JOURNAL OF JOHN WOOD:

HISTORY OF THE HOPPES FAMILY AND OUR ANCESTRY
INCLUDING SOME OF THE BETTER KNOWN FAMILIES IN AMERICA

In writing the genealogy of a family, especially of our family, where no one so far as we know, has ever concerned himself about our family history enough, to preserve dates and details of incidents, one must of necessity gather the support for his story from family tradition handed down from generation to generation; verifying these traditions as far as possible through research, among the Miscellaneous Records, Court Records, Land Grants, Calendars of Wills, Census Reports, Memorandums of Marriage Licenses and Archives of the several states and commonwealths where different branches of the family are known to have resided at different times.

The writer has continued a research among the above mentioned records for a period covering some three years, and together with bits of information gleaned from various members of the family, we believe we now have the necessary, authentic information for the foundation of a family history which will be appreciated by the present generations, and will also serve as a memorial, for the generations of the family which are to follow.

In giving this story we may let our own imagination creep in at times, but so far as is possible, we will adhere strictly to the true state of affairs, conditions, etc., relying on our own judgment at all times just what to state as facts, what to give as tradition and what to leave unsaid. In most instances we have been able to verify, through research and otherwise, all that we claim for the family; and in no instance, have we been able to gather any information contradictory. So we feel that the foundation of our story is reasonably substantial.

With this understanding we will go back more than eight and one-half centuries in one instance, and from two to three centuries in other instances and as carefully as possible build up a family tree to the present time; trusting that future generations will find this short work a permanent foundation on which to perpetuate the records of our family in its several branches.

In going back, as we have said, many hundreds of years, we find that it will be impossible to pick up every strand and strain of so large and much scattered family. When we consider the tracing of a family tree backward is made quite difficult from the fact that each generation backward sends out four main roots for every branch it produces, it will be easily seen that writing a perfect genealogy is practically an impossibility. By the foregoing statement we mean that every child is an offspring of, not only its parents, but also of four grand-parents, and therefore comes, we may say, from four different and distinct families. For each generation backward, then, the parentage is increased to the fourth power; ramifying into innumerable rootlets.

After all, history may be defined as being a narrative of a FEW dates and events pertaining to a FEW people and occasions. Certainly when we take up our histories we do not expect to find events in detail of ALL men who are living or who have lived before us. We therefore will begin back as far as we have any definite, reliable information and give as nearly as possible, a few of the more important and interesting facts concerning a few of the better known characters among our ancestry.

Of the Hoppes Family, we know nothing in name, until about the years of that desperate struggle between Germany and Austria known in history as the Thirty Years War. (1618 - 1648.) The German Historian Muller, after making a thorough, digestive search through some two hundred volumes of German history, finds that the Hoppes family resided in the province of Lorraine, which was then part of the German Empire, for many years prior to the Thirty Years War. During which time they had collectively accumulated a great deal of wealth. Being Ironmakers by trade their wealth consisted principally of factories in Metz, Lorraine, where they were reputed to have owned some twenty-seven furnaces. About the year 1636 the family sought a more extensive outlet for their iron products and found same with the Austrian Government, much to the indignation of Ferdinand II, Emperor of Germany, who upon learning of their act, ordered eighteen of the prominent members of the family to the seat of government there to have their heads removed. This order, or command, not being in harmony with the independent spirit prevalent among the Teutons, and, the failure of the several members of the family to see where, or of what benefit, this act would be to the family if carried out, placed the family in rebellion against the government, and they at once raised an army of some 1800 men among themselves and among their employees, and defended themselves as best they could until the family could cross over to Holland, which they did, leaving their wealth behind to be confiscated and destroyed by the German government.

After residing in Holland for probably a year, the family practically as a whole, so we are told, boarded two ships and sailed for America. One ship landed at Chester, Pa., on the west bank of the Delaware river, near where Philadelphia now stands, and the other one at Charleston, S. C. The members of the family landing at Chester, Pa., were Ironmakers and mechanics and from family tradition, we find that they continued in their chosen vocation and many years later were interested financially and otherwise in the great Bethlehem Steel Works. Some of the members of the family married into the Garrett family and thereby became interested in the building and operating of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Garrett Hoppes was a prominent citizen of Bethlehem, Pa., for many years. Garrett Hoppes left no children and it so happens that the Pennsylvania branch of the family had but few children, most of whom were girls, so the name has not prospered greatly in Pennsylvania. It may be of interest here to state, that some of the heads of the original colony who settled in Pennsylvania, fearing that the king of England, who was then on friendly terms with Ferdinand II, Emperor of Germany, might extradite them to Germany as fugitives from justice, changed their name to Hoopes. The Garrett and Hoopes families are rather numerous in Pennsylvania and New York, and from some investigation we find that they are a very well-to-do people.

If I am correct that Joh. Georg’s family are the North Carolina Hoppeses, then there are several interesting consequences. One of the most important results from information supplied by Robert Hoppes that it is the descendants of the North Carolina Hoppeses who believe that their ancestors owned the iron furnaces near Metz during the Thirty Years War. I am certain that none of Joh. Georg’s ancestors owned any iron furnaces between 1500 and Joh. Georg’s birth. I’ve always been a bit surprised that no one could provide any better documentation for the Hoppes family iron-making tradition than to say that the "German historian Muller" (We don’t even know his full name) said so. Any family of 1636 who had "some twenty-seven furnaces" and who could raise an "army of 1800 men" would have been the Krupps of their day, would have had a coat of arms, and would be relatively easy to find in the wealth of European historical data. Believe me, they are not. To paraphrase (a familiar phrase), "after making a thorough, digestive search through some two hundred volumes of German history", I gave up! Riki and I then placed the following advertisement in the "Archiv fuer Sippenforschung", a leading genealogical magazine:

"Gesucht werden naehere Angaben und Daten sowie Vorfahren der Familie Habbas (Happes, Hoppes), die vor 1750 in der Naehe von Metz/Lothringen Eisengiesser gewesen sein sollen."

Although this magazine is read by many genealogists throughout Europe and its ads frequently receive numerous responses, I did not receive a single reply.

