and his own father was a deacon. In 
 this church all of his children were christened. It is a tradi- 
 tion in the family that in pleasant weather they walked to the 
 church, a distance of five miles; and, when the snow was too 
 deep, they were taken on an ox-sled. When Mr. Hooper built 
 his house, his farm was surrounded by Indians, with whom he 
 always lived on friendly terms. 
 
 On April 16, 1766, Mr. Hooper connected himself with the 
 "Blackberry Hill meeting-house." It was in the north part of 
 the town, at a distance of about three miles from the William 
 Hooper farm. His neighbor and friend was the learned Mathew 
 Merriam. This church was Congregational, as was the one in 
 the "South parish," Berwick. 
 
 "April 1766: admitted to this church William Hooper, and 
 wife Elizabeth Hooper: also Elizabeth wife of the minister. 
 Mathew Merriam pastor." 
 
 In 1775 the little meeting-house at Blackberry Hill became 
 divided on " the validity of infant baptism." Mr. William Hooper 
 was one of those who insisted upon "immersion as the only form 
 of baptism." He was with the less powerful in the church, 
 but was evidently a leader in the opposition. This disaffection 
 culminated finally, so far as Mr. Hooper was concerned, in 1782, 
 as shown by the following votes : — 
 
 "1782, January: Voted: that a committee be appointed to 
 wait upon Mr. William Hooper to learn his reasons for absenting 
 himself from church. 
 
 "Mathew Merriam pastor." 
 
25 
 
 The committee waited upon Mr. Hooper, and reported: — 
 "April 1782: The committee above mentioned made a report 
 that Mr. William Hooper gave as a reason for absenting himself 
 from church that he had scruples against infant baptism: also 
 that he thought the church was too arbitrary in admitting mem- 
 bers; that the officers of the church managed it too much them- 
 selves; therefore voted to wait upon him in hopes that his scruples 
 may be removed. 
 
 "Mathew Merriam pastor." 
 
 Mr. Hooper's name does not appear again in the church records. 
 
 These Blackberry Hill Meeting-house records are interesting, 
 as giving one an accurate knowledge of the lives of the different 
 families in the church. A woman was suspended as a commu- 
 nicant because she was "a common news-monger," another 
 was a "scold," and still another one, a man, was prohibited 
 from church attendance "until he keeps sober," etc. The two 
 ruling elders were very arbitrary in action and narrow of vision. 
 As you read the records, you feel quite certain they worshipped 
 themselves a little more than they did their Maker. They had 
 the same jealousies, the same petty minds, in church matters 
 that one finds in later generations. 
 
 Mr. Hooper's name appears frequently as one of the grand 
 jurymen for York County. He is selectman nearly all of those 
 years from 1761-84. In the year 1776 his name disappears 
 from the Board of Selectmen. He was serving during this year, 
 as a private, in Captain William Pearson's company. " Enlisted 
 Jan. 24, 1776; service to Aug. 31, 1776, 7 mo. 7 days; also, 2d 
 Corporal same co.; service from Sept. 1, 1776 to Nov. 18, 
 1776; company stationed for defence of sea coast." 
 
 In the records of the town of Berwick (p. 299), one may read 
 this warrant for a town meeting, which is of interest to the Will- 
 iam 3 Hooper descendants: — 
 
 "Likewise to see what methods the town will take to get pay 
 of the people for powder they received in the year 1775-1776. 
 Also : to see if the town will give the selectmen any instruction 
 respecting taxing Mr. William Hooper for this year and the year 
 1776." It is possible that Mr. Hooper's activity, as a member 
 of the Board of Selectmen in getting men to enlist and devising 
 means to carry on the war, then his own enlistment for 1776, 
 
26 
 
 together with his age, made him an object of special favor in 
 the abatement of his taxes. No other name appears on the town 
 records for a like favor. Mr. Hooper was always named in all 
 the public records "Mr. William Hooper," and his son William, 
 as "Jr.; Elder; or Rev. William." 
 
 Berwick, during the Revolutionary period, was a scattered 
 settlement, composed entirely of farms. They were isolated, 
 and were exposed to peculiar dangers during this period. The 
 town meetings, held alternately at the south and north end of 
 the town, at the hour of one o'clock in the afternoon, were most 
 fully represented by the inhabitants. A few lines from the town 
 records are worth presenting in connection with the name of 
 William Hooper, who was frequently the moderator at these 
 meetings, and, as has been shown, he was at this time a member 
 of the Board of Selectmen. 
 
