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!