John J. Hoppes of Springfield, Ohio, is a descendant of this branch of the family and, true to family custom, he is following the iron-making business, being President and principal owner of some three factories in Springfield where he makes feed-water heaters and steam specialties, high grade water power machinery and play ground equipment, paraphernalia, etc. His grandfather Christopher Hoppes served in the War of 1812, and was wounded a Lundy’s Lane and died of his wounds some twelve years later. It is from John J., whom we have had the pleasure of meeting, that we get the most of the history of the Pennsylvania branch of the family.*

Family tradition says, that George Hoppes Sr., was born in Germany and came to America when quite young. This theory may be true or he may have been of that Charleston, S. C. branch of the family. However, this may or may not be, we do have a definite record of the date of his birth taken from the old family Bible which once was his. . . . There seemed to have been no appointed place in the old book for a family record and any blank space was utilized for that purpose. The following record, which was probably written with a quill pen and "poke berry’ ink is taken from the pages of the book. From the handwriting, which is a heavy, bold, scrawly, masculine hand, and all in the same hand, with the exceptions which will be pointed out later, it may be inferred that the birth record was all written in this book at the same time, probably between the years 1799 and 1804. . . . We will here give the record as best we can, spelling and wording as nearly as possible:

George hoppes Ways born the 27 day of October 1754. (The letter "s" is made after the old custom and appears to us as "ys.")

Elebth miller Wife of George Hoppes Ways Born the 14 Day of November 1760.

Anna Hoppes Ways Born the 22 Day of march 1779.

John hoppes Ways Born the 10 Day of march 1782. (March has been partly erased and July written over it with different colored ink).

Daniel Hoppes Was born 29 Day of October 1784.

George Hoppes Way born 13 Day of May 1786.

Catrina hoppes Was Born the 22 Day of April 1788.

Sarah hoppes Was Corn the 3 Day of feberey 1791. (Word Born spelled with a capital "C," which probably is meant for a lower case "b".)

Hannah Hoppes Was born the 18^{th day of September 1793.}

Barry hoppes Was Corn the 5 Day of feberey 1796.

Roddy hoppes Was Corn the 5 Day of feberey 1796. (Notice - Barbara and Rhoda was born as indicated only one day apart.)

Elebeth hoppes Was Corn the 4 Day of July 1798.

henry Hoppes Was Corn the 15 Day of decembor 1799.

Jacob Hoppes was born the 11 Day of generery of the year 1804.

The record of the last named, or Jacob, is written in a different hand and with different pen and ink, which fact leads us to believe he was not yet born when the rest of the record was copied.

June the 16 Day then was Born John Dyer.

George Dyer Way Corn the 20 Day of September 1808.

Generery the 18 1808 then Was Born Sammal hoppes Son of Dannial and Sussan hoppes.

John Hodge was born the 16 Day of July 1797 and was married the 15 Day of December 1827.

November 3 Elebth poor Was Born the Dotter of george and Catreane poor 1807.

Henry poor was Corn the 3 Day of febrery 1809.

George poor Was Corn April 10 1811.

1807 november 5 Was Born Jacob hoppes son of John and ann Hoppes.

October the first Day then was Born a dotter to George and elebth hoppes named ______. . . .

Now in writing that is very badly faded we find as best as we can make out:

march 3 then was born eli hoppes 1810.

October the 7 Day 1811 then Was born Eleabeth hoppes.

Written in a very neat masculine hand with a very fine steel pen and black ink we have the following record:

Katharine Hoppes was born Feb 7th 1815.

Electa Hoppes was Born March 10th A. D. 1817.

Rhoda Hoppes was born February 18" A. D. 1819.

George C. Hoppes was born Oct" A. D. 1823.

Frederick Hoppes was Born April 3rd 1827.

Tradition relates that George Hoppes was an "all around" mechanic, blacksmith and gunsmith following the vocation of his forefathers in Germany more than a century before. We are told that he made guns for the colonists, during the Revolutionary War, but have no definite information that he participated in the war for America’s freedom other than in the way just stated. Some years after the close of the war, perhaps about the year 1790 or 1791 he removed with his family to Marietta, Ohio, or what was at that time known as the Northwest Territory, out of which the State of Ohio was afterward carved. . . . .

The children of Daniel Hoppes were all born in Ohio, in what was called a "round pole," or unhewn log house, with a dirt floor and clapboard roof. The cracks between the logs were chinked up the best way possible with clay and sticks but equal space between the logs to ensure adequate ventilation. Often in the winter the snow would drift in to a depth of several inches on the floor during the night of the snowstorm. The chimney to the fireplace was builded of mud and bricks, and was called a "stick chimney." The family all came to Indiana with their parents in the year 1840, unless Samuel and Peter, may have been left behind. We have no record of these two ever having lived in Indiana. . . . .

In an early day in Ohio when Daniel and Susannah Hoppes were rearing their family, this event is said to have occurred. Early one spring morning in the sugar season Susannah heard quite a commotion in the sugar house in the camp near their dwelling. Going to investigate the source of the noise, she discovered the door of the sugar house standing partly open, due to the carelessness of someone the evening before. Within she found two buck deers which, though their fondness for sugar water, had become attracted and had ventured in during the night. They had engaged each other in a desperate combat over a pail of the sweet nectar of a sugar tree, and had entangled their antlers in such a manner that they could not disengage themselves one from the other. There they had fought and struggled, until they had almost exhausted themselves, playing havoc with the contents of the sugar house. Susannah took in the situation at once, picked up a handy axe, and dispatched the two deer without calling for aid.

Daniel Hoppes, being possessed with the pioneering spirit, prevalent in the family, fell in with the tide of emigration in the year 1840, and with at least the major part of his family, migrated from the scenes of his 40 or more years activity in Ohio to the new state of Indiana. The family traveling accommodations consisted of an old time schooner-bodied, wide-tread, lynchpin wagon, containing the family and all their worldly possessions. As a pioneer Daniel practically blazed his own trail down the Ohio river to the Indiana line, thence taking a Northwestwardly direction he halted in central Indiana which is now Madison County. The journey of about 350 miles through a wilderness with only sparce settlements here and there was no doubt fraught with many hardships and dangers as the trail led through the hilly country along the Ohio, through swamps and dense forests . . . . in Indiana, Daniel with his family settled on a piece of timber land, and at once began his "clearing" preparatory to building a house and planting his crops. He built a typical log house common to that day and was soon at home . . . .