 "Berwick, May 31, 1774. 
 
 "To the Honorable, the Delegates of the Colony of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay in Provincial Congress at Watertown convened: 
 The petition of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the town of 
 Berwick, in the County of York in town meeting convened humbly 
 showeth : That the harbors of York and Kittery, within the said 
 county, lie open to our now known enemies, and the lives and 
 properties of the inhabitants thereof and the neighboring Towns 
 along the sea coast exposed to the ravages and depredations of 
 the Enemy and the remaining part of the inhabitants of this and 
 the neighboring Towns labor under the disagreeable for a scant 
 of arms and amunition, of being unable to defend themselves, 
 their wives and children and properties should a descent be 
 made by the Kings troups on this coast, which they have the 
 greatest reason to fear, will inevitably be the cost. Your pe- 
 titioners humbly pray this Honorable House in their great wis- 
 dom to take the premises into consideration and that they will 
 despatch one or more of the companies in the services of the 
 Colony in order to guard and defend the coast, and enable them 
 by raising more troops in the service of the Colony in some meas- 
 ure to defend themselves." 
 
 "We acknowledge and profess faithful allegiance to our faith- 
 ful sovereign, King George the Third, and are willing at all times 
 
27 
 
 to risk our lives and our fortunes in defence of his person and his 
 family, but at the same time must earnestly insist for those 
 rights and liberties we are entitled to by the laws of God, Nature 
 and the Constitution of the Province. Therefore, Resolved: That 
 no power on earth has any just right to impose taxes upon us 
 but the Great and General Court of this Province, and all others 
 are unconstitutional and not to be submitted to," etc. Berwick, 
 May 31, 1774. 
 
 "York ss. In full meeting warned for the purpose and holden 
 to instruct the Representative of this town of Berwick, resolved : 
 that should the Honorable Congress for the safety of the Colonies 
 declare themselves independent of Great Britian, we the inhab- 
 itants of said town will solemly engage with our lives and our 
 fortunes to support them in the measures and will use every 
 honorable means to further the cause of independence." 
 
 It is claimed by some of the descendants of William 3 Hooper 
 that he left his farm to his son John 4 , by Will. But the Probate 
 Records of York County show that William Hooper left no will. 
 His farm was disposed of in the following deed: — 
 
 "I William Hooper, cordwainer," etc., "town of Berwick, 
 county of York," etc., "to John Hooper Junr, his heirs and 
 assigns forever: all the homestead, barn, wherein I now do dwell, 
 in Berwick aforesaid, containing seventy acres more or less 
 bounded easterly by Salmon Falls road, leading from Quam- 
 phegan to Pine Hill, and partly by land of Samuel Colley, southerly 
 by Salmon Falls river and northerly by land of Joshua Roberts, 
 and part or partly by land of Moses Nock: Also one other tract 
 of land containing five acres more or less, bounded southerly 
 by the common way leading from Great Falls to Salmon Falls 
 road, westerly by land of Joshua Roberts, and easterly by land 
 of Moses Nock, to have and to hold," etc. 
 
 Acknowledged before, 
 
 Thomas Wentworth. 
 June 29, 1796. 
 
 Recorded in York Deeds, Book 60, p. 5. 
 
 The wife, Elizabeth, does not sign this deed. It is probable 
 that "John Hooper Junr" was the son of William 3 Hooper. 
 
28 
 
 His descendants, who have always lived in Berwick, claim him 
 as such. The York deeds have many records wherein one party 
 will name himself Jr. to a father who has a Christian name en- 
 tirely different from his own. 
 
 This deed, by its boundaries, clearly describes the farm of 
 William 3 Hooper. Here he and his wife Elizabeth passed their 
 married life, and they both are buried on Hooper's Hill, on the 
 farm. Recently the graves have been enclosed, and a simple 
 monument has been erected to perpetuate their names. A 
 tablet has also been erected in memory of John 2 and Charity 
 Hooper, who are buried at "Old Fields," South Berwick. 
 
FOURTH GENERATION. 
 
 William 4 Hooper, 6. in Berwick, Me., 1746; m. June 21, 
 1770, Mary Lord. 
 
