Lula Mae Hopkins

Lula Mae Hopkins was the only daughter among the ten children born to James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Hopkins. She was born on 26 November 1904, near Brodhead in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.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 & 10; nine brothers, date of birth. “Lula M. Hopkins,” Tampa (FL) Tribune, 20 Oct 1989, p. 20, col. 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 Aug 2020); birthplace.

Lula apparently finished high school, because the 1945 Florida state census indicates she attended one year of college.²1945 FL state census, Hillsborough Co., FL, population census, Precinct 37, Sheet #36, John Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1506 : accessed 5 May 2022); from microfilm series S 1371, State Library and Archives of Florida, Tallahassee. In 1920, when the family still lived in Rockcastle County, she was fifteen years old and attending school.³1920 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. They moved to Warren County, Ohio, two years later⁴Rockcastle 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. At age seventeen when the family moved to Ohio, she could have graduated in either location.

About 1925, Lula married Tom Kelley, but they did not live together for long, if ever. By 1930, she lived with her parents in Warren County. She was listed as married and with the Kelley surname but without her husband.⁵Grant Hopkins (MI) to Linda McCauley, letter and family group sheets, dated 28 Feb 2004; privately held by Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY; husband’s name. 1930 U.S. census, Warren Co., OH, population schedule, Harlan Township, enumeration district (ED) 83-14, sheet 4B, dwelling 101, family 102, James A. Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 22 Aug 2009); from NARA microfilm T626, roll 1890; marital status married, age 21 at 1^st marriage. It is unclear if Lula and Tom divorced or simply separated. No record of either their marriage or their divorce has been found. Her marital status in the 1950 census is separated.⁶1950 U.S. census, Hillsborough Co., FL, population schedule, Tampa, enumeration district (ED) 72-111, sheet 2, dwelling 16, lines 3-4, John Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308 : accessed 12 Jul 2022); from NARA, 1950 Census (https://1950Census.archives.gov/search).

Lula’s oldest brother, John, settled in Tampa, Florida, after he retired from the U.S. Army in 1936. Lula joined him in Tampa at some point, probably before 1940.⁷Uta Faye Hopkins McCauley, daughter of Elmer Dennis Hopkins, granddaughter of James Arton Hopkins & Lucinda Howard. She was not listed with her mother in 1940 and neither she nor John have been found in that census.⁸1940 U.S. census, Warren Co., OH, population schedule, Harlan, enumeration district (ED) 83-18, sheet 9B, household 189, Lucinda Hopkins; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 30 Jul 2012); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 3164. Searched 1940 U.S. censuses on Ancestry for John Hopkins, Lula Hopkins, and Hopkins in Hillsborough County, FL and FL. Not found. Lula definitely lived with John by 1943 when their niece Edna Hopkins got married at their 802 East Hanna Avenue residence.⁹Emma Ewers Taylor Hopkins, “Our Family History” (1969-1977); p. 5; married at Uncle John’s house in Tampa. “Loyall Teacher Marries In Florida Ceremony” undated clipping, ca 1943, maybe from Harlan Daily Enterprise, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 3 Mar 2010, from Edna Hopkins Chesnut (deceased), subject of article; identifies address as 802 East Hanna Avenue. They lived on Hanna Avenue until at least 1957 and moved to 1427 E. Paris Street by summer 1960.¹⁰“U.S. Telephone Directory Collection,” digital image, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/ : accessed 27 Jun 2022), Tampa Florida White Pages & Yellow Pages, Aug 1957, image 80; Maj John Hopkins, p. 120; from LOC Preservation Microfilming Program, Telephone Directory, Tampa, Florida, Peninsular Telephone Company, Aug 1957. “U.S. Telephone Directory Collection,” digital image, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/ : accessed 27 Jun 2022), Tampa Florida White Pages & Yellow Pages, Aug 1959, image 84; Hopkinses, p. 129; from LOC Preservation Microfilming Program, General Telephone Company of Florida, Tampa,, Aug 1959; John Hopkins not listed, possibly changed to an unlisted number. Family visiting John & Lula Hopkins, photograph, abt. 1960; digital image scanned by Linda McCauley from Edna Hopkins Chesnut, 18 Jan 2008; Edna, John, Lula, and others in front of Paris Street house; date estimated by age of Edna’s youngest son in the picture..

Lula died at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa on 18 October 1989, a few weeks before her eighty-fifth birthday.¹¹FL Dept. of Health, death certificate no. 89-103920 (1989), Lula M. Hopkins; Bureau of Vital Statistics, Jacksonville. All her siblings preceded her in death.¹²See individual biographies for each sibling for death date citations. Lula was buried beside John in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Tampa.¹³Gerald Grant Hopkins, grandson of James Arton Hopkins and Lucinda Howard; John’s & Lula’s burial plots in Garden of Memories Cemetery, section 2, unit 2, spaces 1-2.

Cite this page: Linda F. McCauley, "Lula Mae Hopkins," Documenting the Details, 10 Oct 2022 (https://documentingthedetails.com/lmhopkins : 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)