Daniel lived only about fifteen years to enjoy his new made home, and in the old Booco Cemetery some five or six miles southeast of Anderson, on the highest knoll stands a small white marble slab about three feet high with the following inscription:

Daniel Hoppes
Died
August 21, 1855
Aged
72 Years. . . .

Directly south of Daniel’s monument is a similar stone bearing the following inscription:

Susanah
Wife of Daniel Hoppes
Died
May 28, 1870
Aged
79 yrs 3 mo 13 da

Andrew Jackson was the namesake of Gen. Andrew Jackson . . . . By his family and friends he was frequently referred to as Jack Hoppes. School privileges being very meager in his boyhood days he received but very little education, so far as book learning was concerned, and grew up illiterate. It is often said that, "experience is the best teacher," and this old axiom proved true in the case of Andrew Jackson, for he, in later years gathered quite a knowledge of the rudiments of the "three R’s," and it is said he was a very accurate and rapid calculator, in the fundamentals of arithmetic and could readily figure prices and values mentally.

In this connection I have often heard my father Marcus Hoppes, tell of an instance occurring when he, himself, was but a lad. He had helped his father drive a number of fat hogs to market at one time. After the hogs were weighed, the buyer figured the amount to be paid, and informed Andrew Jackson of the results of his calculation. Jack promptly assured the buyer that he had made an error and ask him to figure again. The buyer carefully went over his figures, and came to the same conclusion on his second calculation, and assured Jack that his figures were correct. After some little friendly altercation, the buyer finally said that he "dropped" a fraction somewhere in his calculations, which probably would have amounted to a difference of one half cent, if it had been carried out. Jackson then told the buyer the exact amount to the fraction of a cent, and further that he had the correct amount figured out "in his head" before the buyer had begun to figure.

Andrew Jackson Hoppes grew to manhood in the "back woods" of Indiana, without many privileges, except to do all the work possible to help support the family. He was married December 18th, 1845 to Mary Ann Clem a neighbor girl of but 14 summers when he, himself was under 18 years old. With a small helping from the parents, the couple at once began the erection of a home in which to begin house keeping, and rear the family, whose names and birth dates are as follows: Addison, Aug. 20th, 1847; Marcus, Nov. 20th, 1849; Mary Magdalene, April 10th, 1852; Frances, March 25th, 1855; Alfred Mayberry, March 28th, 1858; Isaac Franklin, May 3rd, 1861; David Erastus, March 2th, 1864; William Jackson, January 20th, 1867 and Sarah, Sept. 14th, 1870.

Andrew Jackson and Mary Ann Hoppes lived, as did all their neighbors, a life of simplicity and much toil, and what this generation would call extreme hardships. Their abode built in the year 1846 was a little one room log cabin of the "round pole" type, with puncheon floor and clapboard roof, using weight poles to hold the clapboard in place. The weight poles were fastened in place with wooden pins and the floor was also laid with wooden pins. In fact there was not a nail in the whole structure. The doors were put on with wooden hinges. The cabin had a "stick" chimney and the cracks between the logs were chinked up with sticks, stones, and mud. Their cooking utensils consisted of a large dinner pot, which hanged from the crane in the fireplace, and a "spider," which was a long handled cast iron skillet with three legs and a cover. The spider was used for frying and baking. Fire had to be kept continually in the fireplace for kindling purposes. When the fire was neglected and went out, a child was usually sent through the woods to a neighbors, to borrow a few coals with which to rekindle the fire. The coals were transported back home in an old shoe of some vessel of iron. The furniture was very scanty and plain and home made. A few chairs, beds, table and a spinning wheel and possibly a loom, were about all the house furnishings that the average family could boast. The lights were from the open hearth, or from a tallow dip, of a grease lamp. In the house, and under the environments as described above, the first of the children of this family were born - probably the first three of four. As time went on and the family prospered in number, and in worldly goods a more pretentious mansion was needed and could be afforded, and a hewn log house of two rooms was constructed having a brick chimney. In this house the remainder of the children were born with the exception of Sarah and William. The lives and labors, and mode of living, of the Hoppes family of which we write were in common with that of all the pioneers of Indiana. Clearing the virgin timber and the underbrush from their homesteads so as to broaden their small fields, seems to have been their chief occupation, or at least this class of work kept them occupied the whole year round when they were not busy with their small crops. Besides their few acres of corn, oats, wheat, and buckwheat, they raised a small field of flax which furnished them with hemp for their linen. From their own sheep they sheared their wool. The hemp and wool were woven into cloth for their clothing. All their cloth and clothing were made at nights and during the winter, when the weather was too bad to permit work in the "clearing."

The nearest market of consequence was Cincinnati, Ohio, a distance of about 150 miles. To this place they hauled all their surplus grain and drove their surplus livestock, which they exchanged for a few articles such as salt, tea, coffee, nails, and a few simple necessities that could not be produced at home. They also received a little cash with which to pay their small assessment of taxes. The freighting was done in the early day with ox- and horse-drawn wagons - the men in the community setting a time to start their journey and all going together, forming a caravan through the timber and swamps, over corduroy roads, for a part of the way, which was made by cutting saplings and small logs and poles, placing them side by side across the road in the low, marshy places. These roads were naturally very rough and riding over them was far from a pleasure. The trip to and from the Cincinnati market required possibly from two to three weeks, depending on the weather and road conditions.

On December 4th, 1864, Andrew Jackson and Mary Ann Hoppes purchased a 120-acre farm a mile or such matter south of the home place, and removed to it - giving up their original home to their oldest son, Addison, who was about to be married. On their newly acquired farm they made their home until the death of Andrew Jackson, which occurred some 12 years later.

Under these seeming primitive conditions Andrew Jackson and Mary Ann Hoppes reared their nine children to manhood and womanhood, all living to maturity, marrying and rearing families of their own with the exception of Alfred who married but had no children. They were Wineburnians in religious faith, which denomination was a branch of the old River Brethren of Dunkard Church. . . .

