McCauley, Hankins, Hopkins & Taylor FamiliesELMER DENNIS HOPKINS & EMMA EWERS TAYLOR
| Husband: | ELMER DENNIS HOPKINS (1 2 3) |
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| Born: |
in Wallins Creek, Harlan County, Kentucky (4 5) |
| Married: |
in Jellico, Campbell County, Tennessee (26 27) |
| Died: |
in Harlan, Harlan County, Kentucky (6 7 8) |
| Buried: |
in Elmwood Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky (9 10 11) |
| Father: | JAMES ARTON "JIM" HOPKINS |
| Mother: | LUCINDA "CINDY" HOWARD |
| Spouses: | |
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| Wife: | EMMA EWERS TAYLOR (13 14 15) |
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Additional Information
ELMER DENNIS HOPKINS:
Census: 1930, Harlan County, Kentucky
12
Notes:
Elmer D. went to school to the 3rd or 4th grade. He attended school at Wallins Creek in Harlan County and at Red Bud School in Rockcastle Count
He served two tours in the US Army. 1st, he enlisted 4 Dec 1911 at Middlesboro, Kentucky and was discharged 3 Dec 1914 at Ft. Bliss, Texas. During that tour, he served in the 15th Calvary, Troop E. According to his discharge papers, he “participated in the interment of the Mexican Federal Army after their evacuation of Ojinaga, Mexico Jan 10-20, 1914". [During the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa led the war in the northern part of Mexico on behalf of the revolution. In January 1914, Pancho Villa and his army drove the Mexican Federal Army out of Ojinaga. To avoid being captured by Villa, the Mexican Army crossed the border into Texas and surrendered to US troops. The Mexicans were interred in Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Wingate, New Mexico for almost a year. Elmer was involved in the interment at Fort Bliss.] His 2nd tour was during World War I. He was inducted 24 May 1918 at Mt. Vernon, Kentucky and was discharged 12 Jun 1919 at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky (near Louisville). He was stationed in France from 6 Aug 1918 to 28 May 1919. He earned the rank of Corporal and had orders to go to the front lines but the fighting ended before he was to go.
Elmer started working for L & N Railroad 15 Dec 1915, left in 1918 for his 2nd tour of duty with the army and returned to work for L & N in 1919 after his discharge from the Army. While working out of Harlan County in 1920's, the train he was on wrecked and he ended up in the Cumberland River. Elmer had a broken leg but managed to swim to Lish Howard's house for help. (Lish was the son of Green Howard and the grandson of Larkin Howard making him Elmer's 2nd cousin.) Elmer retired on 28 Apr 1960. On the day he retired, his children & grandchildren jumped the train and rode part of the way on the caboose with him.
He also had a mine at Wallins Creek in 1943 - 44.
Elmer died at 7:55 P.M. at Appalachian Regional Hospital in Harlan from prostate cancer.
EMMA EWERS TAYLOR:
Notes:
Emma's middle name (Ewers) was from a teacher at the Langdon School in Mt. Vernon.
According to information recorded by Emma, she started to school when she was 7 years old and finished the 3rd grade that year. Emma graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1917 when she was 16 years old. She always made A's, was always the youngest in her class and was never absent in high school.
After graduating from high school, Emma worked at the Post Office until she was old enough to take the teachers examination. She started teaching school before she was 18 years old. She taught in a country school near Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky from Jul 1918 - Feb 1919. She taught all 8 grades and had to clean and build a fire. She was paid $48 per month and paid $12 per month for room and board with a family. That school year the flu epidemic closed the schools and Emma went back home to Mt. Vernon and never taught full time again. She went back to work at the Post Office in Mt. Vernon. Emma later worked at Peoples Bank as an Assistant Cashier and Bookkeeper in Mt. Vernon, was Postmaster in Loyall, kept books for mine at Wallins Creek and was a substitute teacher.
Emma joined the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) in 1927 and remained an active member for many years. She held several local offices including President in 1944 &1945. She served on the Kentucky State PTA Board from 1954-1960 and was elected State Secretary for 1957-1960. She was a member of the Advisory Committee on Education in 1955 and the Governor's Conference on Education in 1956. She was also in the Homemaker's, Ladies Aid and Women's Civic Clubs. She taught the Adult Sunday School Class at the Loyall Christian Church for over 20 years.
Emma died of a Myocardial Infarction at 11 P. M. at Harlan Appalachian Hospital.
