Except where noted, these are my own abstracts and partial transcripts of the original records
Continued from Hooper Records 1700-1733
The Northern Neck Proprietary showing modern county boundaries (Click the image to enlarge)
11 October 1733
…We Peter Hedgman, William Brent & John Grant bond for £300… The condition of the above obligation is such that the above bound Peter Hedgman, guardian of Thomas Hooper… will pay or cause to be well & truly paid unto the said orphan all (such?) Estate & Estates as now is or hereafter shall come to hands of said Hedgman as soon as the said Orphan shall attain to lawful age or when hereunto required by the Justices of the Peace of Stafford County Court .. as also to save & keep (unreadable word) the said Justices their heirs & successors (unreadable phrase) someday arise about the said estate.. then this obligation to be void or else in full force. Recorded 11 October 1733 [Stafford County Will Book M, p127.]
This item is repeated from the previous page of records to serve as a transition. Very faded on microfilm.
1737
Brent Town Survey: The southernmost 7500-acre survey of the 30,000 total begins with a “line of Thomas Hooper” running N10W 200p from Town Run to Champs Run.
The Brent Town (or Brenton) area southwest of Manassas was not fully surveyed until 1737, when a map and detailed four-part survey of 30,000 acres was completed. This was one of four 7500-acre surveys and is of the southernmost part of the tract — the “line of Thomas Hooper” refers to the 1724 grant to Innis Hooper that is now owned by his brother Thomas Hooper. The Hooper tract is just outside the southwestern-most part of the Brent town tract that is in what later became Fauquier County and is adjacent to a grant made to Benjamin Bullet in 1741/2 .
The northernmost 7500-acre survey bordered the 28 December 1715 grant to Thomas Hooper.
This tract is the very northernmost element of Brent Town. The survey does not mention any landowner’s names but the metes and bounds of the Hooper and Creel grants form the northernmost portion of the Brent Town tract.
22 May 1737
Road Order: Wm. Russell Gent. and Charles Dewet having returned ye Last Court’s Order for viewing the road Beverley and Brooks Land to ye pitch of the fork executed it is ordered that the said road be cleared accordingly as they have laid it off and that Charles Duett Colo. Carters negroes Jacob Holtzclaw James Wright John Bridges Richard Bridges Charles ffloyd Amora Day Miles Murphey and Thomas Hooper work on ye said road from the point of ye ffork to ye fork of ye Indian Runn and that John Chissum be the Overseer of that part of ye road… [Orange County Order Book 1, p168.]
This is an error by the county clerk — Thomas Hooper owned no land in Orange, was living in Prince William. This record refers to Thomas HOPPER who bought land in Orange adjacent to Beverley (see above) on 15 December 1735 [DB 1, pp180] and an adjoining parcel ten years later, was mentioned in other county records.
1 August 1738 –Frederick County established from Orange County.
Deed Books and Will Books appear to be complete for the period but contain few Hooper references. Order Books are preserved but are only partially indexed
25/6 March 1739/40
Lease & Release: Thomas Hooper of Prince William County to Thomas Leachman of same, £13:15 current money of Virginia, 50 acres “(being part of a tract of 355 acres of land lying upon the upper side of Broad run and granted by deed from the Proprietors office (bearing date February the 3rd 1714) unto Thomas Hooper deceas’d for fifty five acres more or less and is bounded as followeth. Beginning at a marked red oak and cedar stump & extending thence S57E 60 poles to a red oak thence S 56 poles to a marked red oak thence S40E 56 poles to a red oak sapling thence S80E 36 poles to a stake thence S40W 42 poles to a marked hickory standing on the said Broad run thence up the said Broad run the courses & meanders thereof to the sd cedar stump & red oak standing on the bank of the run being the first beginning…” Signed: Tho. Hooper, Isabell Hooper. Witness: John Combs, R’d. Howitt, James Foley. Acknowledged by Thomas Hooper in court 26 March 1739. “Isabel his wife (she being first privately examined) relinquished her right of dower in the land…” [Prince William County Deed Book D, p73-77.]
Same date: Performance bond by Thomas Hooper for £100, followed by notation “Rec’d of Tho’s. Leachman eleven pounds it being in part for fifty five acres of land. I say rec’d. by me this 27th of March 1739. (Signed) Thos. Hooper” [Prince William County Deed Book D, p157.]
Leachman is buying property adjoining his own. See the grant below to Leachman for land adjoining this property which is referred to as owned by the “heirs of Hooper”.
A Lease & Release is a peculiar form of land transfer that was popular in England because such transactions were not required to be registered, and could therefore take place secretly and privately. Virginia, however, required that all land conveyances be recorded, making the lease and release equivalent to the more common bargain and sale form of deed. Nevertheless, individual clerks in some parts of the colony tended to favor this form of deed. It required two documents typically executed on successive days: a lease conveying a temporary interest followed by a type of grant called a release, conveying a reversion of the seller’s future interest (i.e., a quitclaim).
22 June 1741
Lease & Release: Enoch Innis & Catherine his wife of King George County to Edward Feagan, all of Prince William County, for £50, 960 acres on the northwest of a small mountain called the Bull Run Mountain in Prince Edward County… a small spring branch issuing out of a great branch of the broad run of Occoquin… Signed: Enoch Innis, Catherine Innis. Witness: James Hooper, Andrew Dalton, Daniel (his mark) Feagan. Proved by the witnesses at court 22 June 1741. [Prince William County Deed Book E, pp291.]
It seems likely that James Hooper is reaching majority about now. Enoch Innis was Sarah Hooper’s younger brother. This tract appears to be in northern Prince William, a fair distance from the various grants to Thomas Hooper.
4 September 1741
Land Grant: Thomas Leachman, 98 acres in Prince William County on the upper side Broad Run of Occoquan on the branch called Vinters Branch joyning to the lands of Dallas, Capt. Val. Peyton and the heirs of Hooper dec’d. Beginning at a cedar stump on the No. side of Broad Run corner to Thomas Hooper and running thence S56:30E 68 poles to a red oak Hooper’s corner, thence N7(9?)E 99 poles to a live oak on a deep ___ branch corner to Hooper …. [Northern Neck Grants Vol. E, p331.]
