Elisha Hoopes

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 12 Oct 1765, Goshen, Chester, Pennsylvania
• Alternate death: 19 Sep 1838, New Garden, Columbiana, Ohio

Elisha married Mary Hayworth in 1787. Mary (daughter of John Haworth and Mary Garner) was born on 28 Dec 1768 in Montgomery, Pennsylvania; died on 30 Aug 1842 in New Garden, Columbiana, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Baptized into the LDS church 16 Jan 1834 in Ohio. Later lived in Nauvoo; arrived at the Salt Lake Valley in 1850.

Jonathan married Rebecca Watts in 1812. Rebecca (daughter of Thomas Watts and Mary Cookson) was born in 1792; died in 1863 in Mendon, Cache, Utah; was buried in Mendon City Cemetery, Mendon, Cache, Utah. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Daniels and McLean (citation details below) have him dying in "Weston, Oneida Co., Utah". This is clearly an error; there is no Oneida County in Utah, but there is one on the Utah border in southern Idaho. Weston, where Warner Hoopes died, was in Oneida county, Idaho at the time; it's now in Franklin county.

[Everything below, including the footnote, was posted to ancestry.com by "mmbrown66".]

Sketch of the Life of Warner Hoopes

Warner Hoopes, son of Jonathan Hoopes and Rebecca Watts Hoopes, was born in York County, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1817. He died at Weston, Idaho February 13, 1891. His ancestors were of the Puritan stock, of the Quaker religion. His grandfather was engaged as a provision hauler in the Revolutionary War. Warner was the third child in a family of twelve children. Not being very strong as a young man, he was taught the shoemaker trade. While he was still a boy, his parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They were with the Mormons in their wanderings, and shared with the Saints the mobbings, drivings, and persecutions incident to the membership in the Church during its infancy.

For the first ten years of his life as a Mormon elder, Warner Hoopes spent most of his time in missionary work in the surrounding states, and while the Saints were fleeing through Missouri before the mobs, in the winter of 1838, leaving bloody footprints on the frozen ground, he alleviated the suffering very much by sitting near the campfire far into the night making shoes for those who had been driven from their homes before they could collect the necessary wearing apparel.

Joseph Smith Sr., father of the Prophet Joseph, and first patriarch of the Church, gave Brother Hoopes a blessing. One of the promises given was that the Lord would chastise him whenever necessary. Brother Hoopes always considered this a great blessing, and one which was literally fulfilled. Whenever he became the least bit slack in his religious duties, the Lord chastened him.

In 1840, he married Priscilla Gifford, daughter of Levi Gifford and Deborah Wing Gifford. Priscilla was born at Tiago County, Pennsylvania March 3, 1818; and died in Weston, Idaho August 2, 1876. She, too, was a descendant of Puritan ancestors. She was a woman of remarkable faith and energy. To Warner and Priscilla Hoopes were born nine children; six girls and three boys. Only four lived until maturity, the others died while children. Three died during the wanderings and persecutions of the Saints, and two were buried at Richmond, Utah. Of those who reached maturity, Rebecca married Matthew Fifield, and lived and died in Weston, Idaho; Melissa married William McCarrey and lived at Richmond, Utah; Adelaide married Charles Allen of Cove, Utah, who moved to Arizona, where Adelaide died; Daniel Lewis Hoopes, lived for a time in Weston, Idaho, then moved to Logan, Utah. (He died April 20, 1925.)

After the marriage of Warner Hoopes, he continued to travel with the Saints. He lived at Nauvoo, where his first three children were born. He was fleeing through Lee County with the Mormons during that terrible period of suffering and starvation; and witnessed the miraculous appearance of quails into camp; so tame that they could readily be caught with the hands, or shaken from the bushes where they would lie until picked up.

