Johnson Jones Hooper
Johnson Jones Hooper was a prominent Southwestern humorist of the nineteenth century, celebrated primarily for his work "Some Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs." Born to a family with a legal and editorial background, Hooper faced financial barriers to higher education but nurtured his literary talents through extensive reading and his father's guidance. At the age of twenty, he moved to Lafayette, Alabama, where he began studying law and later entered the legal profession. His writing career took off when he published his first humorous piece, inspired by his work as a census taker, which captured the attention of influential publications.
Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, Hooper edited several newspapers and engaged actively in politics, all while maintaining his reputation as a humorist. Despite his legal and editorial commitments, he published only two volumes of humorous writing, reflecting his dedication to multiple pursuits. Hooper's character, Simon Suggs, has been recognized as a significant comic figure of his time, showcasing his distinctive approach to characterization. His life was marked by a blend of literary achievement, political involvement, and personal challenges, including his complex family life.
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Johnson Jones Hooper
Writer
- Born: June 9, 1815
- Birthplace: Wilmington, North Carolina
- Died: June 7, 1862
- Place of death: Richmond, Virginia
Biography
Johnson Jones Hooper is remembered as one of the greatest Southwestern humorists of the nineteenth century, best known for Some Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs. Hooper was the youngest of six children born to Archibald Hooper, a lawyer, solicitor, and newspaper editor, and Charlotte De Berniere Hooper. Hooper’s two oldest brothers were privileged with higher education, but financial problems kept Hooper from attending college. Instead, he read many books and studied at home with his father’s teachings. When he was twenty years old, Hooper left for Lafayette, Alabama, to help with his brother’s law firm and it was here that he began studying law. In 1840, Hooper was appointed census taker of Tallapoosa County. Two years later, after the census was completed, Hooper formed a law partnership with his brother.
In 1843, Hooper became editor of the Lafayette East Alabamian, a weekly newspaper that promoted Whig politics. Several months later, he published his first humorous piece in the East Alabamian; it was called “Taking the Census in Alabama,” which was inspired by his job in Tallapoosa County. The New YorkSpirit of the Times, known for its reputation as the newspaper with the best humorous sketches, later reprinted the sketch, gaining Hooper the attention of its many readers. The editor of the Spirit of the Times assisted Hooper in getting his first book published two years later.
In the four years between 1845 and 1849, Hooper stopped practicing law to edit the Wetumpka Whig and later the Alabama Journal. He resigned from both positions to become editor of the Chambers County Tribune, another Whig newspaper, in 1849 and also assumed the position as solicitor of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Alabama. In 1854, after failing to be re-elected as solicitor, Hooper established and edited the Montgomery Mail, but could not escape from his reputation as a humorist. He resigned in 1861 and ran unsuccessfully for secretary of the Senate, but was appointed as editor of the Provisional Congress records.
Hooper courted Ann E. Brantley in the early 1840’s and was devastated when she married another man. Hooper then married Brantley’s sixteen-year-old sister, Mary Mildred Brantley, in 1842. They had three children, William, Annie, and Adolphus, who were all outlived by their mother.
Hooper lived for his writing, newspaper editing, politics, and legal career. He only published two volumes of his humorous writing, mainly because he devoted the majority of his time to his other hobbies. Hooper gained the most fame for his character Simon Suggs from Some Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs; it was considered one of the greatest comic examples of characterization from Hooper’s era.