The survey obviously predates the grant by at least a few years, as it refers to the heirs of Thomas Hooper who died many years earlier. The tract adjoins the land Thomas Hooper sold to Leachman two years earlier.
1741
Poll for the Election of Burgesses for the County of Prince William in 1741: Thomas Hooper votes for Thomas Harrison and Val. Peyton. [Wm. F. Boogher, Gleanings of Virginia History, pp116.]
James Hooper and William Hooper evidently not yet of age. James, at least, was a landowner, so would have been a voter if of age.
13 July 1744
Road Order: On the motion of Samuel Earle it is Ordered that John Rout be Overseer of the Road from Gregorys Ford to the Top of the Ridge & that all the male labouring tithables belonging to the Honble. Thomas Lord Fairfax’s Quarter James Seabern Widow Borden William Remy Edward Rogers Jacob Peck Edwd Corder Thos Postgate John Painter James Burn Thomas Hooper John Gregory Richd. Gregory Benjn Gregory Saml Earle & John Oldrages work on the same & Observe the said Overseers Order & Directions in Clearing the same And its further Ordered that the said Rout keep the said Road in Good Repair According to Law [Frederick County Order Book 1, p137.]
This is the first indication that Thomas Hooper has property in Frederick County. What land he was living on is a mystery to me.
1744-1745
Deed from Hooper to Peyton in PW Lost Deed Book H, p198, 200, 205.
Deed from Hooper et ux to Watts in PW Lost Deed Book H, p349
[“An Index to Lost Deed Book H, 1744-1745”, The Newsletter of the Prince William County Genealogical Society, Vol. 9, No. 1 (July 1990): pp4-5.]
Missing Prince William Deed Books are C (1735-38), F, G, H (1741-45), and N&O (1751-60). There is a partial index to some of these books, but only for surnames beginning with M through Z. Therefore the only Hooper instruments discernible are those in which the other party’s surname began with the letter M through Z.
10/11 March 1744/5
Lease & Release: James Hooper of Prince William County to Charles Tyler of Fairfax County, Gent., for £57:10 Virginia money, 225 acres in Fairfax County “being part of a tract of 900 acres of land which was granted by deed from the proprietors office to Capt. Thomas Hooper deceased bearing date the 22nd day of September 1710…” Mentions adjacent lines of John Waugh, Joseph Pollard, Leonard Dozer. Signed: James Hooper. Witness: James Minor, Vincent Lewis, William King. Acknowledged by Hooper in court 19 March 1744/5. {Fairfax County Deed Book 1A (part 2), pp312.]
James is selling a quarter of his inherited land.
15/16 March 1744/5
Lease & Release: James Hooper of Prince William County to Leonard Dozer of Fairfax County, for £47 Virginia money, 225 acres in Fairfax County “being part of a tract of 900 acres of land which was granted by deed from the proprietors office to Capt. Thomas Hooper deceased bearing date the 22nd day of September 1710…” Mentions adjacent lines of John Waugh, Joseph Pollard. Signed: James Hooper. Witness: James Minor, Vincent Lewis, William King. Acknowledged by Hooper in court 19 March 1744/5. {Fairfax County Deed Book 1A (Part 2), pp316.]
James Hooper is selling the other fourth of the 1710 grant. Did Thomas Hooper’s lost will devise half the grant to James Hooper (and half to William Hooper?) or the whole 900 acres? The other half has already been sold, apparently prior to 1752 when Fairfax County was formed from northern Prince William County. (I did not see a sale in Prince William.) John Waugh was perhaps a son of David Waugh who had an adjacent grant in 1710.
Note also that James Hooper may just now have reached majority.
1746
List of landowners in Prince William and Fairfax Counties who live elsewhere: no Hoopers or Rusts. [“Sundry Persons holding Lands et al”; Prince William County, Virginia, manuscripts in the Huntington Library, 1 microfilm reel (366 frames); RELIC Microfilm 975.527 Pri — not read]
Thomas Hooper seems to have actually been in Frederick County for the past year or two, but may still be claiming Prince William.
1746-1748
Bond from Hooper to Watts in PW Deed Book K 23
[“An Index to Lost Deed Book K, 1746-1748,” The Newsletter of the Prince William County Genealogical Society Vol. 9, No. 2 (August 1990): pp12-13.]
4 August 1747
Indenture: Richard Murrah of Frederick County contracts to serve Thomas Ashby Junr. of Frederick County for a periord of six years & five months from this day “to serve in such service & imployment as Thosmas Ashby or his assignes shall imploy him, in consideration whereof the said Thomas Ashby doth hereby convenant & grant to & with the said Richard Murrah to find him one suit of (clasey?) a hatt shoes & stockings and a fine shirt in his servitude & sufficient working cloaths with meet drinks washing & lodging during the term of said six years & five months … (and at the expiration of the term) a horse saddle & bridle to the valuation of three pounds & a young heifer Signed: Richard (his mark) Murrah. Witness: Tho. Hooper, Jam. Hooper. [Frederick County, Virginia, Deed Book 1, p311.]
2 August 1748
On the Petition of Thomas Ashby Junr. for a road from Howels ford to Gregory’s Waggon Road It is Ordered that the Tithables from Thomas Hoopers to Mark Hardins on both sides of the River Clear & Work on the same under Thomas Ashby Junr who is hereby Appointed Overseer thereof And it is further Ordered that the said Thomas Ashby cause the said Road to be cleared & make Bridges thereon where it is requisite according to Law. [Frederick County Order Book 2, p450.]
8 February 1748/9
On the motion of Thomas Ashby Junr. for a Road from James Seabins Gate to the said Ashby’s ferry It is Ordered that Samuel Earle, Gent. & Thomas Hooper View Mark & lay off the same And make report thereof to the next Court [Frederick County Order Book 3, p17.]