When the people were at Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1846, preparatory to moving toward the Rocky Mountains, President Brigham Young advised all who had not enough provisions to last one year, to go back into Missouri and get the means to come on as soon as possible. He also advised them while doing this, not to say anything as to they were with about religion. Brother Hoopes and his family moved back into Buchannon County near St. Joseph. Here, he became engaged in burning charcoal and became quite prosperous. Contrary to the counsel of President Young, the Saints in that region began holding meetings, which brought them into prominence and soon aroused the anger of the non-Mormons in that community.

About that time, a Brother McGraw stopped by at the Hoopes place over night. He was on his way to a mission in England. During the evening, he told the family that he felt impressed that they should go directly to Florence, Nebraska, and prepare to emigrate to Utah. He repeated this advice in the morning, and after he had gone some distance, he came back and advised Brother Hoopes to leave his family to dispose of what property could be sold, and for him to go immediately, and for the family to follow as soon as possible. Hoopes did not heed this counsel, and he stated that he did not know of an enemy he had in the country; that he wanted to wait until the charcoal that he had was ready for the market.

About two weeks after this, a non-Mormon family was burned in their house. The burning occurred at night. The father, mother and five children all perished in the flames. Some enemy accused the Mormons of doing this, and four of them - including Hoopes - were arrested. The court declared them innocent. Soon after that, an enemy collected a number of tar barrels and set fire to them, then gave the fire alarm in St. Joseph. This accomplished its purpose. It collected a large crowd of men. He then proceeded to read what he called the confession of a Mormon. The confession was that Mormons had set fire to the before mentioned, with the purpose of killing the inhabitants. A mob was soon collected, ready for mischief and crime. A neighbor heard the threats of the mob and warned the Mormons.

The day preceeding the incident just related, the sheriff of Buchanan County had called upon Broher Hoopes, and offered him protection as he feared some mischief was brewing; but Hoopes said he thought it was not necessary as he knew of no enemies he had. After the neighbor's warning, he felt a little uncomfortable and decided not to stay in the house that night. It was arranged with Mrs. Hoopes that if a friend or the sheriff should come by the house during the evening or night, she should come out and call Brother Hoopes; but if any danger was about, she should blow the dinner horn. All went well until long into the night. Mrs. Hoopes was awakened by voices outside stationing men to guard the windows and doors, and ordering that if Hoopes attempted to escape, to "shoot him down like a dog." She arose praying, and the answer to her prayer came in a voice which left her without a doubt what to do. "Blow." She gave the horn one strong blast. The leader of the mob demanded that the door be opened. When he entered, he asked for Mr. Hoopes. She told him that he had gone.

"Give me that horn!" he demanded. Taking the horn, he blew and blew and blew again until Sister Hoopes said, "The louder you blow, the farther he'll go."

As soon as she had said these words, she wondered at herself for saying them. She never could understand just what it was that made her say the words. She told the leader further, that if he had come like a gentleman, she would have called her husband in; but now it was impossible.

All night, the mob looked for him and Brother Lincoln.

Next morning, he started for St. Joseph, hiding from the mob by slipping behind trees. Finally, Brother Hoopes saw the sheriff who was a friend and always continued to be so, even during the long days of imprisonment. For Hoopes' protection, the sheriff put him in prison where he kept him for ten months and a day. When he was released, he was freed rather miraculously, thus:

About the time of the trial, Roe Thomas, who had been away from home, came back; and hearing from his mother of the arrest of Hoopes and Lincoln, recalled the events which resulted in the release of these two men.

On the night before the burning of the home, Roe Thomas and John Keen ran away from home. While Keen was going home for his clothes, Thomas lay down near Mrs. Luellen's house and fell asleep. When he awoke, he heard the large clock in Luellen's house strike twelve. This was the exact time that Mrs. Luellen said she had seen Hoopes, who was short; and Lincoln who was extra tall, pass. This had been the testimony on which Hoopes and Lincoln were held. When Mrs, Luellen heard what the boys said, she recalled her testimony, knowing that she had been mistaken.

A horse had been stolen, and when Mr. Luellen went away for the night, he told his wife to keep an eye on the horses, and if she heard the dog bark, to look out. She therefore saw the two boys, Keen and Thomas as they went by, and thought it to be Hoopes and Lincoln coming from a Mormon meeting.

