1829-1918; bulk: 1829-1902
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Samuel Hooper papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers of merchant, financier, bank executive, businessman, attorney, and legislator Samuel Hooper and his descendants. The collection primarily consists of correspondence received and also contains financial papers, deeds, government papers, and estate papers. Additionally, there are family and estate papers relating to his descendants in the Lothrop and Tappan families.
Biographical Sketch
Samuel Hooper (1808-1875) was born on 3 February 1808 in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to John Hooper (1776-1854) and Eunice Trevett Hooper (1781-1866). He was the sixth eldest of nine children in a prominent mercantile family, which also included Dr. Robert William Hooper (1810-1885), a physician and surgeon. Hooper married Anne Sturgis (1813-1884), a daughter of William Sturgis (1782-1863), on 12 June 1832. Together, they had three children: William Sturgis Hooper (1833-1863) (called Sturgis), Anne Maria Hooper Lothrop (1835-1930) (called Annie), and Alice Sturgis Hooper (1841-1879).
Hooper initially served as an agent in his father's counting house and traveled frequently to foreign countries until 1832. Around this time, he became a partner in his father-in-law's business, Bryant, Sturgis, and Company in Boston, where he engaged in importing and the China trade. In 1841, he became a partner in the shipping firm of William Appleton and Company, alongside William Appleton (1786-1862), Franklin Gordon Dexter (1824-1903), and John Hooper Reed (1827-1899). After Appleton's retirement from the business in 1859, the company was reorganized with Dexter as Samuel Hooper and Company. The firm continued to do business throughout Samuel Hooper's lifetime and, after his death, expanded into the iron, manufacturing, and railroad industries, amongst others.
In politics, Hooper served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1851-1853 and the Massachusetts Senate in 1858. A proponent of hard currency, Hooper published two popular pamphlets on the subject: Currency or Money (1855) and An Examination of the Theory and the Effect of Laws Regulating the Amount of Specie in Banks (1860). In 1861, Hooper was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of his previous business partner, Representative William Appleton. Hooper would serve from 2 December 1861 until his death on 14 February 1875 (37th–43rd Congresses).
During the Civil War, Hooper helped shape the nation's financial and currency policies. In the Lincoln administration, he frequently advised Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and shared his advocacy for a national banking system. In 1866, he published the pamphlet A Defence of the Merchants of Boston Against Aspersions of the Hon. John Z. Goodrich, Ex-collector of Customs. He was additionally a delegate to the 1866 National Union Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hooper chaired the Committee on Ways and Means from 1869-1871 (41st Congress), the Committee on Banking and Currency from 1871-1873 (42nd Congress), and the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures from 1871-1875 (42nd and 43rd Congress). He was instrumental in the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873. He declined renomination in 1874.
Hooper additionally served on the board of directors of the Merchants' National Bank of Boston for 37 years, was a director and principal shareholder of the Eastern Railroad Company for 20 years, a considerable shareholder of several other railroads and businesses, president of both the Bay State Iron Company and Great Falls Manufacturing Company, a member and treasurer of the Somerset Club, and an officer of the Massachusetts Humane Society. In Boston, he resided at 25-27 Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay. At the time of his death on 14 February 1875, Hooper's fortune was estimated as high as $5,000,000.
Hooper's son, William Sturgis Hooper, married Alice Mason (1838-1913) in 1857. They had one daughter, Isabella Wyman Hooper Balfour (1859-1938). In the Civil War, Sturgis served on the staff of General Nathaniel P. Banks in New Orleans. In 1865, in honor of his son, Samuel Hooper also helped to establish the Harvard University School of Mining and Practical Geology with a $50,000 endowment. Alice Mason Hooper was later married to Senator Charles Sumner (1811-1874) from 1866 to 1873, separating in 1867.
