GONE TO JAIL

 “Gone to jail” can be even worse than “gone missing”.  Unfortunately there are many examples of  Hoppeses who ended up in jail, some for supporting a worthy cause, others for breaking the law.  Michael Happes, born in Oley, PA in 1753, probably was the first Hoppes incarcerated in America.  During the Revolutionary War, he was confined to two prisons: the “New Jail” in Philadelphia and the “Sugar House” in New York City.  His adventures and misadventures are documented in my book, Swiss Roots: A History of the Happes Family to 1800.  The following excerpts, stripped of footnote references, describe his plight:

After the Battle of Whitemarsh on December 5 and 6, 1777, Washington withdrew to the Valley Forge for the winter.  He assigned the tasks of guarding the roads from Philadelphia and of disrupting enemy communications and logistic activities to the Pennsylvania militia under the command of Brigadier General James Potter.  Unfortunately General Potter, who was quite experienced in small-scale military operations, became ill.   Early in January, 1778, the much younger Colonel John Lacey was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of the militia in General Potter's absence.  With militia tours expiring every two months, keeping an adequate number of men under arms proved extremely difficult.  Draft orders for the group of individuals to which young Michael Happes belonged were issued on January 9, the same day Colonel Lacey was promoted, but because of a breakdown in communications, the Northampton County militia was slow in assembling. During this tour, Michael served under Captain John Krum, principally in scouting parties along the roads north of Philadelphia.  Although it had been a bitterly cold winter and spring was late in arriving, Michael often enjoyed the scouting activities.  On Sunday April 26, he and his colleagues, camped near the North Wales meetinghouse, were about to be discharged because their two-months tour had expired. Suddenly they were surprised by horsemen heading toward Philadelphia who proved to be the dreaded 17th Dragoons, the same unit to which young Banastre Tarleton belonged.  The action was over almost as quickly as it had begun.  Michael Happes lay wounded by two swift sword strokes of a British light horseman, one on his left arm and a second across his chest.  Most of the militia managed to flee, but Michael's companions William Rex, John Miller, and John Repsommem also were captured.  Others strewn around the campground were dead or dying.  Michael was placed in one of the wagons the British had captured and was carted off to jail.  Later that day a British engineer, Captain John Montresor, made the following entry in the diary he was keeping while stationed in Philadelphia: "Sunday 26th.  Wind northerly, the air cool, weather very fine, The 2 troops of the 17^th Dragoons returned and surprised a Post of 50 men of the Rebels at North Wales meetinghouse killed 12 took 6 prisoners, the rest fled.  Brought in 2 Waggons loaded with Camp Equipage."

 . . . . The New Jail was a learning experience that Michael Happes never forgot.  Built in 1775, it extended from Walnut to Locust Streets along 6^th Street.  Some confined within its walls found it ironic that it was bordered by the State House, where the Declaration of Independence had been signed, and a potter's field, where the bodies of hundreds of their prison colleagues were being buried.  Most merely worried about their survival.  Food was extremely scarce and the residents of Philadelphia did little to supplement the inadequate quantitates the prisoners received. The bitter cold was a second cause of death.  As if these torments were not enough, the prison was administered by a sadist, William Cunningham, who alternately beat selected prisoners with the butt end of his whip and then flattered and caressed them.  Out of desperation, a number of prisoners attempted to escape by digging their way to freedom.   Some, including Michael Happes' comrade William Rex, succeeded in getting out; unfortunately, Rex soon was caught and reconfined.

. . . . On June 17, Captain Montresor noted in his journal that: "This afternoon all the Troops were at their alarm Posts and defences at 6 o'clock with orders not to look upon the city any longer as their cantonment." The following day he recorded:

This morning early the Kings Troops evacuated the city of Philadelphia and the several redoubts and works that form its Defences and retired by land to Gloucester Point 4 miles below it on the Pennsylvania Shore and there embarked in Flat Bottomed Boats and crossed the River Delaware into New Jersey at Gloucester, after which the armed vessels and Flat Boats proceeded down the River to Billingport with a northerly wind and very fine weather, & at Eleven o'clock this morning the Fleet then weighed.

To Michael Happes the next two weeks seemed even more terrible than the New Jail, if that were possible.  Below decks, in the tightly packed prison ships, the heat was almost unbearable, the stench overpowering, and the food indigestible.  Ten days after weighing anchor, the fleet still had not reached the Atlantic Ocean on a leg that normally required only two days at most.  Much of the time was spent at anchor because of operational problems and unfavorable winds.  Michael Happes lost all track of time.  Many men became sick, and soon the hospital ships were crowded.  Dozens of dead were thrown overboard.  Finally, on June 29, the fleet rounded Cape May and sailed into the Atlantic.  On July 1, 1778, the ships reached New York City.  In 94�F weather, Michael Happes was led off-board and confined in a somber, five-story structure on Liberty Street that formerly had been used to store sugar, rum, and molasses.  He was very happy to be alive.

