The Hopsons

First Car

"I recall the first car I ever saw. I heard it long before I saw it coming down our hill. I ran as fast as I could to go tell Guy, so he could come and see it too. We all got to see it pass. I never wanted Guy to miss anything and that car was something! Guy ran across our country lane to tell our cousin, Will Lander, about the monster. They both got ready and went to Cerulean Springs to get a better look at this thing that moved on its own power. They discussed it for weeks. I'm sure they thought they could make one if they had four wheels & the pieces to make it turn." Bess Hopson Wolfe

Henry Ford successfully ran his first car in 1896. That year, Guy would have been 12 years old, Mary 6 years and Bess 4 years. Bess didn't say how old she was when the first car went past their farm.

Captain Christopher Newport (1560 - 1617) was an English privateer and navigator who transported colonists to the first permanent English colony in the American colonies, Jamestown, and sailed back and forth from England to the New World five times between 1606 and 1611, transporting both supplies and colonists. Captain Newport was hired by the Virginia Company to transport the colonists. (As a teen, Newport had helped Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish at Cadiz Harbor, Spain in 1587. He also fought against the Spanish Armada).

On December 19, 1606, Captain Newport sailed from London, England, commanding three small ships, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, carrying the Jamestown, Virginia colony settlers, including Captain John Smith. Jamestown was founded on May 14, 1607, by this small group of English settlers. Newport left the 104 settlers in June 22, 1607, sailing back to England for supplies. That winter, most of the Jamestown settlers died from starvation, attacks, and disease.

In 1608, back in Virginia, Newport halted the execution of Captain John Smith (the Jamestown leader who had been accused of causing the deaths of the men on his expedition to obtain food from the Indians). Smith's life had been previously saved by Pocahontas when he was brought before Indian Chief Powhatan.

On his fourth trip to the Americas in 1609, Newport was ship-wrecked in the Bermuda Islands and did not reach Virginia until mid 1610. After his American adventures, he sailed to Persia in 1613/14 for the East India Company. Captain Newport died in Bantam, Java in 1617 on a voyage to the East Indies.

The Hopsons are from Wales

The Hopson family originated in Wales. Hopson is an Anglo Saxon name meaning son of Hop 0r Hob. They were predominately farmers and land owners. The first Hopsons that come to America settled in Rhode Island, North Carolina and Virginia Colonies. They moved into Kentucky's Christian & Trigg Counties, between 1811 and 1831.

Our first ancestral Hopson found in the American colonies was Henry Hopson (1630 _ ?) born in Rhode Island Colony. The family migrated to Virginia Colony and stayed there for six generations. Captain Henry Hopson fought in the American Revolution. After the war, Henry moved his family to the Kentucky wilderness in Christian County. Here the Hopson's stayed. David Hopson (1829-1866, CSA) was killed at the Battle of Fort Donelson. There is a small community named Hopson's Point off the Cadiz Road just north of Princeton, KY.

During the Revolutionary War, Colonel Joseph Hopson served under Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Mel Gibson's movie, The Patriot, is based on Francis Marion. Dr. Winthrop H. Hopson was chaplain to John Hunt Morgan during the Civil War.

reference: Trigg County, Kentucky (1885-1985) by Trigg County Historical Society, Cadiz, Ky 976.9976 T828, page 332, Filson Historical Society library.

Colonel Joseph Hopson (1758-1831) fought with the Swamp Fox.

In the Carolinas, Francis Marion led a band of patriot militia, carrying out bold and daring attacks against the British. The "Swamp Fox" would lead out his men (including Joseph Hopson) from hidden camps, deep in the bayou, to surprise the enemy in rapid, deadly assaults. The British had their own special warrior, Banastre Tarleton, who failed to capture Marion and stop the guerrilla tactics. Marion became a local hero while Tarleton alienated the citizery by numerous acts of cruelty on the civilian population.

Fort Donelson

Fort Donelson was an important Confederate fort on the Cumberland River near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The Union attack on Fort Donelson in February 1862 was led by Ulysses S. Grant. Grant's troops had recently captured nearby Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. The Union hoped to open a route to northern Alabama.

