REMEMBER THE LITTLE CHILDREN

In a recent e-mail I received from Denise, she commented on all the gravestones in Dallas County, MO of young Hoppes children descended from 2351 Michael Hoppers. I received her message about the same time I was thinking about my ancestor 214 Christian Hoppes, who had 12 children but only four girls and two boys who survived to maturity.  How lucky we are to have been born in the 20^th Century!  But then I remembered that my father Charles H. Hoppes, born November 17, 1909, had a younger brother born on September 13, 1912 who only lived for a day or so and another brother born exactly a year later who also died within hours.  Although I can’t be certain, based on my own blood factors I believe that my grandparents probably had an Rh factor incompatibility, causing my grandmother to develop a maternal antibody that triggered the destruction of her two subsequent son’s red blood cells in a condition now known as “hemolytic anemia”.  Moreover, my mother Margaret Troxell Hoppes once mentioned to me that she had been baptized on the same day she was born, July 23, 1910, because she was premature and not expected to survive.

Until very recently, infant and childhood mortality was shockingly high.  Based on “Summary File” data published in “Harry’s Corner”, I developed the following crude estimates of preteen survival for each of the eight Hoppes/Hoppers lines. (Please note that I have not attempted to collect data for the children of the maternal lines).

For each of the eight lines, between 10% and 20% of the children died before reaching age 13.  Life in the second half of the 18^th Century and all of the 19^th Century was a daily challenge, full of hard work and personal sorrow.  Today, the combined infant mortality and preteen death rate has been reduced to less than 1%, thanks in large part to effective antibiotics and childhood vaccinations. We have a lot to be thankful for.

 CENSUS DATA

In addition to tombstone records, there are several other important sources that provide insights about children who died before reaching maturity.  One of my favorites is the Federal Census Mortality Schedule.  Beginning in 1850, the US Government began to collect information about individuals who died in the twelve-month period prior to Census enumeration.  (Unfortunately, the Mortality Schedules for the Censuses of 1890 and 1900 were destroyed.)  For example, the Pennsylvania mortality schedules indicate that John Hoppes, a six-year-old male, died of croup in November 1849 in West Penn Township, Schuylkill County; that Alice Hoppes, a seven-month-old female died there in 1869 from congestion of the lungs; that Ellen Hoppes, an 11-year-old female, died of scarlet fever in October 1869 in Rockland Township, Berks County; and that Nancy Hoppas, a two-year-old female, died of an inflammation of the stomach in March 1880 in Ross or Lake Township, Luzerne County. 

Although the 1900 Mortality Schedules are unavailable, the regular census from this year provides another kind of information that is useful in helping to identify children who died young. Beginning in 1900, the Census contains information about the number of children mothers had and the number still living.  For example, the 1900 Census of Mitchell County, NC shows Nancy (Creson) Hoppas as a 54 year-old widow, born in January 1846, having had seven children with four still alive, and two sons Marlon, age 12, and Walter, age 11, still living with her.   From the Hoppes Generations publications, “Diaries and Books” and “Harry’s Hall of ‘Fame”, we know that Nancy’s son Walter became a renowned banjo player and was the seventh son of seven sons.  The 1900 Census data, therefore, indicate that three boys died early, that four reached teenage, and that Walter “Doc” Hoppas had no sisters.

The 1900 Census indicates that several other Hoppes families also suffered high mortality rates.  For example, the enumeration of Franklin Township, Kosciusko County, IN shows postmaster Obediah Hoppes’ wife Hannah, age 58, as having had six children with only three still alive.  Other sources show that the three children who died before their mother  were Della born July 10, 1867, Cora born October 16, 1876, and Daniel born December 3, 1879.  Similarly, the 1900 Census indicates that the family of 1146 Ephraim Herel Hoppes lost three children, because Martha (Helling) Hoppes, age 41, is reported to have had ten children, with only seven surviving.  Those children still living with their parents are reported to be Daniel born in April 1867, Sarah born in March 1882, Catharine born in November 1887, James born in January 1890, and Manuel born in January 1899. In addition to these five children, two other family members known to reach maturity were 11461 Henry Ephraim Hoppes and Mary Hoppes born about 1880.  To date I have not identified all of the remaining three children who died early.

MILITARY PENSION DATA 

Another valuable source of information about children from Hoppes families is the data contained in the pension files of those individuals who fought in the Civil War (and later wars). A Bureau of Pensions questionnaire dated January 15, 1898, for example, required the respondent to list all living children.  Then a second Bureau of Pensions questionnaire dated January 2, 1915, declared: “State the names and dates of birth of all your children, living and dead”. Individuals who filled out both questionnaires not only provided important information about their current families but also about children who had died before their father.   In the case of 1146 Ephraim Herel Hoppes, he responded only to the questionnaire dated January 15, 1898, on which he provided the following answers about his children: 6 living. Henry Hoppis age 21; Daniel Hoppis age 20; Mary Hoppis age 18; Sarah Hoppis age 16; Cass Hoppis age 10; and James Hoppis age 7.  Two of Martha and Herel Hoppes’ three children who died early are believed to be Catharine born in November 1887 and Sidney born in 1893.  Their next known child is Manuel born January 21, 1899, after the questionnaire was submitted.  Do any of you know the name and date of birth and/or death of the third child who died at an early age?

 NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Perhaps the most vivid source of information about Hoppes children who died before reaching maturity is old newspaper articles, some of which may be found on the Internet.  For example, on Tuesday July 1, 1919, the East St. Louis Daily Journal reported that: “Daniel Hoppes, 11 years old, son of J. R. Hoppes, 705 Piggott Avenue, was drowned in Cahokia creek, near the Mississippi river at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, when his head struck a rock and he was rendered unconscious, after diving from a high piling.”  By far the most poignant article about Hoppes family accidents involving children I have encountered of the Internet, however, is the following story that appeared in the Rochester Sentinel of Fulton County, IN on Saturday, August 21, 1880 involving the death of Cora Hoppes, a daughter of Obediah and Hannah (Tipton) Hoppes:

Very grave carelessness on the part of Obed HOPPES and his family caused the death of their child, four years old, last Saturday. The child had been having ague and the parents supposed they were administering quinine instead of which they gave it a large dose of strychnine or some other poison equally fatal that caused its death in a very short time. The deadly drug had been carelessly left lying about the house without being labeled and was an act of negligence scarcely excusable. It is a dear experience to that family and ought to be a warning to all others who learn of their misfortune. The distressed family lives in Newcastle Township, two miles south of Bloomingsburg.