23/24 April 1749
Lease & Release: Thomas Hooper of Frederick County to Charles Waller, Gent., of Stafford County, for £242:5, 756 acres and 88 poles tract “…lying and being in the county of Prince William on the west side of Town run and bounded according to a survey thereof made by Mr. George Waller (Viz’t) Beginning at a white oak and red oak & hickory by Brent town Run and extending thence S70W 140 poles to a red oak in the angle of two white oaks and a red oak thence S80W 114 poles to a red oak in the angle of four red oak saplings thence N80E 65 poles to a hickory in Johnson’s line thence N20W 360 poles to a white oak in a branch of Elk Run a corner of Johnson’s land thence N20E 174 poles to a Spanish oak in a savannah thence N50E 47 poles to a white oak thence S57E 24 poles to a red oak on the bank of town run thence up the said Town run according to its courses to the beginning… the said land being formerly granted to Innis Hooper the 8th of February anno Dom 1724 for 783 acres… ” Signed: Thos. Hooper. Witness: Thos. Machen, John Mauzy, Hugh West Jr. Acknowledged by Thomas Hooper in court 24 April 1749 “and Elizabeth the wife of the said Thomas being first privately examined relinquished her right of dower…” . [Prince William County Deed Book L, pp169.]
This was referred to as Thomas Hooper’s in the 1737 Brent Town survey, so he has owned it for several years — apparently having inherited the tract as Innis Hooper’s eldest brother. The tract is actually located in modern Fauquier County and borders the southwestern portion of the Brent Town tract. The wife’s name is Elizabeth — is that a clerical error, perhaps mishearing “Isabel”?
Note that Thomas Hooper has moved west into Frederick County but his younger siblings are still in Prince William. Whether they are living with Enoch Innis or with their mother and George Rust is not clear.
24 April 1749
Power of Attorney: William Hooper of Prince William County, planter, appoints James Hooper of the aforesaid county to be my lawfull attorney and in my name and stead to sue for demand receive and recover all that part or dividend of the estate of my deceased father Thomas Hooper late of the county of Stafford that appears to be due to me from the said estate and in the hands of the securities as may also further and more at large appear by the records of the aforesaid county of Stafford…” Signed: William Hooper. Witness: John Larrance, Geo. Hopper. Acknowledged in court by William Hooper on 24 April 1749. [Prince William County Deed Book L, p180.]
24 April 1749
Deed: William Hogins of the Parish of Hamilton in Prince William County, planter, and Margaret his wife to James Hooper of the parish and county aforesaid, for £10 Virginia money, 50 acres of land “being part of 583 acres of land granted to the said William Hogins by patent…” bearing date the fourteenth date of November in the fifteenth year of the reign of King George II. “beginning at a small white oak marked with (H) standing on the south side the mounting (sic) road and extending thence N63W to (D) an hickory and white oak in the line of Mr. Debutts then with his lines N34E 114 poles to € two white oaks standing by the said Mountain road and then extending along the said Mountain road according to the several courses thereof to the beginning.” Signed: William (his mark) Hogins, Margrit (her mark) Hogins. Witness: George Hopper, John Larrence. [Prince William County Deed Book L, p181.]
This tract fell into Fauquier County when it was formed in 1759. There seems to be no record of a sale in the surviving or missing deed books. James Hooper apparently opened an ordinary on this property. See entries at 1759 and later below.
26 April 1749
Power of Attorney: James Hooper of Prince William County, Virginia, appoints Thomas Hooper of Frederick County, Virginia “…to be my lawful attorney and in my name and stead to sue for demand and receive and recover all that part or dividend of the estate of my dec’d father Thomas Hooper late of the county of Stafford that appears to be due to me from the said estate in the hands of the securities as so may also further and more at large appear by the records of the said county of Stafford…” Signed: James Hooper. Witness: William Hogins, Daniel (his mark) Hogins. Acknowledged by James Hooper in court 22 May 1749. [Prince William County Deed Book L, p200.]
James Hooper has purchased land in the part of Prince William that will become Fauquier County in 1757.
5/6 June 1749
Lease & Release: Henry Funk of Frederick County and Province of Maryland to Thomas Hooper, of Frederick County, Virginia, for £135, 300 acres “…beginning at a black oak and elm on the South Side of the North River of Shannandoah and extending thence SW 150 poles to a white oak & pine thence N60W 161 poles to a post near a black oak sapling thence S17W 70 Poles to a pine corner to Adam Funk thence N5W 270 poles to a walnut another corner to the sd. Adam Funk then down the several courses and meanders of the river to the beginning containing by estimation three hundred acres be the same more or less and also being part of five hundred acres of land conveyed by Thomas Chester to John Funk and from the said John Funk to the sd. Henry Funk…” Signed: Henry Funk. Witness: Jno. Funk, Hugh Parker, Henry Ashbe. [Frederick County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, pp16.]
Henry Funk had bought the land five years earlier for £110. This land lies somewhere along the North Fork in the part of Frederick County that became Dunmore (later Shenandoah) County in 1777. The upper half of the North River was in Augusta County at this time, in a part of Augusta that was added to Frederick County in 1755. Therefore we know that the land lay somewhere along the final 50 or so miles of the river, likely somewhere close to the fork of the Shenandoah.
This is the earliest land purchase I saw by Thomas Hooper in Frederick County, although he had evidently been living there for several years.
2 April 1751
Power of Attorney: William Johnston of Frederick County appoints Thomas Hannon, of Frederick County, “to be my lawfull attorney to sue for receive & recover all that part or dividend of my Estate now detained in the hands of Samuel Earle of the said County & Colony…”
Signed: William Johnston. Witness: Thomas Hooper, James Hooper Acknowledged by Johnston in court on 14 May 1751. [Frederick County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, p230.]