* 1825 or 1826 was the time when Hoopes was in the St. Joseph prison for ten months and one day. During this time, all the property and money he had collected was spent to feed and clothe the family, and for lawyer's fees. The last cow was sold for steamboat fare to Florence, Nebraska. Here, Brother Hoopes joined the family and his brother, Hyrum, from whom he got means for coming across the plains. Both Hoopes and his son were sick most of the way. Mrs. Hoopes, who had a young baby, drove a team and the children helped drive the cattle.

Brother Hoopes and Dan Lewis were both sick with fever and did not get much better until they reached the Black Hills. Dan Lewis had his knee swollen with rheumatism so that he had to use crutches. Rebecca worked as a hired girl for Hyrum Hoopes. Melissa worked for Bovier, brother-in-law of Hyrum Hoopes. She drove his cattle for him, riding horseback. She stayed with the Boviers the first winter in Grantsville.

Brother Hyrum Hoopes had been in Utah once, and had trouble with his bishop, and had taken his family back to Missouri. Here, he had nothing but trouble and sickness, so he decided to return to Utah. He had teams and wagons, and equipment so that he was able to give Warner Hoopes the job of helping him out. Brother Warner Hoopes and Dan Lewis should have driven the teams but were too ill. At the time of Johnston's Army, Hyrum Hoopes drove a team for the Army. His wagon was burned by Lot Smith -- wagon and all it contained, except the personal belongings of the drivers.

Brother Bovier promised Mrs. Hoopes milk for the children if they would catch and tie up a suckling calf at night. Adelaide, who was a little girl, succeeded in getting the rope on the calf's neck; but it, being nearly a year old, was too much for her and pulled her through the slough. She complained that Melissa had not come and helped her when she called.

When Brother Hoopes was in prison, young Dan Lewis went with his mother to visit him. He was so startled at seeing his father through the bars, that he fainted.

* Special note.... this history was typed as originally written by the author... more likely it was about 1858 that he was imprisoned.

Warner married Priscilla Gifford on 29 Jul 1840 in Brown, Illinois. Priscilla (daughter of Levi Gifford and Deborah Wing) was born on 3 Mar 1818 in Covington, Tioga, Pennsylvania; died on 2 Aug 1876 in Weston, Franklin, Idaho. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

An unsigned sketch of the life of Elizabeth Adelaide Hoopes Allen, found on familysearch.org:

Adelaide, as she was lovingly called, was one of the first babies born in a covered wagon during the time her LDS parents were being expelled from Nauvoo. On the 9th of September, 1847, she came to Warner Hoopes and Priscilla when they were traveling through the state of Iowa, at Council Point, Pottawattamie County, sometime before they arrived in Council Bluffs. Her early life was filled with trials and tribulations, as experienced by many other faithful Saints at that time.

Her father was a shoemaker by trade and her mother possessed great faith and energy. When Adelaide was around three, her parents moved to St. Joseph, Missouri to find work as they did not have the means to travel any farther at that time. Brigham Young had told the Saints who could not finance themselves to go all the way to the Great Salt Lake Valley to wait until they could. Her father secured a job of burning charcoal and things looked good for a time. Her mother was in poor health and they hoped this climate would make her better. The following is based on an event recorded in Adelaide's journal that occurred while the family was living in St. Joseph:

