General Grant Hopkins

General Grant Hopkins was born in Wallins Creek, Kentucky, on 2 August 1902 and was less than two years old when the family left Harlan County for Rockcastle County, Kentucky.¹“U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2238 : accessed 20 Feb 2022), Grant Hopkins, serial no. 255; from Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, NARA, St Louis, Missouri; birth date and location. Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 20: 498-499, Joshua & S.Monie Dunn (grantor), J. A. Hopkins (grantee), 16 Mar 1904; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. He finished the eighth grade at Red Bud School and worked on the farm for his father.²1940 U.S. census, Warren Co., OH, population schedule, Harlan Township, enumeration district (ED) 83-18, sheet 7B, household 147, Grant Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 30 Jul 2012); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 3164; highest grade completed 8. Elmer Dennis Hopkins, son of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; told he and his siblings attend Red Bud School in Rockcastle County. In 1919, Grant joined a carnival as a clown and trapeze act for two years and traveled through Canada.³Gerald Grant Hopkins, son of Grant and Daisy Hollan Hopkins.

On 16 June 1921, Grant joined the U.S. Marine Corp at Parris Island, South Carolina. He joined under the assumed name Oll Marrott.⁴“U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089 : accessed 2 Jul 2022), Oll Marrott, 1921-1924; from “U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1893-1958,” T977, Record Group 127, NARA, Washington, D.C. He supposedly planned to save some money and then desert to attend a photo engraving school in St. Louis, but that did not work out.⁵Gerald Grant Hopkins, son of Grant and Daisy Hollan Hopkins; story told to Gerald by his father; Gerald has Grant’s dog tags with the name Oll Marrott. He sailed from Charleston, South Carolina, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 25 August 1921 aboard the U.S.S. Henderson. He arrived on the 31^st. Grant spent two years in Santo Domingo, much of that time as a messman or cook 3rd class.⁶“U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” Oll Marrott, 1921-1924. Any serious plans he had for deserting were quashed by his location on an island.

On 4 April 1923, Grant again boarded the U.S.S. Henderson for a return to the United States. He arrived at Quantico, Virginia, on 13 April 1923 where he was stationed until June 1924. After serving for three years, Grant was discharged on 16 June at Cincinnati, Ohio.⁷“U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” Oll Marrott, 1921-1924.

Grant’s parents moved to Warren County, Ohio, while he was in the Marines, and that is where he went after his discharge.⁸Warren County, Ohio, Recorder (https://ohwarren.fidlar.com/OHWarren/AvaWeb/#/search : accessed 10 May 2022), digital images, Deed Book 110: 305, Charles & Katherine M. Deck (grantor), James A. Hopkins (grantee), 19 Dec 1921. In 1926, he married Daisy L. Hollan, daughter of Thomas C. Hollon and Dora B. Rose.⁹Gerald Grant Hopkins, son of Grant and Daisy Hollan Hopkins; year married. Daisy was born on 22 December 1905 in Hollonville, a small community in Wolfe County, Kentucky.¹⁰“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 16 Aug 2022), Daisy L Hopkins, SSN 526-72-7187; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007; birth date and location, parents’ names. By 1920, the Hollons lived in Salem Township in Warren County, Ohio.¹¹1920 U.S. census, Warren Co., OH, population schedule, Salem Township, enumeration district (ED) 265, sheet 8B, dwelling n/a, family 180, Thomas C. Hollon; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 1447.

Grant and Daisy had two sons, Gerald and Jack.¹²Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (KY, Loyall, 1969-1977), scanned copy of fill-in-the-blanks family history privately held by Linda F. McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Linda is Emma’s granddaughter. Both survive.¹³Linda Faye McCauley, great-granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; personal knowledge.

In 1930, Grant and Daisy lived on rental property in Harlan Township. They were listed in that census next to his parents.¹⁴1930 U.S. census, Warren Co., OH, population schedule, Harlan Township, enumeration district (ED) 83-14, sheet 4B, dwelling 102, family 103, Grant Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T626, roll 1890. On 23 October 1936, Grant bought 107 acres located on Goshen and Wilmington Pike in the general area where his parents lived.¹⁵Warren County, Ohio, Recorder (https://ohwarren.fidlar.com/OHWarren/AvaWeb/#/search : accessed 10 May 2022), digital images, Deed Book 132: 279, John Schnell, Virgil & Carrie Hutchens (grantor), Grant Hopkins (grantee), 23 Oct 1936. Grant farmed and worked as a milk hauler.¹⁶Gerald Grant Hopkins, son of Grant and Daisy Hollan Hopkins.

Grant and Daisy sold the farm on 28 August 1946 and moved to Tucson, Arizona.¹⁷Warren County, Ohio, Recorder (https://ohwarren.fidlar.com/OHWarren/AvaWeb/#/search : accessed 10 May 2022), digital images, Deed Book 168: 165, Grant & Daisy Hopkins (grantor), Anton, Barbara, Nicholas, & John Gehler (grantee), 31 Aug 1946. He worked as a carpenter, building houses and apartments.¹⁸Gerald Grant Hopkins, son of Grant and Daisy Hollan Hopkins. In 1950, they lived at 140 E. Navajo Road and later moved to 266 W. Navajo Road.¹⁹1950 U.S. census, Pima Co., AZ, population schedule, Amphitheater, enumeration district (ED) 10-72, sheet 75, dwelling 94, lines 19-21, Grant Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308 : accessed 12 Jul 2022); from NARA, 1950 Census (https://1950Census.archives.gov/search). “Grant Hopkins,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), 12 Mar 1963, p. 21, col. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 Jul 2022); 266 W Navajo, residence at Grant’s death.

Grant died of terminal uremia due to localized multiple myeloma at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tucson on 9 March 1963. He was sixty years old. Grant was buried on 13 March 1963 in South Lawn Memorial Park in Tucson.²⁰“Arizona, U.S., Death Records, 1887-1960,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8704 : accessed 20 Feb 2022), death certificate no. 3046 (1963), Grant Hopkins; from AZ Dept. of Health Services, Phoenix. Daisy died on 25 January 1999 and was buried next to Grant.²¹Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : viewed 5 Jun 2022), memorial 197472601, for Daisy L. Hollon Hopkins, (South Lawn Memorial Cemetery, Tucson, Pima County, AZ), digital image, 11 Mar 2019, by Tdcolb.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "General Grant Hopkins," Documenting the Details, 15 Oct 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/gghopkins : accessed [enter current date]).

Written by: Linda F. McCauley
Copyright © 2022 Linda F. McCauley. All rights reserved.

My Connection: James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard (great-grandparents) > Elmer Dennis Hopkins (maternal grandfather > Uta Faye Hopkins (mother)