24 July 1751
Land Survey: 100 acres on the west bank of the north river of Shenandoah surveyed for Christian Plank of Frederick County by Robert Rutherford. Chain carriers: Thomas Hooper and Thos: Elzey. [Survey folder online at http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/222/0553_0555.pdf]
23 September 1751
Deed: Thomas Hooper of Frederick County, planter, to Benjamin Crump of Prince William County, planter, for £21:4 Virginia money, 145 acres in Prince William County “on both sides a small branch spring out of Rappahanock River below the great march (sic) run and near the upper end of a tract of 2,020 acres of land formerly belonging to Philip Ludwell but now to Col. Charles Carter & Maj. Peter Hedgman and is bounded as follows viz. Beginning at two corner marked red oaks standing on a ridge or rather on the side of said ridge on the easterly side of the said marsh run and furtherly from the head of the second Stoney valley falling into the said run below the said Ludwell’s three marked pines on the said run and extending thence southeast 82 poles to a white oak standing on the southeast side of the first mentioned branch thence northeast 228 poles to a corner marked pine thence northwest 120 poles to two corner marked Spanish oaks standing on a point near the said marsh run and on the lower side of a branch issuing out of the said run thence S36W 232 poles to the beginning.” Signed: Thos. Hooper. Witness: Jas. Blackwell, Jas. Hudnall. Acknowledged in Prince William court by Thomas Hooper 23 September 1751. [Prince William County Deed Book M, p179.]
This is the 3 December 1715 grant to Thomas Hooper. It’s been in the family for quite some time, so it is likely that one or more Hoopers have been living there.
22 February 1751/2
Mortgage Bill: William Hooper of Prince William County to Moses Gest of aforesaid county, for £6 current money of Virginia, “two cows one bed and furniture three plaits and one bason” to be delivered to Moses Gest if William Hooper fails to repay £6 within one year. Signed: William Hooper. Witness: Thos. Williams, William (his mark) Gest, Enoch Berry. Proved by Thomas Williams and William Gest on 24 February 1752. [Prince William County Deed Book M, p222.]
Note that the calendar changed in 1752. Assuming the changeover was observed faithfully, this was proved two days later, not a year later. A mortgage for merely £5 smacks of serious financial difficulties.
4 April 1753
Warrant: Whereas Jacob Funk of Frederick County hath informed guys that there are about 525 acres of waste and ungranted land in the said county on the east side of the No. River adjoining the East side of his Pattent Land and Thomas Hooper’s… (warrant issued by Fairfax to Robert Rutherford to survey same). Assigned by Funk to Charles Buck, and surveyed ten years later on 10 May 1763. Survey shows the land bordered on the west by Passage Creek. Grant issued 24 May 1765. [Northern Neck Grants Book M, p372. Survey folder online at http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/216/0132-0135.pdf]
Note that the land is referred to as Thomas Hooper’s in the warrant, though Hooper would not survey it for another year. By the time the parcel was surveyed, the surveyor may not have known who owned the adjacent land, as Rutherford’s survey refers to it as “Russell’s former patent.”
1751/52
Prince William County rents from Michaelmas 1751 to Michealmas 1752:
Thos. Hooper – 140 acres “3 years due lives in Frederick”
[Online at RELIC website http://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitalLibrary/PDF/1751-1752%20%20Rental%20.pdf sourced from Prince William County, Virginia, manuscripts in the Huntington Library, 1 microfilm reel (366 frames); RELIC Microfilm 975.527 Pri.]
He must have sold this land by deed recorded in the missing deed book N (1751-54) or O (1754-60). Michaelmas is celebrated on September 29 Possibly one or both of his brothers is living on this tract.
20 August 1752
Suit: James Hooper vs. John Farrow, on petition — suit is dismissed. [Prince William County Order Book 1752-52, p227.]
4 October 1752
Ordinary License: On the petition of James Hooper order is granted him for a license to keep ordinary at his house in this county for one year… Securities: John Jones, John Sherman [Frederick County Order Book 4, p314.]
Where is he living?
9 November 1752
Suit: James Hooper vs. John Madden, suit dismissed. [Frederick County Order Book 4, p352.]
7 June 1753
The Sheriff having returned that he had yesterday summoned Thos. Hooper to attend the court as a juryman who being called and failing to appear ordered that he be fined four hundred pounds of tobacco for the same according to law. [Frederick County Order Book 5, p36.]
2 October 1754
Suit: Thomas Hooper vs. Owen Wingfield on petition, The Dft being solemnly called and failing to appear the Ptf made oath to his account whereupon it is considered that the sd. Ptf recover agt. the sd. Dft the sum of £2:14s:0p currt. money and costs. [Frederick County Order Book 6, p119.]
Suit: Thomas Hooper vs John Armstrong on petition. On the motion of the Ptf and at his cost this suit is continued to next court. [Frederick County Order Book 6, p119.]
1754-1764
No Hooper or Rust sales or purchases in Stafford County Deed Book P.
22 April 1754
Suit: James Hooper vs. William Ware on petition: 22 April 1754, continued to next court; 20 May 1752, dismissed no person appearing to prove the account. [Prince William County Order Book 1754-55, p43, p73.]
Oddly, no Hooper was listed on the 1754 PW tax list on on the 1758 tax list of Hamilton parish. How do we explain that? Was James Hooper in Frederick?
8 October 1754
Warrant: Dated in the 27th year of the reign on George II, order to George Hume to survey for Thomas Hooper of Frederick County 400 acres of vacant land adjacent to the north side of Charles Buck’s line, formerly Capt. William Russell line, in the forks of the Shenandoah River [Library of Virginia Northern Neck Survey File @ http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/219/0419_0423.pdf]
See items at 1 June 1757 and 6 July 1761 below. The resulting land was granted in 1762 to Syna Hooper, widow of James Hooper.
27 March 1755
Suit: James Hooper vs. William Ware on petition: It is considered that the plaintiff ought to recover against the said defendant the sum of £1:12s:3p current money and also his costs… [Prince William County Order Book 1754-55, p43, p73, p213-4.]
Suit: James Hooper vs. John Farrow on petition. It is considered that the said plaintiff ought to recover against the said defendant the sum of £2:5s current money and also his costs. [Prince William County Order Book 1754-55, p215.]
2 April 1755
Suit: John Rall vs Thomas Hooper on petition. The Dft being solemnly called and failing to appear the Ptf by his attorney produced in Court the Dfts note of hand whereupon it is considered that the sd. Ptf recover agt. the sd. Dft the sum of two pounds thirteen shillings and three pence and costs together with seven shillings & six pence (on act.?) fees. [Frederick County Order Book 6, p219.]
