Hooper, John DeBerniere, 1811-1886

John DeBerniere Hooper was a student, tutor, and professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., and a teacher in schools in several other North Carolina locations, including Raleigh, Littleton, Fayetteville, and Wilson. His daughter was Frances DeBerniere Hooper Whitaker, wife of Spier Whitaker.

From the description of John DeBerniere Hooper papers, 1778-1911. WorldCat record id: 24144890

Born at Smithville (now Southport), N.C., John DeBerniere Hooper was a tutor and professor at the University of North Carolina and a teacher in several North Carolina towns. He was the second son of Archibald Maclaine Hooper and Charlotte DeBerniere Hooper. Hooper's paternal ancestors were prominent citizens of North Carolina, and his mother's father, John DeBerniere, was a British army officer of Huguenot ancestry who brought his family to North Carolina.

Hooper grew up in Wilmington, N.C., with well-educated parents who managed to send their children to good schools despite the family's financial troubles. With the support of a prosperous widowed cousin, Hooper entered the University of North Carolina as a freshman in the middle of the 1827-1828 academic year. He quickly rose to the top of his class, and, in 1831, he graduated as the only member of his class to achieve the highest grades in every field of study. While excelling in the usual classical studies, Hooper also gained proficiency in French language and literature.

After graduation, Hooper remained in Chapel Hill as a tutor in languages. He remained there until 1833, when he left to take a position at the new Episcopal School for Boys in Raleigh. In July 1836, Hooper was appointed professor of modern languages at the University of North Carolina and, in 1838, was promoted to professor of Latin. In 1843, he resumed teaching French in addition to his work in Latin.

On 20 December 1837, Hooper married Mary Elizabeth Hooper, who was doubly related to him as the daughter of Professor William Hooper, his father's cousin, and of Frances Jones Hooper, his mother's cousin. The couple had four children: Helen Wills, Fanny Whitaker, Henry DeBerniere, and Julia Graves. In 1848, Hooper and his wife left Chapel Hill to join her father in farming and conducting a school for boys near Littleton in Warren County, N.C. Hooper remained there until 1860, when he joined his brother-in-law, Thomas C. Hooper, in conducting the Fayetteville Female Institute. He left the Fayetteville Female Institute to join the faculty of the Wilson Female Institute. When the University of North Carolina reopened in 1875, Hooper was appointed professor of Greek and French. He remained at the University until his death in 1886.

From the guide to the John DeBerniere Hooper Papers, 1778-1911, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)