Howard Doctor Hopkins

The order of Doc’s first and middle names differs depending on who you ask or where you look. His military and marriage records have his name as Howard D.¹“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174 : accessed 24 May 2022), Incoming > Agquitania > 18 Apr 1919-24 Apr 1919 > image 672, entry for Howard D. Hopkins; from Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92, NARA, College Park, MD. “Missouri, U.S., Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8700: accessed 12 Dec 2016), Howard D. Hopkins & Mary A. Locke, 10 Aug 1933; Marriage Records, Jackson County Clerk, Kansas City, MO.  Most clarifying, he signed his name as Howard Doc Hopkins when he registered for the World War II draft on 16 February 1942.²“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), Howard Doc Hopkins, serial no. 1616; from Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, NARA, St Louis, Missouri.

At nine years old, Doc had a mild case of typhoid and had to stay in bed. His older brother Henry bought a guitar while he was in the service and left it for the younger kids to play with. His mother would not let him hold it in bed, but he laid it beside him and picked around on it. After he recovered, he continued working with the guitar and gradually learned to play.³Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; Oral History Collection, Frist Library and Archive of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville, TN; transcript provided by FLA. 

Howard Doctor Hopkins was born on 26 January 1900 in Wallins Creek, Kentucky. He was the seventh child and son of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard.⁴Emma 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; pg 10, birthdate. Elmer Dennis Hopkins, son of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; he and all siblings born before the move to Rockcastle were born at Wallins Creek. Some records show his birth year as 1899.⁵“U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947,” Howard Doc Hopkins, serial no. 1616. “U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441 : accessed 2 Jul 2022), Howard D. Hopkins, SSN 337-05-5475; from “Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File,” U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. Since he was listed as 4 months old with the birth month and year January 1900 in the 1900 census, 1900 is most likely the correct year.⁶1900 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, pop. sch., Wallins Creek, ED 54, p. 94A, dwell. 147, fam. 147, James Hopkins. The family moved to Brodhead in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, four years later.⁷Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 20: 498-499, Joshua & S.Monie Dunn (grantor),  J. A. Hopkins (grantee), 16 Mar 1904; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon.

Doc and the other children helped on the family farm. They usually had fifty acres of corn and a hayfield to cultivate every year. Doc’s first job, at eleven or twelve years old, was at a stone quarry in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, working as a shaker for steel drivers. He walked nearly four miles and worked all day for 30 cents. He also picked blackberries and walked three or four miles to take them to market, getting ten cents a gallon for them.⁸Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville.

Doc served in the U.S. Army during World War I, enlisting on 22 April 1917.⁹“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” Howard D. Hopkins, SSN 337-05-5475. He was a Sergeant in Company A of the 305th Infantry with the Expeditionary Forces in France. Doc returned from Brest, France, aboard the RMS Aquitania, departing on 18 April 1919 and arriving in New York City on 24 April.¹⁰“U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910–1939,” entry for Howard D. Hopkins. He was discharged on 7 May 1919.¹¹“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” Howard D. Hopkins, SSN 337-05-5475.

On 31 December 1920 in Detroit, Michigan, Doc enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps. He was assigned to the Marine Barracks at the Naval Station in New Orleans, Louisiana, on 2 January 1921. He failed to return from an authorized liberty on 4 May and was flagged as a deserter until he turned himself in on 28 August 1921. Doc was tried by Summary Court Martial on 7 September and sentenced to bread and water for 30 days with full rations every third day and loss of pay amounting to $90. He served that sentence from the 13^th to 20^th and was released from confinement and restored to duty on 21 September.¹²“U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089 : accessed 12 Oct 2022), Howard D. Hopkins, 1920-1923; from “U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1893-1958,” T977, Record Group 127, NARA, Washington, D.C.

Doc left New Orleans on 1 October 1921 for a transfer to the Marine Barracks at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, on 2 October. He remained in Pensacola until his discharge on 30 December 1923.¹³“U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958,” Howard D. Hopkins, 1920-1923.

Doc, considered the best guitar player in Rockcastle County at an early age, entertained at community gatherings with his guitar playing and singing.¹⁴“Last of Ridgerunners Dies,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 14 Jan 1988, p. 1, col. 4; digital image, Rockcastle County Public Library (https://signal.rockcastlelibrary.org : accessed 23 Sep 2022), Mount Vernon Signal Archives. At some point after he completed his service in the Marines, Doc returned to Rockcastle County even though his parents had moved to Ohio in 1921.¹⁵Warren 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. Only his brother Lige still lived in Rockcastle County by then.¹⁶Linda F. McCauley, “Elijah L. Hopkins,” Documenting the Details, 10 Oct 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/elhopkins : accessed 13 Oct 1922. Doc worked as a barber and could often be found playing music with Karl Davis and Hartford Taylor, either in Davis’s barn or at Taylor’s father’s blacksmith shop.¹⁷Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville; worked as barber in Mt. Vernon. “Last of Ridgerunners Dies,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 14 Jan 1988, p. 1, col. 4; digital image, Rockcastle County Public Library (https://signal.rockcastlelibrary.org : accessed 23 Sep 2022), Mount Vernon Signal Archives. Hartford was Doc’s brother Elmer’s brother-in-law.¹⁸Linda Faye McCauley, great-granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; personal knowledge.

