Letter, 1831 Mar. 8, Clarkesville, Habersham County, G[eorgi]a [to James] Hamilton, [Jr.], Gov[ernor of South Carolina] / Turner H. Trippe

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Clarkesville Habersham County Ga:
8th March 1831
Sir
At Clark Superior Court I recd [received] your favor of the 8th Ulto [Ultimo] with its enclosures. -- I have been for the last two or three years somewhat acquainted with the general character of Obadiah Hooper & with the most of those mentioned in his [unclear text: confession ] . I have no doubt that all named in his confession or nearly all are guilty or have been guilty of the offences [offenses] with which he charges them. Indeed so well acquainted with the characters of most of them have I become in the course of the discharge of my official duty that I did not have to apply to any person to be informed of the conduct & character of the greater number of them. Hoopers acquaintance with counterfeiters no doubt commenced [unclear text: long ] anterior to "the fall of
1828" & a disposition to render his application to the clemency of the Executive of South Carolina as efficacious as possible has induced him also to state that he has never been guilty of Horse stealing. He has been generally suspected for many years of being engaged in that business But it is true that in the prosecution against him in Franklin County the principal witness in behalf of the State is a woman of bad character -- I will remark generally of this confession that Hooper has exposed those only who are the mere understrappers in counterfeiting & those whose characters are infamous & notorious, but I am induced to believe that it has been only with such that he has been permitted to associate -- Russel [unclear text: Denty ] fled from this country more than a year ago to avoid a prosecution -- He has long


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been known to deal in counterfeit money. There is now an Indictment pending in Walton Sup [Superior] Court against Robert Millins for this offence [offense] and he is the man alluded to by the name of 'George' & he has fled. I could not find out any thing about 'Moore' the School master Some man must have been imposed on Hooper under a feigned name. 'The Taylor' I ascertained to be a man by the name of Southmade, originally from Charleston a man of indifferently bad character, but not generally suspected as a counterfeiter. The Tennisseans named I do not know but have heard unfavorable reports of [unclear text: Repley ] . Jessee Dodd & Jesse Harrison fled when William S. Miller alias Sutton Miller was apprehended for forgery. Miller is now suffering in the Penitentiary of this state as you know, under a conviction & sentence of the court for the crime of Forgery. Elijah Hulsey has always been ready to befriend any of these persons whenever apprehended by offering himself as their Bail & by many other acts tending to shew [show] his intimate connexion [connection] with them. I do not know that Henton A Hill former Sheriff of Habersham County was ever known or suspected to be engaged in this business. He absconded from this state on account of his inability to meet the rules which he knew would be taken against him at an approaching Sup. [Superior] Court. He is an unprincipled man & I think it more than probable that he may have cautiously passed counterfeit money -- James D Sutton was sentenced at the last term of the Sup [Superior] Court of Habersham County for robbing the Bears Paw, a Cherokee Indian of his horse to the Penitentiary for the period of four years. -- His son Mat Sutton has fled to avoid a similar fate for horse stealing which certainly awaits him if he could be brought to trial ~ Of David Stewart I have not been


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able to ascertain any thing certainly. His character is not very fair tho' [though] I have never known any thing particularly alledged [alleged] against him of a very criminal nature. He lives I think a neighbour [neighbor] to Hooper. I some time since signed a petition for a pardon of Hooper, not that I did not believe him guilty of that offence [offense] & of notoriously bad character but on account of the severity of the punishment & the helplessness of his family, a wife & four small children.

Very Respectfully Your &c. [et cetera] Sigd. [Signed]
[Signed] Turner H Trippe Sol Genl. Wes. Cir. [Solicitor General West Circuit] Georgia





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copy of a Letter from Turner H Trippe Esqr. [Esquire] Sol. Genl. Wes Cir. [Solicitor General West Circuit] upon the Subjt. [Subject] of Gov Hamiltons Communication the original sent to Gov H. [Hamilton]

8 March 1831