could be rendered him. On his return to Carolina, he resumed his judicial duties; in the exercise of which, he continued till 1798. He was a member of the Convention for forming the State Constitution, in 1790; and was conspicuous for his sound judgment and unchanging patriotism. Having retired from the most arduous of his public labors and cares, he died in March, 1809, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Heyward was twice married, and was the father of several children. He was estimable for his amiable disposition, his virtuous principles, and his extensive acquaintance with men and things.

WILLIAM HOOPER.

WILLIAM HOOPER was born in Boston, on the 17th of June, 1742. He entered Harvard University at the age of fifteen, and was graduated in 1760. His father, who was pastor of Trinity Church, in Boston, had destined his son for the ministerial profession; but the latter having an inclination for the law, he was placed in the office of the celebrated James Otis, to pursue the study of his choice. On being qualified for the bar, young Hooper removed to North Carolina, and having married, finally established himself in the practice of his profession at Wilmington.

He was soon placed, by his talents, among the foremost advocates of the province, and was chosen to represent the town of Wilmington in the General Assembly. He was elected to a seat in the same body the following year, and was always one of the boldest opposers of the tyrannical encroachments of the British Government. In 1774, Mr. Hooper was chosen a delegate to the memorable Congress which met at Philadelphia. He took an important share in the discussions of this assembly, and was remarkable for his fluent and animated elocution. He was a member of the same body the following year, and during the session, drew up, as chairman of different committees, several able addresses and reports. In 1776, the private affairs of Mr. Hooper requiring his attention in North Carolina, he did not, for some time, attend upon

the sitting of Congress. He returned, however, in season to share in the honor and danger of signing the imperishable instrument which declared the Colonies of North America free and independent. Having been elected to Congress a third time, Mr. Hooper was obliged to resign his seat in February, 1777, and return to the adjustment of his own embarrassed affairs.

In 1786 he was appointed, by Congress, one of the judges of a Federal Court, formed for the purpose of settling a controversy which existed between the States of New York and Massachusetts, in regard to certain lands. In the following year, his health being considerably impaired, he sought to restore it by private retirement. This, however, he did not live long to eroy. He died in October, 1790, at the age of forty-eight years, leaving a wife and three children. Mr. Hooper was distinguished for his conversational powers, his good taste, and his devotion to his profession. As a politician, he was constant, judicious, and enthusiastic. He never gave way to despondency; possessing an unshaken confidence tha Heaven would defend the right.

STEPHEN HOPKINS was born near Providence, (R. I.,) in a place now called Scituate, on the 7th of March, 1707. He was of respectable parentage, being a descendant of Benedict Arnold, the first governor of Rhode Island. His early education was limited, but he is said to have excelled in penmanship, and in the practical branches of mathematics.

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For several years he followed the profession of a farmHe was afterwards chosen Town Clerk of Scituate, and a Representative to the General Assembly. He was subsequently appointed a Justice of the Peace, and a Justice of one of the courts of Common Pleas. In 1733, he became Chief Justice of that court. In 1742, he removed to Providence, where he entered into commerce, and was extensively engaged in building and fitting out vessels. He was chosen a Representative from that town to the General Assembly, and became speaker of the House of

Representatives. In 1751, he was made Chief Justice of the Superior Court, and held that office till the year 1754, when he was appointed a Commissioner to the celebrated Albany Convention. The object of this Convention was the securing of the friendship of the five great Indian nations, in the approaching French war, and an union between the several colonies of America.

In 1756, Mr. Hopkins was elected Chief Magistrate of the colony of Rhode Island. This office he continued to hold, almost without intermission, until 1767; discharging its duties in an efficient and highly satisfactory manner. He resolutely espoused the cause of the colonies, and in a pamphlet entitled "The rights of Colonies Examined," proved the injustice of the Stamp Act, and other measures of the British ministry. In 1774, Mr. Hopkins received the appointment of Delegate from Rhode Island to the Continental Congress. In this assembly he took his seat on the first day of the session, and became one of the most zealous advocates of the measures adopted by that illustrious body of men. In the year 1775 and 1776, he again represented Rhode Island in Congress. In this latter year, he affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence. His signature was the only one upon the roll, which gave indications of a trembling hand; but it was not the tremulousness of fear. Mr. Hopkins had for some time been afflicted with a paralytic affection, which compelled him, when he wrote, to guide his right hand with his left.