 Mary Lord was the only daughter of Deacon Abraham and 
 Elizabeth (Davis) Lord. She was born, as were her six 
 brothers (five of whom became Baptist ministers), in the old 
 Garrison House which stood until lately on the Richard Tozer 
 farm in Berwick, Me. Richard Tozer was killed by the 
 Indians, Oct. 16, 1675. His daughter, Martha Tozer, married 
 Nathan Lord, Jr. Their son, Captain Samuel Lord (the 
 father of Deacon Abraham Lord) married in Kittery, Me., 
 Oct. 19, 1710, Martha Wentworth, daughter of Paul 2 Went- 
 worth, of Dover, N.H. Mary (Lord) Hooper d. in Madbury, 
 N.H., Jan. 7, 1826, "aged 84." 
 
 Rev. William Hooper m. (second) Mrs. Sarah Demeritt. He 
 d. January, 1827, "aged 80 yrs"; and both he and his first 
 wife (Mary) are buried on the Rev. William Hooper farm 
 in Madbury, N.H. Headstones mark their graves, and 
 the records of the deaths may be found in the Strafford 
 County Gazette printed at that time. 
 
 Children of Rev. William and Mary (Lord) Hooper were: — 
 
 Mary, b. March 27, 1771, in Berwick, Me.; m. by her father in 
 Madbury, N.H., Nov. 9, 1800, to David Hill, of Durham. 
 She was living in 1827, as the settlement of her father's 
 estate will prove. 
 
 Elizabeth, b. 1773, in Berwick; d. in Madbury, Nov. 7, 1818. 
 
 Noah, b. Oct. 9, 1776, in Berwick; m. by his father, June 23, 
 1796, to Elizabeth Kelley, of Durham. He was a Baptist 
 minister, settled in Dover, N.H., in Belfast, Me., and in 
 other places. He d. in Berwick, Me., 1854, and is buried 
 with his wife in the Lord Cemetery in Berwick. He had 
 a large family. Of these children Noah Hooper, Jr., b. 
 Nov. 11, 1806, was a Baptist minister; settled for many 
 
30 
 
 years in Exeter, N.H., where he d. in 1896. Joseph, b. 
 Nov. 5, 1818; m. Helen Maria Wallingford ; d. in Port- 
 land. Ore., April 4, 1854. 
 
 John, b. July 4, 1778, in Berwick, Me.; m. by his father, Rev. 
 William Hooper, Jan. 22, 1799, to Susan Meserve, of Dur- 
 ham, N.H. (Old Madbury Town Records, Book 2, p. 44). 
 
 James, b. 1780; d. in Paris, Me., June 6, 1849. He is buried 
 in the tomb with his uncle, Rev. James Hooper, whose name 
 he bore. 
 
 Sarah, 6. 1782; m. by her father, July 17, 1802, to Chesley, 
 of Durham, N.H.; d. in Madbury, 1818; is buried beside 
 her father and mother. There is a very large family of 
 Chesley descendants. 
 
 Samuel Lord, b. 1785, in Madbury, N.H.; m. March 12, 1807, 
 Polly Clark, of Berwick, Me.; d. in Madbury, Sept. 19, 
 1807. Son, Samuel, b. in Madbury, 1807; d. in Berwick, 
 Me., April 3, 1831. The record of deaths of Samuel L., 
 and Samuel, his son, are taken from the headstones. 
 
 In this burial lot, on the Rev. William Hooper farm, are the 
 graves of Rev. William and wife Mary, daughter Elizabeth, 
 and Mrs. Chesley, the son John Hooper, and Samuel L. and 
 grandson Samuel. 
 
 The widow of Samuel L. Hooper became the wife of Ebenezer 
 Meserve, of Dover, N.H., before 1831. 
 
 Rev. William Hooper was ordained as "the first Baptist min- 
 ister in the State of Maine, April, 1776." At this time he was 
 thirty years of age. He had been married for six years. He 
 was christened, 1746, in the Congregational church, in which 
 church his grandfather, John 2 Hooper, was deacon. What 
 reasons there were for his change in faith does not now ap- 
 pear. It is probable that he settled soon after his mar- 
 riage at "Old Fields." There is the tradition in the family, 
 that his father William 3 Hooper built a house for him, 
 next to his own, on Hooper Hill; but there is no record 
 which verifies the statement. The name of William Hooper, 
 Jr., does not appear in connection with any deed before 
 1778, and then, in the State of New Hampshire. When 
 William 3 Hooper sells his "homestead" to John Hooper, 
 Jr., in 1796, no mention of any other house is made in con- 
 
