Here are some photos of the Hopkins siblings from that first generation of our Frank Sr. They each deserve a post of their own, but for the sake of getting these up before the reunion, I’ll combine them all here.

Margaret Veronica Hopkins (1882-1941)

The oldest of the Hopkins children, Margaret (here in her fabulous hat!) worked as a typist/stenographer for many years, ending up with the Federal Trade Commission later in life. She has the great distinction of being one of our nation’s first female citizens to serve in the military, serving as a Yeoman 1st Class in the US Navy in WWI. (Click here for an interesting article about these women.) She never married, and died in 1941 at age 58 after what appears to be complications after surgery to repair a hernia (renal failure and cerebral embolism). She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Daniel Aloysius Hopkins (1883-1945)

The next sibling, and oldest boy, is Daniel. Well-loved in Scranton, Daniel served as a police officer in Scranton for many years, working his way up to Captain of Police. The photo above shows him at his post as traffic cop, and the birthday tribute below (from about 1916) shows how beloved he really was in town.

He later worked policeman for a coal company (1930), and in retirement it looks like he ran the bar at the Dutch Tavern located at 424 Cedar Ave. He holds the Retail Liquor License for the establishment, and is listed as “bartender” in the 1940 census & City Directory.

He married Elizabeth Heisler in about 1906. They never had children of their own that I know of, but they did adopt Annadelle Mary Hopkins, daughter of younger sister Mary (story below). They are listed as Uncle Bud’s baptism sponsors/godparents in 1924. Daniel died in 1945 after a stay of about 3.5 months in Scranton State Hospital of portal cirrhosis at age 62.

William Henry Hopkins, Jr (1885-1938)

I have not come across any photos of William. He worked as a milkman for Woodlawn Farm Dairy in 1918, and in Coal Delivery in 1920, and other laborer jobs throughout his life. His death certificate indicates he never married, but his WWI registration card lists a Margaret Hopkins as his wife. Perhaps this was a way to stay out of the war so he could help take care of the family? His registration card was signed a mere 18 days before the death of his brother Leo in France. Was Leo already sick at this time and they didn’t want to risk losing another son to the war?

He died in 1938 at Scranton State Hospital after a stay of two weeks of esophageal cancer at age 53.

Joseph Vincent Hopkins (1888-1968)

Joseph Vincent followed in his older sister’s footsteps, enlisting in the US Navy about 4 weeks after her to serve in WWI. He served aboard the USS Henderson, and subsequently fought in France. Judging by the dates of his service, he would have been aboard the Henderson during some very dramatic times:

Did anyone ever hear about Uncle Joe’s time in the war? If he was the type of person who was open to talking about his service, I’ll bet he had some amazing stories to tell!

In terms of work outside of the service, Joe was a driver for the ice company, a teamster at the Standard Brewing Company, and a clerk, probably among other jobs. He was a lifelong bachelor and in later life lived with his sister Mary Elizabeth in Florida for over 20 years, where he died at home at age 79 in 1968.

Mary Elizabeth Hopkins (1890-1976)

The youngest daughter, Mary Elizabeth was the last child born while her father William Henry was alive. Living what appears to have been a very eclectic life, at age 20 she worked as a telephone operator, at 30 was a dressmaker, and judging by the photo above, she later went on to become a nurse.

In 1925, she gave birth to her only child, daughter Annadelle Mary Hopkins. Annadelle was born outside of marriage and was later adopted by her aunt & uncle Daniel & Lizzie. According to her granddaughter Virginia, Mary took the identity of Annadelle’s biological father to her grave. She is currently trying to trace her lineage using DNA tools. If anyone has any information at all that might shine a light on this, please reach out to Virginia.

As mentioned earlier, Mary lived her later years in Florida with her brother Joseph. The photo below was taken on September 9, 1962, and shows Francis Xavier, Mary Elizabeth, and Mary Crane Hopkins in Langley Park, Maryland, at the home Virginia grew up in. They were likely passing through for a visit on their way from Scranton to Florida.

When I first began learning more about these siblings, my father told me a story of visiting Aunt Mary in Florida when he was about 14 years old and remembers her having parakeets. I have since learned that she always kept a parakeet, and she taught them to talk. Mary died in 1976 at age 86.

We already talked about the youngest twins, Francis Xavier and Leo Aloysius. There were likely two other children born to Catherine Lundy Hopkins, both of which had died before 1900. I’ve found possible evidence of a Peter Hopkins born 4 July 1886 and didn’t live past age 5. I know nothing of the other child.

If anyone has any stories about this generation or photos they want to share, please do!

Trying to get a couple more posts up before this weekend’s reuinon!!