William Hooper was a white attorney, judge, politician, and one of three North Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence. Although his father was a staunch Loyalist, Hooper eventually came to support Patriot causes and American independence after moving from Massachusetts, where he was born and raised, to Wilmington, North Carolina. In Wilmington, he became a leader in public life and served in a number of prominent government and political roles, including attending three Continental Congresses, four Provincial Congresses, and four Provincial Assemblies. Like many of the other founding fathers, Hooper was an enslaver.
During the Revolutionary War, Hooper’s home in Wilmington was destroyed by the British, and he and his family fled and relocated to Hillsborough, where Hooper continued his activities in law and public life. Despite the 1788 Constitutional Convention meeting in Hillsborough, within sight and sound of his home, Hooper was not elected as a delegate to this convention. After experiencing health problems for much of his life, Hooper passed away shortly thereafter in 1790. He is buried in Hillsborough.