31 
 
 nection with the property. The two houses that were built 
 on the William Hooper farm, were probably built after 
 1796. 
 The little church in which William Hooper was ordained 
 "stood on land adjoining John 2 Hooper's house." There was 
 also a parsonage next to the little church which was occupied 
 by the minister. A record of the "Early churches of Berwick" 
 gives a description of this church and parsonage. The ordina- 
 tion sermon of William Hooper was given by Rev. Hezekiah 
 Smith, of Haverhill, assisted by Dr. Samuel Shepard. It is 
 evident that Mr. Hooper had a respectable following into the 
 Baptist faith, as shown by town records (Book 2, p. 313) : — 
 
 "This is to certify to the assessors of the South Parish that 
 Jeremiah Wise, Jonathan Abbott, Joshua Abbott, Elisha Grant, 
 Stephen Nason, Thomas Goodwin, 3d, Theophulus Abbott, 
 Jacob Nason, James Grant attend worship (public) with the 
 Baptist Society in this town on the Lords days. 
 
 "WILLIAM HOOPER ELDER." 
 May 21, 1778. 
 
 Recorded by 
 Nahum Marshall, 
 
 Town Clerk. 
 
 There are other town records showing admittance to this 
 Baptist church. 
 
 In the "South Parish" of Berwick were born all of the chil- 
 dren of Rev. William Hooper, with the possible exception of 
 James, Sarah, and Samuel L. 
 
 After his ordination Mr. Hooper devoted the remainder of his 
 life to establishing Baptist churches in Maine and New Hamp- 
 shire. While he appears in the records as "of Berwick and 
 Madbury," he not only had the control of these churches for a 
 long number of years, but, as the records of the Baptist denomi- 
 nation will show, he was a constant preacher in conferences 
 and churches elsewhere. He was not a learned man in the sense 
 with which we speak of learning, at the present time; but he 
 lived with the companionship of the strongest men intellectually 
 in the two States of Maine and New Hampshire. He has been 
 described by those who knew him as " like a steam-engine, with 
 tremendous force and energy. He would walk long distances 
 
32 
 
 through unbroken paths to help struggling churches. He rode 
 in the saddle as he grew older," and "never failed to keep an 
 appointment of any kind." His most marked feature was his 
 mouth, which showed great firmness and decision of character. 
 He had great gentleness and tenderness with children. He was 
 something above the average in height, but in his old age leaned 
 heavily on a cane." 
 
 Rev. William Hooper was assessor for the "South Parish" 
 in Berwick for the years 1775-77 (Town Records, pp. 225-228). 
 
 David Benedict, in his "Baptist Denomination in America" 
 (1820), p. 152, says:— 
 
 "Dr. Shepard and Rev. William Hooper, of Berwick, now of 
 Madbury, were the principal promoters of the New Hampshire 
 Baptist Association." 
 
 The town records of Berwick show that Rev. William Hooper 
 united many persons in marriage, while the town records of Mad- 
 bury show that from 1778 until 1820 he performed the mar- 
 riage ceremony in some families for two generations; and many 
 came to him from the adjoining towns of Dover and Durham. 
 
 Of course, he came close to all these families in their affliction. 
 
 One can never approach the Revolutionary period without 
 a feeling of great sadness in recalling the great loss of life in 
 those small communities, the poverty and suffering of the 
 people, and the courage and patience and heroism with which 
 they met everything during those long years of privation and 
 hardships. Rev. William Hooper is described as addressing 
 town meetings in the two counties of York and Strafford, speak- 
 ing to the people in barns, and travelling long distances from 
 farm to farm, all in the cause of independence, and urging men 
 to enlist. The women and old men and the children left at 
 home are described in The Town Book of Berwick as melting 
 all their pewter into bullets. These women ploughed the land 
 and planted the corn. In this Old Town Book may be found 
 the military service of Rev. William Hooper. He enlisted in 
 the year 1780, and "served 3 mos. at West Point; 3 mos. at 
 Falmouth; in Capt. Jonathan Hamilton's company." He 
 was probably a chaplain, although it is not so stated; but par- 
 ties at the State House in Boston, who have charge of the mili- 
 tary archives in which are kept the records of the Revolutionary 
 
33 
 
 soldiers, believe this to be so, because "it would be hard to think 
 of such a man serving in the ranks." The tradition that he was 
 a chaplain is probably true. 
 
 On April 27, 1778, William Hooper, of Berwick, receives from 
 John Roberts, of Madbury, N.H., a deed showing purchase of 
 thirty-nine and one-half acres of land from Roberts. For this 
 land he pays £630 (Strafford County Deeds, Book 3, p. 124). 
 
