William Hooper (bef. 1790 - 1841)

Born before 11 Oct 1790 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England

Husband of Ann (Denford) Hooper — married 10 Jul 1813 in St. Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England

Descendants

Died Oct 1841 after age 50 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England

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Biography

William Hooper was baptised on 11 October 1790 at St. Martin's in Birmingham.^[1] His parents were John Hooper and Sarah Latham. The Hooper name was very common in Devonshire and William's ancestors possibly came from that area as his wife came from Exeter in Devon. William was a brass founder like his brothers but joined the army in 1806, serving with the 7th Dragoon Guards, a cavalry regiment, till about 1823.^[2] After leaving the army he worked as a labourer and then in Birmingham's button trade, probably making silver buttons. He passed away in 1841.

Marriage and Children

William married Ann Denford on 10 July 1813 at St. Sidwell in Exeter.^[3]

William and Ann's first child, Elizabeth, was baptised in Exeter in January 1814, but after this there is a seven year gap in the records before the couple baptised another child in Exeter again in 1821. During this time the couple had two children, Joseph and Ann, who both appear on later censuses stating that they were born in Birmingham. By late 1826 William and Ann were back in Birmingham. Their children born in both towns were:

• Elizabeth Hooper (c.1814-after 1841) was baptised on 24 January 1814 at St. Sidwell, Exeter.^[4] She possibly never married as she was probably living with her brother Joseph in 1841.
• Joseph Hooper (1817-c.1862) was born on 7 March 1817 in Birmingham.^[5] Joseph later married Ann Smith.
• Ann Hooper (1821-c.1875) was born in Birmingham and baptised on 15 July 1821 at St. Sidwell, Exeter.^[6] Ann later married John Ward.
• Philip Hooper (1823-1826) was baptised on 20 July 1823 at St. Sidwell, Exeter.^[7] He passed away in Birmingham as an infant.
• John Hooper (1826-1826) was baptised on 9 April 1826 at St. Sidwell, Exeter.^[8] He passed away in Birmingham as an infant.
• Sarah Hooper (1828-1833) was born on 17 March 1828 in Birmingham.^[9] She was buried on 20 February 1833, aged 5.

Shortly after arriving in Birmingham in 1826 William and Ann's two youngest children, Philip and John, passed away within a week of each of each other, Philip being buried on 30 November and John on 5 December, both at St. Mary's on Whittal Street.

The Seventh Dragoon Guards

1st or Kings Dragoon Guards (c. 1812), with a similar uniform to the 7th.

On the baptism of his oldest daughter William was described as a soldier.

In Birmingham, on 21 July 1806, William had enlisted in the British army and joined the 7th Dragoon Guards. Records stated that he was 17, but he was actually about 15 or 16. He was described as being 5' 9 1/2", as having brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion.^[10] The 7th Dragoons had been called the 'The Princess Royal's' from 1788 after the birth of Princess Charlotte, and were a cavalry regiment. William's service was during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) but his regiment did not take part in those wars.

A history of the regiment states that in 1805 the 7th Dragoons were in Ireland and stationed at Dundalk, which "lasted until 1810 when they went back to England, first Manchester then Birmingham".^[11]

In 1811 the Guards were stationed in Birmingham at the Cavalry Barracks on Great Brook Street in Aston.^[12]

In 1815, towards the end of the wars, William was in Monaghan in Ireland, where he got ill due to the wet and cold conditions.

Histories of the 7th Dragoons state that the regiment was in Ireland until bout 1819 or 1820, when they were posted in Piershill in Scotland.^[13] William's son, Joseph, was born in 1817 and his daughter, Ann, in about 1821, both in Birmingham. It is likely that William's wife was living in Birmingham where his family lived, where he visited whilst on leave.

William left the army on 25 June 1823 due to rheumatism and asthma caused by his winter serving in Monaghan in 1815. His discharge certificate stated that he had increasing suffered over the previous five years, so from about 1818. He had been in Exeter in 1821 baptising his daughter, and described as a day labourer, perhaps released from many duties before his official discharge. He had reached the rank of Corporal.