In 1778, Mr. Hopkins was a Delegate to Congress for the last time but for several years afterwards, he was a member of the General Assembly of Rhode Island. He closed his useful and honorable life on the 13th of July, 1785, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. Mr. Hopkins was enabled by the vigor of his understanding to surmount his early deficiencies, and rise to the most distinguished offices in the gift of his fellow-citizens. He possessed considerable fondness for literature, and greatly excelled as a mathematician. He was an unshaken friend of his country, and an enemy to civil and religious intolerance, distinguished for his liberality, and for the correct and honorable discharge of his various duties.

FRANCIS HOPKINSON was born in Philadelphia, in the year 1737. His father was an Englishman, who, a short time previous to his emigration to America, married a niece of the Bishop of Worcester. He was a man of a cultivated mind and considerable literary accomplishments; and became intimate with Benjamin Franklin, by whom he was held in high estimation. Upon the death of Mr. Hopkinson, which occurred while he was in the prime of life, the care of his family devolved upon his widow, who was eminently qualified for the task. She was a woman of superior mind; and discovering early indications of talent in her son, she resolved to make every sacrifice to furnish him with a good education. She placed him at the College of Philadelphia, and lived to see him graduate with reputation, and attain a high eminence at the bar.

In 1766, Francis Hopkinson embarked for England, and received, upon the occasion, a public expression of respect and affection from the Board of Trustees of the College of Philadelphia. After a residence of more than two years in the land of his forefathers, he returned to America. He soon after married Miss Borden, of Bordentown, in New Jersey, where he took up his residence, and was appointed collector of the customs and executive counsellor. These offices he did not long enjoy, having sacrificed them to his attachment to the liberties of his country. He enlisted himself warmly in the cause of the people, and in 1776 was appointed a delegate from New Jersey to the Continental Congress. He voted for the Declaration of Independence, and affixed his signature to the engrossed copy of that instrument. In 1779, he was appointed Judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania, and for ten years continued to discharge with fidelity the duties of that office.

Soon after the adoption of the Federal Constitution, Mr. Hopkinson received from Washington the appointment of Judge of the United States for the district of Pennsylvania. In this station, he conscientiously avoided mingling in party politics. His life was suddenly

terminated, while in the midst of his usefulness on the 8th of May, 1791. He died of an apoplectic fit, which, in two hours after the attack, put a period to his existence.

Mr. Hopkinson was endued with considerable powers of humor and satire, which he employed effectually in rousing the feelings of the people, during the war of the Revolution. He was the author of several fugitive pieces which were very popular in their day. His well-knowr ballad, called "The Battle of the Kegs," gives evidence of a rich and exhaustless fund of humor, and will probably last the wear of centuries. He excelled in music, and had some knowledge of painting. His library was extensive, and his stock of knowledge constantly accumulating. In stature, Mr. Hopkinson was below the common size. His countenance was animated, his speech fluent; and his motions were unusually rapid. Few men were kinder in their dispositions, or more benevolent in their lives. He left, at his decease, a widow and five children. The eldest of these, Joseph Hopkinson, occupies an eminent rank among the advocates of the American bar.

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SAMUEL

HUNTINGTON.

SAMUEL HUNTINGTON was born in Windham, Connecticut, on the 2d of July, 1732. Being the eldest son, his father required his assistance on the farm, and his opportunities for study were accordingly brief and extremely He possessed, however, a vigorous understanding, and supplied his deficiencies of instruction by an assiduous and a persevering devotion to the acquisition of knowledge. At the age of twenty-one years, he was probably equal, in point of literary attainments, to most of those who had received a collegiate education.

Conceiving a fondness for legal pursuits, he abandoned his occupation of husbandry, and resolved to enter alone and unaided upon the study of the law. He soon obtained a competent knowledge of the principles of the profession, to commence the practice of an attorney in his native town; but in 1760, he removed to Norwich, where a wider field presented itself for the exercise of his talents.