3 April 1755
Judgment: John Ball Plt. vs. Thomas Hooper Dft. on petition: The Dft. being solemnly called and failing to appear, the Ptf. by his attorney produced in court the Dft.’s note of hand whereupon it is considered that the sd. Ptf. recover agt. the sd. Dft. the sum of £2:13s:3p and costs together with 7s:6p on act. Fees. [Frederick County Order Book 6, p219.]
1755
Taxpayer List, Hamilton Parish: Thomas Hooper, William Hooper [No detail – double check this – Original document has been lost. Newsletter of the Prince William County Genealogical Society, December 1991, where the original data was last published. Originally published: “ List of Taxpayers, Elk Run and Vicinity, 1751.” Bulletin of the Fauquier Historical Society, June 1923, pp. 239-242.]
Hamilton parish covered Prince William at this time (including the part of Prince William that would shortly be cut off into Fauquier County.) The Hoopers evidently still own land there.
3 June 1755
Suit: Thomas Hooper vs, John Armstrong on petition. The Dft being solemnly called and failing to appear the Ptf. evidence being sworn and heard it is considered by the court that the Ptf. recover agt. the sd. Deft. the sum of three pounds one shilling and three pence current money and costs. James Hooper made oath that he has attended three days a witness for Thomas Hooper agt. Jno. Armstrong on petition and that in coming and returning he has travelled ninety-six miles. ordered that the sd. Thomas pay him for the same two hundred and nineteen pounds of tobacco according to law. [Frederick County Order Book 6, p276.]
Witnesses were paid for travel only if they lived outside the county, so this is clear proof that James Hooper lived 16 miles from the Frederick County courthouse (and outside the county) in 1755.
5 June 1755
Bill of Sale: Thomas Hooper to James Wood, both of Frederick County, for £42:10s current money of Virginia, one negroe slave named Hannah… . Signed: Thos. Hooper. Witness: John Ashby, James Wood Jun.
Receipt: Received of James Wood the sum of £42:10s current money in full for a Negroe wench named Hannah purchased from ;my husband Thomas Hooper by the sd. Wood. Signed: Isbella (her mark) Hooper. Witness: John Ashby, Thos. Rutherford. [James Wood Collection at Stewart Bell Jr. Archives Room, Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Virginia: Box 1 Folder 17 and Box 2, Folder 17, respectively. From the files of Anne Goodwin.]
23 July 1755
Bill of Sale: Thomas Hooper to Robert McKoy and Robert Ashby, all of Frederick County, sells “my estate and property as followeth Viz, one negro fellow named Ned one negro fellow named Thomas, one named James one named Antoney one negro wench named (Sue?) one girl named Bess one named Lidea one sorrel horse branded on the near thigh I D which said effects I doe hereby warrant and defend from all persons whatsoever… Signed: Thos. Hooper. Witness: Jere Aderton, Thos. Holm. [Frederick County, Virginia, Deed Book 4, p49|
He is evidently preparing to leave the area. He may also have been in financial difficulty — see the debt suits below.
5 August 1755
At a court held for Frederick County on Tuesday the 5th day of August 1755 Thomas Hooper in open court acknowledged this his bill of sale to Robert McKoy and Robert Ashby which on the motion of the sd. McKoy and Ashby was admitted to record. [Ibid, p49]
2 September 1755
Court: On the motion of Dorothy Edwin a free Negro ordered that the Church Wardens bind her two children to Thomas Hooper viz: Nicholas age seven years and Sarah are thee years, the boy to the age of Twenty One years the girl to the age of Eighteen years. [Frederick County Order Book 6, page 379. From Anne Goodwin’s files.]
21 October 1755
Roster: Captain Ashby’s 2nd Company of Rangers “stationed at Sellers’s Plantation on Patterson Creek”. Among the 25 men Innes Hooper, 5’9″, fair complexion, age 19, born Virginia, farmer, enlisted 1 September 1755. [George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: “John Ashby, October 21, 1755, Reports on 2nd Company of Rangers”, National Archives]
Bockstrock’s Virginia Colonial Soldiers on page 53 presents this name as “James” Hooper. In the original record it is clearly “Innes” Hooper. Backstrock also gives his age as 29 but it is clearly written as 19. (Coincidently, Sellers was an ancestor of mine.)
Patterson’s Creek flowed north into the south branch of the Potomac in what was then Frederick County. John Ashby (1707-1789) was commissioned in July 1755, recruited men in and around Frederick County and, until the unit was disbanded in mid-1756, operated between the south branch of the Potomac and Ft. Cumberland. On 29 December 1755 and again two weeks later on 12 January 1756, Lt. Thomas Rutherford reported on the state of Captain Ashby’s 2nd Company of Rangers. The latter document included this roster. Six of the men had enlisted on the same day, 1 September 1755.
11 December 1755
Frederick County Voter Poll: No Hooper
[Murtie June Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774 (Baltimore, MD: 1983) pp328.):
Thomas Hooper may have already left the area. It isn’t clear from later records fi he was present in Frederick County. It is not clear whether he took any action on his warrant of 1754 which didn’t result in a survey until 1757. He did not show up when called to court a few months later. There were also no Hoopers in the 1758 or 1761 elections of Burgesses from Frederick County.
2 June 1756
Suit: George Hume vs. Thomas Hooper, in debt. The Dft being solemnly called and failing to appear judgment is granted the Ptf ag’t. him and Jacob Funk his Bail for the sum of £16-16-0 current money due by bill and costs and the Dft in mercy &. But this judgement is to be discharged on payment of £8-8-0 with legal interest theeon from the 12 day of April 1755 and costs of suit. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p65.]
6 July 1756
Suit: William Libass(?) vs. Thomas Hooper on attachment. The Dft. failing to appear the Ptf in court made oath to his account. Judgment is granted the Ptf. against the sd. Dft for the sum of £2-14-1 and costs and it is ordered that the Sheriff sell one cow and caalf one sow and pigs one desser one table and a cradle and pay to the Ptf. his debt and costs if the sale amount thereto otherwise that the Ptf have execution for the residue. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p92.]
