WILLIAM HOOPER 1742-1790-PATRIOT

You who are reading these short bios of the signers of our Declaration of Independence are shaking your head, perhaps, because you are not familiar with a lot of these men that were so involved in our beginnings as a United States, and maybe you even feel a little "left out" or even "dumb".  But don't fret about it because you will find that MOST are in the same boat!
William Hooper's father emigrated to Boston from Scotland and in Boston he was married.  William was his first born and he took greaqt care to see that he got a good education.  William was prepared for clerical work and was a good student, graduating with honors.  However William decided to study the Law.
William left Boston because of an overabundance of lawyers and went to North Carolina where he had a number of Scottish relatives and set up practice.  There he rose quickly in the profession and gained a circle of friends in government gaining him a lot of influence.
Then in 1770-71 an insurrection arose involving the political party called "Regulators".  Many thought these were a rag-tag group of malcontents, they had taken up the cause of the Patriots and for awhile Hooper was on the side of the Governor.  Things changed when Patrick Henry ran Lord Governor Dunmore out of Virginia and the events in Boston and other citys.  William Hooper was a staunch supporter of the Patriot cause.
It was in 1773 when William was elected to a seat in the Provincial Assembly, then reelected to the County where he became so obnoxious to the State that he was judged an enemy of said State.  Then in the summer of 1774 a meeting was called and the decision was made to send William Hooper to the Continental Congress where he was returned the next year and wrote the address to the Island of Jamacia.  This address was a clear and able explanation of the rift between England and the Colonies.
William was again elected in 1776 and there voted for and placed his name on the document on Auguet 2, 1776.
In 1777 Hooper was busy moving his family from place to place, hiding himself from time to time and suffering the harassment of the British.  When it was over William went back and reclaimed his land and went back to work, not entering politics again. 
William Hooper died in 1790 at the age of 48 years.....Medicineman!