 This deed describes the land on which in 1780-81 William 
 Hooper made his home. The house has been burned, but the 
 cellar remains. In the opposite field are the Hooper graves. It 
 was once a part of "ancient Dover." This first purchase of 
 land was added to from time to time, until in 1827 (as shown by 
 the inventory to the estate) it included one hundred acres. The 
 farm is now owned by Mr. James H. Dailey, and is the finest 
 within the boundaries of the town. 
 
 The Madbury town records of Dec. 22, 1777, has the following : — 
 
 " Voted: that we are willing that Rev. William Hooper shall 
 preach the Gospel to us" (Book 1, p. 104). 
 
 The above is the date on which his name appears, for the first 
 time, on the Madbury records, and the following is the date of 
 the first marriage in Madbury at which he officiated, "Dec. 15, 
 1778." 
 
 It is probable that Rev. William Hooper commenced his 
 Baptist missionary work in Madbury by preaching in private 
 houses, or possibly in barns, about the time of the record, 1777. 
 
 " 1780 : Dec. Voted that we build a gallery and put seats 
 in the town house for the preaching of Rev. William Hooper." 
 
 Mr. Hooper did something besides preaching to the people 
 of Madbury and Durham. He was moderator at many of the 
 town meetings after 1781; was a selectman, and served on the 
 most important committees appointed by the town. 
 
 "At a legal town meeting held in the Parish house Jan. 4, 
 1781 :— 
 
 "Voted: to choose a committee and the committee to con- 
 sist of 7 to examine the proposed form of Government for New 
 Hampshire: Reverend William Hooper is of this committee." 
 
 "At a town meeting held Nov. 5, 1782, Rev. William Hooper 
 is chosen chairman of the committee to examine and report on 
 the proposed form of Government for New Hampshire." 
 
 "At a legal town meeting at Madbury Aug. 8, 1791, voted; — 
 
34 
 
 The Reverend William Hooper a delegate to join the Committee 
 at Concord to revise the Constitution of sd State, and to correct 
 any violation thereof, and to make such alterations therein as 
 by experience may be found necessary. John Demeritt Town 
 clerk." — Madbury Town Records. 
 
 Rev. William Hooper was sent as the delegate from Madbury, 
 N.H., to the convention of delegates that met in Exeter, N.H., 
 Feb. 13, 1789, to investigate, discuss, and decide whether the 
 Federal Constitution of the United States should be accepted 
 by the State of New Hampshire. It had already received the 
 approval of six States, — Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
 Georgia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. 
 
 "The Convention was a notable body of men. It was com- 
 posed of men who had been the leading spirits in the state dur- 
 ing the Revolutionary epoch, men for the most part of marked 
 ability and commanding talents. Among these delegates was 
 Gov. John Sullivan of Durham, John Langdon and John Pick- 
 ering of Portsmouth, Josiah Bartlett of Kingston, Rev. Will- 
 iam Hooper of Madbury, John Taylor Gilman of Exeter and 
 Dr. Ezra Green of Dover; the Convention was held in the Court 
 House; Gov. John Sullivan was chosen President and John 
 Calfe secretary." 
 
 As in Massachusetts, the delegates from the smaller towns 
 in New Hampshire were strongly anti-Federalists. Many of 
 them came to Exeter instructed by their constituents to vote 
 against the Constitution. The discussion of the instrument 
 throughout the country was at its height. The leading defender 
 of the Constitution was Governor John Sullivan, and with him 
 were the two Langdons, John and Samuel Livermore, Josiah 
 Bartlett, John Pickering, John Taylor Gilman, and Benjamin 
 Bellows. 
 
 The leaders of the opposition, — Joseph Badger, Rev. Will- 
 iam Hooper, Joshua Atherton, Abial Parker, and Jonathan 
 Dow, — although men with less intellectual training, as the de- 
 bate progressed, had the advantage of the larger following. 
 Very little is known concerning the detailed proceedings of the 
 convention, since its journal gives but a most meagre account 
 of its work, and the deliberations and debates were unfortunately 
 never reported. The opponents of the Constitution repro- 
 duced the objections which had just been urged in Massachu- 
 
35 
 
 setts. They complained of the absence of a religious test. They 
 denounced the twenty years' sufferance of the foreign slave 
 trade. Sullivan, Langdon, Livermore, explained and defended, 
 but they wished to avoid a vote, fearing rejection of the Con- 
 stitution. So, after a seven days' session, an adjournment 
 was secured for the purpose of giving the delegates an oppor- 
 tunity to confer with their constituents. The place of meeting 
 was changed from Exeter to Concord, and the time for meet- 
 ing was fixed for the third Wednesday in June. 
 
