Hooper and Meekins Family Papers, PC.5351
Abstract
The Hooper and Meekins family lived in Dare County in the communities of Stumpy Point and Manteo. The Hoopers were involved in the commercial fishing industry and owned the Hooper Brothers Gas Station in Stumpy Point, while the Meekinses operated a motel and hardware store in Manteo. This collection includes account books, correspondence, and financial records tracking the Hoopers' and Meekins' business interests as well as personal papers created by various Hooper and Meekins family members.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Hooper and Meekins Family Papers
- Call Number
- PC.5351
- Creator
- Hooper Family
- Date
- 1879-1957
- Extent
- 0.600 cubic feet
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Outer Banks History Center
Restrictions on Access & Use
Access Restrictions
Available for research.
Use Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by the United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying these materials.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], PC.5351, Hooper and Meekins Family Papers, Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, U.S.A.
Collection Overview
The Hooper and Meekins Family Papers, 1879-1957, contains materials created by members
of the immediate family of Blanche Hooper Meekins. Materials include correspondence,
account books, ephemera, and financial records primarily connected to her father's
and husband's various businesses.
The collection includes three account books tracking E.M. Hooper's business interests
over the course of his life. Two books relate to the shad industry and list boxes
of shad sold, including the numbers of roe shad, buck shad, and occasionally skipjack
shad delivered, and the purchaser to whom they were shipped. The later volume reflects
the shad industry's decline and lists shipments of other fish, such as rockfish and
trout. A third account book tracks oil, gas, and kerosene sales at the Hooper Brothers
station near the end of Hooper's life.
Blanche Meekins' canceled checks serve as a record of her purchases from 1939 to 1953.
The checks track grocery purchases, memberships, payments to family, and utility payments
and serve as a glimpse into the home economics of an adult woman living in coastal
North Carolina during World War II. Similarly, the collection includes a folder of
Hooper Brothers Gas Station account slips for members of the Payne family. The family
mainly purchased groceries, home improvement supplies, and sundry items at the station,
and the slips usually contain an itemized list of the foods and materials they bought,
reflecting the local foodways of the time period.
Early letters in the correspondence folder relate to L.D. Hooper and Marvin Hooper's
shad fishing business, particularly related to nets, while other letters relate to
Marvin's family affairs and other business interests. Included are a letter from Marvin
to his daughter, Blanche, written a week before he died in which he describes having
chest and arm pains, as well as a letter to Blanche from her sister, Mae, regarding
settling their father's affairs and a dispute with their aunt Ruth.
Arrangement Note
Folders arranged alphabetically. Most material within folders arranged chronologically.
Biographical/Historical
The materials in this collection were created by members of the Hooper and Meekins
families of Dare County, North Carolina. The earliest records in the collection relate
to Lorenzo Dowe Hooper (1845-1908) who lived in Stumpy Point with his wife, Bethany
Payne Hooper (1844-1919) and at least seven children.
The main focus of the collection is his son, Edgar Marvin Hooper (1881-1975), who
went by Marvin. Marvin originally worked in the commercial fishing industry with his
father, catching and selling shad as well as nets and other supplies related to shad
fishing. At the time, it was common for Stumpy Point fishermen to meet and marry women
from Hyde County due to their frequent trips back and forth between the two areas,
and soon Marvin met and married Clara Mary "Caddie" Mason (1883-1955) of Gulrock.
Marvin later opened a gas station and grocery store in Stumpy Point with his brother,
Lennon Woodard Hooper (1887-1956), called Hooper Brothers, which his nephews continued
to operate after his death. He and his family were regarded as prominent and well-respected
citizens of Stumpy Point.
Marvin and Caddie had three daughters: Blanche Hooper Meekins (1903-1995), Mae Hooper
Watson (1907-1911), and Ruby Hooper Osborne (1911-1996). Blanche remained in Dare
County as an adult, while her sisters moved to Virginia. She was the executor of Marvin's
estate and was involved in his business interests throughout his life. She married
Earl Ray Meekins in 1923, and the couple had three daughters: Ina Meekins Evans, Lois
Meekins Jackson, and Mary Meekins Beauchamp. Blanche and Earl owned the Manteo Motel
about 1/4 mile north of Manteo, which opened in 1954. The motel was managed by their
daughter Ina and her husband Burwell Evans. Ina and Burwell also owned and managed
Manteo's Ace Hardware store.
Contents of the Collection
Subject Headings
Acquisitions Information
Donated by Dawn Enochs, July 2008.