Hooper's elder daughter, Anne Maria Hooper, married Thornton Kirkland Lothrop (1830-1913) in 1866. They had four children: Mary Buckminster Lothrop (1867-1946), Amy Peabody Lothrop Coolidge (1869-1954), William Sturgis Hooper Lothrop (1870-1905), and Thornton Kirkland Lothrop, Jr. (1872-1945). Thornton, Sr.'s sister, Olivia Buckminster Lothrop (1841-1878), married Lewis William Tappan, Jr. (1840-1897) in 1866. They had one daughter who lived to adulthood, Olivia Buckminster Tappan James (1876-1935).
Collection Description
The Samuel Hooper papers contain materials documenting his business career as a merchant, financier, and stockholder; his political career as a U.S. representative from Massachusetts (1861-1875); and his estate, as well as those of his relatives, peers, and descendants. Also included is a small amount of papers and correspondence of several relatives in the Hooper and Lothrop families.
Samuel Hooper's correspondence comprises the majority of the collection and primarily includes letters received, alongside telegrams, copies of letters sent, circulars, and other included materials. The most frequent correspondents are business associates and include his father-in-law William Sturgis, his son-in-law Thornton K. Lothrop, Franklin Gordon Dexter, William Appleton, Franklin B. Haven, Samuel Turner Dana, William H. Finney, and John Wooldredge. Throughout is correspondence from contemporary politicians, federal officials, constituents, and family members. Financial papers include various account books and statements, bills, receipts, memoranda, articles and writings, reports, disbursements, stock and bond certificates, contracts, leases, and real estate deeds. Government papers include drafts of bills and legislation, bills and receipts, assignments, commissions, applications, petitions, specific correspondence, and invitations.
Specific business organizations documented include Samuel Hooper and Company, William Appleton and Company, the Merchant's National Bank of Boston, and the Eastern Railroad Company, among others. Frequent business topics include the India and China trade, investing, Boston commerce, and multiple railroads in addition to the Eastern. Prominent government topics include legislation, Civil War finance, government banking and finance, national currency, and personal expenditures.
Estate papers include those of Samuel Hooper, as well as several of his descendants, relatives, and peers, for some of whom he served as executor. Many papers date to after Hooper's death and relate to relatives in the Lothrop and Tappan families. The series of Hooper and Lothrop family papers feature, along other materials and topics, correspondence received by Samuel Hooper's wife Anne Sturgis Hooper from her daughters and granddaughters, as well as correspondence relating to his daughter Anne Maria Hooper's marriage to Thornton K. Lothrop.
Processing Information
This collection guide supersedes an online inventory prepared by Michael Rush in April 2003 and encoded in April 2004.
This collection was previously described as also containing papers of Frederick Dobbs Tappan (1829-1902). During processing in 2024, materials created by or belonging to Tappan were not identified. Rather, the collection contains some estate papers relating to Lewis W. Tappan, Jr., a brother-in-law of Hooper's daughter Anne Maria Hooper Lothrop, as well as his daughter, Olivia Buckminster Tappan James.
Acquisition Information
Purchased from the estate of Eleanor A. Lothrop, Oct. 1998.
Restrictions on Access
The Samuel Hooper papers are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Correspondence, 1836-1875
Arranged chronologically.
This series overwhelmingly contains correspondence addressed to Samuel Hooper, though there are also occasionally telegrams, copies and drafts of letter sent, circulars, newspaper clippings, and other documents included. The majority date to Hooper's time in the House of Representatives, 1861-1875. Subjects primarily relate to business and government matters, though there are occasional pieces of family correspondence. Many of the letters in this series were annotated with the sender's name, date, and subject.
Earlier letters are business-focused and relate more to trade with Appleton and Company. After his election to Congress, correspondence is mixed between business and government, though there is a greater focus on currency, as well as Hooper's investments in the Eastern Railroad and the iron industry.
Frequent correspondents include Franklin Gordon Dexter, William Sturgis, William Appleton, Thornton K. Lothrop, Franklin B. Haven, Samuel Turner Dana, William H. Finney, and John Wooldredge. Other notable correspondents include Salmon P. Chase, Edwin M. Stanton, Schuyler Colfax, John A. Andrew, Henry L. Dawes, Louis Agassiz, Josiah P. Whitney, Nathaniel P. Banks, John H. Clifford, John Z. Goodrich, George S. Boutwell, Alexander H. Rice, and Mary C. Ames, among others.
