Jackson County, NC Equity Case
Enos Hooper et al
vs
William and Isaac Hooper

[Transcribed by A C Goodwin from a photocopy of the original court records. Photocopy was prepared by Larry Crawford. Items in square brackets are insertions by the transcriber. Likewise, all hyphens at ends of lines are insertions by the transcriber. Underlining and strikeoutsare present in the original. Spelling has been left as interpreted - to best of transcriber’s ability - from the original. Bracketed insertions were made only where judged necessary for understanding. Spelling of given names varies throughout the document; note that a and o were particularly difficult to differentiate.]

Be it remembered a Superior court
of Law and Equity is on this 19th day of September
A.D. 1853 being opened and held for the County
of Jackson aforesaid at Allen Fisher’s new store
house in said County, the Honorable David F.
Caldwell Judge present and presiding when
and where the following proceedings are held.

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Be it known that at a Superior Court of Equity opened
and held for the County of Jackson in the State of North
Carolina afr. the 3rd Monday in March 1854
Presend and presiding the Hon. John M. Dick one
of the Judges of the Several Superior Courts of Law and
Equity in said State when the following proceeding were had [held?]

It is ordered by the Court that notice where any one of the
complainants living in North Carolina be sufficient for
the defendants to take testimony and notice upon Wm Hooper
be sufficient for the plaintiffs to take testimony.

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To the Honorable the Judge of the Court of Equity,
for Jackson County in the State of North Carolina.

The Bill of Complaint of Enos Hooper, James
Hooper, William Most and wife Elizabeth, Abram Pickel-
simer & wife Elenor, Benjamin Chastain and wife Nancy,
Absolem Hooper, Mary Brown, John Hooper and wife
Margaret, Milton Brown and wife Kisiah, and Jonathan , William,
Andrew, Caroline, Sarah, and Mary Hooper children of
Andrew Hooper, complainants against William Hooper
of the County of Jackson and Isaac Hooper of the State
of Georgia defendants.

Your complainants humbly complaining
showeth unto your Honor that one Absalem Hooper late
of Haywood County in the year 1835 was in the possession and
was the owner of a valuable tract of land situated in said
County now the County of Jackson stock of all kind, wagon
Blacksmiths tools, Household and kitchen furniture, a consid-
erable amount of money and all the convenience that were
necessary to render his situation in life comfortable.
He had a large family of children composed of the complain-
ants and defendants, who had married and settled off from
him, leaving him and his wife in possession of every thing
that was necessary in the way of property to make then com-
fortable and happy.  That the said Absolem was old and
infirm and for several years previous to the year 1835 had
been afflicted with a nervous affection and particularly
of the head, that he had had one or more attacks of paralisis
or palsey, which had greatly impaired his general health
and almost destroyed his mind.
That the defendants William Hooper and Isaac Hooper
who are the two youngest sons, and lived in the immediate
neighborhood of the said Absolem, were frequently at his
house, and took charge of him and his business very much
and acquired such influence over him that he was entirely
under their control.
That while the said Absolem was in this weak imbecile
state of health entirely incapable of managing [his]

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affairs with prudents [prudence] and discression [discretion] and unfit to transact
any important business, the said William & Isaac Hooper
well knowing the condition of his mind and the unbounded
confidence and influence they had acquired over
him since his affliction had come upon him
secretely and fraudulently combined and confederated
together to procure from the said Asolem conveyances
for his land and other property and in persuance of said
fraudulent design the said William Hooper on the 29th
of June 1835 induced the said Absolum to convey to him
in consideration of love and affection the following tracts
of land situate and being in the County of Jackson on
Caney fork, Beginning at a white oak on the South side
of said creek, on the upper or South East corner of No. 11 and
runs south 60° East ninety-four poles to a white Oak on the
side of a hill, Thence north 30° East one hundred and
thirtyeight poles to a Oak in a bottom passing Caney fork
at one hundred poles, thence North sixty- west one hundred
and fifty poles to a small post Oak on the east boundry of
No 12. Thence South seven west one hundred and forty-
eight poles to the beginning, containing one hundred acres
which will more fully appear by reference to a copy
of conveyance marked "A" as an exhibit and prayed to be
taken as a part of this bill, and the said Isaac from
the said fraudulent and corrupt motive induced the said
Absolem to convey to convey [sic] to him - the remainder of his
lands in said County, to wit: eightyseven acres in
section No 12, Dist No 4 Beginning at a white oak on the
point of ridge on the north side of Caney fork near the
mouth of Moses creek in the line of No. 11 and runs East
fortyeight poles to an oak in the bottom near the creek
Thence north seven east one hundred and twenty eight poles
to a white oak on a ridge crossing the Caney fork at sixty
poles, thence north eight-three west one hundred and ten
poles to a white oak on the mountain-side having crossed
or passed Moses Creek at 80 poles, then s. seven ° one
hundred and thirty eight poles to a post oak-bush having
passed a spring at eighty poles. Thence to the Beginning
which his several tracts embraced all the real estate
that the said Absolem Hooper at that or any subsequent
time. Your complainants further showeth unto Your Honor
that shortly after the dates of said conveyances the said
William & Isaac took possession of their respective
tracts, that William’s tract included the dwelling
house and all the improvements and he built a

