HOOPER ------ Reproduction for the purpose of financial gain is prohibited. Redistribution of this material to a genealogical listing/service which resells or charges for access is also prohibited. This material is public domain, unless specified otherwise in the sources, and cannot, by international copyright law ("Intellectual Rights") be copyrighted by a third party. I make no claim regarding the accuracy of this chart; the original sources are not free from error and a degree of guesswork is involved in genealogy. Last revision: 28/1/2002 (c) David Powell, http://roots-boots.net/ft/names.html NOTE: This is a "point" file, that means I have only one individual with this surname (ie: a wife). I am only including information on the first generation in this file. For the rest of my line of descent from this person, see the file on her husband's surname. Hooper is a devon name, I think originating in the south coast ports, from Bridport down to Dartmouth, making barrels for the Bordeaux wine trade in the 12th & 13th centuries. The earliest documented references as a surname are a juror in Honiton in 1238, a thief in Salcombe Regis in 1238, 3 farm tenants in Sidmouth in 1260 & a mariner/wine importer at Topsham in 1298. By 1332 there were 25 Hoopers all over Devon including Welcombe in the NW, Plymouth in SW, but most in east Devon: Exminster, Exeter, Tiverton, Upottery etc. The longest continuous line is said to be the Salcombe Regis Hoopers - 1300 to 1730 but Sidmouth runs it close with Hoopers about from 1260 to the present day, but gaps exist in the documentation so continuity is not proven. In the 1880's Hooper's owned 2 ships & a brickworks in Exmouth/Withycombe. "Devonians" have had a unique dialect and this extended back to the time when surnames became established. A man who wove cloth was called Webber, not Weaver, similarly a man who finished the cloth was a Tucker (not a Fuller), man who worked on your roof was a Helliar (not a Slater or Tyler) and a man who made barrels was a Hooper (not a Cooper). Even today, Folletts and Hoopers are about 10 times more frequent in Devon than elsewhere in the UK. The pattern is more and more distinct the further back you go. Comparing 1800 milita lists for Exeter and Petersboro (Northamps), the list for Exeter with 3,000 men, has 14 Hoopers and 2 Folletts. Petersboro, with 14,000 men, has none of either listed. - Max Hooper, Sidmouth, Devon, Until (and almost certainly unless) the marriage of Maria Hooper and William Follett is found, it is unlikely her parentage will be known - was she a widow or a spinster? Was she from Devon or elsewhere? Was she in fact a "Harper" - Harper and Hooper have been used interchangably elsewhere so cannot be discounted here (and unlike Hooper's, Harper's can be found all over England). On the asumption that she was not only from Devon but from near where she first appears in documented records (Littleham, Devon), the IGI has two possible entries which could be Maria: Mary Ann Hooper, baptised 9/1808, Alphington, Devon daughter of Walter and Mary Hooper Mary Hooper, baptised 9/5/1808, Topsham, Devon daughter of William and Anna Maria Hooper The names of both sets of parents appear amongst the children of Maria and William. Alphington is just off the western bank of the Exe Estuary and is now part of the city of Exeter. Topsham is 1/2 way between Exeter and Littleham. Both Topsham and Exeter have been home to significant numbers of Folletts. Reference numbers are denoted by [..]'s and are listed at the end. ************************************************* 4. Maria Hooper,[2-6,8,13,15,16,18,25,28] born c.1805,[18,19,24,28] probably in County Devon, England. Died 1/9/1892, King William Street South, Adelaide, South Australia, cause of death was "senile decay".[6,19] According to unsubstantiated claims, Maria had Hooper relatives living in Adelaide, SA, who owned Hooper's Furnishings or Furniture (now LeCornu's) in the 1800's.[32,33] From the 1841 census there were three adult Hooper men living in SA around when Maria and William arrived: Charles and family, Henry and Edward.[18] The latter two were unmarried and living outside of Adelaide.[18] Charles was married with one son, under 7yo.[18] Other Hooper families arrived after this date. By 1850 other adult male Hooper's in SA included James (1841+), Jacob (1846+), William (1846+), Thomas (1847+) and John (1849+).[7] According to another undocumented source "Maria was part French. Her father Jean Paul Seine (or DeSeine) lost his head during the French Revolution. Maria was adopted by a well to do English family (she was a ward). She went to India to work for the Governor as lady in waiting to his wife. She met a Mr. Hooper while in India and married there."