Patrick - what may help in you finding more informaiton is that the Henry Hope that you are arefering to (that funded the Louisiana Purchase) was born in Boston in 1735 and deid in London in 1811.
What is confusing is that his Father was named Henry. Sometimes refered to as the elder Henry. The elder Henry was Scottish.
You know what else makes it even more confusing? In the mid 1800's there was a painter named Thomas Henry Hope. However, "Thomas Hope" was the son of Jan Hope who was the cousin of Henry Hope. This Thomas Hope was an art collector! LOL
I could only find better pics of one of the pearls on that list - not the Hope... but nonetheless, 'thought you guys would appreciate LINK to AGTA-GTC.