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cabin on the same tract, and moved the said Abso-
lam and his aged mother into the cabin and he and
his family moved into the mansion house taking
possession of all the property and effect of the said
Absolem and controling it in the same manner as
though it was his own and in fact supporting in a
great measure his family out of the effects of the Abso-
lam.
That on the 1st day of January 1838, the said Isaac
conveys to the said William his tract for and in consider-
ation of Four hundred Dollars as will more fully appear
by reference to a copy of said Conveyance marked "B"
as an exhibit and prayer to be taken as a part of this bill
and since which time the said William has been in
possession and claiming both of said tracts of land.
Your complainants further showeth unto Your Honor that
the said William Hooper in the year 1844 a short time
before the death of the said Absolem, well knowing that
his first conveyance as herein before charged, was made
under such circumstances as would render it inaff-
ectifal [ineffectual] to pass the title and knowing that his influence
over the said Absolam was greater and much more abso-
lute than it was in the year 1835, made the said Absolam
make him the said William another conveyance for the same
land purporting on its face to be upon the consideration
of five hundred dollars in hand paid and bearing
date on the 6th day of August 1835 which will more
fully appear by reference to a copy of said conveyance hereto
appended marked "C" and prayed to be taken as a part
of this bill.
Your complainants charge that said conveyance was
executed in the year 1844, and falsely and fraudulently
made to bear date on the 6th August 1835, that it purports
to be inconsideration of five hundred dollars in hand paid
when in fact not one cent was paid or promised or seamd
to be paid and that at the date of said last conveyance
the said Absolam had become so old and childish that
he was incapable of transacting any business.
Your complainants further showeth unto Your Honor that
frmo the time that the said Absolam was first attact
prior to the year 1835 with paralisis, up to the period of
his death his mind was at all times more or less feeble and
the greater part of that time so weak and imbecile as
to render him incompetent to do any business, frequently
would not have intellect enough to recognise his children
and not [smeared] when they would come to see him and

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complainants charge that this was the condition of the
said Absolam’s mind at the period of the said conveyances
to defendants, and that said conveyances were procured
by the said William & Isaac exercising and undue
and fraudulent influence over the said Absolam and
compelling him to convey all his property to them, when
they well knew that it was the wish of the said Absolam
that his property be divided equally among his children
and had at time made his will to that effect, but was
induced to destroy it again by William & Isaac, so that
they might more effectually carryout their fraudulent
design of getting conveyances to themselves. Your Compl-
ainants further showeth unto your Honor that the said
Absolam & his wife continued to reside in the said cabin
near the defendant Williams until December 1844 when
he departed this life intestate and administration was
granted to the complainant Milton Brown who called
upon the defendant William for the property belonging to
said estate who gave him up an old wagon, table,
bed and ax not amounting in value to twenty dollars
and set up claim himself to every thing else found
on the premises. Your Complainants charge that at the
date of said conveyance in the year 1835 the said
Absolam was in the possession and owned three
horses, wagon, one set of blacksmith tools 10 or 12 head
of cattle 60 head of hogs, sheep, household and kitchen
furniture and had in cash between six hundred and
one thousand dollars on hand, all of which went into
the hands of the said William & Isaac and which was
procured from the said Absolam by the exercise of an
undue and fraudulent influence over him and they
now refuse to account to his said Administrator for any
part of said property under the false and fraudulent
pretense that they were purchased from their Father
& paid value for all they received.  Your complainants
showeth unto your Honor that the said Absolam
left your complainants Enos Hooper, James Hooper,
Elizabeth Most, Elenor Pickelsimer, Nancy Chastain,
Absolam Hooper, Mary Brown, Margaret Hooper,
Kisiah Brown and Jonathan, William, Andrew, Caroline,
Sarah, & Mary Hooper, children of Andrew Hooper, a
son of the said Absolam Hooper, and the defendants
William & Isaac Hooper his only children and
heirs at law and entitled by law to hold the real
estate of the said Absolam by discent as tenants
in common.