Marriage Notes
Elmer and Emma eloped to Jellico, Tn. on 11 Oct 1920. When Emma was 11, her sister, Susie, got married and everyone cried so she decided she would elope when she got married. According to information recorded by Emma, she describes her wedding as follows:
"I went home from work at noon and Elmer and I left in a taxi as I went back to work. We went to Wildie. Got on a train and rode to Jellico, Tenn. We were married by Justice of the Peace in a furniture store with one witness which was all the state of Tenn required. We went to a hotel and ate supper then caught the train to Corbin. We got there about 11 PM and went to our house Elmer had bought and furnished. I fixed a special delivery letter to be delivered to Mamma about the time I would get home from work telling her I would be married by the time she got it. My brother told me later there was weeping and wailing. She wrote me a letter the next day for us to come home. So, we went to Mt. Vernon the third day of our honeymoon and spent the night and on to his home at Crab Orchard the next day. Mama had a good supper and a real nice cake. They didn't cry for which I was glad. I had bought sheets, linens, etc and had them at the bank so I bought a trunk and took all my things home. We had a bed, dresser, dining table, 6 chairs, rocker, kitchen cabinet and cook stove to start. I then bought a couch, another living room chair, rugs, wash stand and several other things for the house. I still have the round oak dining table after 57 years."
Elmer always claimed that he asked Emma's father to forgive him for running off and marrying his daughter. He promised him that if he would forgive him this time, he'd never do it again.
Elmer & Emma both lived in Rockcastle County, Kentucky before they were married. They moved to a house on Bryant St. in Corbin, Kentucky (Whitley County) when they were first married. They later moved to Cumberland, Kentucky (Harlan County) for 6 months, back to Corbin (same house) for 6 months and then to Loyall, Kentucky (Harlan County) in 1924. (Loyall was know as Shonn at that time.) They moved 3 times in 1 year before building a house in 1925. They returned to Corbin (again to the same house where they lived when they were first married) in Dec 1925. They stayed in Corbin until Jun 1927 when they returned to the house they built in Loyall where they remained until each of their deaths.
Elmer & Emma had 4 daughters.
On 4 Apr 1977 the Cumberland River flooded at Loyall and the house was flooded for the first time. Water had been in the yard and under the house in 1963 but in 1977 it was 38 inches deep in the house. Emma & Elmer lost a lot of their belongings - including pictures and papers.
Wedding Announcement from Mt. Vernon Signal 15 Oct 1920:
TAYLOR-HOPKINS:
Miss Emma Taylor and Mr. Elmer Hopkins were married Jellico, Tenn Oct. 11, 1920.
Miss Taylor is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Taylor of this city and was the Asst. Cashier of the Peoples Bank. She was one of Mt. Vernon's most popular girls and was liked by everyone. Mr. Hopkins is the son of Mr. J. A. Hopkins of near Brodhead and is a fine young man. Mr. Hopkins is a conductor for the L & N with headquarters at Corbin, Ky where they will make their home.
Footnotes
- Hopkins, Emma Ewers Taylor, Our Family History [689].
- Census - Hopkins, James A. - 1900 [159].
Also 1910.
- Personal Knowledge of Researcher [783].
- Hopkins, Emma Ewers Taylor, Our Family History [689].
- Headstone - Hopkins, Elmer & Emma [611].
- Ibid.
- Social Security Death Index [813].
- Death Certificate - Hopkins, Elmer D. [498].
- Headstone - Hopkins, Elmer & Emma [611].
- Bonham, Jeanne & Patricia Heylman Hiatt, Rockcastle County, Kentucky Cemetery Records [14] (High Grass Publications, 1986), pg 740.
- Death Certificate - Hopkins, Elmer D. [498].
Date of burial.
- Census - Hopkins, Elmer D. - 1930 [143].
- Hopkins, Emma Ewers Taylor, Our Family History [689].
- Birth Certificate - Taylor, Emma Ewers [12].
- Personal Knowledge of Researcher [783].
- Hopkins, Emma Ewers Taylor, Our Family History [689].
- Death Certificate - Hopkins, Emma [499].
- Headstone - Hopkins, Elmer & Emma [611].
- Birth Certificate - Taylor, Emma Ewers [12].
- Death Certificate - Hopkins, Emma [499].
- Headstone - Hopkins, Elmer & Emma [611].
- Social Security Death Index [813].
- Headstone - Hopkins, Elmer & Emma [611].
- Bonham, Jeanne & Patricia Heylman Hiatt, Rockcastle County, Kentucky Cemetery Records [14] (High Grass Publications, 1986), pg 740.
- Death Certificate - Hopkins, Emma [499].
Date of burial.
- Hopkins, Emma Ewers Taylor, Our Family History [689].
- Marriage Certificate - Hopkins, Elmer D. & Emma Taylor [714].
Also copy of Campbell County Tn Marriage Register from microfilm roll A5723, Vol S, 1914-1920, pg 385.
Note: The names of my direct-line ancestors are in ALL-CAPS.
Revised: September 05, 2007
© 2007 Linda McCauley. All rights reserved.