On February 14, Grant ordered a small fleet of six gunboats to attack the riverside of the fort while the rest of his troops surrounded the fort on land. Even though the Confederate artillery succeeded in damaging the Union's fleet, Grant won the first round of fighting by surrounding the fort on its landward side.

The night of February 14th was bitterly cold, with a howling snowstorm that made troop movement difficult. Thanks to the storm, the Union sentries couldn't see what the Confederates were doing. The rebels began their counter attack just past dawn, February 15th. The desperate Confederate troops pushed the Union soldiers back almost a mile. Just when the Confederates were about to complete a breakout, they retreated. Their generals feared their exhausted troops wouldn't survive a counterattack.

Fort Donelson was the first major Union victory in the war. It was a big success for Grant. Lincoln later promoted him to major general. Grant used the words "unconditional surrender" in his demand to the Confederate defenders and became famous as "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

'Lincoln' by Vidal, page 307

Buell’s army had won an engagement at Mill Springs in Kentucky, while elements of Halleck’s army, which had been permanently settled in Missouri, as Lincoln had despairingly put it, were now on the move. An Illinois brigadier-general, Ulysses S. Grant, had then captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. He was now at the Cumberland River, twelve miles away, laying siege to Fort Donelson. If Donelson were to fall, Nashville and eastern Tennessee would once more be a part of the Union.

On February 14, Grant’s first attack on Donelson was repulsed. On February 16, as Lincoln and Stanton and Hay had been studying the map of Tennessee, a telegram from Halleck at St. Louis was brought them. Grant had refused to come to terms with the Confederate General Buckner. ‘No terms except unconditional, immediate surrender can be accepted, “Grant had told the rebels. “I proposed to move immediately upon your works.”

(this battle brought Grant to Lincoln' attention and led to his appointment as official Commander over the Union Army during the Civil War) - - displacing the lazy, egotistical General McClellan would refused to use his troops.

Mary, Guy, and Bess

Mary & Bess are holding dolls. It looks like Guy has a toy horse and a toy soldier. - - - - - - - - - - - - - BESS' MEMORIES: "There were no telephones. When company came, they'd just drive up unannounced for a entire day's visit. Mama would quit whatever job she was working on and begin preparing food." - - - - - - - - " We had a cellar full of all kinds of food. There was a big orchard on the farm, so we had fruit summer and winter. There were also vegetables from the garden. The cellar took care of the milk and butter. We thought it was wonderful. We would buy ice and keep it in the cellar. Sometimes we made ice cream down in that cellar with a hand turned freezer. It was a real treat. - - - - - - - - When phone lines were brought through the country, the crew camped at the fork of the roads by our farm branch." - - - - - - - - - "It was six miles to Cerulean and even further into Hopkinsville, so we didn't get to go very often."

Memories of the Circus

Pap's Horses

BESS' MEMORIES: "Whenever we went to town, we always left early enough to reach home before dark. Pap didn't want his horses to misstep in any holes in the dark. There were big horse troughs full of water on the Hopkinsville streets by the pavement. Pap always took great care of his horses. He let his horses drink from the troughs in town and then again in the creek at Shilow Church if it was hot. There was a bridge across the creek and a place to ford the creek. Pap would unhitch the horses from the surrey and let them walk to the creek. We waited in the surrey with Mama. Our horses always had names. None of the other animals on our farm got a name. Pap also talked to his horses. Pap always said, 'Speak to a horse before you put your hand on him.'" Bess Lander Hopson Wolfe

Shell & Bettie with their children

Bess, Bettie, Guy, Mary, and Shell. BESS' MEMORIES: "Pap had a buggy and a surrey. The surrey was beautiful. I wish I had the lights from the surrey. We attended Gracey Baptist Church. Often the preacher came home with us for Sunday dinner. We always went to Sunday School and worship service. Pap would hitch two horses to the surrey. He always said a surrey was too heavy for one horse. When he drove up to the house, Mama had us ready and off we'd go. We would go to church meetings at night. These meetings were planned to be during the full of the moon. To light the road, Pap would hang a regular oil lantern between the horses from a pole near the dashboard. So many of the folks around Gracey and Christian County depended on Pap for help and advice." Bess Hopson Wolfe