Andrew Jackson sustained injuries from being thrown from a wagon in a run-away, developed pneumonia from which he died November 23rd, 1877, leaving his widow and the younger five children at home amply provided for. After the children had all married, his widow lived for many years on the old homestead, and finally answered the call Oct. 22nd, 1900 at the age of 69 years. They are both laid to rest in the Clem Cemetery in the community where they spent their lives together.

A very short sketch of each of the children of Andrew Jackson and Mary Ann Hoppes may be of interest to some of the members of the family.

Addison Hoppes was born August 20th, 1847, in the little log cabin which has been mentioned, and reared, as were all his brothers and sisters in Madison County, Indiana, under circumstances and environments before stated. Like his brothers and sisters he did not enjoy the advantage of much schooling, but received about the average education common to the locality in his day. When a young man he had a narrow escape from death caused by the accidental discharge of an old squirrel rifle. He and some of his brothers and neighborhood boys were out hunting and from some reason Addison set the rifle down among the roots of a large Beach tree. When he again took up the gun it accidentally discharged and the ball struck him in the cheek, ranging upward and left a deep scar on his face for life. Addison was married on December 31st, 1865, to Christiena Swearingen, a sister of John Swearingen . . . . To them were born five children - four daughters and a son. After his marriage he resided on the old home place for a while but soon afterward went to Anderson and embarked in the mercantile business and in this vocation he spent the greater part of his life. Addison died November 30th, 1908, and is buried in West Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson. His son George Hoppes is a prominent contractor and business man in Anderson and is President of the Hoppes Family Reunion Association.

The second son, Marcus, was the writer’s father. A sketch of his life will be given in the next chapter. And also a character sketch will be found in the Appendix to this volume.

Mary Magdelene Hoppes was born April 10th, 1852. On the 19th day of June, 1869, she was married to Frank Clark, a neighbor boy. To them were born thirteen children - seven boys and six girls. By the lives of extreme industry and thrifty habits this family prospered and acquired many acres of good land and other property and wealth. On retiring from an active life she and her husband moved to Anderson where she died October 16th, 1923, and is buried in East Maplewood Cemetery.

Frances Hoppes was born March 25th, 1855 and in young womanhood was married to Henry Poor, son of "Georgie" Poor, mentioned in an earlier chapter. For a time they lived in Indiana, on a part of Henry’s fathers land which had been set aside for them and on which they had builded a home and otherwise improved. Finally, however, they heard "the call of the West" and in the early 80’s they moved to York County, Nebraska, of which state they may be correctly termed pioneers. To them were born ten children - three sons and seven daughters. One of the sons met with accidental death when a child, and the oldest won, Walter, lost his life in the Philippine War. The husband and father died about ten years ago, leaving the widow and younger children comfortably situated in a fine home in York, Nebr.

Alfred Mayberry Hoppes was born March 28th, 1858. July 19th, 1877, he was married to Emma Elison. About the year 1881 he and his wife came to Sumner County, Kansas, and bought a quarter section of land and made Kansas their home for four or five years. They soon tired of the "wild and woolly west" with its Indians, coyotes, and rattlesnakes and longed for the scenes of their childhood, so they returned to Henry County and bought them a farm among their relatives and friends. They have long since sold their farm and now reside in Anderson. They have no children.

Isaac Franklin Hoppes was born May 3rd, 1861, and on the 21st day of July, 1879, he married Lucy Mills. Isaac was a very corpulent man and at one time weighed well over 250 pounds. In mid-life he associated himself with the Spiritualist Cult and often spent hours by himself in some secluded spot in the woods where it is reputed he talked to the spirits. He was the father of four sons and two daughters. Died May 30th, 1912, and is buried in the Clem Cemetery.

David Erastus Hoppes, was born March 28th, 1864. Married Margaret Stinson December 8th, 1887. He, like his brother Isaac, attained considerable weight but never reached the 250 pound mark. David was a jovial man and always enjoyed a good wholesome joke and would at times go to extremes to get a joke on his neighbor. David was the father of one child- a son. He met with an accident, falling from a load of hay which was probably the cause of his death some time later. He died May 26th, 1915, and is buried in the Clem Cemetery.

William Henry Hoppes was born June 20th, 1867. He is the youngest son and also the smallest member of the family. On June 20th, 1889 the same being his 22nd birthday, he was married to Martha Richardson and they had one son and one daughter. William, like most of his brothers and sisters, spent the greater part of his life on a farm but some years ago he sold his farm and bought a business in Anderson where he and his wife are comfortably located in a beautiful home.

Sarah Hoppes, the youngest child, was born September 14th, 1870. On January 1st, 1890, she married John Gustin and from this union there were born six children - three sons and three daughters. About ten years after her marriage her mother died and the estate was divided - the Gustins buying the south farm on which she was born. They have builded a fine country home among the old sugar trees on the east part of the farm and are very comfortably and happily situated.

. . . . on the 1st day of January, 1871, he was united in marriage to Mary Isabel Brown, daughter of John E. and Elizabeth Franklin Brown. To them were born seven children, two of whom died in infancy. Those who lived to maturity are Landy, born November 26, 1871; Levi, born Sept. 9th, 1876; Leora, born Aug. 30th, 1879; Lester, born Oct. 11th, 1883; and Lloyd, born Aug. 15th, 1886. . . .

