James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard

Jim and Cindy were both born in small communities in the mountains—Jim in Tennessee, Cindy in Kentucky. Jim’s birthplace, Mulberry Gap, is in northwestern Hancock County, Tennessee, near the Virginia border. Wallins Creek, Kentucky, where Cindy was born, is on the Cumberland River in western Harlan County.¹Emma 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; p. 8, James Arton Hopkins born Mulberry Gap, TN; Lucinda Howard born Wallins Creek, KY.

Lucinda

Lucinda Howard was born on 16 February 1867, to John Covey Howard and his third wife, Mary F. Morris.²KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 57-11948 (1957), Lucinda Hopkins; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort; birth date. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 8, parents. She was the sixth of their seven children. John Covey had thirteen other children from his two earlier marriages, and Mary had one daughter from a previous relationship. That gave Cindy twenty siblings, the oldest of whom turned 39 years old two months after Cindy’s birth.³Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 20 & 21.

Cindy grew up in Wallins Creek. As a three-year-old in 1870, she lived with her parents, full siblings Idress, Henry, and Sarah, and half-siblings Jacob, Newberry, and Ary.⁴1870 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, population schedule, District #1, p. 22, dwelling 144, family 144, John C. Howard; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163 : accessed 5 Feb 2010); from NARA microfilm M593, roll 468. At thirteen-years-old in 1880, Cindy could read and write and attended school. The household then included her parents, her maternal grandfather, Littleton Morris, siblings Sarah, Madison, and Idress (who was divorced), and Idress’s two children, Elijah and Laura Howard.⁵1880 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, population schedule, 6th Mag. Dist., enumeration district (ED) 46, p. 474D, dwelling 31, family 31, J. C. Howard; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742 : accessed 16 Mar 2011); from NARA microfilm T9, roll 418.

James Arton

James Arton Hopkins was born on 1 December 1861 to Eliza Hopkins, daughter of Stephen Hopkins and Rachel McFarland.⁶OH Dept of Health, Division of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 6488 (1933), James Adam Hopkins; Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; birth date; middle name misspelled. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); full name, mother Eliza Hopkins, birth place, mother’s parents Stephen & Rachel Hopkins. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007154045: accessed 25 Jan 2011), digital film 007154045, images 951-968, Eastern Cherokees Application of Mary Cole, #21280, 19 Mar 1907; Mary was daughter of Lewis Anderson and Nancy Hopkins, she gave her maternal grandparents as Stephen Hopkins & Rachel McFarland. Family lore identifies his father as Stephen Wolfenbarger, but that remains unproven.

The story is that Eliza married Stephen in Hancock County just before the Civil War. They had two sons (James Arton and his older brother William Columbus), and Stephen died during the war. Eliza married Ephram Simpson and moved away, leaving the boys with her parents. Because their Hopkins grandparents raised the boys, they went by Hopkins instead of Wolfenbarger.⁷Gerald Grand Hopkins, grandson of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard.

The facts do not fully support that story. Eliza Hopkins was the boys’ mother.⁸Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977) p. 8 & 20. She and the boys lived with her parents in Hancock County and moved with them to Harlan County after the Civil War.⁹1860 U.S. census, Hancock Co., TN, Mulberry Gap, population schedule, p. 139, dwelling 950, family 907, Stephen Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667 : accessed 14 Jun 2004); from NARA microfilm M653, roll 1252. 1870 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, population schedule, District 7, p. 47A, dwelling 34, family 34, Stephen Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163 : accessed 14 Jun 2004); from NARA microfilm M593, roll 468. Eliza Hopkins married Ephram Simpson in Harlan County in 1866 and moved to Indiana, then later Missouri.¹⁰FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/005560907 : accessed 17 Jun 2022), digital film 00005560907, image 215, Harlan Co., KY, Marriages, 1856-1878: 22, Ephraim Simpson & Eliza Hopkins, 11 Oct 1866. 1870 U.S. census, Greene Co., IN, population schedule, Highland Township, p. 339A, dwelling 176, family 176, Ephraim Simpson; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163 : accessed 16 Mar 2014); from NARA microfilm M593, roll 318. 1880 U.S. census, Greene Co., IN, population schedule, Beech Creek, enumeration district (ED) 293, p. 16C, dwelling 88, family 88, Ephraim Simpson; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742 : accessed 30 Nov 2008); from NARA microfilm T9, roll 280. 1900 U.S. census, Butler Co., MO, population schedule, Epps, enumeration district (ED) 14, p. 63A, dwelling 21, family 21, Ephrom Simpson; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602 : accessed 30 Jan 2008); from NARA microfilm T623, roll 843.  She left Jim and Lum with her parents.¹¹1870 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, pop. sch., p. 47A, dwell. 34, fam. 34, Stephen Hopkins.