Cerulean Springs Resort

"Our road was a main path to Cerulean Springs and its summer resort. People came a great distance to spend several days at the famous hotel and drink the water. There was a big hotel, nice grounds, plus a dance parvillion with a skating rink surrounding the dance floor. I remember as a small child watching fine livery rigs pass our house late in the afternoon on their way to the year's opening ball at Cerulean.

Mama's only sister, Aunt Laura, lived in Cerulean Springs. We visited in her home often and always went over to the hotel with Uncle Pampie to get fresh spring water. They had a device to draw water from the spring into the hotel. It was managed with a crank on the back porch of the hotel. I can see it now but can't explain it. They would turn the bucket loose and it went freely down the hill to the spring. After filling, another crank would pull the bucket back to the hotel. We children would race with the bucket up the hill to see if we could beat it. The race wasn't easy up the hill because of big rocks, but it was fun.

Anyone who wanted the water could go and get it. There was an endless stream. The water looked like sweet milk, sorta pale blue. It was walled up in the hotel with a special opening to dip a bucket in. Steps led down to the spring.

Going to Cerulean was a big event for us. There was music at the hotel and we roller skated there. Mama wouldn't let us dance and we accepted it. That wasn't easy for me because I always loved music and wanted to dance. Sister (Mary) didn't seem to mind.

Many in our neighborhood played instruments, including Pap and my brother, Guy. There was a banjo, guitar, mandalin, and a fiddle. Pap played the fiddle and Guy played the mandalin." Bess Hopson Wolfe

(Bettie Lander Hopson's ancestors [the Goodwins] built the Cerulean Springs Resort and the small community of Cerulean.)

Guy, Mary & Bess in front of their one room schoolhouse, "The Blakeley School".

The school was in Gracey, KY on the Buffalo Road toward Loft Alexander's. Shell Hopson, their papa, served as a trustee on the local school board, "Gracey Graded Common Schools". Robert Penn Warren's mother, Mary Penn Warren, was their teacher. The folks in Gracey nicknamed this school the "Yellow Schoolhouse". To learn more about their teacher's famous poet son, CLICK on this photo. BESS' MEMORIES: "We went to a country school. We walked or rode on horseback. As we went, children joined us along the road on our way. By the time we arrived at school, we had gathered quite a crowd. If someone along our route feared they'd missed us, they'd leave a big rock by their waiting spot. We'd know to knock on their door and get them. Everyone carried their own lunch. We all sat together at lunch time." The children's great grandparents were Blakeley's. They helped fund the building, thus it was officially named the Blakeley School.

Robert Penn Warren

Historians think Robert Penn Warren (of Todd County, in western Kentucky) is the greatest writer Kentucky has ever produced. Some believe he might be the greatest American writer of the twentieth century. He not only wrote stories, but also poetry. He won major literary prizes for both. The title of Poet Laureate of the United States is given to the person thought to be the greatest living American poet. Warren was the first person given that title.

Warren's best books have Kentucky at the center of their plots. Such books include Night Rider (1939), and The Cave (1959). His work usually deals with some human weakness, with the darker side of the human soul of Kentuckians. Warren loved history. He wanted people to understand things past, the places around them, and themselves.

'Black Patch War' or Night Riders

The start of the 20th Century began a bitter part of Christian County's history. It was a struggle between the tobacco farmers and the American Tobacco Company. The company and its powerful leader, J.B. Duke, created a monopoly in the tobacco market. The local farmers rebelled by forming the Planters Protective Association (PPA) in 1905. Small farmers, preferring a poor income to none, tried to stay with American Tobacco. The desperate PPA farmers armed themselves and rode the country roads by night, warning, then beating farmers who would not join them. As things progressed; barns, homes and warehouses were burned. It worsened when men were shot and parents tied & beaten as their children looked on. Things finally came to a halt in 1907 when the Night Riders literally captured Hopkinsville, cut telephone wires, took the telegraph office, police station, and sheriff's office. Arrests were made and men in the PPA were brought to trial with a hung jury.