About the year 1880 Marcus, thinking to better his conditions in general, moved to Anderson and embarked in the mercantile business with his oldest brother, Addison, who had already gone to town to live. He continued in business for only a few years, helping manage the store, clerking, and driving a huckster wagon out through the country, in the interest of the store and otherwise helping where he could - always working hard from early morning until late at night. Collections were slow and the success of the mercantile business was not of the best so he re-sold his interest in the store, back to his brother, and moved back on the farm. About the time of the mercantile venture a younger brother, Alfred, went to Kansas and located there. As will be seen through the past history of both sides of the family a spirit of pioneering had always prevailed and a desire for reaching out to new countries and climates had always made itself manifest in the two families. Then too as the family was coming on, and the land in Indiana was getting scarce and high in price, Marcus also, decided to come to Kansas where he could have room to expand. Yet another reason for his decision was that Indiana was a state of open saloons while Kansas had passed a prohibition measure, making it a more desirable place in which to bring up a family of boys. For these reasons Marcus Hoppes caught the Kansas "fever" and in the winter of 1883-4 he came to Sumner County, Kansas, and negotiated for the purchase of two good quarter sections of land on Shoo Fly Creek about six miles Northwest of South Haven, for which he paid about $3,000.00 per quarter. He had only a part of the purchase price to pay down, which fact involved him heavily in a financial way. After the purchase of the land was effected Marcus returned to Indiana and at once held a sale of a part of his personal property, and made arrangements to move to his new domain forthwith, away out in the far West among the Indians, coyotes, and rattlesnakes, as his friends thought. Early in the spring of 1884 he loaded his household goods and other personal effects, which consisted of a wagon, harness, a few farm implements and a span of well-kept mares - Doll and Jane - into an emigrant car and thus brought his property to Kansas "where the grasshopper was a burden." His family followed soon after. . . . (He arrived with his car on March 9th and his family came on March 28th, if our information is correct.) They moved in with his brother Alfred, and lived with him for some two weeks until they could get possession of their own farm, which we now call the "Home Place." The legal description being the Southeast Quarter of Section eight, Township thirty-four, Range one West of the 6th P. M., which they had purchased from a Mr. David Moss for a consideration of $3,000.00. The improvements on this farm, when the family took up their abode thereon, consisted of a one-story frame house of two rooms, in fairly good repair, as houses went in those days, with a "lean-to" or addition on the north of the two rooms, making a four-room dwelling which was considered a very roomy house in Kansas at that time. A small granary of about two hundred bushels capacity, a frame shed stable for four head of horses, an open well with curb and buckets, and an unwalled cave covered with poles and dirt roof, and perhaps a small fenced in lot, completed the improvements.

. . . . Times went on and crops flourished. There were two or possibly three failures in the 80’s but from hard work, careful management and frugal living the people were able to "tide" over until another crop was raised.

By the latter part of the 80’s the Hoppes family decided that they could see their way clear to build a better home, so in the fall of 1889 they erected a story and a half house containing eight rooms, which with some additions still stands on the "Home Place." This was quite a mansion at the time it was built. In the fall of 1891 came the "bumper corn crop", * (*Father had out 70 acres of corn on his own, besides he had probably 80 or more acres rented out for corn, of which he received one-third rent. His corn made 65 bushels per acre. In all he had between 6500 and 7000 bushels of corn that year.) and by that time a large barn was planned and built, which is still standing on the farm.

We are now led up to the drought years and crop failures of the early 90’s which were the real trying times in Southern Kansas. To begin with, the people were not in the best financial circumstances, owing to a few failures and low prices. Most of them had mortgages on their land and many of them had money borrowed at the banks, paying a high rate of interest, and were all, or nearly all, depending on the next crop to rescue them from debt. It had ever been thus in Kansas. But beginning with the year 1892 the next crop failed to materialize. Old Mother Nature seemed to have rebelled, and drought prevailed. The hot winds literally burned the vegetation from the face of the earth. The meadows and pastures were sear and the corn scarcely made fodder. Feed was scarce and high in price and the livestock had to be put on the market in poor condition, as they were, and of course brought but little money. The money panic of 1892 added strength to the already chaotic conditions and drought and failure continued from year to year and conditions grew tense indeed. Some of the neighbors and friends could stand the strain and privation no longer, and were forced to abandon their farms, or assign them over to the mortgage companies. Some left the country "between the two suns" as the saying went: i. e. left in the night to get away from their creditors. Scarcely a day passed that we did not see from one or two, to many covered wagons, or what we called "boomer" wagons, pass along the road going east or north, "Going back to wife’s people," or as some painted signs on their wagon covers, "Going back to God’s Country." Those who were leaving the country were loud in their denunciation of "This God forsaken Country, which was never intended for white men." Land values decreased until a fairly good farm could be bought for from $5.00 to $10.00 per acre and in some cases probably less money.

From stint, the purest of economy, hard labor and good management the Hoppes family with a few others managed to "weather" the hard times and the failures, but it took years to recoup their fortunes. Lost in the trying times of the early 90’s. Some of the neighbors never did entirely "get on their feet" again. . . . by doing most of the work ourselves, and by using the strictest economy in every line, the old debts began to be slowly liquidated and other land added to the estate. The children were marrying and starting out for themselves, all receiving material help from their parents, enabling them to purchase a good farm apiece as their financial start in the world.

In the spring of 1910 Marcus Hoppes decided to retire from active farm life and sold most of his personal property at public auction and moved to Kansas City, Kansas. Being a very active, hard working man all his life, he soon found time hanging heavy on his hands, and could not stand the idleness of a retired city life, so he began to cast about for some employment. Finally he bought a half interest in a grocery store and meat market and devoted his time to business for a year or more. His partner proved to be reckless, and not too agreeable, and Marcus soon tired of his actions, sold his interest in the business back to his partner and gave up the store.

My father Daniel was the oldest boy, his sister Leah who married a Nothstein was the oldest in her family, who got the family bible. I never knew (him) since Grandfather Hoppes died when I was quite young; grandmother then broke up the home and lived with Uncle Joe, living up to the age of 89 yrs.

July 17, 1935: Monday evening cousin Sadie Hoppes Geary, left the Allentown Hospital for her home in Germansville, a distance of 20 miles from here. She was a patient there for more than a week for x-rays and observation. Sadie is Uncle Joe’s only child; her mother died while she was but 2 or 3 yrs. old; later Sadie married and had a good kind husband. He died about 8 or 9 yrs. ago; they never had children, so Sadie has only cousins left, - she has a leaking heart and dropsy, and I do not think she will be with us long anymore. So many of my cousins pass away on father’s side with this affliction, and yet Uncle Eli was the only one dying from heart trouble with a hasty death and no sickness.