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Your complainants being remediless save only in
this Honorable Court where matters of this kind
are properly cognizable and reclaimable, pray your
Honor to declare that said conveyances obtained
by defendants William & Isaac were procured by the exer-
cise of an undue and fraudulent influence over the
mind of the said Absolam and the same be delivered
up unto this court and be cancelled and they be declared
Trustees for themselves and the remaining heirs at law
of the said Absolam, and that they be required So to
convey said lands and premises and further that they
be required to account for the rents and profits of said
lands and the value of the other proper  so received as aforedaid
and such other and further relief as the premises require
or will justify and may it please your Honor to grant
your State Writ of subpoena to issue to the Sheriff of
Jackson County Commanding him to summon on the
defandant Willam Hooper to appear and that publica-
tion be ordered requiring the said Isaac Hooper who
is a citizen of the State of Georgia to appear at the next
term of this Honorable Court to be held for Jackson County
on the 3rd Monday in September next and full true and
perfect answers make to all the charges and facts of
complainants Bill and more especially to answer—
what they respectfully gave the said Absalam Hooper
for said tract of land and that said William answer
how he paid the said Absalam the five hundred dollars
mentioned as the consideration in the deed of the date of
the 6th day of August 1835, and especially if that said
Deed was not written and signed by the said Absalam in
the year 1844, and why was it given the false date of the
year 1835, and that they each answer what other property
had the said Absolam at the date of said deed in 1835,
what became of it and what had he at his death and what
became of it and became of the money the said Absalam
had at the date of said conveyance and the amount
thereof, and all other matters and things herein charged,
in the same manner as though especially interrogated
as to each as in duty will every pray.

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To the Honorable the Judge of the Court of Equity in
and for the County of Jackson and State of North
Carolina.
The answer of William Hooper to the bill of
complaint of Enos Hooper & others filed against this
defendant and Isaac Hooper in this Honorable Court.
This defendant reserving every right of exception to
complainants send bill of Complaint for answer there-
to.  Saith that it is true as charged that the persons
named in Plfs. bill are the heirs at law of
Absolam Hooper deceased who owned the lands
described in said bill in 1835, and convey as
charged to this deft. and the said Isaac Hooper
and the latter conveyed, subsequently his part to this
defendant, the complainant sd. Enos Hooper being a
Witness to said deed.  It is also true that said
Absolam was old and infirm and so was his
wife the mother of this defendant but it is not
true as alledged that he was of weak and imbecile
understanding and incapable of contracting or
managing his business or that the conveyance of
said land made by him tho this deft. was executed
by or through the influence, coersion, fraud, or circ-
cumventing of this defendant or any one for him.
But the truth of the matter was this: the said
Absolam being old and physically infirm and
having entrusted to all his other and older
children as far as he was able to do, was desirous
of doing something for this defendant and at the
same time to make provision for himself and wife
for the remainder of their lives.  For this purpose and
of his own free will without any suggestion from this
defendant to that effect and in this defendants
absence he executed the deed of the 29th of June
1835 and had the same recorded and registed.
He then afterwards exacted from this defendant
a bond to provide for support and maintain him
and his wife during their life for the final sum
of one thousand dollars which this defendant
gave and the conditions of which he has faithfully
kept ever since.

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This defendants mother is still living, is very
old and infirm, and is nursed and provided
for by him and his family and will be by him
supported and mainted during her life.
The lands obtained by him is a very inadequate
compensation for such labour and expense, and
would never have been undertaken by deft. if he
had been influenced by pecuniary considerations.
The original bond is herewith filed as a part
of this answer marked "A".  Thus the matter stood
till June 1844 when the said Absolam took coun-
sel of a friend as to the validity of what he had done
expressed his wishes freely and the reasons for said
conveyance and being told that his first deed
was not good for want of a consideration, caused the
last to be drawn, inserting in it a consideration of
$500, half of the amount of this defendants bond and
antidated it not to deceive but to give it effect as
part of the original contract and agreement.
But this defendant ansrs that at the time he made
 and delivered the last deed, he had sufficient
understanding to convey and did it freely and
voluntarily, and to carry out a contract previously
made and an intention for a long time entertaind.
This defendant further answering says that the con-
veyance from the said Absalam to the said Isaac
Hooper, was freely and voluntarily made as an
advancemt to him, and at a time when he was fully
able to comprehend and understand the effect of
his act.  The said Isaac Hooper now resides in
the State of Georgia and has not been served with
a process in the case.
This defendant has more of the personal property
of the said Absalam Hooper in his possession but
the same was all given up to the Plf. Milton Brown
his admr even the bed on which this defts mother rest
after said Absolam’s death.  But defendant submits
whether the said administrator can bring his cite
of traser in this Court supposing his statement to
be true to recover for the conversion of this property
or gain his claim thereto with the other plaintiffs
in this suit who are seeking to void the deed
given to deft. for the land.
Having answered all the allagations on Complainants
bill as fully as he is advised it is material
denying all fraud and consideration prays to be

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dismissed with his reasonable costs in this behalf
so unjustly extended and as in duty bound
will ever pray &c.

William Hooper, the defendant ad-
med in the forgoing answer swears that the facts therein
stated as of his own knowledge are true, and
those not of his own knowledge he believes to be true.