 "The failure of New Hampshire to ratify was the first serious 
 check the Constitution had met with, and its friends, as the 
 news travelled westward and southward, were much depressed." 
 
 Washington had voiced the general feeling of the friends of 
 the Constitution, when he wrote to General Knox from Mount 
 Vernon, under date of March 30: "The conduct of the state of 
 New Hampshire has baffled all calculation, and has come ex- 
 tremely malapropos for a favorable decision on the proposed 
 constitution in this state; for, be the real cause of the late ad- 
 journment what it may, the Anti-Federal party with us do not 
 scruple to pronounce that it was done to await the issue of this 
 convention before it would decide, and add, that, if this state 
 should reject it, all those who are to follow will do the same, 
 and consequently it cannot obtain, as there will be only eight 
 states in favor of the measure. Had it not been for this untoward 
 event the opposition would have proved entirely unavailing 
 in this state, notwithstanding the unfair (I might without much 
 impropriety made use of a harsher expression) conduct, which 
 has been practised to rouse the fears and to inflame the minds 
 of the people." To John Langdon he wrote in a similar vein 
 three days later, as follows: "Circumstanced as your conven- 
 tion was, an adjournment was certainly prudent, but it has hap- 
 pened very malapropos for this state, because the concurrent 
 information from that quarter [New Hampshire] would have 
 justified the expectation of a unanimity in the convention." 
 
 " It is easy to see that the action of New Hampshire was awaited 
 with intense interest by the whole country. No one felt a greater 
 anxiety as to the result than Alexander Hamilton, as the fol- 
 lowing letter of his, published for the first time in Lodge's re- 
 cent edition of Hamilton's Works, indicates: — 
 
86 
 
 New York, June 6, 1788. 
 To John Sullivan, Esquire, 
 
 President of the State of New Hampshire. 
 
 Dear Sir: You will no doubt have understood that the anti- 
 federal party has prevailed in this state by a large majority. 
 It is therefore of the utmost importance that all external cir- 
 cumstances should be made use of to influence their conduct. 
 This will suggest to you the great advantage of a speedy decision 
 in your state, if you can be sure of the question, and a prompt 
 communication of the event to us. With this view, permit me 
 to request that the instant you have taken a decisive vote in 
 favor of the constitution, you send an express to me at Pough- 
 keepsie. Let him take the shortest route to that place, change 
 horses on the road, and use all possible diligence. I shall with 
 pleasure defray all expenses, and give a liberal reward to the 
 person. As I suspect an effort will be made to precipitate us, 
 all possible safe dispatch on your part, as well to obtain a deci- 
 sion as to communicate the intelligence of it, will be desirable. 
 
 "This letter of Hamilton's very likely had its inflence in has- 
 tening the decision of the New Hampshire convention. 
 
 "It met at Concord on Wednesday, the 18th of June, in the 
 Old North Meeting-house. Four days served for the discus- 
 sion of the constitution, for the preparation and recommenda- 
 tion of twelve articles of amendment." 
 
 "The Constitution was adopted by the New Hampshire dele- 
 gates on Saturday, June 21, 1788. She was the ninth state to 
 ratify, thus giving the instrument binding force." — New Hamp- 
 shire and the Federal Constitution. 
 
 The will of Rev. William Hooper was signed on "this fourth 
 day of January 1827" (Probate Records of Strafford County, 
 New Hampshire, Book 35, p. 237). 
 
 In this will he mentions son John, Noah, and James, also 
 grandson Samuel Hooper and daughter Mary Hill. He leaves 
 to one of his grand-children the "red broad cloth cloak belonging 
 to my wife Mary." 
 
FIFTH GENERATION. 
 
 John 5 Hooper, b. in Berwick, July 4, 1778; m. by his father, 
 Jan. 22, 1799, to Susan Meserve of Durham, N.H. (Old Mad- 
 bury Records, Book 2, p. 44). 
 
 Susan Meserve was the daughter of Colonel Ebenezer and 
 Eunice (Torr or Tarr) Meserve. The Meserves were a dis- 
 tinguished family in New Hampshire during the Revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 Children of John Hooper and Susan Meserve were : — 
 
 Eunice, b. 1799; m. Timothy Glover; d. June 8, 1859; c, Will- 
 iam, Ivory, Rockwood, and others. 
 
