The Vanishing Mr. Hopkins

Richard Joseph Hopkins was born in 1897 in San Francisco, California. According to one of his marriage records, his parents were James Francis Hopkins and Philomena Cecelia Gleason. His father served on two different occasions in the U.S. Army as a musician. His mother's parents had immigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, from Ireland sometime before Philomena's birth.

In 1900 Richard and his family lived at 226 -- 23rd Street, which borders the current day Warm Water Cove Park and dead ends at the San Francisco Bay. His father continued to work as a musician. By 1910 Richard's parents had divorced and his mother was married to Charles Hensley, who rented a farm in Cloverdale, California.

On 20 July 1916 Richard enlisted in the 1st U.S. Engineer Battalion. He achieved the rank of sergeant and, like his father, was a musician in the battalion's band. After the United States entered World War I, the battalion was expanded to regimental size and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, participating in the Lorraine and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. Engineer units were in charge of repairing the devastation of war to expedite troop movements, providing clean water, constructing or removing barbed wire, and launching gas attacks. Richard was discharged from the Army on 29 January 1920, likely at Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentucky.

Camp Zachary Taylor, Louisville, Kentucky; image courtesy of Louisville
Historical Society

By 1924 Richard had relocated to Virginia and he married Annie Zeola (Brewer) Hamilton on 20 March 1924 in Fredericksburg. She was the daughter of Joel Alexander and Nancy Elvira (Shipwich) Brewer and had previously been married to a William Hamilton. Their marriage record indicated Richard had also been previously married but I have found no evidence of a first wife.

On 16 January 1928 Richard was admitted to one of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soliders in Hampton, Virginia. His physical description was listed as 5 feet 9-3/4 inches tall with a ruddy complexion and brown eyes and hair. His suffered from an acute gonorrheal infection of the urethra. According to his record he was still married although I imagine his illness did not sit too well with his wife, Zeola, which may have been why he listed his mother as his nearest relative.

National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Hampton, Virginia;
postcard courtesy of the Library of Virginia

He was discharged on 1 May 1928 but readmitted on 27 August 1929. By that time he was likely divorced as Zeola had married Frank Gindhart sometime before the 1930 census was enumerated and she was living in Ohio. Richard was discharged from his second stay in the soldiers' home on 8 May 1930.

He married Josephine Nelson Walker on 11 November 1933 in Charlottesville. She was my third cousin once removed and granddaughter of Alexander Miller and Ann Marie Jennings. It was her first marriage but it didn't last long. Josephine received a vinculo divorce decree, or total divorce, from the Corporation Court in Charlottesville on 14 January 1937. She accused Richard of desertion and abandonment and though he contested the case, she prevailed. She had been 16 years old at the time of her marriage, 20 years younger than Richard. Josephine went on to marry two more times before she died in 1973.

Richard Hopkins and Josephine Walker divorce decree; courtesy of
Ancestry.com

For a long time that divorce record was the last trace of Richard Joseph Hopkins I could find. Now, I believe he lived in Sharon, Pennsylvania, with a woman named Myrtle when the 1940 census was enumerated. Sharon is located 75 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and began as a coal mining town. By the time Richard and Myrtle lived there it had transitioned to steel making and other heavy industry.

While not 100 percent positive this is the correct Richard J. Hopkins, his age is correct; California was listed as his place of birth and his occupation was listed as musician, which are also correct. However, there is a woman named Charlotte Vaughn living in the home, too. She was 98 years old and her relationship was listed as mother. At first I thought she was Richard's mother-in-law, however Myrtle is 36 years, which meant Charlotte would have been 62 years old at the time of her birth.

State Street, Sharon, Pennsylvania; postcard courtesy of Family Old Photos

The best possibility for a death date is a U.S. Social Security Death Index record for a Richard Hopkins, who died in Nov 1968. He applied for Social Security insurance in Pennsylvania and his last benefit check was sent to Olean, New York. I could order his original application using a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request through the Social Security Administration (SSA). However, as he has not been dead for 75 years, his parents' names would redacted from the document. So not any help in proving this is "my" Richard Joseph Hopkins.