30 July 1756
Land Survey: 320 acres in Frederick County on the northeasterly side of Cedar Creek “including where he lives”, and adjoining Edward Cartmill, surveyed 23 March 1753 for Samuel Morse by Robert Rutherford. Assignment by Samuel Morse to Edward Cartmill (or Cartmel) on 30 July 1756 witnessed by Jam: Hooper and Rob: Warth. Morse’s request to Rutherford to have the patent issued to Cartmilll, same date, also witnessed by Jam: Hooper and Rob: Warth. Deposition on 16 September 1772 by Samuel Vance and John Warth that they were present when Cartmill bargained to buy the land for £35. Grant issued to Edward Cartmel (sic) 28 September 1772. [Northern Neck Grants Book P, page 157. Survey folder online at http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/216/0369-0372.pdf]
4 August 1756
Suit: Henry Funk vs. Thomas Hooper on attachment. The Dft. being solemnly called and failing to appear, John Funk a garnishee being sworn declares he has of the estate of the Dft two (locks?) and no more. The Ptf. in court produced the Dft. bond it is therefore considered that the Ptf. recover ag’t the sd. Dft the sum of £30 current money with lawful interest thereon from the 24 day of December 1755 until paid and costs of suit and it is ordered that the (locks?) be sold & the money paid to the Ptf and that he have escrow for the residue. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p98.]
7 September 1756
Court Entry: “Deeds of Lease and Release from Thomas Hooper & Isabella his wife to Joseph Coombs (sic) being proved in Open Court by the Oaths of David Ashbey & William Gist witnesses thereto who also made Oath that the Sd Thomas Hooper was an Inhabitant of Carolina when the Sd Deeds were Signed. Ordered that they lay for further proof.” [Frederick County Order Book 7, page 119.]
Fortuitously spotted by Anne Goodwin. This explains the entry below at 5/6 February 1759. This was evidently the land Thomas Hooper had purchased from Funk in 1749. We don’t know when the deed was signed, but by the time it was proved in court Thomas Hooper had already.left Virginia. Perhaps because Isabella was not available to testify to her free relinquishment of dower, the court deferred recording the deed and it was never subsequently entered into the deed books.
2 March 1757
Suit: Joseph Combs vs. Thomas Hooper on attachment. On the motion of the Ptf ordered that the attachment be further served in the hands of Charles Buck and that he be summoned to appear at next court. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p198.]
2 March 1757
Suit Continued: Ann Helm & Admrs. of Meredith Helm vs. Thomas Hooper. On the motion of the Ptf. this suit is order to discontinue. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p199.]
6 April 1757
Suit: Joseph Combs vs. Thomas Hooper on attachment. This suit being agreed is ordered to discontinue. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p228.]
1 June 1757
Survey by G. Hume for Thomas Hooper dated 1 June 1737 (sic) for 180 acres adjacent to William Russell survey, on warrant of 8 October 1754. Chain carriers: Wm. Dodson, Wm. Hooper.
Undated note at bottom of page: “Thomas Hooper run away to Carolina & James Hooper got ye warrant and desires ye deed may come out in his name & he will pay ye charges (Signed) G. Hume”. [Library of Virginia Northern Neck Survey File @ http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/219/0419_0423.pdf]
The note at the bottom of the page was probably written around March of 1758 — see the suit below.
9 June 1757
Suit: John Knox vs. James Hooper on petition. The Dft. being no inhabitant of this county, the suit is dismissed. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p258.]
James Hooper lives in Fauquier County.
29 November 1757
Survey: A survey of 5,000 acres to partition the land of Major James Ball of Lancaster County, shows a number of structures on the property, among them a house labelled “Jas. Hooper’s deserted” along with houses labelled “Mrs. Ashby”, “Michael Dermont”, “”Thos. Willis deserted”, “John Routs”. “John Grigsby’s”, “Henry Ashby deserted”, “William Stokes” and “John WEilliams’s”. [Prince William County Deed Book R, pp 34. from the files of Anne Goodwin.] From Anne Goodwin’s files.Henry Ashby had married Eleanor Bounds, sister of James Hooper’s wife Sinah Bounds.
Click to Enlarge
9 March 1758
Suit: George Hume vs. Thomas Hooper on attachment. This suit on the motion of the Ptf is ordered to be dismissed. [Frederick County Order Book 7, p405.]
It seems likely that Hume is suing Thomas Hooper for the survey fee — but whatever the issue, the note at the bottom of the survey was probably written not long after this date but no earlier. People were sued in their county of residence — George Hume knew Thomas Hooper had left the colony when he wrote that note so he would not have brought suit in Frederick County.
5/6 February 1759
Lease & Release: Joseph Combs to Peter Catlett both of Frederick County, for £80, 300 acres “…situate lying and being in the said county of Frederick and purchased by the said Joseph Combs of Thos. Hooper as by the records of the court of Frederick may appear the courses including the said tract are as followeth: beginning at a black oak and an elm on the south side of the north river of Shanando, extending thence SW 150 poles to a white oak and a pine…. [same metes and bounds as Funk to Hooper]. Signed: Joseph Combs. Witness: John Neavill, Marquis Calmes. Mary (her mark) Willson. [Frederick County, Virginia, Deed Book 5, pp204|
See the entry at 7 September 1756, in which the deed from Hooper to Combs was proved in court and tabled awaiting further proof. The result was that there is no deed from Hooper to Combs recorded in Frederick County.
1 May 1759 — Fauquier County formed from Prince William
26 July 1759
Road Order: Thomas Ashby is appointed Surveyor of the Road in the Room of James Hooper... [Fauquier County Minute Book 1759-1762, p13 .]
26 July 1759
Suit: On hearing the petition of James Hooper against Mary Smith judgment is granted the plaintiff against the said defendant for £10 and costs .
Order: Ordered that James Hooper pay John Ashby 115 lbs. tobacco for one days attendance and coming 30 miles and returning as a witness against Mary Smith. [Fauquier County Minute Book 1759-1762, p13 .]
James Hooper is apparently still living in Fauquier (formerly Prince William) but about to move into Frederick County to the pending grant on the Shenandoah.