. . . . That fall,  . . . Michael Happes, Jr., sick and undernourished, was home at last.  Hopes for his return had soared a short time earlier when William Rex arrived in Penn Township from New York City with the news that he and Michael would have returned together had Michael not been ill at the time. As soon as Michael's health was good enough to travel, he was released as part of a prisoner exchange and set out on the hundred-mile journey home.  His convalescence passed quickly as he spent hours with his family and friends relating his adventures.  

During the Civil War, other Hoppeses on both sides of the conflict were captured and, on occasion, detained in prison.  Their military service records are documented in the Hoppes Generations publication Military Service Data in Harry’s Corner.  The best examples of soldiers who were captured and/or held in military prisons are summarized in the table below.

The 1900 Census indicates that two family members were being held in civilian prisons: (1) an individual by the name of Hoppers in Iowa, and (2) George Hoppis in the Indiana reformatory in Jeffersonville Township, Clark County.  The latter individual reportedly was born in Indiana in March 1870, had parents who also were born in Indiana, was a widower and a blacksmith.  He may have been 112112 George Hoppes born March 6, 1872, the second son of George W. and Elizabeth (Mason) Hoppes of Madison County, IN.

In the Preface of his book dated December 1, 1925, Corbin, KS, 112624 Lester C. Hoppes (born in Madison County, IN on October 11, 1883; died in Sumner County, KS on December 21, 1942) states:  

. . . . In concluding this introductory, let us say that it is not our purpose to be boastful of the achievements of our ancestry.  We are fully aware that the more recent generations as a whole, have not probably reflected any of the great honors conferred upon some of the members of the original stock, and in later years no member of the family so far as we know, has gained any noteworthy fame or financial prestige, that we may boast of:  yet none so far as we know has been implicated in any serious crime or wrong doing and become notorious in that respect, all for which we should be thankful. 

How things have changed in the last 75 years!  On the one hand, a number of family members have gained regional or international fame (See the Hoppes Generations publication Harry’s Hall of Fame) and several dozen other Hoppeses are millionnaires today.  But, unfortunately, dozens of other Hoppeses also have committed serious crimes and currently are in jail for their notorious acts.  For example, consider the following case of the murderess Karen Sue Hoppes, which was reported by the Associated Press: 

 Published by The Tennessean Thursday, 6/3/99

Karen Sue Hoppes, 48, pleaded guilty to facilitation to commit second-degree murder.

The battered body of Phelps, 51, was found in his trailer by family members. His pickup truck and wallet had been taken.

King and Hoppes, apparently from Ohio, had arrived in Knoxville earlier that year with their 6-year-old daughter and lived variously at a homeless shelter or with people who were trying to help them.

Phelps was one of the people who took in King and Hoppes. The couple fled the area after Phelps was killed and were arrested in December in San Francisco.

Their child was taken into protective custody and later adopted.

King, who has a prior record of sexual battery, theft and forgery, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Hoppes was sentenced to 25 years.

-- Associated Press 

As sickening as this article is, the following one is just as disturbing:

Salem, MA

George H. Hoppes, 48, of 857 Amesbury St., Haverhill, charged with rape of a child with force, concerning the molestation of a 6-year-old girl at his home during the summer of 1993. He was arrested Nov. 19 following an investigation and currently is being held at the Middleton jail on $10,000 cash.

Wednesday, May 1, 2002
Man admits raping two girls in home

By Karen Kapsourakis
Eagle-Tribune Writer

SALEM, Mass. -- A Haverhill man who admitted raping two 6-year-old girls in his home will be behind bars for up to 12 years.

George H. Hoppes, 49, of 857 Amesbury St., Haverhill, pleaded guilty Monday in Salem Superior Court to two charges for rape of a child with force before Judge Isaac Borenstein.

He was sentenced 10 to 12 years in state prison at Walpole, followed by another 10 years on probation. His term of probation came with conditions he is to have no contact with the victims, he must attend sex offenders treatment, and be evaluated for substance abuse treatment and counseling.

He must also register as a sex offender where he lives as the law applies when he gets out of jail.

Assistant District Attorney Kathe M. Tuttman had suggested at least 15 years in jail, pointing out the tragic impact the sexual abuse has had on the two victims.

Hoppes admitted that in 1993 he raped a 6-year-old girl at his former home on Patriot Street, North Andover. The second victim was raped later that year at a home on Middlesex Street also in North Andover.

Tuttman read aloud a statement in court from the parents of the second child, who is now age 15, telling how their child has suffered a great deal and how she felt trapped and ashamed for all those years.

Tuttman said they were "proud loving parents," but chose not to come to court because the father said he wasn't sure how he would react to seeing this "monster."

Defense lawyer Christopher Dearborn urged the court to be lenient, asking for a 5-year prison term while explaining that his client had expressed "high remorse" from the beginning.

Hoppes has been in custody since being arrested on Nov. 16 and the time spent in jail will be credited toward his term of incarceration.

Examples of several Hoppeses charged or convicted of lesser crimes, some involving jail sentences, reported on the Internet in the last five years are summarized below.

By   Harry Hoppes                                                                         October 2002