March 15, 1936: I certainly realize what work you have put in on the Hoppes family; how I wish some of our ancestors were here to help out. I am sorry I was unable to answer your questions, but I forwarded your letter with a letter of mine to cousin Emma Wehr (youngest child of Uncle Wash) who lives on the homestead at East Penn not so far from West Penn. Do not know of any relatives living anymore that attend Zion Church, West Penn, very few in fact. I think only two cousins live on farms; they are Uncle Wash’s - Emma Wehr & Chas. Hoppes her brother. Farming and milling has become extinct in the family.

June 1, 1936: Mc Clean is Clara Hoppes’ married name. I am sorry do not know the married names of Angelina Hoppes Hill’s daughters. Just happened to think, I have a newspaper clipping of her death Feb., 12 - 36, she passed away this winter at the home of her son George Hill who lives at 5837 Penn St., Phila. in her 83rd yr. 3 daughters namely Esther wife of Jos. Fenin, Springfield Mass.; Julia wife of Chas. Alexander, Natches, Miss. & Mrs. Clara Bowers, Reading. She was buried in the Evangelical cemetery in Lizzard Creek Valley, Sch. Co.

February 22, 1938: Lydia Hoppes that married David Hartung Garrett Ind. was the daughter of Christian Hoppes son of John Michael. She was my grandfather Solomon’s sister; do not remember of ever having seen her outside pictures we had from her.

One fact which is sad but all too true is that when the old folks die, children and/or relatives raid the personal belongings of the deceased or soon to be deceased and in too many cases these people couldn’t care less about their heirlooms and photographs. Sooner or later these priceless, irreplaceable mementos of our heritage are discarded and lost forever. The old folks who cherished these valuables for a lifetime apparently could never dream that these items would be disposed of before they are cold in their graves. This is the way it has happened for centuries and it will, without doubt, continue this way for centuries to come. Those about to die never seem to accept the inevitable and their cherished possessions are soon "gone with the wind".

In thinking of the bygone people, we tend to forget that they were real people, everyone unique . . . some of whom were great assets to mankind and some just the opposite with many in between; but few of them caused any of today’s world problems, which is a statement that cannot be made about many of today’s crop of people. Without doubt, a whole volume could be written about almost any of them but, unfortunately, most have been relegated to oblivion and we have only the knowledge that they existed and little else. This is because no written record was left behind to tell their story. A one page biography of a forgotten ancestor would be a priceless item indeed. So in writing this book we will give the stories about some of the recent and past kinfolk and hope that our descendants in the future can enjoy knowing about us, their ancestors. We have put forth much special effort to secure as many pictures of interest as we possibly could and were moderately successful in this goal, but we were very disappointed that there were many cases where we were unable to secure pictures that we felt should be available.

Times were busy, and it was not until the housing recession of 1975 that our work schedule slowed enough that I felt like taking the time to do research. It was then that I decided to compile a record of some of my ancestors and started allotting the equivalent of 1� days per week to do research. Now, after six years, we have enough material for several volumes, but will boil it down to one book at this time. Even though we have a great amount of material, we have only scratched the surface and much of our work is incomplete; in spite of this, we must proceed with the book.

The author must be classified as an amateur in this field. In using our material, surely we will leave out much which is worthwhile and will possibly put in items of little value. Those expecting perfect form without error or a misspelled word will surely be disappointed. We expect to be criticized for getting some information incomplete or wrong or for other reasons. Better results could have been accomplished except for the fact that some knowledgeable folks just would not part with the desired information. Some dates will be wrong because, for instance, someone may have given us 4/10/36 and we took it to mean April 10 and the true date was the 4th of October. In quite a few cases, conflicting dates were furnished to us by 2 or more members of a family and verification in all cases was not feasible. We do, however, say that 99 percent of the information in this book is accurate or was recorded as it was given to us by family members, or taken from records.

A son-in-law and also a daughter-in-law have each declared that the Hoppes family’s use of the English language is atrocious, and some traces of this misuse may show throughout this book, but we hope that the results found in this regard, though not perfect, will be on a scale somewhat above that category.

We note that in many cases when people give family statistics and information they will purposely leave out or ignore distasteful divorces and other historical facts about their family and thus the author, not being aware of these facts will fail to include them. We will also omit some items of interest in some cases to avoid possible embarrassment to living persons. Also we wish to note that much information was given to us in script very difficult to interpret and when proofs were sent to persons responsible for confirmation they did not reply. Misspelled names and errors will show up in the book as a result of this and we assume that some of the persons involved will not only be disappointed but will be annoyed. There are also cases where our pleas for information were not honored and data which should be in the book will not be included, thus causing disappointment for those involved, but a time finally comes when the printer starts to roll the presses and the material not furnished just does not appear in the finished product.

This book will cover very little information on the descendants of Michael Hoppes, born about 1722, who came to America in 1751. A few of those descendants will be shown in Part X. Michael was the brother of my 4th great-grandfather George Hoppes, born 1715, who also came to America from Germany in the same year, having arrived in Philadelphia, Pa., 4 Oct 1751 aboard the sailing ship "Queen of Denmark." As for the descendants of the Michael Hoppes line, they will be extensively covered up to the year 1900 by Dr. Harrison Hoppes, whose current address is: 15716 Jones Lane, Gaithersburg, Md., 20878. He is the 5th great-grandson of Michael. He has done much research on all the Hoppes lines over a period of many years and currently is writing 2 books on Hoppes history and genealogy.

Much of the material presented in this book is a result of Dr. Harrison Hoppes’ research. We must give him substantial credit for helping us, especially for the material on the Hoppes family prior to 1751, all of which was furnished by him. Dr. Hoppes has declared that we can safely assume that the old theory of our ancestors being iron makers can be dispelled, and we agree with that. Hopefully, the true story will be equally interesting. We look forward to Dr. Hoppes’ two books with great anticipation.

We will mainly cover the descendants of all 5 of the sons of George Hoppes. Jr., born 23 Oct 1747, who immigrated to this country from Germany with his parents in 1751. We will cover the descendants of his first son, John Hoppes, in a fairly complete manner and to a lesser degree cover the descendants of Daniel Hoppes, George Hoppes, III, Henry Hoppes, and Jacob Hoppes. It is hoped that a more complete genealogy will be written on each of the above at some time in the future, as well as genealogies which should be written on the daughters of George, Jr.; namely, Anna, Catherine, Sarah, Hannah, Barbara, Rhoda, and Elizabeth. Other families will be covered s indicated in the table of contents.