Any other thoughts on where or how to find Richard?

Died of Sickness During the Civil War

John William Jennings, Jr., my great great grand uncle, and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Vernon, lived in Amherst County, Virginia, and had eleven known children. Eight of those children were sons and four were old enough to serve in the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the Civil War. Their oldest son, James, served with the Virginia Powhatan Light Artillery Battery. Leroy, served in the 19th Virginia Infantry [1]. Abner enlisted in the 58th Virginia Infantry, and Matthew served with Mosby's Rangers.

Amherst County Historic Marker; photograph courtesy of Way Marking

Abner's war was to be a tragically short war. He was born on 1 May 1844. When the census was enumerated in 1850 Abner lived with his parents and siblings on his parents' farm. The farm was valued at $1,200. It certainly was not the largest farm in the county, but I believe his family was comfortable. The family continued to prosper during the 1850s and in 1860 John Jennings' farm was valued at nearly $10,000. But the country was divided over the "peculiar institution" of slavery and attitudes were hardening on both sides.

On 15 August 1861, 17-year-old Abner Jennings traveled to western part of Amherst county and enlisted in Company I of the 58th Virginia Infantry regiment. When he enlisted at Millner's store, he was made a 4th sergeant. The company entered service on 24 September 1861 and was called Amherst Johnson Guards or Long Mountain Boys. Captain William A. Higginbotham, a prominent farmer in the county, commanded the company. Colonel Edmund Goode, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), command the entire regiment. He had served in the First Battle of Manassas earlier in 1861.[2]

As the ten companies of the regiment gathered in Staunton, many of the men were exposed to childhood diseases such as measles and mumps for the first time. Several fell ill. First Sergeant Edward J. Garrett of Company A wrote about falling ill to his wife: "...I was quite unwell and was going to a private house. I have been closely confined ever since and will have to sit up longer in writing to you than I have since Saturday. I suppose I have Measles simptoms but I have not broke out yet. I do suffer greatly with cough, Headach and pain about my eyes. Sometimes I am perspiring freely and in one minute it is all I can do to keep off a chill and my back & Legs pain me greatly..."

Map of the area where the 58th Virginia Infantry operated during
1861-62; image courtesy of Rich Mountain Battlefield Foundation

On 20 October 1861 General Henry R. Jackson, commanding the Confederate forces on the Monterey Line in the Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah valley requested reinforcements. The 58th Virginia Infantry, though decimated by sickness and with barely 400 effective soldiers, were sent west to Highland County to support General Jackson. By the end of the month, the regiment had crossed the steep mountains and were camped in tents on along Strait Creek. Lt. Septimus Williams described the camp in a letter to his wife: "...we are quartered here between four large mountains, all in sight and not a mile off. It is considered an important point, as the road from Beverly intersects the Petersburg road leading to Monterey at this place, and all other roads leading into the valley are guarded by our troops except this..."

The weather was cold and sickness continue to ravage the regiment. Eventually they built a winter camp with cabins in a sugar orchard about seven miles west of Monterey on the south branch of the Potomac. The land was mountainous and rocky. They men appreciated the lack of mud. The health of the regiment began to improve after Christmas though it had lost 48 soldiers in 1861 to disease.

A Confederate winter camp in Virginia during the Civil War; courtesy
of Virginia Places

On 28 February 1862 seven companies of the 58th Virginia Infantry were ordered to Huntersville while the remaining three companies were sent to General Johnson on Alleghany Mountain, which is on current day border of Virginia and West Virginia. The weather was bitterly cold. Eventually, the regiment was reunited on Allegheny Mountain in the spring of 1862.

It is likely Abner Jennings was one of many soldiers felled by disease while on the mountain. He last appeared in the regiment's muster rolls in February and died of pneumonia at General Hospital No. 2 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Abner was a month short of his 18th birthday.

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[1]I have written extensively about the 19th Virginia Infantry. To read those posts, click on War Stories.

[2]This battle is also known as the First Battle of Bull Run. The U.S. military named battles after a prominent body of water near where the battle occurred. The Confederates tended to name battles after nearby towns.