One night we were entertaining an Elder McGraw who had stopped at our place as he was returning from his mission in England. He told my father that he felt impressed to tell him to remove his family immediately to Florence, Nebraska and there to prepare to immigrate to Utah. He repeated that same advice later that night and again the next morning. After he started away he returned and advised him to go right away and leave his family to dispose of the property. But my father was loathe to leave his prosperous situation and heeded not the counsel. About a week later a non-Mormon family's home was burned and the Mormons were accused of committing the deed. Four of the brethren were arrested but they were proven innocent and released. However, the decision of the court did not please the hellish mob which then planned to kill the men. The brethren were warned by a friend but my father didn't believe he was in any danger. The sheriff of Buchanan County came to father and offered protection and he refused as "he had no enemies". After a few days he had an uneasy feeling that he should not remain at home that night. He counseled his wife and told her if a friend came to the house to call him as he would stay out in the woods, but if it was an enemy, she should blow the dinner horn, made from a cow's horn, signifying that the more she blew the horn the deeper into the woods he should go. Sometime during the night my mother was awakened by voices outside. She listened and recognized voices of some of the mob and they were making plans to take father away. After they had stationed the guards at the windows and doors with instructions to "shoot him down" should he try to escape, mother grabbed the horn and blew three loud blasts. The leader of the mob, thinking it was a signal for him to come to her rescue, grabbed the horn and blew it repeatedly. Finally mother told him the louder and longer he blew, the further and faster father would run. The mob grew more angry but she told them that had they come like gentlemen, she would have called him and he would have returned. Furiously they took to the woods where they hunted the rest of the night but could not locate him. The next day they returned and tried to get mother to give up this terrible religion, saying that if she would she and her children would be cared for. My mother's answer was an inspiration to me; she said, "My husband and religion mean more to me than money or anything that money can buy." They cursed her and used vile language as they took their departure. We children scattered hot coals in the yard hoping that if they returned they would get burned.

In spite of protests, her father and a Brother Lincoln were put in jail and had to remain there for nine months before they were proven innocent. Adelaide remembered the night the mob took her father to jail. They broke the door to get into the house and though her mother pleaded with them not to take him, they were rude to her. It made it very hard on the family as Adelaide's mother was not too well and she had to provide for them. She disposed of most of their belongings and then resorted to making willow baskets which the children sold. Adelaide remembered visiting her father in jail. He was - pale and thin, with black eyes, and with hair and whiskers all over his face. It was frightening to look at him. After he was released from jail, they decided to cross the plains and go where the Saints were, though they had no money. The parents sold their only cow and her father took the money and left immediately for Florence, Nebraska where his brother Hyrum Hoopes was preparing to leave with a group of Saints for the Salt Lake Valley. This was in the year of 1857 when the last body of Saints left Winter Quarters. Adelaide's father borrowed enough money from his brother and sent for his family who arrived in time to leave with the company. Adelaide was then a girl of 10 and her job was to look her baby brother, Daniel. She remembered that she walked much of the way and carried her brother on her back when he got too tired to walk.

The company had cattle which they were driving through. One of the cows had a sucking calf and one of the men told Adelaide that if she would catch the calf and tie it up at night, she could have the milk from the cow in the morning. That sounded very good so unbeknown to her parents, she slipped up to the cow when the calf was getting his milk and got the rope around the calfs neck. The calf became frightened and began to run. Adelaide hung on to the rope for quite a while but when he pulled her through the bushes and a muddy place, she had to let go. She said she could have held it if her sister Melissa had helped. She never did get the milk.

Her sister Melissa, age 12, rode a horse all the way and drove the cattle to help pay back the money their father had borrowed. The group arrived in Salt Lake in 1857 . They moved to Bountiful for a short time, then moved to Richmond, Cache County, Utah. Adelaide was the one chosen to help her father with the sheep. She helped with the shearing as well as the herding. With the wool, she learned to spin, weave and sew, besides learning to cook and keep a tidy house. Adelaide had a girl friend by the name of Belinda Bear. One day she was over visiting with Adelaide when Belinda's boy friend, Charles Allen, called for her. Just for a joke, Adelaide hid Belinda's bonnet and when Belinda found out that she had hid it, she began to chase Adelaide around the house. Around they went, in and out. Apparently Charles thought they would never stop so he caught Adelaide, then about seventeen years old, and held her until she told where the bonnet was. That was the last time that Charles took Belinda out, as he began to court Adelaide. Although he was seventeen years her senior, she seemed to share his feelings and consented to be his wife. They were married in Richmond on 15 June 1864, and later went to Salt Lake and were sealed in the Endowment House. Their first five children, all boys, were born while they lived in Richmond. Five other children, four girls and a boy, were born in Cove, Utah where the family homesteaded 160 acres in a canyon.

