The bridge that Sanford (helped) to build

A History of the City of Saint Paul, and of the County of Ramsey, Minnesota By John Fletcher Williams (1856): "Work was commenced on the Saint Paul bridge this winter Piles for the piers were driven into the river bed. SANFORD A HOOPER and J & J Napier were the original contractors."

This bridge was known as the Wabasha Street Bridge. According to this, the bridge was scheduled for demolition in 1995 (more pictures & a lot of history at the link.) Sanford's bridge was replaced in 1996 with a fancy new one.

Photo circa 1867, River Crossing looking south from North Abutment, from HAER website.

John Young's Final Resting Place

Find a Grave website comes through again! Here is a second picture of John Young's final resting place at Temple Hill Cemetery in Geneseo, New York. Note the Harris tombstone in the back! Unfortunately I cannot read the inscription on the Harris marker, but the photographer (who graciously allows me to post his image here, thanks!) may be able to get back to the cemetery and get more information on the others buried there. I expect that John Young's wife Ellen Harris along with her father Campbell Harris, mother Jane Lee Harris, and perhaps other siblings may be there.

Sanford A. Hooper & his Brother-in-Law

According to the Record of the Harris family (Ancestry subscription required) Ellen Brick Harris (1813-1872) married John Young. Ellen is Mary Harris' younger sister. The Record of the Harris Family helpfully notes that ".... Ellen Brick Harris was a tall woman but never inclined to grow stout, as did her sisters." (pg. 67)

I find it curious that there aren't any references to Governor John Young in the newspaper accounts of the accusations against Sanford Hooper and his activities as superintendent of the Genesee Valley Canal. From the number and tone of articles about him, I would say that Sanford was a controversial figure on the 1840s/1850s New York scene. Wouldn't you think that Young's and Sanford's enemies would have made an issue of the close family relationship? Were people able to keep a fact like that secret? Or did they not care?

Another curiosity: Mary and Sanford named one of their sons after the brother- in- law, John Young Hooper (1841-1889). This John Young Hooper also named one of his sons-- my great grandfather-- John Young Hooper (1879 - 1942). My mother has vague memories of John Young Hooper, her grandfather, who lived with her family until his death. My mother doesn't recall ever learning that her grandfather was named after a great-uncle who was once governor of New York. Wouldn't you think that story would be passed down?

Political Connection: Unremarkable?

I've uncovered lots of Sanford Hooper related references and will eventually post all of them. There are more details on the defalcation in local press similar to the articles in the previous two posts, information about lawsuits including a New York case that was heard by the Minnesota Supreme Court, and information about Sanford's business dealings in New York and Minnesota, both critical and admiring. But I have yet to see a single comment about what one would think an important aspect of Sanford's dealings: his brother- in- law was a big-time New York politician and in fact the Governor of the state when some of these events were taking place.

John Young was the Governor of New York from 1848-49. He began his political career in the New York Assembly in 1832, served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and after his stint as governor became the Assistant Treasurer of the United States under President Zachary Taylor until his death (of tuberculosis) in 1852 at the age of 49.

Defalcation Part 2, Morally Corrupt & Abandoned!

Even more juicy details! Here's a more readable transcription.

Auburn Journal

Wednesday, October 6, 1852

Bad Example-—A Premium for being Dishonest .

Canal Commissioner FOLLETT certainly has many sins to answer for. The high hand which he has carried in conducting affairs on his section of the canals, during the past summer, should bring upon him the severest denunciations of the Press and People. It seems that he determined, at the opening of navigation, on the Canals, last spring, to take the responsibility upon himself of acting as his disordered sense of propriety and justice might dictate, without reference to the opinion of the People or the interests of the State.

Among the most disreputable proceedings on the canals under his control, we think that of giving employment to S. A. HOOPER, on the Mt. Morris Dam, should be classed. We arc informed, by reliable authority, that HOOPER has been paid TEN DOLLARS PER DAY, during a portion of the season, for superintending the work on the Dam. 'This HOOPER is the identical man against whom charges of fraud were preferred and sustained before a select committee of the Assembly of 1846, appointed to investigate the frauds in the expenditures of the Public Moneys upon the Canals of the State. On page 125, of the report of the committee, made that year, we find the following interesting facts: "Soon after the public exposure of the frauds committed by Hooper and Reynolds, indictments were found against both of them, and Hooper for a time absconded. During his absence from the Genesee Valley, he staid a considerable length of time at the house of Dr. F. L. Harris, in Buffalo. This was probably in August and September, 1845. While there, Dr. Harris had a conversation with him in relation to the amounts of the defalcation, with a view to ascertain the amount of the liability of Hooper, as Superintendent. Hooper then told Dr. Harris that the amount of the whole defalcation was from $3,000 to $5,000, about $5,000. (See deposition of Francis L. Harris, No. 89, in Rep. of Com.) However morally corrupt and abandoned Hooper may have become, he could have no motive to state the amount greater than it really was, but on the contrary, every motive to state it at the lowest possible sum, consistent with a desire to bo believed."