Stephen Wolfenbarger, the son of Wilkerson Hilton Wolfenbarger and Sarah Taylor, lived in Hancock County.¹²FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007579009 : accessed 17 Jun 2022), digital film 000757909, image 9, Lee Co., VA, Marriages, 1: 4, Wilkerson Wolfenbarger & Sally Taylor, 15 Feb 1833. 1850 U.S. census, Hancock Co., TN, population schedule, Subdivision 32, p. 51B, dwelling 353, family 353, Wilkerson Wolfenbarger; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054 : accessed 9 Mar 2018); from NARA microfilm M432, roll 881. In 1860, Stephen (age 22) lived in Mulberry Gap with an apparent wife named Margaret (age 18).¹³1860 U.S. census, Hancock Co., TN, population schedule, Mulberry Gap, p. 146, dwelling 977, family 932, Stephen Wolfenbarger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667 : accessed 13 Feb 2018); from NARA microfilm M653, roll 1252. Eliza and her oldest son, Lum, both with the surname Hopkins, lived with her parents in 1860.¹⁴1860 U.S. census, Hancock Co., TN, pop. sch., p. 139, dwell. 950, fam. 907, Stephen Hopkins. Stephen joined the Confederacy on 22 May 1861 and died in battle before 14 May 1863.¹⁵Civil War Service Records – Confederate -Tennessee, digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 30 Jun 2012), Civil War (Confederate) > Civil War Service Records > 19th Infantry > W > Wolfenbarger, Stephen, enlisted 22 May 1861, Knoxville, TN; from NARA microfilm M268, Record Group 109.

Margaret Wolfenbarger (age 27) was in Lee County, Virginia, which adjoins Hancock County, in 1870. She had two sons, Peter (age 9) and Richard (age 3). This is almost certainly the Margaret listed with Stephen in 1860 as the 1870 census record states she and her children were born in Hancock County. Based on age, Richard could not be Stephen’s son, but Peter could.¹⁶1870 U.S. census, Lee Co., VA, population schedule, Jonesville Township, p. 272A, dwelling 390, family 396, Margaret Wolfenbarger; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163 : accessed 20 Jan 2004); from NARA microfilm M593, roll 1658.

A few researchers have theorized that the boys went by Hopkins instead of Wolfenbarger because the families were on opposite sides during the war. Stephen fought and died for the Confederacy while Eliza’s only two brothers fought for the Union.¹⁷Civil War Service Records – Union – Kentucky, digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 18 Jun 2022), Civil War (Union) > Civil War Service Records > 49th Infantry, F-K  > H > Hopkins, George & Hopkins, John W., both enlisted 20 Jul 1863, Harlan Co., KY; from NARA microfilm M397, Record Group 94. Others have “solved” the problem by combining Margaret and Eliza into one woman named Margaret “Eliza” as if Eliza is a nickname for Margaret.¹⁸Correspondence from other Hopkins researchers and searching Ancestry.com trees.

The Hancock County courthouse burned in 1880 and again in 1930.¹⁹“Lost Records: Courthouse Fires and Disasters in Tennessee,” Tennessee State Library & Archives, (https://sos.tn/gov/tsla/pages/lost-records-courthouse-fires-and-disasters-in-tennessee : accessed 18 Jun 2022); Hancock Co., fires in 1885 and 1930. Marriage records for this time do not survive.²⁰Alice Eichholz, editor, Redbook, American State, County, and Town Sources, Third Edition (Provo, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 2004); p. 638, earliest marriage records begin 1930. But Stephen almost certainly had a wife named Margaret.²¹1860 U.S. census, Hancock Co., TN, pop. sch., Mulberry Gap, p. 146, dwell. 977, fam. 932, Stephen Wolfenbarger. And Eliza’s name on her and Simpson’s marriage record is Eliza Hopkins, not Eliza Wolfenbarger.²²FamilySearch, digital film 00005560907, image 215, Harlan Co., KY, Marriages, Simpson-Hopkins.