24 April 1760
Road Order: Ordered that Thomas Mc.Clenaham Joseph Duncan John Conyers and Humphrey Arnold or any three of them being first sworn do view a Road leading out of the German Town over old Run to Hoopers Ordinary and Report the Conveniences and Inconveniences that will attend the intended Road [Fauquier County Minute Book 1759-1762, p58.]
Hooper may not have been operating the ordinary . There are no further mentions of James Hooper in Fauquier County. He must have left for Frederick County, apparently intending to occupy the pending grant there.
I note that this wife Sinah Bound’s father George Bound owned land adjacent to Charles Buck. the adjacent landowner to the pending grant on the Shenandoah, so it seems certain that James Hooper met his wife in Frederick County and perhaps married her at about the same time he moved from Fauquier County. He may have still been a newlywed when he died,
1 July 1760
Ordered that the Churchwardens bind James Hooper an orphan of William Hooper deceased aged fifteen yeares to Nicholas Schrack he obliging himself to give him one years schooling and teach him the trade of a blacksmith. [Frederick County Order Book 8, p92.]
James Hooper an orphan of William Hooper deceased came into court and made a choise (sic) of Nicholas Schrack for his guardian which is allowed by the court he having entered into bond conditioned according to law. [Frederick County Order Book 8, p92.]
Orphans were bound out when they had no other means of support. William Hooper evidently has left no estate sufficient to support the son. That is consistent with the absence of estate records for William Hooper. Whether there was a widow of not is uncertain. There do not seem to be later records of James Hooper in Frederick County — did he follow his uncle to South Carolina? Did he stay in Virginia?
Nicholas Schrack lived in Winchester, was a founding member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church there.
6 July 1761
Summons from Proprietors Office to Charles Buck [right hand of page obscured – guesses are in parens] “You are hereby required to appear at this of(fice) the first Wednesday in October next ensuing to shew cause why a deed (should) not issue in the name of Sinna Hooper for a tract of land survey’d for (Thos.) Hooper & by him assigned to James Hooper who is since dead & the ___ ___ now vested in the said Sinna his widow, being 188 (sic) acres joining on ___ north side of your line formerly Capt. Will. Russells on the fork of Shannandoah River. (Signed) Tho. Bry. Martin
(Note at bottom by Wm. Millar, JP, dated 16 November 1761 that George Beans testified that he served the summons to Charles Buck in July 1761.)
George Buck had apparently caveated the survey but (I infer) failed to answer the summons.
Note that this is clear evidence that James Hooper died without issue. A Virginia law first enacted in 1661 [See Hening Vol. 2, p56-7 and p137] provided that grants made to intestates without issue would revert to the widow for her lifetime with the option of a fee-simple title. (Widows could not otherwise inherit a husband’s real estate, but this was a special case enshrinned in Virginia law.)
9 October 1761
Militia Fine: At a Court Martial held for Frederick County on Fryday the 9th day of October 1761…. Ordered that John Hooper of Capt. John Greenfield’s company is fined ten shillings for absenting one private muster within twelve months last past. [“Early Troop Record 1755-1761”, p50, located at end of Frederick County Deed Book 18.]
Who is this? John Greenfield lived in Winchester, presumably his company was comprised of men local to Winchester.
18 January 1762
Land Grant: Cyna Hooper of Frederick County, 180 acres in the forks of Shannandoah River bounded by William Russell and a survey for Charles Buck… [Northern Neck Grants Book K, p348.]
See above..
9 September 1763
Suit: John Hooper and Mary his wife vs. John Fife in T. A. B (Trespass, Assault & Battery) — dismissed the plaintiffs failing further to prove [Frederick County, Order Book 10, p188.]
This may be a clerical error — a John HOPPER lived in the area.
22 Oct 1765
Power of Attorney: William Wadlington of Frederick County appointed “My father Thomas Wadlington of the aforesaid county… to bargain and sell two tracts or parcels of land in the above county”. Signed: WIllikam Wadlington. Witness: Stephen Johnston, James Wadlington, Isabel Jump. Proved nearly a year later on 3 September 1766 by Stephen Johnson and Isabella Jump. [Frederick County Dee Book 11, p175.]
Note: Deed Book 11 is transcribed and typewritten. There may be transcription errors. Note that in subsequent deeds it evidently wasn’t clear how his wife’s given name was spelled.
15 August 1767
Power of Attorney: William Wadlington and Lina Wadlington “of Burkley (sic) County South Carolina”: appoionts “our trusty and well beloved father Thomas Wadlington of Frederick in Virginia farmer our true and lawfull attorney” to bargain and sell a certain Tract of Land lying in the fork of Shenandoah River which was granted to Lina Hooper wife of said William Wadlington containing one hundred and eighty acres… Signed: William Wadlington, Lina (her mark) Wadlington. Witness: Charles King, Hannah Musgrove, Abraham Musgrove, Edward Musgrove. [Frederick County Deed Book 11, p569]
2/3 October 1767
Lease & Release: Thomas Wadlington of County of Frederick attorney in fact for William Wadlington of the Province of South Carolina to John Hopes of the Town of Winchester County aforesaid, for £90, 180 acres of “land situate lying & being in the forks of Shanadoah River the same as was granted unto Syna Hooper (“Cyna” in the release) now wife of the said William Wadlington by Pattent from under the hand & Seal of the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Fairfax bearing date the 18th Jan. 1762…” (metes and bounds follow) Signed: Thomas Wadlington. Witness: Robert Lemmon, Richard Foley. [Frederick County Deed Book 12, pp34]
I read her given name as “Sina” in the lease and “Cyna” in the release. The published abstract renders her name as “Lina” in both instruments. The clerk’s “L”s and “S”s are usually distinctly different although some, like this one, are rendered in a way that makes them questionable.
According to a Wadlington genealogy book [Donna Humphries Metzger, That Waddlington Family (2007)] She was Sinah Bound, daughter of George Bound who lived near the Wadlington’s and the tract that Thomas Hooper had surveyed. Note that implies James Hooper and Sina Bound were likely quite newly married, as James had been living some distance away until he obtained the warrant.
