John C. Hopson
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| John C. Hopson |
How We Connect
John C. Hopson is my Great-Great Grandfather. My grandpa Harmon Hopson Sr. was the son of Theodore Hopson, the son of John C.
Very little is known about John C. Hopson. Unlike other men in his family whose deeds, good or bad, managed to leave a paper trail through time, John C. Hopson managed to live most of his years under the radar. So much so that family historians have had a hell of a time laying out facts and recreating his story.
Life
John C Hopson was born on May 15, 1870 in Virginia to Mary Emmaline Brummitt, age 31, and Littleton W Hopson, age 35.[1] The 1880 Census lists John as single and living with his parents in the town of Walker in Wise County, Virginia.[2]
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| George W. Hopson's Marriage Certificate |
John was first married to Caroline Moore and had a son with her named George Washington Hopson in 1894. This is evident by George's marriage certificate.[3] I have not yet uncovered details about Caroline. Her parents, where she came from and where she went after George's birth remains a mystery to me that I continuously work to figure out.
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| The Richmond Times. Oct. 03,1895, Pg.4 |
Like the rest of his family, John liked his whiskey-the way it made him feel as well as the profit it brought him. On October 3, 1895, an article was printed in the Richmond Times newspaper that mentioned that John, who was serving time for bootlegging moonshine, had escaped prison in Clintwood, Virginia with his cousin James Wilson "Son" Mullins who was serving time for an unrelated crime. John was 25-years-old at the time of the jailbreak and a married father of one.[4]
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| 1900 U.S. Federal Census; Stafford, Mingo, West Virginia |
At some point after John's release from jail, Caroline exited the picture without her son. Now, a single father of a little boy who depended on him, John had no choice but get his act together. By 1900, John was working as a day laborer but needed someone to look after little George. He hired a young servant by the name of Maggie Roe to tend to the housework and help care for his son while he worked during the day. For a little extra income, he also rented out a room in his home to a man name Mitchell Whittaker who also worked as a day laborer.[5]
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| John C. Hopson and Eliza Robinett Marriage Record |
John married Eliza Bell Robinett on August 20, 1901 in Logan, West Virginia.[6] Together they had many children, including my grandpa Theodore. Their entire brood, from oldest to youngest, were Marshall, Theodore, Julia, William, Madelia, and Lana. John and Eliza eventually made their home on what the 1910 Census recorded as "rented but free land" in the small mountainous valley town of Panther in McDowell County. He cared for his family by working as a farmer.[7]
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| 1910 U.S. Federal Census; Panther, McDowell, West Virginia |
Death
John C. Hopson died in 1912 from a heat attack. Given his young age and history with moonshine, I am inclined to believe his heart attack may have related to alcoholism as has happened to several of his descendants. He is buried in Mohawk, West Virginia at the Fred Lester Family Cemetery which is about a 20 minute drive from Panther State Park.[8]
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| John C. Hopson's Headstone |
Many family historians incorrectly have him listed as dying and being buried in Idaho. I know the men in my family so my first thought when I saw him listed as having died in Idaho was "What the hell was he doing up there?" He had no business in Idaho. No family. No friends. And he didn't travel for work. So, why was he there? A little bit of reading the fine print in some documents revealed that he wasn't in Idaho at all, just as I had suspected. John D. Hopson was the man who lived and died in Idaho, not John C. the son of Littleton Hopson. Where, then, did John C. end up? No further than where he went in the first place: McDowell County, West Virginia.
Sources
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