 Mary, b. March 5, 1801. 
 
 Irene P., b. Jan. 4, 1804; m. James Stanyon. 
 
 John, 6. Dec. 12, 1805. 
 
 William, b. ; m. Abbie Bean, of Bangor, Me. 
 
 Ivory, 6. 1809; d. 1831. 
 
 Sarah, b. 1811; m. Channey Jordan, 1832; d. in Roxbury, 
 April 27, 1863; c, Augustus C. Jordan, m. Clara Walker; 
 
 Jennie, m. Daniel S. Meserve; Susan, m. Bigelow, in 
 
 San Francisco. 
 
 Hannah, b. ; m. D wight Parson, of Bangor, Me. 
 
 Sylvester M., b. 1816; in. ; c, Sylvester; Elizabeth. 
 
 James, b. . 
 
 The children of John 5 and Susan (Meserve) Hooper were born 
 in Madbury, with the exception of Sylvester M. and James 
 Hooper, 
 
 John Hooper 5 was a farmer, and lived on land described in 
 deed, "Footman to Hooper" (see Strafford County records). 
 This farm was near to the one owned by his father, Rev. Will- 
 iam. He held some town offices; and it is claimed that he also 
 was a Baptist minister, which is very likely true, as his name 
 appears on several records as "preaching to the people in a 
 
38 
 
 barn." He d. while living in Roxbury, Mass., Oct. 18, 1828. 
 His widow, who lived after her husband's death in the family 
 of her daughter, Mrs. Sarah (Hooper) Jordan, died in Roxbury, 
 April, 1863, and is buried in West Roxbury, in the Jordan burial 
 lot. 
 
SIXTH GENERATION. 
 
 John 8 Hooper was b. in Madbury, N.H., Dec. 12, 1805. He 
 spent his young boyhood on the Hooper farm in Madbury, in 
 the family of his grandfather, Rev. William Hooper. He m. 
 Feb. 26, 1833, Martha Stan wood Perry, of Orono, Me. 
 
 Martha S. Perry was b. in Brunswick, Me., Feb. 27, 1811; 
 d. in San Francisco, Cal., Feb. 28, 1900. She was the daugh- 
 ter of Deacon John and Jane (Stanwood) Perry. Her father, 
 Deacon John Perry, was a merchant, and a deacon in the 
 First Congregational Church in Brunswick, and later was the 
 first deacon in the Congregational church in Orono, Me. 
 While in Brunswick, Deacon Perry "organized the first 
 Sunday-school in the town and in the state." A memorial 
 window was dedicated to his memory in this church in 
 Brunswick, Me., Dec. 4, 1894. On this occasion Edward 
 Beecher Mason, D.D., quoted the following from Mr. Perry's 
 Journal : — 
 
 "I have before me the original journal kept by Mr. Perry, 
 in which he gives an account of what led him to undertake 
 the formation of a Sunday-school. It is dated 'in the 
 year 1811 & 12.' He says: 'Sometime in the winter 
 I saw a newspaper containing an account of a Sunday- 
 school in England. I enquired of Rev. Mr. Winthrop 
 Bailey, then our minister, and also of President Appleton 
 what they thought of them and how they were conducted. 
 They both thought favorably of them, but could give no 
 account of how they were managed. They thought how- 
 ever that nothing but reading, and that of a religious nat- 
 ure ought to be allowed in the school. This led me to make 
 another enquiry, which was this, — Can a. b. c. scholars be 
 admitted? And after deliberation, say a month or two, 
 they decided that they m ght be admitted, and assigned 
 for a deviation of this rule, that unless children were taught 
 a. b. c. they never could read the Bible." 
 The father of Deacon John Perry was Captain John Perry, of 
 
40 
 
 Rehoboth. He was born in Rehoboth, Mass., Aug. 7, 1736 
 (the son of John, b. March 11, 1700-01, the grandson of 
 Nathaniel, b. Oct. 8, 1660, and the great-grandson of Anthony- 
 Perry. See Vital Statistics of Rehoboth, Mass.). 
 Captain John Perry married Leaffe Walker, April 16, 1761. 
 She was born in Rehoboth, Mass., Aug. 4, 1742, the daughter 
 of Timothy, Jr., and Elizabeth Walker. Her father was a 
 captain of a militia company when he was the representative 
 to the Genera] Court of Massachusetts in 1757, 1758, 1759. 
 The Journals of the Provincial Congress show that Colonel 
 Timothy Walker was the delegate from Rehoboth, 1774-75. 
 The Records in the Military Archives of Massachusetts rank 
 him as Colonel, who "marched on the alarm of April 19, 
 1775, for Lexington." His son-in-law, John Perry, was a 
 captain in the same regiment. 
 