DNA may someday answer the question of Jim’s paternity. Y-DNA results for one of his grandsons are inconclusive due to lack of close matches. But autosomal DNA results for that grandson and two granddaughters show a connection to the Wolfenbargers that can only be through his paternal side. So far, it has not been possible to identify a specific Wolfenbarger man as their father. It could be Stephen, but it also could be his father, an uncle, a cousin, or even a more distant relative.²³DNA Matches, database, FamilyTreeDNA (https://www.familytreedna.com : accessed 18 Mar 2022), Y-DNA, 67 marker results for grandson1; name held privately; access to all kit available to Linda McCauley.  DNA Matches, database, AncestryDNA (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 Mar 2022), autosomal DNA results for Edna Hopkins Chesnut, grandson1, and granddaughter2; names for two testers held privately; access to all three kits available to Linda McCauley. The Shared cM Project 4.0 tool v4, DNA Painter (https://www.dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcmv4 : accessed 18 Mar 2022).

In 1870, Jim and his brother lived with their grandparents at Jerrys Branch near Molus. Their aunts Elizabeth, Cerena, and Martha, and cousins George, William, Mack, and Landan lived with them.²⁴1870 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, pop. sch., p. 47A, dwell. 34, fam. 34, Stephen Hopkins. Jim’s whereabouts in 1880 are unknown. He was not with his grandparents or Eliza.²⁵1880 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, population schedule, 13th Mag Dist, enumeration district (ED) 293, p. 487B, dwelling 272, family 273, Stephen Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742 : accessed 14 Jun 2004); from NARA microfilm T9, roll 418. 1880 U.S. census, Greene Co., IN, pop. sch., Beech Creek, ED 293, p. 16C, dwell. 88, fam. 88, Ephraim Simpson. Jim told of visiting his mother in Indiana as a young man, saying that his step-father made him feel unwelcome, so he returned to Harlan County.²⁶Gerald Grant Hopkins, grandson of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. He may have been missed in that census because he was travelling during the time it was taken.

Life in Wallins Creek

Jim and Cindy married on Christmas Day in 1885 at Wallins Creek, likely at the home of Cindy’s parents.²⁷Jean Hopkins Carpenter (MI) to Linda McCauley, email, dated 14 May 2004; privately held by Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Jean shared information given to her by her aunt Lula M. Hopkins, daughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; Jim & Cindy married Christmas 1885. Jim was twenty-four years old, and Cindy was eighteen.

They began life together in a small house on her parents’ Wallins Creek property near the top of the mountain.²⁸Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard; as a teenager, walked up the mountain with her father to see the house. Eight of their ten children were born in that house. Their first child, John Covey, was born on 9 November 1886.²⁹Jean Hopkins Carpenter to Linda McCauley, email, dated 14 May 2004; John’s full name. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 10, birthdate. Next came Henry Mattison on 9 January 1899 and Elijah L. on 8 August 1890 or 1891.³⁰“U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1002 : accessed 20 Feb 2022), Henry Mattison Hopkins, serial no. 941; from Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, NARA, St Louis, Missouri. “U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6482 : accessed 30 Aug 2007), Elijah Hopkins, serial no. 56, Rockcastle Co., KY; from U.S., World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, M1509, NARA, Washington, D.C; birth date 8 Aug 1891; middle initial L. “U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1002 : accessed 20 Feb 2022), Eligh Hopkins, serial no. 909; from Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, NARA, St Louis, Missouri; birth date 8 Aug 1890. Elmer Dennis was born on 2 April 1894, Columbus Ora on 24 May 1896, and Leo Berry on 28 February 1898.³¹KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 13870 (1980), Elmer D. Hopkins; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. “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), Lum Ora Hopkins, serial no. 890; from Records of the Selective Service System, 1926–1975, Record Group 147, NARA, St Louis, Missouri; birth date and middle name Ora. Jean Hopkins Carpenter to Linda McCauley, email, dated 14 May 2004; information from Lula Mae Hopkins; Lum short for Columbus. The last two children born there were Howard Doctor on 26 January 1900 and General Grant on 2 August 1902.³²“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. “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. Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 10, first name General.