[33] This particular source then goes on to give additional information on Maria and William Follett which is now known to be incorrect. Also, the date of Maria's last child would seem to preclude the above theory - if Maria had been born during or before the French revolution (1789-1792) she could not possibly have had a child in 1850. According to another source, Maria Hooper, c.1805, was the daughter of (presumably) the above Maria de Seine and Mr Hooper.[33] According to this source, Maria De Seine moved to either Jersey or Guernsey and changed her surname to Decean/De Cean,[33] with or without her father, who may or may not have lost his head. It should be noted that there were De Cean's living on Guernsey with South Australian connections.[34] Married William Follett, [1-6,8-10,12,15,16,18,19,28] c.1835/1836, possibly in or near Littleham (near Exter), County Devon, England, where their second child was born. William was born c.1805,[18,24,28] possibly of County Devon, England. The family emigrated to South Australia on the "Warrior", arriving 17/4/1840.[29] Prior to emigrating, William and Maria resided in Littleham (1838),[15] and then Stoke Damerel,[16] both in County Devon, England. Upon arrival in South Australia the family first settled at Glenelg[6] where they remained until at least 1841,[28] by 1843 the family had moved to Happy Valley, Port Lincoln.[23] In 1844 the family was living at Adelaide, where they remained until at least 1850 (from births of children). In 1863 William, Maria and their children (except possibly Elizabeth Jane) were at St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands - Amelia had moved there in 1857 with her husband, Walter was there in 1858.[35] Whether William and Maria travelled to Guernsey with Amelia and her husband in 1857 or afterwards is unknown. By 1864 William and Maria were back in South Australia and living at Kensington, Adelaide - the last confirmed evidence of William's whereabouts.[9] By 1872 William had vanished and Maria was living at Notwood, Adelaide,[2] and Port Lincoln in 1879.[25] Children of Maria Hooper and William Follett: i. Amelia Ann Hooper Follett,[18,28] born 12/1836,[6,10,16] possibly of Littleham, County Devon, England. Married Robert Netherway Heyward, 26/7/1855, Trinity Church, North Adelaide, SA.[10,11] Robert, a butcher, was born 29/3/1830, Guernsey, Channel Islands,[10,11] and died 1894, Christchurch, New Zealand.[11] In 1857 Robert and his family returned to Guernsey where he was engaged in the meat market business until 1873, when the family emigrated to New Zealand where Robert was involved with the railways.[11] Children: Susanna Elizabeth (1856-bf.1936) of Adelaide, SA,[7,11] Charles Thomas (1857-1916), Walter Robert (1858), Alfred William (1860-1907), Dora Edith (1861), Anthony Edward (1863-1924), Henry Edgar (1864), Florence May (1866), Lionel Netherway (1867) of St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, Florence Maude (1870-1932), Isabelle (1871-1871), Emily Lena (1872-1873) of St Martins, Guernsey, Channel Islands, William David (1874) and Katie Maria (1874) of Christchurch, New Zealand.[11] ii. Walter[12,18,22,25,28] George[27] Follett, born 13/7/1838, Littleham, St Thomas Registration District, Exmouth, County Devon, England.[6,15,16,22] Was a farmer[6] and stonemason.[22] One of the buildings Walter built was "Bishop's Home", now a local pioneer museum.[22] Worked on the Overland Telegraph to Darwin in 1870 and was left behind dying, but his life was saved by an Aborigine and he returned to Port Lincoln after he'd recovered.[22] Subsequent to this he worked on road construction in the Port Lincoln area.[22] Died 31/8/1888, Port Lincoln, SA [6,22,31] and was buried Happy Valley Cemetery, Port Lincoln, SA.[27] Married Mary Allen Argent nee Garrett, 15/12/1873, Port Lincoln, SA.[6,7,22,27] Mary was born 7/3/1852, Port Lincoln, SA,[6] & died 4/5/1940.[6,14,22,31] Children: Edward (1874-1959), William Walter (1876-1952), Ellen Isabelle (1878-1946) and Walter Edwin (1881-1948) all of Port Lincoln, SA.[6,7,22] iii. Elizabeth Jane Follett, born 13/3/1842, Port Lincoln, SA.[4] Died 10/4/1843, and buried West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, SA.[21,27] iv. Elizabeth Jane Follett, born 11/1/1844,[27] Adelaide, SA.[3,9] Married Walter Stuart Sloane, 5/7/1864, St Luke's, Adelaide.[7,9] Children: Walter William (1865), James David (1867), John Stuart Jr. (1869), Harriett Jane Sophia (1871), Amelia Maria Agnes (1873) of Norwood, Florence Elizabeth (1875) of Kent Town, Adelaide, Margaret Rose (1878) and Florence Margaret Helena (1881) of Adelaide, SA.[7] v. William Robert Follett,[26] born 12/3/1847, Adelaide, SA.[5,6,8] Farmed the Poonindie Homestead.