It will thus be seen that a man who has proved a defaulter to the State, and who, to avoid being removed from the office of Superintendent in 1845, reigned, has been kept in employment during some part of the past season, at an expense to the State of $10 per day, while hundreds of men who are known to be honest and upright in their business transactions, and who are far more competent to superintend the work on the Mount Morris Dam, have not been favored with work, because it was supposed that their political influence, in favor of FOLLETT, would not be exerted to the extent that HOOPER'S would.

There are other disgraceful circumstances connected with the Dam improvements. It is said that while HOOPER has been receiving ten dollars per day, for superintending the work, others have been paid six and eight dollars per day for the name service.

There have already been expended, on the Mount Morris Dam, thirty eight thousand dollars, but the work has been so miserably done that competent judges, who have seen it, have predicted that the first rise of water in the river, of any magnitude, will sweep away the whole structure. It is thus that the Public Money is squandered, and men encouraged who have proved themselves defaulters.

Defalcation Details

Don't you LOVE that word, defalcation? Several months ago I spent a few whole days (I do mean whole) trying to find more details about Sanford and his defalcation at the Genesee Valley Canal. I came up blank time & again. But today, viola! The web is growing...

Here's the transcription for the part of the article that involves Sanford.

Northern Journal

Lowville

Thursday, March 18, 1847.

ASTOUNDING CANAL FRAUDS

The Albany Evening Journal which reached us on the 19th came freighted with an astonishing development of gigantic frauds on the canals of our State, committed directly by or through the conviviance of the chosen functionaries of that party which has for several years stood aghast with horror at the thought that the Whigs were about to involve the State in a 40,000,000 debt. For years it has puzzled us to tell how the Brie enlargement and lateral canals, which were originally estimated to cost some $15,000.000 were reported at in a fair way to cost more than double that sum. The mystery is now unraveled by the unanimous report of a select committee appointed by the last Assembly, who have been pursuing their investigations in the recess, and have just made their report. We ask the attention of every citizen to the astounding facts therein developed of which the following summary has been compiled by the Evening Journal.

The select committee appointed by the last Assembly to investigate the fraud; in the expenditures on the canals, have presented their report to the Legislature. It is a very lengthy document, signed by all of the committee.

The committee state that their examinations have been made less with reference to the extent than to the variety and character of the frauds committed with the view of enabling the Legislature or canal board to adopt more effective precautionary measures to prevent like frauds in the future.

Their investigation of the Charges against the commissioner occupies a chapter of the report, presenting the facts without expressing any decided opinion. We shall not attempt to present any synopsis of this portion of the report.

They commenced their investigation upon the Genesee Valley Canal. They state that Sanford A. Hooper, was appointed the superintendent of that canal in the spring of 1842 and continued until he resigned on the 13th of March 1846 and during all this time Orrin H. Reynolds was his clerk; that when Hooper resigned, Reynolds was appointed to fill his place and Hooper became Reynold’s foreman. That soon after Hooper was appointed superintendent, as early as July 1842, he and Reynolds entered upon the practice of a regular system of peculation, by the use of false and forged vouchers; that this system was extensively and almost generally practiced by them until the removal of Reynolds by the Canal board in July 1845; that their practice was to go along the Canal the first of every month, pay the men, obtain their signatures to the printed form of receipts, with the time and amount left blank, and receive the check-rolls of the foreman; then return to the office; fill up the receipts with such amounts as they pleased, and make new check rolls to correspond. These blank receipts in several instances, taken for twenty five cents, were filled up for more dollars! In other instances, two check rolls previously sworn to, were interlined and added a list of days and the amount increased accordingly.

Forged receipts for materials of nearly every description were presented and paid; in one instance for 10,000 feet of lumber for a dock at Mount Marris, and this after the Commissioner had directed it to be constructed of lumber then on hand belonging to the State and while the engineer at Mount Morris was ?? for $3 and $3 ?? like lumber, for which the year before the commissioner had paid contractors from $18 to $8 per thousand.