On 2 March 1889, Cindy’s parents deeded the 150 acre Wallins Creek farm where they lived to their four living children, Henry, Sarah, Lucinda, and Madison, and the heirs of their deceased daughter, Idress. They gave the land for care, support, and attention and retained control and possession of the land for their natural lives.³³FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339131 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339131, images 79-80, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds N:152-154, John C. & Mary Howard (grantor), Henry Howard, Sarah Brock, Lucinda Hopkins, Madison Howard, & heirs of Idress Howard (grantee), 2 Mar 1889.

Jim bought other property in Harlan County starting in 1891, when he, along with Cindy’s brother Henry Howard and her brother-in-law Elijah Brock, bought property on Rocky Field Branch from William Blanton for $105.³⁴FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339130 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339130, image 340, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds Q:10-11, William Blanton (grantor), Henry Howard, Elijah Brock & James Hopkins (grantee), 10 Mar 1891. In 1892, Jim added to their Wallins Creek property with a tract adjoining his father-in-law’s farm, purchased from John M. and Birdie Napier for $1,225.³⁵FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339130 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339130, image 489, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds Q:304-305, John M. & Birdie Napier (grantor), James A. Hopkins (grantee), 11 Mar 1892. Between 1895 and 1901, Jim bought property on Watts Creek and on Saylor’s Creek.³⁶FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339129 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339129, image 208, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds R:390-391, T. H. Howard (grantor), James A. Hopkins (grantee), 10 Apr 1895. Harlan Co., KY, Deeds, 27:276-277, Jackson & Mary Blanton (grantor), James A. Hopkins (grantee), 16 Jan 1897; microfilm 992284, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339128 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339128, image 591, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds U:486-487, Robert & Clary Howard (grantor), James A. Hopkins (grantee), 15 Jan 1901.

Jim once served as a magistrate, but his principal occupation was farming.³⁷Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 8, magistrate. 1900 U.S. census, Harlan Co., KY, population schedule, Wallins Creek, enumeration district (ED) 54, p. 94A, dwelling 147, family 147, James Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T623, roll 525. 1910 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Mag. Dist 3, enumeration district (ED) 102, sheet 7A, dwelling 94, family 99, James A. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 500. 1920 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, South Brodhead, enumeration district (ED) 248, sheet 16A, dwelling 299, family 300, James A. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 595. Occupation farming on 1900-1920 census records. What he raised is unknown. Most of their property at Wallins Creek was a mountainside, and that was likely true for the other Harlan County property he owned.³⁸Linda Faye McCauley, great-granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; personal knowledge of their property and Harlan County.

Cindy’s nephew Wilse Howard, son of her half-brother Hiram Brock Howard, was a ringleader in the Howard-Turner Feud in the late 1800s. He once came to Cindy running from the law. She hid him under a feather bed mattress and made the bed up over him. Officials searched her house but did not find him, and he later escaped from Harlan County.³⁹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 50-51. Wilse was hanged in Missouri in 1894, but that is a different story.⁴⁰“Wils Howard Hanged,” Liberal News (Liberal, KS), 25 Jan 1894, p. 2, col 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 Jan 2022).

Move to Rockcastle County

Jim and Cindy sold their Wallins Creek and Saylor’s Creek properties on 22 February 1904 to make way for a move to Rockcastle County.⁴¹Harlan Co., KY, Deeds, 8:633-635, James A & Lucinda Hopkins and Mary Howard (grantor), Henry Howard (grantee), 22 Feb 1904; microfilm 990915, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Harlan Co., KY, Deeds, 9:592-593, James A & Lucinda Hopkins (grantor), Joseph H. Saylor (grantee), 22 Feb 1904; microfilm 990915, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. They had sold the Watts Creek property in 1899 and 1903.⁴²FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/008339128 : accessed 9 May 2022), digital film 008339128, image 156, Harlan Co., KY, Deeds T:302-303, James A. & Lucinda Hopkins (grantor), Martha Howard (grantee), 4 Apr 1899. Harlan Co., KY, Deeds, 15:38-39, James A & Lucindy Hopkins (grantor), Daniel Slusher (grantee), 11 Sep 1903; microfilm 990916, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Jim’s brother, Lum, moved to Rockcastle County around the same time.⁴³1910 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, population schedule, Precinct 10, enumeration district (ED) 102, sheet 10B, dwelling 183, family 184, William C. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884 : accessed 5 Jul 2004); from NARA microfilm T624, roll 500. They likely moved to find better farmland.