Teenage Bess

BESS' MEMORIES: "Mama sold butter to the boarding house in town (Mrs. Hill's Bed & Breakfast at 9th & New Central). Once a week Mama would work up 15 pounds of butter. Mrs. Hill bought it all. Pap took it to town by buggy. When the weather was bad, he went by train. You could eat all you wanted at Mrs. Hill's for a quarter. Sometimes Pap took chickens, eggs, and vegetables along with the butter. Mama pressed all the butter into squares. I wrapped each piece for Mama with parchment paper."

British roots

I have discovered that the Hopsons and the Nevilles of Trigg & Christian Counties are direct descendants of Charlemagne (742 AD - 814 AD), William the Conqueror (1027-1087), King Henry I (1068-1135), King Henry II (1133-1189), King John (1166 - 1216), King Henry III (1207-1272), King Edward I (1239-1307), King Edward II (1284-1327), and King Edward III (1312-1377) of England. Also descended from this line are Queen Elizabeth of York (Henry VII's wife) King Henry VIII, Scotish King James V, Mary Queen of Scots, Britian's Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II.// William Neville was the first Neville to arrive in the American Colonies (Isle of Wight, Virginia Colony). The Nevilles came from England, descended from 1066 William the Conqueror of Normandy, France. The Neville family was an old noble family in England. Several Queens of England were Nevilles (Ann Neville, wife of King Richard III was one). Her father was a very powerful nobleman, Earle of Warwick, known as the "king maker". In England today, there are several nobles from the Neville family. (research by John Davenport Neville Nov 16, 1974)

Shakespeare

King Edward II's and King Edward III's reign may well have given William Shakespeare his inspiration for "Macbeth" and "Hamlet".

King Henry's wife, Queen Isabella, formed a love liaison with his cousin, Roger Mortimer while living in France. September 1326, Mortimer and Isabella invaded England. King Edward was amazed by their small numbers of soldiers, and immediately attempted to levy an immense army to crush them, but the love couple's invasion soon had too much force and support to be stemmed. As a result, the army the king had ordered failed to emerge. Thus both King Edward and his supporters were left isolated. They abandoned London, leaving the city to fall into disorder.

By October, the King took refuge in Gloucester, then fled to South Wales in hopes of making a defense. Unable to rally an army, Edward II was abandoned by his servants, leaving him with only a few retainers. Edward's Chancellor was placed under house arrest in London. A mob broke into the house, severely beat the Chancellor, and threw him into prison, where he was murdered by inmates.

With the King imprisoned, Mortimer and the Queen faced the problem of what to do with him. The simplest solution was execution: then his titles would pass to Edward III of Windsor, whom his mother could control. Execution would require the King to be tried and convicted of treason. While most Lords agreed that King Edward had failed to show due attention to his people, several argued that, anointed by God, a King could not be legally deposed nor executed or God would punish the country. Thus it was decided to imprison Edward for life. Eventually, King Edward was forced to abdicate, passing the throne to his 14 year old son Edward III (who Queen Isabella and Cousin Mortimer controlled).

For the next four years Isabella and Mortimer governed in the young prince's name, though nominally Edward III's guardian was Henry, Earl of Lancaster. In the summer the young King took part in an abortive campaign against the Scots, and was married to Philippa at York on the 24th of January 1328. On the 15th of June 1330 his eldest child, Edward the Black Prince, was born. Soon after, Edward III made a successful effort to throw off his degrading dependence on his mother and her paramour. In October 1330, he entered Nottingham Castle by night, in disguise, through a subterranean passage, and took Mortimer prisoner. On the November 29th the execution of Mortimer completed the young king's emancipation. Edward discreetly drew a veil over his mother's relations with Mortimer, and treated her with every respect. There is no truth in the stories that he kept her in honorable confinement, but her political influence was at an end.