In writing this book we will not use a numbering system to keep the generations straight but will use charts preceding the chapters and will run through each person’s descendants to the present time before going back to his brother or sister. No system is without some confusion, but we feel ours can be followed without too much difficulty.

In a few years we will write a book as a supplement to this one as undoubtedly there will be corrections, additions, clarifications, and proofs needing to be made. We solicit information from readers of this book in this regard. We also invite any reader to submit a story telling "The way It Was" in a by-gone day with themselves, a parent, grandparent or ancestor and we will print that story along with any worthwhile photo which we encourage you to submit whether it is related to the story or not. This book will be made available for distribution. In future years, if the author is unavailable, a descendant may answer your correspondence. We have made provisions for that and descendants of the author may be found in this area for many years to come.

I have a pretty good line on the Hoppeses compiled from material furnished by Prof. Hodson of Upland, Ind. and others, and have researched and put together quite a bit of info on the Hoppes families from this area.

I have not seen the Zehner-Hoppes publication or the Lester Hoppes book of 1925 but do have some information from it.

I suspect from what Robert R. Hoppes says, that you may be able to help me fill in a good many loose ends. All my life I have heard too much tradition and not enough fact and I want to put together a lot of quality information in it and tie all the generations of early Hoppeses together as much as possible.

How does your line tie in with George Hoppes Sr. who came over on the boat in 1751?, and how do you tie in with the Berks County line of Robert R. Hoppes?

If I have anything you need, just let me know.

Very truly yours,

Through correspondence with L. Edwin Hoppes, Springfield, Ohio, I understand that you are working on a book on the Hoppes family. He has sent me some material on Daniel Happes b. ? d. 1816 in Ashe Co. N. C. to whom I am a direct ancestor. I would like to have some material on Daniel’s sister Barbara b. 1751 married Jacob Miller, also on John, the Bro. of Daniel b. ? d. 1827/8 Surry Co. N. C. If you have charts or other material on these two, I certainly shall appreciate your help. We have a lot of Daniel’s descendants in Ashe and Alleghany Counties. Barbara and John have descendants in this area also.

I have bought L. Edwin Hoppes book on the Hoppes and related families. I enjoyed reading it so much and am happy to know that you are writing two more books on the Hoppes family. I’m a third great-granddaughter of Daniel Hoppas, son of George Hoppes, Sr. In Daniel’s will and on his gravestone the spelling is Hoppas. I don’t know when the name changed in Alleghany Co. N. C. to Hoppers, but it has been this as long as I can remember.

I have been working on Daniel Hoppas family for about ten years. I hope to have a book finished by sometime next year. I have most of his descendants but still (have) a lot of work to do. Do you have any information about Daniel’s family? . . . .

I understand you have done a lot of research on Hoppes in Germany. I bought a coat of Arms from a woman who is a member of the D. A. R. and many other organizations. She said the Hoppes family Coat of Arms was recorded in Holland and the original spelling was Hoppius. This is what I bought, but guess it’s wrong. Have you found anything on Hoppius in Holland? One of Daniel’s daughters had in her Bible that the Hoppas was German-Dutch.

Genealogy is like a drug, it’s addictive. After helping on genealogy on my mother’s side of the family, I was hooked. Father knew very little about his ancestors, so I decided to find out all I could about them. After eleven years and many visits to the archives of several courthouses, libraries, and cemeteries, there is still some information missing, but there comes a time to quit. A lot of letters have gone unanswered, and a lot of telephone calls for information were never returned. If you are not in the book, remember - I tried! Some information is hard to read, so please forgive me for any mistakes in spelling of names and the gender of some, as I could not tell by the name if they were sons or daughters. I have done my best and I hope this will help you know who you are and your family tree.

This work has been an enriching experience. I have become acquainted personally and by correspondence with many wonderful people whose friendships I value. I wish to express my thanks to all who furnished information for this book; without your help it would not have been possible.

In 1973 I started gathering information on my great-great-grandfather Jacob Hoppers, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For several years I had no idea whom Jacob Hoppers’ father was. My first cousin Lola Myers was working on the Long family and found out about the book Jasper Long wrote called Descendants of Henry Long. After we both read the book we knew that Jacob had to be the son of Daniel Hoppas.

CONTENTS

Page

Acknowledgments                                                                                  iii

1. Prologue

2. Odenwald                                                                                             7

3. The New Land                                                                                   17

4. Penn's Woods                                                                                  37

5. Haps From Toess                                                                            67

6. Haps Before Toess                                                                         95

7. Postlude                                                                                         99

Notes

A. Prologue                                                                                      105

B. Odenwald                                                                                    106

C. The New Land                                                                           112

D. Penn's Woods                                                                            122

E. Haps From Toess                                                                     136

F. Haps Before Toess                                                                   146

G. Postlude                                                                                   147

H. Figures                                                                                    148

Appendices

A. Vital Statistics to 1800                                                        153

B. Tax and Property Data to 1800                                        165

C. Census Data to 1800                                                          183

D. Military Data to 1800                                                       189

E. Legal and Administrative Data to 1800                        193

F. Transaction Records to 1800                                          203

G. Wills to 1800                                                                      223

H. Principal Correspondents                                              229

Index                                                                                       233

PROLOGUE

Happes--it's an unusual name with obscure origins. Over the centuries several thousand families have borne this surname and its variations. Thousands of others are related through maternal ties. But today few individuals are familiar with early members of this family or with the historical events that affected their lives. In this book I will attempt to provide a documented reconstruction through the late 1700's.

The old Happeses were of peasant stock. Their stories are similar in many respects to those of other early American settlers from continental Europe. As a result, a number of readers who have absolutely no interest in individuals named Happes may find this book entertaining. Indeed, to portray the divergent viewpoints and lifestyles that often flourished side by side, on occasion I have included a number of individuals not directly related to Happes family members. The general reader may also find several of these characters to be of interest.

