[HOOPER] "King" Hooper's house

[nhoop]

As a youngster I was told a story of my ancestor, Robert "King" Hooper, of
Marblehead, Mass. It went something like this:

He developed a very successful shipping business. It seems his water well
supplied his ships with water that lasted longer than most. He became wealthy
and moved from his modest home (on Hooper Street) to an impressive home outside
of town. 

Doing good business with England, he wanted nothing to do with the "Young
rabble-rousers" talking up a war of independence. But the Revolution came and he
was reduced to relative poverty, finally dying in his original home.

Sometime later, his grand home was dismantled and shipped to Washington, DC.
where it was re-constructed...with modern plumbing, and was opened to the
public.

So, how much of this is true? I know he was wealthy and was a major benefactor
of the town of Marblehead. I have verified that one of his vessels, the brig
Sally, was commandeered by the "rebels" and ultimately sunk by the British. In
1902, a Washington clerk discovered he had not been paid for it and the Library
of Congress put together a genealogy of his descendants and an act of Congress
divided the princely sum of $11,551 among those living at the time.  

But I cannot find any reference to the home that was rebuilt in Washington. Can
anyone shed any light on this?

Thank you,

Nat Hooper
Oxford, Arkansas

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