Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of James Hooper

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Descendants of James Hooper

6. DEMPSEY S.² HOOPER (JAMES¹) (Source: From the James Hooper Family of Union County, Kentucky by Kenneth Verdaine Hooper.) was born Abt. 1785 in Caswell, Jones County, North Carolina, and died Abt. 1834 in Fairfield, Wayne County, Illinois. He married ELIZABETH SLOCUMB (Source: From the James Hooper Family of Union County, Kentucky by Kenneth Verdaine Hooper.) Abt. 1809 in Kentucky, daughter of SAMUEL SLOCUMB and MARY BECK. She was born Abt. 1789 in North Carolina, and died Unknown in Wayne County, Illinois.

Notes for DEMPSEY S. HOOPER:
Dempsey was probably born in South Carolina, moving with the family to Kentucky about 1805. The family moved onto a 400-acre farm near Morganfield, Union/Henderson County, Kentucky. Prior to the taking of the 1810 census, Dempsey married Elizabeth Slocumb, according to a Slocumb family history, written by Charles E. Slocumb in 1882. Dempsey's family is listed on the 1810 federal census for Henderson County, Kentucky with one (1) male 16-26 years of age and one (1) female 16-26 years of age. As was the custom of the day, he probably lived on the 400-acre farm, helping his father with the crops. Dempsey's father died in 1812/1813 and Dempsey probably stayed on the farm, helping his brothers take care of the farm and their mother. While Dempsey was here, a son was born to Elizabeth and him on 5 August 1813. Where Dempsey was during the 1820 census I have been unable to determine, looking in Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois. He seems to have been missed or was in the process of moving to Illinois. A son was born to them in Illinois on 11 January 1821. Dempsey's brother and father-in-law had come to Wayne/White County, Illinois in 1816 and it is thought that he soon followed. Dempsey's mother died in early 1822 and the estate was settled. According to the will, a division of the Kentucky estate was to be made upon the death of the mother; Dempsey, Samuel and Clarendon were to divide the farm equally. On 20 September 1827, before J.P. Samuel Leech and Rigdon B. Slocumb, Dempsey and his wife, Elizabeth, appear and sell their 1/3 share of the 400 acres to his brother Samuel for $500. Dempsey signed his name while Elizabeth made her "X". Just where Dempsey lived in Wayne County has not been determined, as the court house burned in the late 1800's, destroying nearly every record. From the 1830 census for the county we do find that Dempsey probably lived near Nathan Merritt, Mary Ann Slocumb (probably his mother-in-law, aged 50-60) and many other well known Wayne County families. Prior to the taking of the census, another son was born to the family on 8 April 1830. This is the third son which we have record of at this time: Samuel, Wiley, and Rigdon. On the 1830 census we find the following for his household: MALES - 1 (0-5); 2 (5-10); 2 (15-20); 1 (40-50) FEMALES - 1 (0-5); 1 (40-50). As can be seen from the above information there are two males unnamed at this time. The girl is thought to be Susan A. Hooper, wife of Amazon King. Dempsey died around 1834 as a history of the county lists Samuel as his administrator. Elizabeth is listed in the 1840 census, being 50-60 years old, with four boys and the girl still at home. Where either Dempsey or Elizabeth is buried is unknown. As a note of reference concerning the two sons in Dempsey's household in 1830, that are unaccounted for, we might mention that there are a couple of Hooper names found in the early Wayne county histories. One is Harrison Hooper who was commissioned a First Lieutenant of the 24th Regiment at Vandalia, Illinois in December 1837. The other was Nathan Hooper who was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of the 29th Regiment in August 1841. These may be the missing sons but no proof of this has yet been found.

More About DEMPSEY HOOPER and ELIZABETH SLOCUMB:
Marriage: Abt. 1809, Kentucky

Children of DEMPSEY HOOPER and ELIZABETH SLOCUMB are:

14.	i.	SUSAN A.³ HOOPER, b. Abt. 1810, Wayne County, Illinois; d. Unknown.
15.	ii.	SAMUEL HOOPER, b. August 05, 1813, Union County, Kentucky; d. April 06, 1865, the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.
16.	iii.	WILEY HOOPER, b. January 11, 1821, Wayne County, Illinois; d. August 27, 1877, Wayne County, Illinois.
17.	iv.	RIGDON BRYAN HOOPER, b. April 08, 1830, Wayne County, Illinois; d. March 12, 1883, Fairfield, Wayne County, Illinois.