Shakespeare wrote a play about King Edward II's father, King John: "The Life and Death of King John"

Hopkinsville New Era, October 2, 1948

Mrs. Bettie Lander Hopson, widow of Meredith Shellcross Hopson, died this morning at 4:45 at home on Bryan Street. She was 88 years old. Mrs. Hopson was born near Gracey on May 1, 1860, the daughter of Mary Jane Blakeley and John William Strode Lander. She was baptized Elizabeth Ann Lander. Everyone called her Bettie.

She was married to Shell Hopson on December 24, 1878 by the Rev. A.W. Meacham who also baptized her when she became a member of the West Union Baptist Church in 1880. Later her membership was moved to the First Baptist Church here when the family moved to the city.

The survivors are three children, Guy E. Hopson, Gracey; Mrs. C.E. McCollum, Princeton; and Mrs. J.A. Wolfe, city/ three grandchildren, Willard Hopson, Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. M.D. Thompson, Germany and Mrs. J.B. Southard, Louisville/ a great grandchild, John B. Southard Jr./ three nephews, one niece, eight great nieces and four great nephews.

Funeral services will be conducted Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Keightley Funeral Home with her pastor, Dr. William Peyton Thurman in charge; assisted by Dr. P.C. Walker, paster of the Pembroke Baptist Church. Burial will be at Riverside Cemetary. The pall bearers will be Homer Faulkner, Edward Moseley, Gilmer Pursley, Frank Torian, Paul Gardner Jr, and Eugene Turner.

The Hopsons

Meredith "Shell" Shellcross Hopson

Filmore was president when Shell was born.

Seize of Fort Donelson, 1862

More died in Civil War > all other American wars total

Shell Hopson, Drummer Boy

Bettie Lander Hopson

1880

First Car

Henry Ford

Bess Lander Hopson (Wolfe)

Bess & Mary, as they appear in the schoolhouse photo.

Monday, December 15, 2008

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Captain Christopher Newport & Jamestown

The Hopsons are from Wales

Hopson Genealogy

Colonel Joseph Hopson (1758-1831) fought with the Swamp Fox.

map of Grant's battle plan at Fort Donelson

Fort Donelson

Battle at Fort Donelson

'Lincoln' by Vidal, page 307

Meredith Shellcross Hopson

Elizabeth Ann Lander Hopson

Stagecoach Ticket, 1860

Winter on the Farm

1876, Custer's Last Stand

Shell & Bettie's wedding announcement, 1878

Women's Fashion in 1870s

Shell's rent in 1879

Shell & Bettie, 1891

Pap Entertained with the Fiddle

Bess Lander Hopson was the baby

1895 Map of Kentucky

1896

Mary, Guy, and Bess

Mamma's Kitchen

Memories of the Circus

Stopping to water the horses

Pap's Horses

Shell & Bettie with their children

Pumping the Water

Tinkers & Traveling Peddlers

Cerulean Springs Resort

Cerulean Springs Resort

Cerulean Springs Resort

Bess

Hopkinsville, 1905

Learn more about Christian County & Hopkinsville, KY

Guy, Mary & Bess in front of their one room schoolhouse, "The Blakeley School".

Robert Penn Warren

'Black Patch War' or Night Riders

Pap and the Night Riders

Bess Lander Hopson (Wolfe)

Teenage Bess

Bess & Mary

Bess worked in a millenary shop in Hopkinsville, KY

Guy Hopson

Mary was the second born

"Aunty", Mary Salone Hopson McCollum

Mary Hopson's shop

The ART Shop

Aunty's Model-T Ford

Aunty

Granny and Dorothy

Granny

Shell & Bettie with descendants

Pap with his grandchildren

Aunty & Granny

Granny with her Grown Children

Granny

First Baptist Church of Hopkinsville

Bess Lander Hopson Wolfe & Mary Salone Hopson McCollum

3 generations

July 1959, Hopson Reunion

Statue at Pioneer Graveyard memorial

Nevil & Susan Hopson

British roots

Shakespeare

John & Frances L. Gibson