 The father of Jane Stanwood, who married Deacon John 
 Perry, of Brunswick, and Orono, Me., was Colonel William 
 Stanwood. Mr. Stanwood receives this title of "Colonel" as 
 a colonel of a regiment of the Maine militia, after the Revo- 
 lutionary War. " He was a lieutenant, and had a long and 
 honorable record in the Revolution. " Colonel Stanwood was 
 born in Brunswick, Me., April 5, 1752. "He was, perhaps, 
 the most prominent Stanwood who has ever lived in Bruns- 
 wick" (Mrs. Ethel Stanwood Bolton, in "A History of the 
 Stanwood Family in America," p. 113). He transferred to 
 the President and Trustees of Bowdoin College, in 1796, 
 "fifty acres of land." The land thus transferred comprises 
 what is now the campus. In 1798 he was made an overseer 
 of the college, and held the position until May 16, 1815, 
 when he resigned it by letter. Colonel William Stanwood 
 was a representative in 1794-95. He died in Brunswick, 
 June 24, 1829. The eldest child of William and Hannah 
 (Thompson) Stanwood, Jennet, b. July 3, 1784; m. Deacon 
 John Perry. 
 
 John e Hooper sailed on the " Star Pacific " from Boston, and 
 landed in San Francisco, Cal., July, 1851. 
 
 We take the following from The Bay of San Francisco: — 
 
 "John Hooper, whose personal history is inseparably connected 
 with the State of California, began his residence here in 1851. 
 
41 
 
 He engaged in business, and at once became an important factor 
 in the building of the great Commonwealth. His ancestors 
 were from England, and were early settlers in New Hampshire. 
 The first year he engaged in the lumber business at the corner 
 of Jackson and Stockton Streets, his stock being brought from 
 New York and Boston. In 1854 he became connected with 
 mines in Amador County. He built the mills and founded and 
 named the town of Plymouth. Later he engaged in the grain 
 business in San Francisco, having dropped mining at the end 
 of seventeen years. 
 
 "His first vote was cast for the Whig party, and upon the or- 
 ganization of the Republican party he gave it his allegiance, 
 and he has not missed a Presidential vote since his majority. 
 During the trying times of excitement in the early history of 
 the state, Mr. Hooper was one of the first to join the vigilance 
 committee, and, when the great civil war broke out, he stood 
 like a rock in favor of the Union, and in every honorable way 
 used his influence and money to perpetuate the government of 
 the United States. Before going to California Mr. Hooper 
 was a merchant in Bangor, Me. John 6 Hooper d. in San Fran- 
 cisco, Oct. 3, 1892. 
 
 Children of John and Martha (Perry) Hooper, b. in Bangor, 
 Me., were: — 
 
 Mary Jane, b. Nov. 6, 1833; d. June 9, 1851. 
 
 William Horace, b. Nov. 20, 1834; m. Helen Van Netter. He 
 
 d. Feb. 1, 1879. 
 Franklin Perry, b. Oct. 6, 1836; d. July 3, 1904. 
 John Albert, 6. Sept. 25, 1838; m. Mary Campbell Brown, of 
 
 Orono, Me., June 21, 1866; c, Albert, b. Aug. 14, 1867; Mary, 
 
 Alice, Jessie, Jeanette, Frank, Arthur. 
 Martha Eleanor, b. Feb. 27, 1841; d. 1842. 
 Charles App!eton, b. March 14, 1843; m. Ida Geneva Snow. 
 Isabel Williams, b. May 2, 1845; m. William E. Norwood, of 
 
 Camden, Me.; c, Evelyn Perry, b. in San Francisco, 1871. 
 George William, b. June 29, 1847; m. Saphronia Taylor Clapp. 
 Arthur Appleton, b. Nov. 27, 1850; d. Aug. 25, 1898. 
 
SEVENTH GENERATION. 
 
 Charles Appleton Hooper, b. March 14, 1843; m. June 7, 
 1880, Ida Geneva Snow; c, Isabel Martha, Idolene Snow. 
 
 EIGHTH GENERATION. 
 
 Idolene Snow Hooper, b. in San Francisco, Cal., Feb. 2, 1883; 
 m. to Sumner Crosby of Brookline, Mass., Aug. 6, 1901. 
 
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