1836-October 1861
November 1861-October 1862
November 1862-January 1864
February 1864-1867
1868-June 1872
July 1872-March 1875, undated
Wrappers, 1855-1864, undated
II. Financial papers, 1839-1875
Arranged into four subseries.
This series includes various financial papers of Samuel Hooper and others, including account statements, bills, receipts, disbursements, leases, stock certificates, contracts, agreements, and deeds.
A. Accounts, 1842-1875
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries consists of account books and papers. Materials include various personal account statements of Samuel Hooper with both William Appleton and Company and Samuel Hooper and Company, accounts of his immediate family members with Baring Brothers and Bush and Comstock, and other separated statements.
Family accounts with Baring Brothers, 1850-1871
Family accounts with Bush and Comstock, 1855-1856
Samuel Hooper accounts with Samuel Hooper and Company, 1862, 1872
Samuel Hooper accounts with William Appleton and Company, 1842-1854
Various accounts, 1842-1875
B. General business and financial papers, 1845-1874
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries includes various financial and business papers of Samuel Hooper. Materials include bills, receipts, memoranda, articles, writings, reports, and disbursements among others. Some topics documented include Hooper's business articles of partnership, organizations including the Bay State Iron Company, Cheever Ore Bed Company, the Somerset Club, and papers regarding several steam ships and vessels including the Mint, Canton, Samoset, Daring, and others.
Articles and writings, 1848-1857
Articles of partnership, 1851-1857
Bills, receipts, memoranda, and various financial papers, 1841-1860
Bills, receipts, memoranda, and various financial papers, 1861-1874
Bills, receipts, memoranda, and various financial papers, undated
Donations and gifts, 1861-1864
Joseph Gregory, 1854-1855
Joseph Gregory - insurance policies, 1854-1855
News clippings, 1851-1871
Organizations - Bay State Iron Company, 1853-1874
Organizations - Cheever Ore Bed Company, 1855-1856
Organizations - Cheever Ore Bed Company, 1853-1874
Organizations - East Boston Ferry Company, 1852-1855
Organizations - Essex Company, 1845-1848
Organizations - Glendon Iron Works, 1856-1857
Organizations - Lawrence Machine Shop, 1854-1862
Organizations - Monarch Fire and Life Assurance, 1852-1856
Organizations - Somerset Club, 1852-1871
Ships - accounts, 1849-1852
Ships - Canton and Samoset, January-April 1849
Ships - Canton and Samoset - captain's agreements, 1848-1849
Ships - Daring, 1855
Ships - Mint - bills and receipts, 1849-1850
Ships - Mint - statements and disbursements, 1849-1850
C. Railroad papers, 1845-1874
Arranged chronologically.
The subseries primarily relates to Hooper's interests in the Eastern Railroad, the Grand Junction Railroad, and the South Reading Branch Railroad. Other railroads documented include the Marginal Freight Railway; the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth Railroad; the Portland and Kennebec Railroad; the Boston and Maine Railroad; and the Maine Central Railroad, as well as several others within and outside New England. Documents include reports, statements, stock and bond certificates, receipts, letters, contracts and agreements, and leases.
Hooper served on the board of directors for the Eastern Railroad. Also of note, Hooper's son-in-law, Thornton K. Lothrop, served as president of the Eastern Railroad and the Portland, Saco, and Portsmouth Railroad. Hooper's business partner Franklin Gordon Dexter also served on the Union Pacific Railroad's board of directors.
Railroad papers, 1844
Railroad papers, 1851-1859
Railroad papers, 1860-1870
Railroad papers, 1871-1875
Railroad papers, undated
D. Deeds, 1839-1869
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically.
This subseries contains powers of attorney and various deeds and agreements for land, real estate and other transfers of property. The majority are transfers to Samuel Hooper and include properties along Commonwealth Avenue and elsewhere. Other names of note include Warren Dutton, Franklin B. Haven, and Ezra Lincoln. There are also specific files relating to the Gibbs estate on Pinckney Street.
