Robert Lettis Hooper or Robert Lettice Hooper (died 1738/39) was a chief justice of the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging t ...

Biography

Robert Lettis Hooper was a son of Daniel Hooper, a native of

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. A merchant in

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, he subsequently relocated to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. He was Warden of St. Peter's Church, Perth Amboy in 1726, and Vestryman from 1734 to 1738. Robert Lettis Hooper was elected to the eighth

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

(1721-1725 Legislative Session), representing the Somerset County Constituency. He was commissioned as Chief Justice of the

on January 1, 1724/5 ( O. S.) and took the bench on March 30, 1725. Hooper would serve as Chief Justice until his death, with the exception of a brief interruption in 1728, when Gov. William Burnet had named Thomas Farmar to the post; Hooper was reinstated the following year. One of the more prominent cases heard by the Hooper Court was ''Lithgow v. Schuyler'' in 1734, in which the East New Jersey Proprietors attempt to oust a settler from land in Elizabethtown was defeated by a jury.''Conceived in Liberty, Vol. II'', Murray N. Rothbard; Ludwig von Mises Institute; Auburn, AL; 1999; p. 47 On November 16, 1738 he was commissioned of the

New Jersey Provincial Council The New Jersey Provincial Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under colonial rule until it was replaced by the New Jersey Legislative Council under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776. History The Provincial Council was est ...

, but would only serve briefly before his death. Robert Lettis Hooper made his will on January 27, 1738; it was proved February 19, 1738/39.

Family

Hooper married Mrs. Sarah Graham in 1701 in New York. They had three children including Robert Lettis, James and Isabella. A grandson,

Robert Lettis Hooper, Jr. Robert Lettis Hooper Jr (1730 – July 30, 1797) was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, later a member of the New Jersey Legislative Council, of which he was Vice President. Early life Hooper was born about 1730 and was the third in su ...

, would serve the Patriot cause in the

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, and would serve as Vice President of the

New Jersey Legislative Council The New Jersey Legislative Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776 until it was replaced by the New Jersey Senate under the Constitution of 1844. History The Legislative Council replace ...

References

External links

Robert Lettis Hooper, Deputy Quarter-Master General in the Continental Army and Vice-President of New Jersey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Robert Lettis 1739 deaths People from Somerset County, New Jersey Politicians from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Members of the New Jersey Provincial Council Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey American people of English descent Barbadian people of English descent American people of Barbadian descent