While the family was still in Cove, Adelaide and her sister-in-law Mary decided to kill the pig. Mary was to hit it in the head to knock it down, then Adelaide was to cut its throat to make it bleed. When the water was hot enough so the pig could later be scalded, Mary climbed into the pen with the axe and hit it but not hard enough to make it fall. The pig began running and squealing around the pen so Mary called for Adelaide. They both took after it. Around and around the pen they went. When Adelaide finally caught one of the hind legs, they both pulled hard and stopped it. Mary hung on to its leg while Adelaide cut its throat. They found it a hard job to kill a pig and often laughed about their experience.

Adelaide's husband was Branch President in Cove, but the cold winters were too much for him and he contracted rheumatism and was badly crippled. They thought they had better try a warmer climate for his health, so relocated to Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona. Adelaide and the girls rode in a white top buggy on the trip. She knitted socks for the family on the way, which they did not need so badly in a warm climate.

They moved into an adobe house with a dirt floor but it was not long a dirt floor, as Adelaide with her energy and pride soon had a nice wood one. Within the next seven years, four more children were born. Their home was always a gathering place for the young folks. They were always made to feel welcome even though they had to be bedded on the floor.

Adelaide drove a little span of mules, Jack and Molly, sitting in the white top buggy whenever she traveled without the men folk. Those little mules were deathly afraid of Indians. Whenever they saw one they would break into a dead run. There were Indians all over the valley when they first came to Mesa. One might pop up at any time so Adelaide had to be on the watch. The mules could smell them first. They would first stick up their ears, then their nose up in the air with their eyes on the lookout. That surely meant a "runaway" and Adelaide was always prepared. She grasped her lines just so, braced her feet to give her strength and pushed on the brake. Many times she had small children with her. She never had an accident.

Their house was built right on the trail where the Indians used to hunt rabbits. They objected to this and would often stop, get off their horses and peek into the windows, as well as ask for something to eat. Her children remembered how scared they were when the Indians came galloping up on their horses with their dark, bare bodies and nothing on but a "breech clout" around their loins and their long, black hair flopping up and down. One day an Indian came walking to the door and demanded something to eat. Adelaide, remembering the counsel of President Young to feed instead of fight them, turned to go get him something when she looked around just in time to see him entering the door with his eye on the gun that was hanging on the wall. Adelaide, "quick as a wink", gave him a big shove and he landed on his back out the door on a board with nails in it. The Indian was shocked. He did not move very soon. He looked around, got up slowly and started off on a trot. He left a piece of his "breech clout" on the nails. He never came back.

Adelaide loved music. She and the children sang together many of the ballads of the day, such as "Polly Van", "Joe Bowers", "Captain Jinks" and "Vacant Chair". The family often held what they called "Primary" where they met together in the evening and sang songs and told stories. It was always opened with prayer.

Adelaide died giving birth to her fourteenth child, on 13 November 1889, at age 42. It was a great sorrow to the father and family. After her death, everybody in town tried to help. The funeral was held out at the front of the home. Brother Henry Rogers was one of the speakers and he remarked that, "The old, poor and needy will miss Sister Allen most of all". She was always there to help them in their time of need. She was laid to rest in the Mesa Cemetery.

Her last request to the family was to keep them together. The request was granted for a council meeting with the father and older children, it was decided that the oldest daughter, Adelaide, would care for the home and the children. She was fifteen years old at the time and Seymour, age nineteen, took over the job of providing as best he could. The father lived a short distance away after taking a second wife.

Elizabeth married Charles Hopkins Allen on 15 Jun 1864 in Richmond, Cache, Utah. Charles (son of Andrew Lee Allen and Clarinda Knapp) was born on 15 Oct 1830 in Burton, Cattaraugus, New York; died on 18 Feb 1922 in Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona; was buried on 19 Feb 1922 in City of Mesa Cemetery, Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]