On 16 March 1904, Jim bought a farm near Brodhead from S. Monie and Joshua Dunn for $2,000. He paid $1,900 in cash, with the final $100 due in a year, for 112 acres on Boone Fork on what is now Kentucky Highway 1326.⁴⁴Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 20: 498-499, Joshua & S.Monie Dunn (grantor),  J. A. Hopkins (grantee), 16 Mar 1904; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. They added six acres, bought from Hannah Whitehead for $60, on 31 January 1912.⁴⁵Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 27: 376-377, Hannah Whitehead (grantor), J. A. Hopkins (grantee), 31 Jan 1912; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. 

The two-story house on the farm had seven rooms, plus a porch the length of the house on both levels.⁴⁶“Auction Sale, Farm of J. A. Hopkins,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 10 Oct 1919, p. 2; digital image, Chronicling America (https://www.chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 24 Jul 2012). Hopkins House photograph, 1909; picture taken by Elmer Henry Hopkins, son of James Arton Hopkins’s cousin Stephen Henry Hopkins; digital image received by Linda McCauley from John S. Hopkins, OR, grandson of Elmer Henry, 5 May 2008; shows exterior of house including porches on each level. Jim usually had fifty acres of corn and a hayfield to cultivate every year, and the children helped with the farm work.⁴⁷Interview 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.

According to Jim’s niece Cindy Hopkins Saylor troops on one side or the other used the house during the Civil War. When the family moved in blood stains left by wounded soldiers remained on the upstairs walls and porch.⁴⁸Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard.

Two more children were born after the move to Rockcastle County—Lula Mae on 26 November 1904 and Walter in 1906.⁴⁹Jean Hopkins Carpenter (MI) to Linda McCauley, email, dated 14 May 2004; privately held by Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; Jean shared information given to her by her aunt Lula M. Hopkins, daughter of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. Walter died as an infant. The exact dates of his birth and death are unknown. He was buried in Maretburg Cemetery in Rockcastle County.⁵⁰Jean Hopkins Carpenter to Linda McCauley, email, dated 14 May 2004; information from Lula Mae Hopkins; information about Walter.

The Mt. Vernon Signal reported on 22 May 1908 that Jim had refused to allow the East Tennessee Telephone Company to set 14 poles on his property. The company instituted a lawsuit to condemn the land for that purpose. Specifics of the lawsuit are unknown, but on 25 May, the Rockcastle County court dismissed the case. The plaintiff moved for a dismissal without prejudice and at their expense.⁵¹“Personal,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 22 May 1908, p. 3, col 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022). FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/007646846 : accessed 10 Jun 2022), digital film 007646846, image113, Rockcastle Co., KY, Court Orders, 5: 151, East Tennessee Telephone Co. vs J. A. Hopkins, 25 May 1908.

Cindy was an excellent cook and seamstress. She quilted, made clothes for herself and daughter, Lula, and even made suits for her sons.⁵²Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. She exhibited samples of her sewing and jelly at local fairs. In 1909 and 1912, she won an award in the handmade articles category for ladies’ gloves. In 1913, her blackberry jelly was a first place winner.⁵³“Rockcastle County Fair,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 20 Aug 1909, p. 3, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022). “Mt. Vernon Fair,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 16 Aug 1912, p. 1, col. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022). “Brodhead Fair, Jellies,” Mt. Vernon (KY) Signal, 22 Aug 1913, p. 2, col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022).

On 28 October 1919, Jim and Cindy sold their farm, advertised as 140 acres, at an auction run by Rockcastle Real Estate Company in Mt. Vernon. The newspaper ad described the property and the reason for the sale:⁵⁴“Auction Sale, Farm of J. A. Hopkins,” Mt. Vernon Signal, 10 Oct 1919.

“Its location and general character make it a most desirable place and the only reason why Mr. Hopkins has consented to sell is because his years and health are such that he cannot work it himself; his boys have all grown to manhood and gone out into the world to do for themselves and outside labor is too high to hire.”⁵⁵“Auction Sale, Farm of J. A. Hopkins,” Mt. Vernon Signal, 10 Oct 1919.