According to an entry at Find-a-Grave, Sinah and her husband are both buried in a family cemetery in Newberry County, South Carolina where a stone for Sinah giver her birth and death dates as 13 August 1739 – 8 February 1805. There is no indication in that book that Sinah had any Hooper children.
4/5 April 1768
Lease & Release: William Wadlington & Cyna his wife of the Province of South Carolina (by their attorney in fact Thomas Wadlington), to John Hopes of Frederick County… a duplicate of the 2/3 October 1767 lease & release in slightly different form and signed by Wadlingtons by their attorney. Recorded 3 August 1768. [Frederick County Deed Book 12, pp465]
8 August 1768
Writ: Frederick County (in name of Kinge George) commands Justices of Berkeley County, South Carolina to obtain Syna Wadlington’s relinquishment of dower “whereas the said Sina cannot conveniently travel to the court of the said County of Frederick to make her acknowledgement” Jonathan Gilbert, JP, obtained her relinquishment of dower on 15 September 1768. Recorded 8 November 1678. [Frederick County Deed Book 12, pp552]
The power of attorney did not authorize Thomas Wadlington to relinquish Syna’s dower. The second deed may have been an attempt to deliver a clearer title to John Hopes. But her release was still required for a clear title.
Check this out:
1770-1772 Frederick County MD Land Records {Patricia Abelard Andersen}
444-445. James Hooper recorded 22 November 1770, made 21 July between Charles Beatty of Frederick County and George Fraser Hawkins of Prince Georges County, for £6 sells lot in Addition to Georgetown, being a part of tract Knave’s Disappointment, known as lot #64. He is to pay annual rents. Signed by Charles Beatty, G. Fraser Hawkinsbefore Jos Wood, Thos Price. Acknowledgment, and Martha wife ofCharles Beatty and Susanna Truman wife ofGeorge Fraser Hawkins relinquished dower rights before Charles Jones; Andrew Heugh.
To do: see Antient & other abstracts for additional Hooper records. Anything in Fairfax? Westmoreland? Northumberland? Orange?
See publications of local historical societies – Frederick, Prince William, Fauquier
Random other items:
20 September 1733
William Byrd’s entourage: “Every thing being ready for a march, we left Blue Stone Castle about ten. My company consisted of four gentlemen (namely, major Mayo, major Mumford, Mr. Banister and Mr. Jones,) and five woodsmen, Thomas Wilson, Henry Morris, Joseph Colson, Robert Bolling and Thomas Hooper, four negroes and three Tuscaruda Indians.” [William Byrd, “A Journey to the Land of Eden in the Year 1733” embedded in pages 103- 122 of The Westover Manuscripts: Containing the History of the Dividing Line Betwixt Virginia and North Carolina; A Journey to the Land of Eden, A. D. 1733; and A Progress to the Mines, (Petersburg, Va., 1841), page 107.]
“A List of our Company of all sorts: Myself, Major [William] Mayo, Major [James} Mumford, Mr. [John] Banister, Mr.[Peter] Jones, Thomas Wilson, Joseph Colson, Harry Morris, Robert Bolling, Thomas Hooper, Lawson, Three Indians, Three negroes, Twenty horses, Four dogs” [Ibid, page 120.
William Byrd II (1674-1744), an almost insatiable acquirer of land, had purchased a huge swath of land he called “Eden” along the Virginia border in what is now Rockingham County, North Carolina. In the fall of 1733 he set out to explore it. He and the gentlemen assembled in Dinwiddie County on the 12th and by the 16th had reached one of Byrd’s properties in what is now southwestern Mecklenburg County on the Roanoke River. It was there, according to his account, that his “old friend Thomas Wilson”, Joseph Colson, and the Indians joined the party. The other three woodsmen are mentioned for the first time in this passage, apparently having joined the expedition at about the same time, as it set out westward for the wilderness along the Dan River. The party reached the Bannister River that day but, slowed by bad weather, did not cross into North Carolina until the 25th. The party explored the country around “Eden” for several days (See the town of Eden, North Carolina) and returned to Byrd’s property in Mecklenburg County on October 11 when Thomas Wilson and Joseph Colson were paid and left the party. Byrd made no mention of the other “woodsmen”.
Thomas Hooper was the only one of the five “woodsmen” not further identified in Byrd’s manuscript. Thomas Wilson, a surveyor of the boundary in 1728, owned land on the Dan River on the border of modern Mecklenburg and Halifax Counties on . Robert Bolling was described as Col. Mumford’s “squire” and Joseph Colson was Mumford’s overseer in Mecklenburg County. Harry Morris was overseer of Byrd’s Blue Stone Castle property in Mecklenburg County.
7 September 1758
Suit: John Hooper vs. John Stewart, in Tresp. Assault & Battery. This suit being agreed, on the Ptf’s motion is dismis’d. [Fredrick County Order Book 8, p102.]
Verify that this is probably not a clerical error — check to see if John HOPPER lived near John Stewart.
2 March 1772
Newspaper Notice: Baltimore Town: Publick Notice is hereby given, That the subscriber on the 25th of last Month, delivered a Letter to a certain John Hooper (a waggoner in Frederick County) directed to Normand Bruce, Esq… which Letter the said John Hooper promised to deliver to the said Normand Bruce, Esq. the next Day after he received the same, which he has not done…[The Maryland Gazette issue of 26 March 1772, page 3 and repeated in subsequent issues of 9 April and 23 April.]
Normand Bruce lived in Frederick County, Maryland, reasonably close to Frederick County, Virginia.
4 April 1780
Warrant Request: John Hooper came into court and deposed on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God that he served as a soldier and afterwards a noncommissioned officer in the old Virginia Regiment in which capacity he served until it was disbanded, that he never received any land for the said services under the King of Great Britain’s proclamation of October 1763 and that this is the first time of his making proof thereof, which Is ordered to be certified. [Frederick County Order Book 17, pp304.]
Warrant Assignment: for 50 acres issued to William Swords, assignee of John Hooper, a soldier under Col. George Washington, and a noncommisioned officer in said regiment. [Lloyd D. Bockstruck, Virginia’s Colonial Soldiers, p311.]
George Washington commanded the Virginia Regiment from 1755 through 1758.