[6,27] Died 18/5/1923, Poonindie, SA, and buried Happy Valley Cemetery, Port Lincoln, SA.[6,30] Married Eliza Maria Watherston, 22/12/1880, St. Matthews Church, Poonindie, SA.[6,7,27] Eliza was born 10/5/1859, Lake Alexandrina, SA,[6] and died 5/11/1932, Port Lincoln, SA.[6,30] Children: Eliza Marie (1882-1959), Margaret Amelia (1884-1959), Alexander Walter (1885-1923), William Walter (1888-1889) and Robert William Hamilton (1890-1944) all of Port Lincoln, SA.[6,7] * vi. Harriett Caroline Follett, born 6/4/1850, Sturt, Adelaide, SA.[1,2] [1] Marriage certificate for George T. Powell & Harriet Follett, District of Adelaide, 1872.37. Also SA Marriage Registry, Book 91, p.37. [2] SA BDM indices; CD-ROM Edition: 1842-1906. Reference: 3.47 [3] SA BDM indices; CD-ROM Edition: 1842-1906. Reference: 1.55 [4] SA BDM indices; CD-ROM Edition: 1842-1906. Reference: 6.9 [5] SA BDM indices; CD-ROM Edition: 1842-1906. Reference: 1.204 [6] SA Biographical Index, 1986. [7] SA BDM indices; CD-ROM Edition: 1842-1906. [8] Birth certificate of William Robert Follett. [9] Marriage certificate for Jane Elizazbeth Follett and Walter Sloan. [10] Marriage Registrar, Trinity Parish, Adelaide, SA, 1855, No.2691. Copy supplied by Yvonne Baldock, . [11] Descendacy chart for Robert Heyward, by Len Heyward of Victoria, Australia. Copy provided by Yvonne Baldock, . [12] Alphabetical Index of Returns from SA School Masters, 1847-1851, as forwarded to the Colonial Secretary (GRG 24/6). [13] "Index to letters recieved by the Colonial Secretary, Governor & other officials, 1836-1851" & letters recieved and sent by the Judge and the Clerk of the Supreme Court, 1838-1852": Maria Follett, 1842/99 Reel #12 GRG.24/1. [14] SA Death Index, 623.1905. Extract from Beverley Borey, . [15] St Catherine's Index (GRO), reference No. 10/215, from Carole Ingham. Also birth certificate for Walter Follett, copy from Yvonne Baldock, . [16] Assisted Passenger application, 1839, number 6408. Yvonne Baldock, . Mentions: "Wm 30, wife 28, girl 2.75 yo & boy 11 mo." Walter was born 7/1838[15] which indicates the application was made 8/1839. Amelia then would have been born 33 months (2.75 yrs) prior to that, ie: 12/1836. From "A free passage to Paradise", Pat Button; also SAGHS. [17] Personal recollections of Margaret Amelia Whait (Follett), collected and forwarded by Yvonne Baldock, . [18] 1841 South Australian census, Yvonne Baldock, . William born between 1791-1805, Maria born after 1805. [19] Death certificate for Maria Follett (nee Hooper), 1892, No.406, district of Adelaide. [20] Passenger list for "Blackall", 1866 from: South Australian Gen. & Heraldry Soc., "Outward Shipping Records from Port Adelaide". Extract from Yvonne Baldock, . [21] West Terrace Cemetery records, Adelaide, SA. Yvonne Baldock, . [22] "Fading Footprints: Pioneers, Runs & Settlements of the Lower Eyre Peninsula", Jack Casanova, 1992, Chapter 56 "Follett's West Cape"; forwarded by Yvonne Baldock, . [23] "Colonial residents of Sth. Aust., 1839-1848: Cotter and MacDougall Directories, 1843", forwarded by Yvonne Baldock, . [24] According to sources [6] and [16] William was born 1809 and Maria was born 1812. [6] is almost certainly based on [16]. In the case of source [16], the ages given on assisted passenger lists were frequently "altered" to ensure the individuals in question qualified for assisted passage (ie: old enough to qualify, but not too old as to be disqualified). This would appear to be the case here, thus I have gone with the older dates. The only reliable figure for William was that he was between 35 and 50 in 1841, thus born in early 1800's. Maria's date comes from her death certificate.[19] [25] Certificate of Title (transfer), dated 25/11/1879, naming Maria Follett and Walter Follett. Maria is listed as "widow". [26] Certificate of Title (transfer), dated 4/6/1903, naming William Follett. [27] "Descendents of William Follett", prepared by Yvonne Baldock, . [28] 1841 South Australian Census, William Follett, p.237, District B. [29] "South Australian Records Prior to 1841", p.94, "1840, Ships Arrived: Warrior". [30] Tombstone of William Robert and Eliza Follett. [31] Tombstone of Walter and Mary Allen Follett. [32] Personal recollections of Nancy Follett, collected and forwarded by Yvonne Baldock, . [33] Undocumented correspondence, Yvonne Baldock, . [34] (Channel Islands Immigrants to South Australia), David Kreckler. [35] Parish Register, Town Church, St. Peter Port, Guernsey; 1861 UK Census; 1871 Guernsey Trade Directory. From Margaret Edwards, Priaulx Library, Guernsey, Channel Islands. Forwarded by Yvonne Baldock. ************************************************* For remaining generations refer to the Follett file. Also for more updated information on the children of Maria.