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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Miller County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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William J. Hooper has been identified with the agricultural affairs of Miller County since his twenty-first year, and during this time he has proved himself to be a thoroughly reliable and substantial citizen, as well as an honest and upright man. A brief sketch of his life will be read with interest. He first opened his eyes to the light of this world on May 10, 1835, in Perry County, Tenn., being the third of eight children, four of whom are still living (three in Cass County, Tex., and our subject in Miller County, Ark.), born to the union of Dempsey and Rosanna (Roberts) Hooper, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively The father died in Cass County, Tex., in 1878, in his seventy-second year. Their marriage was consummated in Ferry County, Tenn., and there they made their home until 1849, when they moved to Rusk County, Tex., where the wife passed away the same year at the age of thirty-five, and after her death the father moved to Cass County, where he made his home for the balance of his life. He was a general mechanic, a fine blacksmith and woodworker, and manufactured farm implements, wagons, etc., in connection with which he also carried on farming operations quite extensively. He prospered greatly, and at the time of his death owned considerable valuable property, mostly located about two miles northeast of where Queen City now stands. After the death of his wife he went back to Perry County, Tenn., and there married Miss Mary Ann Pomeroy, and together they returned to their home in Cass County, Tex., where she passed from life in 1854. He remained a widower for some time after his wife’s death, but finally succumbed to the charms of Mrs. Jane (Sams) Mooney, a widow lady, who survives him. To his second marriage one daughter was born, but she has since died. The last marriage resulted in the birth of seven children, all of whom are still living. William J. Hooper passed his school days in Perry County, Tenn., and Rusk County, Tex. In 1857 he came to Miller County, Ark., and located on the farm where he now lives, which was then an unbroken forest abounding with wolves, bears, panthers and other wild animals. He courageously set to work to clear this place, and now has for his pains a splendid farm of 320 acres in Arkansas and 100 acres in Texas, just across the river, with eighty acres prepared for cultivation. His farm is well improved, with a handsome residence, good barns, etc. In 1882 he was elected justice of the peace, and held that office for one term. In January, 1861, he joined the Nineteenth Texas Confederate Infantry, and served until June, 1865, surrendering at Hempstead, on the Brazos River, in Texas. During most of his service he was a teamster, and participated in the battles of Jenkins’ Ferry and Mansfield. At the close of the war he had nothing but his wife and children, and since then has been very successful. His wife, to whom he was married on October 19, 1856, was formerly Miss Frances Allen; she was born in Cobb County, Ga., on May 28, 1840. They are the parents of eight children, the oldest of whom, Dempsey J., died in his eleventh year. Those still living are: William N. (a prominent physician of Hughes Spring, Cass County, Tex.), James H. (a prosperous farmer of Miller County), Belle Zora (wife of John V. Graves, a farmer of Caddo Parish, La.), Samuel E. (a teacher of Cass County, Tex.), and Preston L., Cora E., and Podie (at home). Mr. Hooper is a Royal Arch Mason, socially, and politically a stanch Democrat, and both he and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.

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This family biography is one of 35 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Miller County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Miller County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Miller County, Arkansas family biographies: Miller County, Arkansas Biographies

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