But the frauds of the superintendent, as compared with those committed in the construction of the canal are hardly worth noticing—much the greater portion of the report is devoted to a description of the frauds in the construction and enlargement of the canals…

Run out of Town?

One of the first things I learned about Sanford Hooper was that he was the superintendent of the Genesee Valley Canal in New York during the 1840s. In the 1850s he moved to Belle Plaine, Minnesota. I wondered why Sanford would leave a respectable and high paying job, and move his large wife and all of his young kids to Minnesota. In those days, life was very difficult in Minnesota. It was truly the new frontier with little development, few amenities, and lots of Indians.

Thanks to Google Books and Dictionary.com, it didn't take long to find an answer!

Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York By New York (1846). Legislature. "


Annual Report of Canal Commissioners By New York Canal Commissioners, New York (1847).: ""


Defalcation means misappropriation of money or funds held by an official, trustee, or other fiduciary.

Here's another reference to the scandal. Unfortunately, the reference isn't complete and this is all that's available. I'm hoping that John Campbell Harris has a thing or two to say about this in the Philadelphia archive!

Deeper & Deeper....

When I first started researching genealogy, I wasn't a bit interested in anything that happened before the mid-19th century. It seemed that only the recent past had relevance... part of that was what I considered the unreliability of research materials, and part was thinking that those folks were way too long gone to be relevant.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, once I started looking, my mind changed and of course now I'm on a tear trying to dig up the Hooper line.

I was able to get in touch with a distant relative who had reliable information on Sanford's family, which I had absolutely NOTHING on before. I've included this new information on my Ancestry Family Tree. Right now I'm two generations back past Sanford and am on a hot lead that might take it even further.

Mt. Rest Cemetery in Bergen, New York has lots of our Hoopers, including Sanford's father, David Hooper (1783-1856).

Unbelievable!

I've found a JACKPOT!!!

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has an archive The Johnston-Harris Family Papers 1776-1935. The papers focus primarily on the "personal and professional achievements of John Campbell Harris" and is "comprised not only of papers, journals, and photographs but also of family memorabilia, genealogical histories, and information about progenitors and distant relatives, this collection focuses on rich familial heritages."

John Campbell Harris is first cousin to "our" (large) Mary Harris (Hooper). The archive listing at the above link is lengthy and it seems that there will be a fair amount of relevant material in the archive!!!

Located in Philadelphia, this archive is accessible to the public and the Society will also provide directed research for a nominal fee. Too bad Philadelphia is on the other side of the country, but I'll make it there one day. In the meantime, I intend to have the Society look up some information and will post what I find.

When it rains...

So now not only do I have a photograph of a very long dead ancestor, now I also have a photograph of his grave! This is a really fun site... I've been visiting it regularly since I started my genealogy research.

John Harris died in 1864. I'm curious if Mary Harris attended the funeral. She was living in Belle Plaine at the time, but appears to have had the resources to make the trip.

First photo of an ancestor pre-1900!!!

I have photograph envy. I am the caretaker of my husband's family photographs and there are a million of them pre-1900. I don't have a single photo of anyone in my maternal grandmother or grandfather's family before their marriage, and only a handful of photos from my grandparents' lives and my mother's youth. One of my motives in keeping this blog is that someone will stumble across it who has a trunkload of Hooper (and Harris) family photos.

Which is why I'm excited about this guy! He is John Harris (1789 - 1864), Mary Harris' uncle. John Harris is the younger brother of Mary Harris' father Campbell, who was born in 1781. He served in the Marine Corps for over 50 years and was the sixth Commandant of the Marine Corps. And this is the first photograph I've seen of a pre-1900 ancestor!

A Must-Read! Harris Family History

I had to change the subtitle of my blog, as I just discovered the amazing recorded history of the Harris family. I've had this little book for awhile, but only skimmed it for references to Sanford Hooper and his line. Little did I know that the real action might be with his wife, Mary Harris!

Record of the Harris Family descended from John Harris Born 1680 in Wiltshire England (1906) contains a detailed record of the ancestry and family of Mary Harris. Mary, born in 1811, was my great-great-great-grandmother. This book is packed full of important people all descended from the two Harris brothers who came to America in 1745 from Ireland. A little confusing to follow all the lines, but a very readable book nonetheless and a great source for fueling an interest in early American history.

