In
the death of Joel Willis Hopkins, Putnam county mourned the loss of one whom
it had grown to esteem and honor by reason of his genuine personal worth. No
history of Putnam county would be adequate that did not take into account
his great influence in molding the character of its people, in shaping the
policy of the county and in promoting public interests along the lines of
progress, good order and moral and religious development. He was active in
public affairs of the county, state and nation and at all times he stood for
high ideals.
"His life was noble, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might
stand up And say to all the world: 'This was a man.' Mr. Hopkins became a
resident of Putnam county in 1835, and therefore witnessed its growth and
development for almost sixty-seven years, his death occurring on the 16th of
February, 1902. He was born on the 29th of July, 1814, at Ripley, Brown
county, Ohio, his parents being William and Jane (Willis) Hopkins, the
former a native of Virginia and the latter of South Carolina. When young
people, however, they removed to Ohio from their respective states and were
there married. In 1835 they brought their family to Putnam county, Illinois,
settling upon the farm which later became the home of their son Joel, the
residence which now stands there occupying the site of the first log cabin
of the family.
William Hopkins secured land of the government, to the cultivation and
improvement of which he devoted his energies until his death in 1842. His
wife survived him for about seven years. One son of the family, Archibald
Wilson, had previously come to Putnam county, locating here in 1832, and
while here participated in the Indian war. His death occurred in 1839. John
Crawford is a resident of Marshall county, Iowa. Stephen D., who was an
invalid, died at the age of forty-four years. George B., who lived near
Granville, died May 30, 1904. Elizabeth, who was the wife of Willis
Margrave, died May 24, 1892, at Hiawatha, Kansas. Martha married James B.
McCord and died June 24, 1881. Margaret engaged in teaching for several
years in Putnam and Grundy counties, Illinois, and died when past the age of
thirty years. Melinda wedded Abbott Barker, of Grundy county, and died May
22, 1865. The parents were earnest Christian people, holding membership in
the early years of their residence here with the Union Grove Presbyterian
church, while in later life they assisted in the organization of the
Congregational church at Granville.
Joel Willis Hopkins, the second son of his father's family, was a young man
of twenty-one years at the time of the removal to Illinois, and he assisted
in the arduous task of developing a new farm, sharing in the hardships and
privations incident to settlement upon the frontier. His preparation for
having a home of his own was completed in 1840 by his marriage to Miss
Eleanor Jane Harrison, a sister of Stephen Harrison. She and her brother,
Richard D. Harrison, died in the same week in 1849, and in 1862 Mr. Hopkins
wedded the widow of the latter, Mrs. Sarah Harrison, a daughter of Alba
Smith, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Bureau county, Illinois,
taking up his abode near Princeton in 1835. Mrs. Hopkins is a native of New
York and was eleven years of age when she accompanied her father to this
state. By his first marriage Mr. Hopkins had five children, of whom two,
Eveline and Jennie, died in childhood, while those living are Archibald
Wilson, residing upon the home farm; Helen De Armand, the wife of Rev.
Robert McCord, of Lake City, Iowa; and Mary Harrison, the wife of Judge W.
Wright, of Toulon, Illinois. One daughter graced the second marriage, Martha
Belle, who is the wife of Sidney Whitaker. By her first husband Mrs. Hopkins
had one son, Richard D. Harrison, who is living in Bureau county, near
Princeton.
Viewed from a business standpoint the life record of Mr. Hopkins was a
distinguished one, for he so conducted his affairs and placed his
investments that he became one of the extensive landowners of this section
of Illinois. Upon the organization of the Peru National Bank Mr. Hopkins
became its president and so continued until his death. The safe,
conservative policy which he inaugurated made this one of the strong
financial institutions of this part of Illinois, and in moneyed as well as
agricultural circles he sustained an unassailable reputation. He was also
president of the Putnam County Bank at Hennepin and of the Granville Bank.
In all his business dealings he manifested a fidelity to a high standard of
commercial ethics that won him the honor and admiration of all.
A leading and popular citizen, Mr. Hopkins was called upon to fill various
important positions of honor and trust, serving as supervisor, while for ten
years he was county judge. He resigned his place on the bench in order to
become a member of the twenty-sixth general assembly, to which he was
elected on the republican ticket. He was actively and helpfully interested
in political questions, giving to the principles in which he believed a firm
and stalwart support. He served as a delegate to the convention at
Cincinnati, Ohio, which nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for the presidency,
and he was frequently a delegate to the state conventions of his party.
During the dark days of the Civil war he assisted in raising money for
substitutes and for the care of the soldiers' widows and orphans, and upheld
to the fullest extent the administration and the Union cause. He served for
many years as an officer in the Congregational church at Granville, in which
he held membership. He died February 16, 1902, leaving a valuable estate to
his family, chiefly represented in his landed interests. In his character
there was an unusual combination of qualities. To the world, the church, his
neighbors and his friends, he was a tower of strength; to his family all of
that and a world of tenderness beside. He was at ease in the presence of the
highest dignitaries of the nation, and was so simple and kindly that no one,
however humble, felt abashed in his presence. At his death it could truly be
said, "Know ye not that there is a prince and great man fallen this day in
Israel ?"
Source: Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois authored by John Spencer Burt and W. E. Hawthorne in 1907, page 150.
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