7. SAMUEL² HOOPER (JAMES¹) was born Abt. 1786 in Caswell, Jones County, North Carolina, and died Abt. 1840 in Union County, Kentucky. He married SUSANNAH SLOCUMB February 23, 1813 in Union County, Kentucky, daughter of SAMUEL SLOCUMB and MARY BECK. She was born Abt. 1790 in North Carolina, and died Unknown.

More About SAMUEL HOOPER and SUSANNAH SLOCUMB:
Marriage: February 23, 1813, Union County, Kentucky

Children of SAMUEL HOOPER and SUSANNAH SLOCUMB are:

	i.	ELIZABETH³ HOOPER, b. Abt. 1815; d. Unknown.
	ii.	NANCY HOOPER, b. Abt. 1817; d. Unknown.
18.	iii.	ISAAC HOOPER, b. May 08, 1818, Union County, Kentucky; d. February 11, 1859, Union County, Kentucky.
19.	iv.	WILLIAM HOOPER, b. Abt. 1821, Union County, Kentucky; d. Unknown.

8. CLARENDON² HOOPER (JAMES¹) was born Abt. 1790, and died 1830 in Lawrence County, Arkansas. He married (1) MARY L. HARVEY September 22, 1812 in Hopkins County, Kentucky. She was born Abt. 1792, and died Unknown. He married (2) CYNTHIA MERRITT 1820 in Wayne County, Illinois. She was born Abt. 1790, and died Unknown.

Notes for CLARENDON HOOPER:
Clarendon married a Mary L. Harvey in 1812 and moved from Henderson County. He crossed the river at Shawneetown, Illinois with a group of people who settled in White County, Illinois prior to 1820. Clarendon then moved on to Wayne County, Illinois and is listed on the 1820 census with his household consisting of one male under 21, two males over 21 and two free white females, one over 21 and one under 21. Clarendon owned several acres of land in Wayne County and made several payments at the land bank in Shawneetown, Illinois.

In 1823, Mary Harvey filed a divorce decree in Tennessee, indicating the family had moved to Illinois. A reference book for Wayne County, Illinois indicates that Clarendon was among a group of settlers who came into Illinois from Union County, Kentucky. Also, among this group was George Merritt, Daniel Gray and Samuel Slocumb (father of Rigdon B. Slocumb). They arrived in Illinois on March 25, 1816. The book also states that, in 1818, a Joseph Martin came from Kentucky and purchased the southwest quarter of Section 7 in Jasper Township, Wayne County, Illinois from Clarendon.

This apparently has something to do with the divorce decree mentioned above. In the decree, Mary L. Hooper stated that her husband began to carry on a correspondence with a girl residing in the neighborhood whose name was Cynthia Merritt. Then, carefully concealing his intentions, he made arrangements privately for disposing of all his property. He conveyed all his property to one of Cynthia's brothers before he eloped to Arkansas with her.

He finally settled in Lawrence County, Arkansas, in the Strawberry River area. He died there and his widow married David Dunn Slocumb in 1833 and they moved back to White County, Illinois. The children were reared there, marrying and having families of their own.

It should be mentioned here that Clarendon and Mary L. Harvey had at least two children. When they separated, she and the children went back to Humphreys County, Tennessee to live with her parents. We do not know their names.

Notes for MARY L. HARVEY:
Marriage is recorded in "Hopkins County, Kentucky Marriages, 1800-1855", p. 13

More About CLARENDON HOOPER and MARY HARVEY:
Divorce: 1820
Marriage: September 22, 1812, Hopkins County, Kentucky

More About CLARENDON HOOPER and CYNTHIA MERRITT:
Marriage: 1820, Wayne County, Illinois

Children of CLARENDON HOOPER and CYNTHIA MERRITT are:

	i.	POLLY³ HOOPER, b. December 07, 1827, Lawrence County, Arkansas; d. April 28, 1843.
20.	ii.	ISAAC HOOPER, b. December 15, 1827, Lawrence County, Arkansas; d. March 27, 1880, White County, Illinois.
21.	iii.	CLARENDON BELZIC HOOPER, b. May 04, 1830; d. Abt. 1858.

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