Major Adam Hoops
Known for being a prominent Revolutionary War officer and the founder of Olean, NY.
Biographical Overview
Born: January 9, 1760, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Died: June 9, 1846, in West Chester, Pennsylvania (Aged 86).
Burial: North Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Military Career
Major Hoops served extensively during the American Revolution and beyond:
Revolutionary War: Commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant (1776) and rose to Captain (1779) in the Maryland Line. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Camden in 1780 and remained on parole until the end of the war.
General Sullivan's Campaign: Served as an Aide-de-Camp to General Sullivan during his 1779 campaign against the Indians.
Later Service: Appointed Major of the National Troops Artillerists and Engineers in 1798, stationed at Ft. Jay on Governor’s Island until his resignation in 1800. From 1824 to 1843, he served as the Military Storekeeper of Ordnance at Watervliet, N.Y.
Founding of Olean
Surveying: In 1785, he was appointed Surveyor for Pennsylvania and frequently surveyed lands in Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York.
Refuge for Marie Antoinette: In 1793, he helped select a site on the Susquehanna River (named "Azilum") intended as a refuge for the French Queen and her family.
Land Purchase: In 1803, he purchased over 20,000 acres along the Allegheny River. He named the settlement there "Olean," where his brother, Major Robert Hoops, settled in 1804.
Personal Connections
The document notes that during his time at Governor's Island, he became "intimately associated" with Alexander Hamilton.
References:-
Heitman—Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution.
Buffalo Historical Society—N.Y. Historical Society.
War Department.
Pennsylvania Historical Society.
State Library, Harrisburg, Pa.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
King—History of Ceres.
Murray—Azilum, French Refugee Colony of 1793. (M.D.B.)