Thomas Henry Hopkins 12/24/1822-7/25/1901

HOPKINS, KERR, SPRUANCE, SWEENEY

Posted By: Karen Bergquist Uhr
Date: 2/9/2009 at 17:11:08

Thomas Henry Hopkins was born in Millsboro, Delaware December 24, 1822 and died at Bonaparte, Iowa, July 25, 1901, aged 78 years, 7 months and 1 day.

His parents died when he was quite small, leaving with him one half-brother. At the age of seven he removed with an uncle to Mechanicsburg, Ohio, where he lived until the dawn of young manhood's years when he went to Baltimore, Maryland, to learn the shoemaker's trade. Completing this, he returned to Mechanicsburg and was married October 28, 1848, to Miss Hannah J. Jones. They moved shortly afterwards to Bonaparte, Iowa, where, with the exception of about a year's residence in Keosauqua and four years in Mt. Sterling, they have since resided.

To them were born seven children, four daughters and three sons. The eldest son died in infancy and the third daughter Henrietta, died in August 1869, at the age of thirteen years. There remain with the wife and mother to mourn his loss three daughters, and two sons as follows: Mrs. Fidelia Kerr, Butte City, Montana; Mrs. Josephine Spruance, Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Ida M. Sweeney, Bonaparte; Thomas H. Hopkins, Council Bluffs, Iowa and Charles B. Hopkins Butte City, Montana. There are also seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Deceased was engaged continuously in the boot and shoe business in Bonaparte for forty-three years, retiring in March 1897, and therefore the oldest business man of our town. He was one of the eight charter members of Bonaparte Lodge, No 73, A. F. and A. M., which was chartered in 1858 and retained his membership and good standing until his death. He was a very enthusiastic Mason and held many of the principal offices, being Tyler, Senior Steward, Senior Deacon, Treasurer, Junior Warden, Senior Warden, and in 1864 he was Worshipful Master. He acted as Marshal at the burial of nearly all the deceased brethren of this lodge during the past thirty-five years.

His long residence and business prominence among us made him widely known throughout this part of Iowa as a man of strict integrity and moral worth, possessing excellent business qualifications. He was a genial man with strongly developed friendships; and, though ripe in years, retained his more youthful ideas. He liked old and young people alike... (Meek Scrapbook clipping is cut off) (Entler version continues) and always had a cheery word for them.

He was Deputy Sheriff of Van Buren Co. in 1854, serving Jas. M. Tuttle, afterwards Maj. Gen. He was also a member of the board of Co. Supervisors in '68-'69-'70.

The funeral services occurred from his late home on the afternoon of July 24, 1901, under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity, Rev. Geo. H. Duty conducting the religious ceremony.
The pallbearers were the following named Masons: W. P. L. Muir, W. A. Packer, A. McDonald, Frank Lightfoot, H. H. Meek and Phil Eich.

source: newspaper unknown
Margaret Johnson Meek scrapbook

Add'l. Source: Entler Scrapbooks, vol. 4, Iowa Historical Library, Iowa City, IA