Doc, Karl, and Hartford formed a group called the Krazy Kats. Karl played on a basketball team that toured around to Somerset, Danville, Louisville, and other places in the area. The Krazy Kats traveled with them and played between halves. Doc did most of the singing and played a Hawaiian guitar. Harty played second guitar, Karl and Simmy Sell, who also joined the group, played mandolin.¹⁹Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. In 1929, the Krazy Kats had a regular gig on WHAS radio in Louisville, Kentucky.²⁰Paul Kingsbury, editor, The Encyclopedia of Country Music (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998); pg 247.

Doc left WHAS and returned to Pensacola for a short time, where he played on radio station WCOA. He played the Hawaiian guitar there with Harlan Bobe, who played the harp guitar.²¹Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. In 1930, Doc lived in a boarding house at 316 Guillemard Street in Pensacola. His occupation was reported as a construction worker in the census.²²1930 U.S. census, Escambia Co., FL, population schedule, Pensacola, enumeration district (ED) 17-16, sheet 24A, dwelling NA, family 393, Howard D. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 12 Oct 2009); from NARA microfilm T626.

From Pensacola, Doc went to Ohio, probably near his parents around Blanchester, and worked as a barber.²³Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. About 1930, Karl and Harty moved to Chicago and John Lair, another Rockcastle Countian, was promoting them. He talked Doc into coming to Chicago, too. Karl and Harty were already working on WLS radio. and, after an audition, Doc joined them. Lair added a fiddle player named Gene Ruppe and created the Cumberland Ridge Runners. They performed on the National Barn Dance on Saturday nights and Doc also performed on the Swift’s Hour on WLS.²⁴Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville.

Doc was described as a smooth-voiced balladeer with a storehouse of traditional material. In addition to the Hawaiian guitar, he played guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Doc recorded his first solo album for Paramount in December 1931. He later recorded for American Record Corporation and Decca between 1936 and 1941.²⁵Paul Kingsbury, editor, The Encyclopedia of Country Music; pg 247. Doc left WLS when they could not agree on contract terms. He next worked at the NBC radio station in Chicago on the Mountain Ministry and Farm and Home Hour shows. From there, he had a daily broadcast on WMAQ in Chicago until the Georgie Porgie Breakfast Food Company made him an offer. That took him to Kansas City, Missouri, to work on WHB radio around 1932.²⁶Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville.

From Kansas City, Doc moved to Detroit to work for Crazy Water Crystals Company. He worked on WJR radio there and on CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, for a short time, possibly around the time he married Mary Agnes Locke.²⁷Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. When Doc and Mary married in Kansas City on 10 August 1933, he gave Wayne County, Michigan, as his residence on their marriage license.²⁸“Missouri, U.S., Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985,” Howard D. Hopkins & Mary A. Locke, 10 Aug 1933.

Mary was born on 6 March 1899 in Missouri, the daughter of Ernest N. Locke and Agnes Burns.²⁹“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 16 Aug 2022), Mary L. Hopkins, SSN 288-30-8987; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007; date of birth. 1930 U.S. census, Jackson Co., MO, population schedule, Kansas City, enumeration district (ED) 48-213, sheet 14B, dwelling 256, family 256, Ernest N. Locke; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 23 Sep 2022); from NARA microfilm T626; birthplace and parents. “Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002,” digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com/search/collections/1171: accessed 23 Sep 2022), Ernest N. Lock & Agnes A. Burnes, 18 Nov 1903; Missouri Marriage Records, Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City; mother’s maiden name. Doc and Mary had one child, a son named Howard Doctor Hopkins, Jr.³⁰“Last of Ridgerunners Dies,” Mt. Vernon Signal, 14 Jan 1988. He was born on 27 June 1934 in Missouri and the family called him Dockie.³¹“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 16 Aug 2022), Howard Doctor Hopkins, SSN 526-72-7187; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007; birth date and place. Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard; nickname Dockie.

Doc returned to WHB in Kansas City, this time with the Crazy Water Crystals Company as his sponsor. He stayed there until the Cumberland Ridge Runners left WLS about 1935 for WJJD in Chicago.³²Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. Paul Kingsbury, editor, The Encyclopedia of Country Music; pg 247; 1935.

By this time, the group members were Slim Miller, Karl, and Harty. Doc re-joined them, performing on the Suppertime Frolic. Their sponsors on WJJD were Peruna (tonic) and Kolorbak (hair dye) and the group got thousands of letters a week asking for photographs.³³Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. Doc and Harty played guitar, Karl played mandolin, and Slim played the fiddle. They were all paid union scale, which was around $90 a week at the time. WJJD was a daylight station, meaning it signed off at dark. The Suppertime Frolic was the last two hours before they signed off. In summer, they were on until about 8:30 but went off at 6:00 during the winter.³⁴Interview with Karl Davis, 9 Jun 1974, OH42; Oral History Collection, Frist Library and Archive of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville, TN; transcript provided by FLA.