Note: More research can probably add more detail to William's time in the army as there are documents on the 7th Dragoon Guards at the National Archives.

Great Brook Street Cavalry Barracks

The Cavalry Barracks, Great Brook Street (1830).

In at least 1811 William's regiment was stationed at the Cavalry Barracks on Great Brook Street in Birmingham, his home town. The barracks had been built in 1793 after the Birmingham Riots of 1791, which William would not have remembered as he was only one.^[14]

Part of an 1819 map showing the barracks (bottom right) and Sheep Street where William lived with his family from about 1828, after he left the army.

Great Brook Street Cavalry Barracks (disused). Ashted Chapel is seen in the background.

Coat of Arms on the Cavalry Barracks.

Quarters of the Cavalry Barracks (disused).

After the Army

William was described as a labourer on the baptisms of his children in Exeter from 1821, so shortly before he officially left the army due to ill health. He was still a labourer when he first arrived back in Birmingham in about 1826, but sometime over the next thirteen years he found work in the Birmingham button trade. The 1841 census described William as a button maker and the marriages of his son Joseph and daughter Ann noted him as a metal caster and German silver caster, so he likely cast silver buttons. Metal button manufacture had been one of Birmingham's dominant trade for over a century, with William working at the tail-end of the trade's height.

William Hooper passed away in 1841, aged 51, and was buried on 24 October 1841 at St. Mary's in Birmingham. He was described as having been living on Sheep Street.

Sources

BAPTISM & BURIAL RECORDS OF CHILDREN (in time order):

[*]Details of St. Sidwell baptisms transcribed on Find My Past.

CENSUSES:

1841 CENSUS: Sheep Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire (image).^[15]

William HOOPER (56) Button M, Y.

Ann HOOPER (49) --, N.

Thomas BAKEWELL (20) Brass Caster, Y.

Ann WARD (18) --, N.

Harriet WARD (2) --, Y.

William WARD (6months) --, Y.

Note: Army enlistment?^[16]

References

• 7th Dragoon Guards on Wikipedia.

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB42-SHY : 19 March 2020), William Hooper, 1790.
2. ↑ Discharge Certificate 7th (Or Princess Royals) Regt Of Dragoon Guards, Attestation date: 21 Jul 1806; Discharge: 1823, Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913, National Archives, WO 97; Box 67; Box record number 58.
3. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2VZ-8MG : 13 March 2020), William Hooper, 1813.
4. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5WT-VNL : 19 September 2020), Elizabeth Hooper, 1814.
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPFK-CCM : 20 March 2020), Joseph Hooper, 7 Apr 1828 (born 7 Mar 1817), St Philip.
6. ↑ Birth place given on census; "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7YY-3Z1 : 19 September 2020), Anne Hooper, 1821.
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J3X9-568 : 19 September 2020), Philip Hooper, 1823.
8. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NB3K-2QG : 19 September 2020), John Hooper, 1826.
9. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NYBM-L5T : 20 March 2020), Sarah Hooper, 1828.
10. ↑ Discharge Certificate 7th (Or Princess Royals) Regt Of Dragoon Guards, Attestation date: 21 Jul 1806; Discharge: 1823, Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913, National Archives, WO 97; Box 67; Box record number 58.
11. ↑ Unreferenced website: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/7dg.htm.
12. ↑ Unreferenced websites: https://antients.org/History%20-%207th%20Dragoon%20Guards.htm ; https://pubwiki.co.uk/Warwickshire/BirminghamDirectory/BirminghamStreets.shtml.
13. ↑ Unreferenced website: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/7dg.htm.
14. ↑ Riots: http://mappingbirmingham.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-dinner-that-caused-riot.html.
15. ↑ 1841 census of England and Wales, HO 107/1145/6 f33 p22.
16. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Class Number: WO 25; Class Title: 7 Dragoon Guards; Piece Number: 271; Piece Title: 7 Dragoon Guards.