At fifty-seven years old, Jim was younger than the ad implies, and several of their sons still lived with them. Jim continued to farm other properties for over ten years.⁵⁶1920 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, pop. sch., South Brodhead, ED 248, sheet 16A, dwell. 299, fam. 300, James A. Hopkins; sons Henry, Lum, Berry, Doc, and Grant lived with him; Jim’s occupation farmer. Jim and Cindy made a nice profit on the farm, which sold for $10,055.75. While the real estate company ad said the farm was 140 acres, the deed to buyer W. B. Sigman called it 132 acres.⁵⁷Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 43: 9-10, J. A. & Lucinda Hopkins (grantor), W. B. Sigmon (grantee), 15 Nov 1919; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. Even that is more than the 118 acres identified in the two deeds from when Jim bought the property.⁵⁸Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 27: 376-377. Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 20: 498-499.

On 5 December 1919, Jim paid $4,500 for a farm at Gum Sulphur, a community in Rockcastle County between Brodhead and Crab Orchard. This farm, on Boone Highway (now Kentucky Highway 2750, formerly U. S. Highway 150), included 100 acres and a two-story frame house near the road.⁵⁹Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 39: 221-222, Douglas & Belle Brown (grantor), J. A. Hopkins (grantee), 5 Dec 1919; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard; two-story frame house near the road. The Hopkins family lived there until moving to Ohio two years later.⁶⁰Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard.

Move to Ohio

Jim and Cindy sold the Gum Sulphur farm on 26 November 1921 for $4,000 and bought 169 acres in Harlan Township in Warren County, Ohio, on 19 December 1921.⁶¹Rockcastle Co., KY, Deed Book 43: 15-16, J. A. & Lucinda Hopkins (grantor), Tim Pennington (grantee), 26 Nov 1921; Rockcastle Co. Clerk, Mt. Vernon. Warren 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. That farm was on Templin Road, between Morrow and Blanchester.⁶²Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Jim and Cindy moved their belongings from Kentucky to Ohio on the train.⁶³Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard. Why they moved to Ohio is not known. It could have again been a move spurred by better farmland.

They moved into the existing two-story brick house, which had been a stagecoach way house.⁶⁴Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard. Lula M. Hopkins, letter to Jean Hopkins Carpenter, 25 Nov 1970; stagecoach way house. Grant and Lula, and possibly Berry and Doc, moved with them.⁶⁵Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. Henry and his wife, Bess, lived with them in 1920 in Rockcastle County and may have also moved with them to Ohio, although they eventually moved to Michigan.⁶⁶1920 U.S. census, Rockcastle Co., KY, pop. sch., South Brodhead, ED 248, sheet 16A, dwell. 299, fam. 300, James A. Hopkins. 1930 U.S. census, Wayne Co., MI, population schedule, Ecorse Village, enumeration district (ED) 82-913, sheet 8A, dwelling 141, family 148, H. M. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 22 Feb 2010); from NARA microfilm T626, roll 1071. Jim and Cindy had a smaller, one-story house built in a different location on the farm and moved into it by the summer of 1932.⁶⁷Hopkins Family in Front of House, 1932; digital image, scanned 5 Jan 2010 by Linda McCauley from photo collection of Edna Hopkins Chesnut; house identified by Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley.

On 8 December 1932, less than one month before he died, Jim deeded the Warren County property to Cindy, stipulating that it go to their nine living children at her death.⁶⁸Warren County, Ohio, Recorder (https://ohwarren.fidlar.com/OHWarren/AvaWeb/#/search : accessed 10 May 2022), digital images, Deed Book 128: 72, James A. Hopkins (grantor), Lucinda Hopkins (grantee), 8 Dec 1932. Jim died at home of lobar pneumonia on 5 January 1933 after being ill for six days. He was buried on 7 January in Morrow Cemetery in Salem Township.⁶⁹OH Dept of Health, death certificate no. 6488 (1933), James Adam Hopkins. Morrow Cemetery (Salem Township, Warren Co., OH), James A. & Lucinda Hopkins marker, photographed by Linda McCauley, 22 Jun 2012.