Doc and Mary lived at 1072 West Thorndale Avenue in Chicago, Illinois in 1940. Doc was still working as a musician in radio broadcasting, but the station is unknown.³⁵1940 U.S. census, Cook Co., IL, population schedule, Chicago, enumeration district (ED) 103-3174A, sheet 10A, household 296, Howard D. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 30 Jul 2022); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 01021. They lived at 1451 Rosemont Avenue in Chicago in February 1942 and Doc worked for WLS, so that may have been where he worked in 1940.³⁶“U.S. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947,” Howard Doc Hopkins, serial no. 1616. He hosted the morning wake-up show and again performed on the National Barn Dance.³⁷Paul Kingsbury, editor, The Encyclopedia of Country Music; pg 247.

Doc retired from the radio business in Chicago around 1950.³⁸Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville. At the time of the 1950 census, Doc, Mary, and Dockie still lived at 1451 Rosemont Avenue. Doc worked as a scraper in name plate manufacturing, and Mary worked as a department store sales clerk.³⁹1950 U.S. census, Cook Co., IL, population schedule, Chicago, enumeration district (ED) 103-4891, sheet 9, dwelling 117, lines 19-21, Howard D. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308 : accessed 12 Jul 2022); from NARA, 1950 Census (https://1950Census.archives.gov/search).

Doc spent about ten years on the west coast, mostly in the 1960s. He played personal appearances and worked in the music industry there until he returned to Chicago. Mary and Dockie remained in Chicago during that time.⁴⁰Interview with Doc Hopkins, 11 Jun 1974, OH74; FLA, Nashville.

Doc died on 3 January 1988 at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois.⁴¹“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” Howard D. Hopkins, SSN 337-05-5475; death date. “Doctor Howard Hopkins, country and folk singer,” 1988; death location.  Mary died on 13 March 1999.⁴²“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” Mary L. Hopkins, SSN 288-30-8987. They were both buried in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.⁴³“Hopkins,” Chicago (IL) Tribune, 6 Jan 1988, p. 30, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022). “Hopkins,” Chicago (IL) Tribune, 1 Aug 1999, p. 95, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022).  

Twenty-seven years after he died, Doc was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame with the 2015 class. The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened in 2002 in Renfro Valley in Rockcastle County with the purpose of honoring Kentucky performers, songwriters, publishers, promoters, broadcasters, comedians, and other professionals who made a significant contribution to the music industry in Kentucky and around the world. Doc was part of the seventh group of inductees, which included Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson of The Backstreet Boys and Montgomery Gentry.⁴⁴“KMHF Inductees,” Kentucky Music Hall of Fame (https://www.kentuckymusichalloffame.com/induction/ : accessed 23 Sep 2022), 2002 Inductees. Doc’s nephew Kenneth Helton Hopkins was instrumental in getting him included in the 2015 class.⁴⁵Linda Faye McCauley, great-granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; personal knowledge.

Howard Doctor Hopkins, Jr.

Dockie served in the U.S. military from 26 November 1956 to 19 November 1958.⁴⁶“U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2441 : accessed 2 Jul 2022), Howard D. Hopkins, SSN 338-28-6813; from “Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File,” U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. He married Eileen Frances Brady, daughter of John F. Brady and Grace E. Hamlin. Eileen was born on 30 July 1928 in San Francisco, California.⁴⁷“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901 : accessed 16 Aug 2022), Eileen Frances Brady, SSN 318-22-4834; from Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007; parents, birth date & place, & middle name. They had two daughters.⁴⁸“Hopkins,” Chicago (IL) Tribune, 16 Jun 1985, p. 29, col. 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022); Howard D. Hopkins, Jr obituary; wife Eileen, two daughters. “Hopkins,” Chicago (IL) Tribune, 5 Nov 1995, p. 133, col. 1; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022); Eileen F. Hopkins obituary; same daughters in Howard Jr’s obituary.

He worked for Chicago & North Western Railroad starting in September 1964.⁴⁹“U.S., Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records, 1935-1970,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6944: accessed 23 Sep 2022), Howard Doctor Hopkins, hire date Sep 1964; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Employee Records. Chicago & North Western Historical Society, Berwyn, Illinois. He later worked as a systems analyst in the manufacturing industry.⁵⁰“Historical Cook County, Illinois Vital Records,” digital images, Cook County Clerk (https://www.cookcountygenealogy.com/ : accessed 13 Dec 2016), death certificate no. 85-036748 (1985), Howard Doctor Hopkins, Jr.; Illinois Vital Records, Chicago; death certificates no longer available online from this site.

Dockie died of pneumonitis and sepsis on 14 June 1985 at Skokie Valley Community Hospital in Cook County, Illinois, at age fifty. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, where his parents were later buried.⁵¹“Historical Cook County, Illinois Vital Records,” death certificate no. 85-036748 (1985), Howard Doctor Hopkins, Jr. Eileen died on 2 November 1995 in Chicago. She was also buried in Calvary Cemetery.⁵²“Hopkins,” Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov 1995.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "Howard Doctor Hopkins," Documenting the Details, 15 Oct 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/hdhopkins : 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)