Henry Hoppes Jr.

   Another name for Henry was Hood.

  General Notes:

General Notes: A. MILITARY SERVICE SUMMARY
Henry Hoppes, a younger brother of Elias, Joel, and Josiah Hoppes, was born in Madison County, Indiana in 1844. He enlisted at Ft. Leavenworth, KS on March 5, 1864 at age 20 for a term of three years and was mustered into Company H, 16 Regiment KS CAV there two days later as a Private (Ref. #1). His occupation at time of enlistment was a farmer; he had light eyes, light hair, and a fair complexion; and stood 5 feet, 5 inches in height. A summary of his service record indicates that at the end of April 1864 he was Absent sick in the General Hospital at Ft. Leavenworth; at the end of May 1864 he was Absent without leave since May 30; at the end of June 1864 he was Absent on furlough since June 11; and that he Deserted from furlough in July 1864.
B. PENSION FILE INFORMATION
Henry Hoppes moved with his parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Aleshire) Hoppes, to Richardson County, NE about 1855 when he was ten or eleven years old. After his desertion from the army in 1864, he returned to Madison County, IN (Ref. #2). The Census of 1880 has him residing there (in the household of Michael Funk, grocer) with the notation: idiotic/cannot read/ cannot write (Ref. #3). Sometime later, he moved back to Nebraska again. On May 17, 1890, he placed his mark on a DECLARATION FOR ORIGINAL INVALID PENSION stating that at Ft. Leavenworth, KS in May 1864 he contracted measles caused by exposure, which resulted in partial deafness. At the time of his pension application, he was living in Dawson, NE and was a laborer by occupation.
On December 8, 1890, the Bureau of Pensions requested the War Department for a report on Henry Hoppes’ military service. The following day, the Record and Pension Division of the War Department reported that he deserted May 8, 1864. His medical records indicated that he was treated from March 27 to April 2, 1864 for an unspecified condition and from May 26 to 30, 1864 for diarrhea. On February 9, 1891, Henry Hoppes’ claim was rejected by the Bureau of Pensions because the records of the War Department show no evidence of claimant’s discharge from the service.
Sometime before 1900, Henry Hoppes again returned to Madison County, IN. The outstanding book, Hoppes and Related Families, by Ed Hoppes of Springfield, OH reproduces two articles from a Madison County newspaper that tell of Henry Hoppes’ sad demise (Ref. #4). The first from the Anderson Morning Herald of November 22, 1904 reports:
UNFORTUNATE HOOD HOPPES KILLED.
Quaint Character Met Horrible Death Under Wheels of a Train.
HAD LIVED IN THIS CITY MOST ALL OF HIS LIFE.
Was Deaf and Failed to Hear the Approaching Train From Behind Him.
Hood Hoppes, a town character known to every resident of the city, was run down and instantly killed by a fast train on the Big Four at about 4:30 o’clock yesterday. The unfortunate man was literally ground to pieces and his remains were strewn along the tracks for a considerable distance. When the mangled form arrived at the morgue, the peculiar clothing was about the only means of identification.
For some time poor old Hood had been making his home with his sister, Mrs. Ed Lane, of Pitt street. Yesterday afternoon it is supposed that he was going to the home of his half brother, Albert Hoppes, near the brick yard east of the city. No one witnessed the sad death, of the old man, but it is believed that while walking on the Big Four tracks he failed to hear an approaching train from the west, and was struck and ground to death under the wheels. The train which probably killed Hoppes was an east bound passenger, No. 16. The train is a fast one and the engine’s crew evidently did not know that they had struck a man, for the train made no stop or report of the accident.
The discovery of the mangled form was made by R. J. Sturgis, of 1841 Ohio Avenue and his neighbor, Charles Williams. The body was lying near the Scatterfield Road crossing at the Chestnut Grove schoolhouse, about a mile east of the city. The upper rack of the engine probably struck the unfortunate Hood in the back of his head, and the body was cast under the heavy wheels of the locomotive.
The two men, horrified at their ghastly find, notified Sell’s morgue and the ambulance was sent to the scene. The wagon attendants were compelled to pick up portions of the torn and bleeding flesh in a rubber sheet. The head was crushed beyond recognition and the brains were scattered along the rails. Both limbs were cut and broken and the arms and body were fearfully crushed.
After the remains were removed to the morgue Coroner Trueblood was called and he at once began a search for the dead man’s relatives. It required no little effort to learn the old man’s real name.
From C. V. Griffith it was learned that his correct name is Henry Hoppes and his age is thought to be about sixty-eight.
For years Hood Hoppes has been a familiar character about the city and every man, woman and child doubtless knew the old fellow on sight. He had many peculiar fancies and he was always bedecked with blue clothes, brass buttons and badges and pins. Hood generally called himself a “Prohi,” and his “Who ye fer” was his familiar form of salutation. Hundreds of little humorous and pathetic stories are told about Hood, but Mrs. Stephen Funk and Jack Griffith knew him better perhaps than any one else in the city. For many years he made his home with them, going back and forth at regular intervals.
A year of more ago Hood was struck by a street car on south Meridian Street and severely injured. He was taken to St. John’s Hospital and in spite of the fact that the physicians gave him up for dead, he recovered and soon left the institution. Some months later the feeble-minded old man was struck by a freight car while wandering about in the Panhandle Yards, and a portion of his left foot taken off. After recovering from that accident, Hoppes was taken to the county infirmary where he remained until a few months ago.
Hoppes, while widely known in the city on account of his peculiar traits, is practically unknown as a boy. Even the oldest citizen remembers him only as old Hood. His father’s name could not be learned last night, but persons who have known him for years gave it as their opinion that he was born in Madison County. A sister, Mrs. Ed Lane, living east of the city, is his closest known relative, and a half-brother, Albert Hoppes, also residing east of the city, is his only other relative here. It is likely that the body will be buried at the county’s expense.
The next day, November 23, 1904, the Anderson Morning Herald ran the following article:
HOPPES IS BURIED BY THE LOCAL ELKS
Members of the Order Acted as Pall Bearers at the Funeral
The funeral of Hood Hoppes, the unfortunate and well-known Madison county character, who was crushed to death under a Big Four train Tuesday evening, occurred yesterday afternoon. Members of the order of Elks took charge of the remains and accompanied the body to Bucco cemetery as pall-bearers. Although Hoppes was not an Elk, he was one of the leading figures at the Elks’ fair last winter, and that, with other motives, led the organization to take the action it did.
The pall-bearers were Jack Griffith, Charles Cox, Frank Brennan, W. C. Rousch, Tom Kane and Charles Smith. Beautiful tributes were sent by Mrs. C. V. Griffith, Mrs. Ella Castlin and others.

¹¹

  Noted events in his life were:

• Military Service: Civil War. ¹¹ Private 16th Kansas Calvary (deserted after 4 months)