Jim and Cindy’s granddaughter Faye was not yet three years old when Jim died, but she remembers her grandfather sitting in a straight-back chair on the front porch. She also remembers that, while his hair was gray, his mustache had a red tint.⁷⁰Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Two months after Jim died, Cindy’s sister Sarah became a widow, too.⁷¹“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 20 Jun 2022), death certificate no. 9000 (1933), Lige Brock; from microfilm 7016130–7041803, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Sarie and Elijah Brock lived in Wallins Creek and had no children. She soon moved to Ohio to live with Cindy, and the sisters lived together for the rest of their lives.⁷²Emma Taylor Hopkins, daughter-in-law of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard. Family members did not remember them ever disagreeing.⁷³Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Return to Wallins Creek

When Cindy’s brother Henry died in 1931, his will specified that his Wallins Creek house go to Cindy after the death of his wife, Elizabeth. Besides the house, Henry left $3,000 to Cindy and $2,000 to Sarie, also to be distributed after Elizabeth’s death.⁷⁴Copy of Henry Howard’s will dated 3 Dec 1930; privately held by Pat Howard, KY, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 2010; this appears to be a copy someone in the family had rather than one made from the official Harlan County records. Elizabeth died in 1939 and a few years later, Cindy and Sarie returned “home” to Wallins Creek.⁷⁵“Kentucky, U.S., Death Records, 1852–1965,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1222 : accessed 22 Jun 2022), death certificate no. 29853 (1939), Elizabeth Howard; from microfilm 7016130–7041803, KY Dept. for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort. Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard; remembers she was a teenager when her grandmother moved back to Wallins Creek.  Their new house was on their parents’ old farm, where they had both spent many years of their lives.   

Elizabeth had moved out of the house several years before she died and rented it out. When Cindy decided to move into the house, the renters did not want to leave. They told Cindy the house was haunted, thinking that might dissuade her. Without hesitation, Cindy said that was fine because the ghosts would all be relatives, and she would be happy to see them. She told that story so often that her granddaughter Faye was afraid to go upstairs in the house.⁷⁶Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Cindy sold the Ohio farm to John Houston on 17 January 1947. The deed does not name the price Houston paid for the property. Because Jim deeded Cindy the property with instructions for it to go to their children at her death, the children and their spouses had to agree to the sale and sign the deed.⁷⁷Warren County, Ohio, Recorder  (https://ohwarren.fidlar.com/OHWarren/AvaWeb/#/search : accessed 10 May 2022), digital images, Deed Book 171: 38-41, Lucinda Howard & others (grantor), John Houston (grantee), 17 Jan 1947.

The Wallins Creek house had a living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom on the first floor and two bedrooms upstairs. Cindy’s daughter, Lula, who lived in Tampa, Florida, by then, wrote with instructions on where to put everything in the house. Cindy followed her directions, including hanging a doll that belonged to Lula on the living room wall.⁷⁸Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

The kitchen had a sink, a stove, and a big pantry. In the dining room, they had a table and chairs and a half bed. The first-floor bedroom had two double beds and a dresser. Cindy and Sarie both slept in that bedroom. Throws made by their mother covered each bed.⁷⁹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

The house was across Wallins Creek from the main road, but a car bridge did not exist. When the creek was low, people drove through it to get to their house. When the creek was up, they walked across a small pedestrian bridge.⁸⁰Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Cindy’s son Elmer lived less than ten miles away in Loyall. From the time they moved back to Wallins Creek until they died, he visited daily to check on his mother and aunt. He went either before or after work, depending on his shift with the railroad.⁸¹Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Cindy and Sarie raised most of their own food. They had a cow for milk and kept chickens for eggs and meat. They canned vegetables, dried green beans and apples, and made preserves and jelly. They kept potatoes and cabbage in feed sacks buried in the ground to last most of the winter. Cindy made biscuits most mornings and kept honey on the dining room table.⁸²Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard.

Cindy was 90 years old when she died at home on 16 May 1957 of arteriosclerotic heart disease.⁸³KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 57-11948 (1957), Lucinda Hopkins; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. Her funeral was held in Morrow on 20 May, and she was buried beside Jim in Morrow Cemetery.⁸⁴“Mrs. Lucinda Hopkins,” Wilmington (OH) News-Journal, 18 May 1957, p. 10, col. 6; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 10 Jun 2022). Morrow Cemetery, (Salem Township, Warren Co., OH) James A. & Lucinda Hopkins marker.  Sarie died eight months later at 96 years old and was buried beside her husband, Lige, in Old Creech Cemetery at Wallins Creek.⁸⁵KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services, death certificate no. 58-7949 (1958), Sarah Brock; Office of Vital Statistics, Frankfort. Old Creech Cemetery (Wallins Creek, Harlan Co., OH), Elijah & Sarah Brock marker, photographed by William B. Howard, 2017.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard," Documenting the Details, 10 Oct 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/jahopkins-lhoward : 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)