The Harris ancestors are genuinely significant in the post-colonial period of America. Revolutionary War heroes left and right! Civil War heroes aplenty! Governor! Aide to President! Doctors and surgeons aplenty! Protector against pirates! Coroner! Professors! Senator! Leaders of Industry! Attorney General! Amazing women! And lots more.

As noted in the previous post, this book is available online (subscription required) at Ancestry.com. You can also get your very own copy for less than $20. What a bargain!

Mary Harris Hooper, Large Wife of Sanford

Passage is from the "Record of the Harris family descended from John Harris born 1680 in Wilshire, England", Ancestry subscription required at link, page 37.
How do you think Mary Harris would have felt about future generations knowing her weight? And how much did Sanford weigh, anyway?

Sanford A. Hooper, Farmer

Click for a readable image. Interestingly, the 1870 census shows Sanford in Belle Plaine with his wife, 17 year old son, and one servant (down from the three servants in the 1860 census.) It identifies him as a farmer with a net worth of $4000, also down from the $4700 total in the 1860 census.

What is the A. in Sanford A. Hooper?

Try as I might, I get a dead end everywhere I look for the answer to this question. I don't know why it bugs me so much not knowing his middle name. Perhaps if he weren't so consistently identified as "Sanford A. Hooper" or "S.A. Hooper" in all the documentation I can find, it wouldn't matter. But the "A" was obviously important to him, and I really want to know what it stands for!

Sanford A. Hooper, Dead Man

Jumping around a bit in the story of Sanford A. Hooper... here is his obituary from the Belle Plaine Herald on 28 January 1891. Click on the photo for a readable image. Sanford died at the age of 78. He was pre-deceased by his wife and son John Young Hooper.

I especially like this part of the obituary: No person ever came to him for advice or assistance unaided. His home was the seat of a large hearted hospitality and the sick found in him a friend whose time and means were always at his disposal. After a residence in this village of over thirty years there could not be found one descending voice to this opinion.

I've been told that he was buried in the cemetery at the Episcopal Church in Belle Plaine.

Sanford A. Hooper, Hotel Keeper

Here is the 1860 census that shows Sanford living in Belle Plaine with his wife, four children, three servants and three farm laborers. His occupation is listed as Hotel Keeper. "Value of Real Estate" is $2300 and "Value of Personal Estate" is $5000. Using the "nominal GDP per capita" measurement, this $7300 in 1860 would be worth $2,419,911.31 today.

Sanford A. Hooper & his Famous House

Alice Hooper's great grandfather was Sanford A. Hooper. Sanford was born in New York in 1813. Currently I have no ancestor information for Sanford, but I'm working on it!

Sanford married Mary Harris in 1840, when he was 27. The Harris family was prominent in New York and a relative included a governor of New York. His five children were born 1841-1852 in New York where Sanford was superintendent of the Genesee Valley Canal (more on that later).

Sanford, his wife and four children (one child died young) moved to Belle Plaine, Minnesota in the 1850s. Sanford was a successful businessman there and built this house in 1871, which has its own Wikipedia page. You can still get a tour of the Hooper House, which is owned by the Belle Plaine Historical Society. It is world famous for its second story outhouse

In Memory of Alice Hooper Chapman

This blog is in memory of my grandmother, Alice Hooper Chapman. Alice was born in Omaha in 1904 and died in Panama City, Florida in 1970. I did not know her well... I was 11 when she died. I've always been intrigued by what I knew about her.

She was an only child and aside from her parents, had no close relatives (or so we thought). After high school in Omaha, she went to the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1920s. She married a classmate, my grandfather, Henry Thomas Chapman, had two kids, then moved to north Florida in the 1930s.

My grandfather worked in advertising in Chicago. After the move to Florida, he managed his Tung Oil Grove. Throughout her life, Alice continued working as an artist and a teacher of art. Alice and Henry lived in northern Florida for the rest of their lives.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of a lonely girl in Omaha, so interested in art--- and so talented-- that she sought an art education after high school. Where did her passion for art come from? How did she end up at a prestigious art college, when neither parent had even a high school degree?

No one can answer these questions for me... but my research into the family history can at least give some clues. Before I started this search, my mother could only give me the basics of her mother's history... birthdate, birth place, parents' names... and a story or two about the Hoopers. That was it. So this blog is an attempt to find some answers and to document my genealogy research in the hope that one day my own daughters will be interested in their great-grandmother and her family history.