In the United States the family name Happes frequently is spelled HOPPES. However, for a name containing only six letters, both the pronunciation and spelling of Hoppes are troublesome. Today most family members pronounce the name Hop’pes. But if 100 Americans selected at random were asked to pronounce Hoppes, a wide variety of responses would be obtained including Hop’pees, Hops, and Hopes. Variations in spelling are even more prevalent. During one 30-day period, for example, mail addressed to my family included the spellings Hopper, Hoppers, Hopps, Hupps, Hoppis, Hoppas, Happes, and Hobbes. In the past many more spellings were used. Not long after I began collecting Hoppes family data, I had found a hundred different spellings with no end in sight. . . .

In 1969 my family and I moved to Wiesloch, Germany, for several years when I was assigned to my company’s field office in Heidelberg. From articles in the local German newspapers, it was evident that several Happes families were living in the Odenwald north of Heidelberg, but for two years my work kept me so busy that I did not have the opportunity to determine whether they were distant cousins. Then in 1971 my wife Riki and I visited the State Archives in Karlsruhe. There we met Herr Kollisch who told us about Georg Happes, who had left the town of Schoenau north of Heidelberg for Pennsylvania in 1751. Next we visited Schoenau's pastor Fritz Hafner to study old church books from the mid-1700s. Fortunately my wife Riki, who was born in Germany, could read old German script and was a good sport about helping me look for Happes data.

We visited parish offices in several of the neighboring towns, as well. But progress was frustratingly slow because few of the church records contained indices and the handwriting of some of the pastors was very difficult to decipher. Our six children grew weary of waiting in our station wagon on Saturday mornings while their parents scrutinized old church ledgers. Then we got the break we needed; a retired deacon, Herr Oskar Pertsch, took an interest in our research. I will never forget his first words of greeting as we entered his small Heidelberg apartment: "Guten Tag, Frau Haps and Herr Haps. Sie sind Schweizer." Wait a minute! Haps? Swiss? In response to my skeptical glance he produced a list of marriages from the town of Brombach, several miles east of Schoenau, which indicated that an Ulrich Haps from Toess, Switzerland, had married Elisabeth Murr in 1674. My skepticism gradually faded as Deacon Pertsch's insights about an earlier, one-syllable version of the family name proved well founded. Sometimes accompanied by Deacon Pertsch, sometimes on our own, Riki and I now found dozens of other entries about family members in church books scattered throughout the area north of Heidelberg.

But the reference to Toess, Switzerland, opened up entirely new vistas. After our first visit to his apartment, Deacon Pertsch wrote to a colleague in Zuerich, who sent us a 1954 newspaper article about an old family line named Haps or Habs from Winterthur, Switzerland. The last paragraph of this article was especially interesting:

Next stop, Switzerland!

Archiving in Europe can be fun. Many city and state archives contain a wealth of data and are well run, being staffed by dedicated professionals. Moreover, even strangers have access to valuable documents. Riki and I soon became proficient at recognizing the names of family members in the various types of records that are available. Later this experience helped me greatly in searching for references to Happeses in early U. S. data sources. Initially we concentrated on identifying the names of the many individuals whose existence had been forgotten years ago. Gradually, however, as the amount of information we found continued to grow, the personalities of some of these individuals actually began to emerge. Their hopes, fears, virtues, and vices had been preserved in old documents that often lay virtually untouched in archives in Europe and America.

In the following pages I have attempted to provide a factual account of the history of that portion of the Haps/Happes family from which most of the family members in the United States are descended. I have tried to keep the narrative interesting and light. In place of the German umlaut over a vowel, I have followed the convention of writing the vowel and then the letter "e". Similarly, instead of the German sharp "s", I have used the conventional "ss" spelling. To supplement the text, I have included a number of figures depicting locations of interest. In a section titled Notes, I have furnished background information about these illustrations and maps, as well as documentation about statements made in the narrative. Additionally in Appendices A-G, I have included data about early Happes/Haps family members up to 1800.

And so, to paraphrase a popular invitation from another era:

                                        Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
                                        From out of the past come the faltering footsteps of the Swiss family Haps.
                                        Hi Ho, Happes!
                                        Uli and Grosshans strike again.

Swiss Roots: A History Of The Happes Family To 1800

Happes (also Habbes) is the German-language spelling of the name of the family whose branches in the United States now spell their names a large variety of ways including Hoppes, Hoppess, Hoppis, Hoppus, Hoppers, and Hobbes. For the past 30 years, I have been collecting information about this family, which originated in Switzerland. I believe that many of you will enjoy reading my first book about the Happes family, and will want to own at least one copy. It answers many questions about the Happes family, including:

                             • What does the name Happes/Hoppes/Hoppers etc. really mean?

                             • What family members came to America in the early 1750's and why?

                             • What happened to the family during the Revolutionary War?

                             • What happened to the Happes family in Germany?

                             • When and why did family members leave Switzerland for Germany?

                             • What happened to the family in Switzerland?

                             • Who were the principal family members prior to 1800 and where did they live?

                             • What is the meaning of the Hoppes Coat of Arms?

The book contains approximately two hundred and fifty 8� by 11 inch pages. It has a hard cover (blue) with gold lettering and gold outline of the Hoppes Coat of Arms. Other features include:

                • 60-pound acid-free paper

                • "Velo" binding

                • Extensive notes documenting statements made in the text

                • An index for the text

                • The names of those individuals with whom I corresponded three or more times prior to publication

                • Chronological data in seven appendices summarizing over two thousand events that happened to family members before 1800

                • 27 professionally prepared illustrations consisting of 16 pen-and-ink drawings, ten maps, and one genealogical chart

This book was published in 1985 and several copies still are available. My supplementary research covering the period 1800 to approximately 1900 is available through my collaboration with Denise Kern, who hosts Hoppesgenerations at the web page http://www.homepages.rootsweb.com/~hoppes.

To order a copy of my book, please send a personal check for $35 made payable to Harry Hoppes to Harry Hoppes, 15716 Jones Lane, Gaithersburg, MD or contact me by e-mail at [email protected].