Deeds, 1839-1849
Deeds, 1850-1859
Deeds, 1860-1869
Deed of estate - Gibbs Estate on Pinckney Street, 1845-1846
Deed of estate - Gibbs Estate on Pinckney Street, undated
III. Government papers, 1844-1873
Arranged alphabetically, then chronologically.
This series includes documents created or acquired through government service and includes drafts of bills and legislation, bills and receipts, assignments, commissions, applications, petitions, specific correspondence, and invitations. The series additionally includes bills, invoices, and expenses of Hooper and several additional delegates during the 1866 National Union Convention and other purposes, as well as Hooper's justice of the peace commissions.
Government papers, 1844-1845
Government papers, 1858
Government papers, ca. 1861
Government papers, 1862-1869
Government papers, 1872-1873
Government papers, undated
Government papers - bills, invoices, and expenses, ca. 1866
Government papers - bills, invoices, and expenses, October 1868-June 1869
Government papers - bills, invoices, and expenses, July-October 1869, undated
Government papers - justice of the peace commissions, 1866, 1873
IV. Estate papers, 1829-1902
Arranged alphabetically by last name.
This series contains a variety of estate papers, including wills, powers of attorney, real estate, trust accounts, financial statements and discussions, and correspondence with beneficiaries, amongst others. Estates include those of Samuel Hooper, administered by Hooper as executor, and the estates of multiple relatives and descendants in the Lothrop and Tappan families. Significant files relate to the estates of: Samuel Hooper, Samuel Kirkland Lothrop (1804-1886), John Ross, James Dutton Russell, William Sturgis, and Lewis William Tappan, Jr. (1840-1897). Many of the papers created after Hooper's death were managed by Thornton K. Lothrop (1830-1913).
Edward Balfour memorial, 1886
Isabella Wyman Hooper Balfour Trust, 1901-1902
Samuel Hooper estate - accounts, 1875-1886
Samuel Hooper estate - correspondence, 1876-1877
Samuel Hooper estate - inventories, schedules, and memoranda, 1875-1893
Lewis estate, 1857-1858
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop estate, 1829-1897
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop estate - Alice L. Lothrop correspondence, June-October 1886
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop estate - Alice L. Lothrop correspondence, undated
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop estate - copies of last will and testament, 17 December 1885
John Ross estate, 1850-1891, undated
John Ross estate - Mrs. Ross's receipts, 1870-1872
James Dutton Russell estate, 1855-1863
James Dutton Russell estate - S. O. Dearborn, 1860-1861
William Sturgis estate, 1847-1867
William Sturgis estate, undated
Lewis William Tappan, Jr. estate, 1886-1901, undated
Lewis William Tappan, Jr. estate - securities and schedules, undated
Olivia B. Tappan estate, 1886
Various estate papers, 1854-1891
V. Hooper-Lothrop family papers, 1850-1918
Correspondence is arranged chronologically.
This series primarily contains correspondence to Anne Sturgis Hooper from her daughter Anne Maria Hooper Lothrop and her granddaughters Mary Buckminster Lothrop and Amy Peabody Lothrop (later Coolidge) sent from Algeria (Sidi Alowi El Biar) and later Paris and London (1882-1883) during an extended trip. The series also contains correspondence received from Alice Sturgis Hooper, as well as letters addressed to Anne Maria Hooper Lothrop and other relatives regarding her engagement and marriage to Thornton Kirkland Lothrop. Other materials include an account book belonging to Anne Maria Hooper Lothrop and Edward W. Hooper and one photograph of Captain J. Balfour's grave marker.
Hooper-Lothrop family correspondence, 1850-1866, undated
Hooper-Lothrop family correspondence, 1882-1883
Anne M. Hooper Lothrop and Edward W. Hooper account book, 1865-1874
Captain J. Balfour grave post, ca. 1918
Preferred Citation
Samuel Hooper papers, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Organizations:
Subjects:
Materials Removed from the Collection
Some printed material, primarily railroad annual reports, has been removed and cataloged separately.