The Hangman's Rope Maker: Jacob Bupp's Young Adulthood (Part Two: Allegheny County and Fatherhood)

“Mr. Bupp was found to be a very genial individual, and he took great pleasure in explaining how, and of what, a hangman's rope is made."

~"Making Nine Ropes," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 31 March 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016). This interview was syndicated and ran in multiple newspapers, sometimes with slight variations, around the country in 1890.

*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*

Little is known about Jacob Bupp between the time his father went bankrupt and 1850.  It could be surmised that the family relied on friends and family in the area, as mother Susan died in York in 1850, but nothing is certain at this point until further research is able to find something.

It is unclear when Jacob moved from York to Allegheny County, or if he resided in any other counties on his westward trek, but by 1850, he had established himself as a rope maker in what was then the Spring Garden Valley area of Reserve Township, just north of what was then Allegheny City. 

The Spring Garden Valley was settled predominately by German immigrants, though some of the early settlers were Swiss as well. A creek ran through the valley and was called Butcher’s Run. The area was known for manufacturing, and an 1851 map of the area showed a ropewalk, or a rope manufacturing warehouse, along Spring Garden Road. It is possible that Jacob worked for this ropewalk, though it is not known for certain.

A very interesting article on rope making and the only traditional ropewalk still in existence today can be found at "How rope is made at the only traditional working ropewalk in the world."

Ropemaking in the nineteenth century was hard work.  The machine used to make rope then was a kind of a spinning wheel from which the rope maker had to walk backwards carrying the spun material.  The ropemaker had to first spin the yarns, or plies, which would make up the rope, and then make the rope itself by twisting the yarns together on the same machine.  To make a rope that was one inch in diameter and about 100 yards, the rope maker had to walk a mile or more backwards.  It was backbreaking and physically exhausting work.

Jacob lived in Spring Garden with his young bride Caroline. Enumerated as sharing the dwelling was the family of John May or Huey, born in Germany. It is not clear if they were just merely lodging in the same building, or if John May/Huey is perhaps related in some way to Caroline, as his age and the age of his presumed wife Catherine indicate they are old enough to be Caroline’s parents.

Caroline Huy was born about February 1829. Her European origin and her parentage are both unclear, although most documents point to her birthplace being somewhere in the Rhine region, possibly in Alsace, or maybe Baden. Her middle name may have been Elizabeth, however the only document in which this is listed is her son-in-law’s biography, so it is possible that it was concocted, as biographies from late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were often embellished and exaggerated. 

According to the 1900 census, she immigrated to the United States in the year 1833, but further research has not been able to verify or disprove that fact. Even the spelling of her surname is not precise, as some documents, mainly those for the couple’s children, list her surname as Huey or Hooey as well. How or when Jacob and Caroline met is also a mystery.

What is known for certain is that the couple married at First German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania on 4 July 1849, as there was an affidavit proving marriage included in the Civil War pension file of Jacob Bupp. The minister who married them was Rev. C. G. Friedrich. 

Affidavit of Marriage Record for Jacob Bupp and Caroline Huy from First German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church filed 15 April 1898; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp.

The First German Evangelical Lutheran St. John’s Church was the first German Lutheran church established in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania and was at the corner of Chestnut Street and Carpenter Alley at the time the couple was married. While for awhile in the latter part of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century and the church was one of the most successful German Lutheran churches in the greater Pittsburgh area, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church no longer exists, having merged in 1972 with another local Lutheran Church to become Brighton Heights Lutheran Church.

A year after Jacob and Caroline married, their first child, William Henry Bupp, was born. Because the couple was enumerated in Reserve Township just three months prior, it is highly probable that William was born there on 7 July 1850. The family lived on Spring Garden Road for several years and it is possible that there may have been either a few children who died young or a few miscarriages. A child, Alice, is named in a son-in-law’s biography in 1915, so it is possible she was born during this time frame. The couple’s next child to survive to adulthood, a daughter, Emma Sarah, was added to their family in Allegheny County on 27 December 1855, five years after William’s birth. Another daughter, Elizabeth H., was born 8 July 1857, though it is not known what the H. in her name stood for.

On 23 March 1856, Jacob was elected as a judge in Reserve Township, but it is not known how long he served as judge or what his duties were. The fact that he was elected as judge does demonstrate that he was well-known in the community and likely had some sort of social standing.

In the 1860 Federal Census, the family of Jacob Bupp was enumerated as living in the post office area of Perrysville in Ross Township, but the family actually continued to live on Spring Garden Road, which was roughly five miles southeast of Perrysville and almost in Reserve Township. Other families enumerated near them on the census also show up on an 1862 map of Allegheny County in this same area. According to the census, the family did not own property, but Jacob was listed as a ropemaker by trade, likely still working in the ropewalk along Spring Garden Road in Reserve Township, and William had attended school in the previous year. All of Jacob and Caroline’s children were accounted for up to this point, as daughter Catherine was born on 17 September 1859, just nine months before the enumeration.

Jacob likely became well known because of his rope making. He stated in a syndicated newspaper interview later in his life that his first hanging rope was made in 1840 for the hanging of William Miller in Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, but there is little evidence to either support or refute this statement. Some newspaper accounts from the syndication even state that the hanging was done to a “Mrs. William Miller,” though the “Mrs.” could be an embellishment or a typo. Further research will need to be done to determine if this hanging even did exist.

Two different versions of the SAME syndicated article that ran from 1886-1887 nation and world-wide
Top source (darker text): "Wants the Job," Ottawa Daily Local-News (Ottawa, Kansas), 3 October 1887, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 March 2019).
Bottom source (lighter text):  "Hemp for the Hangman," The Weekly Courier (Connellsville, Pennsylvania), 30 July 1886, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 September 2017).

Interestingly enough, Jacob Bupp is listed in the Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863 as a laborer instead of a rope maker, though most directories that he is listed in for the time period do state that he was indeed a rope maker.

The next blog will focus on his first documented hanging, a sensational murder of a elderly couple.

Sources Used or Referenced:

"1850 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2016), entry for Jacob Bupp, Year: 1850, Census Place: Reserve Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M432_744, Page: 277B, and Image: 561.

"1860 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Year: 1860, Census Place: Ross Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: M653_1064, Page: 653, Image: 194, and Family History Library Film: 805064.

"1900 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 August 2016), entry for George W. Wasson and family, Year: 1900, Census Place: Allegheny Ward 11 Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1357, Page: 1B, Enumeration District: 0089, and FHL microfilm: 1241357.

Affidavit of Marriage Record for Jacob Bupp and Caroline Huy from First German Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church filed 15 April 1898; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp; citing Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War ("Civil War and Later"); Records Relating to Pension and Bounty-Land Claims 1773-1942, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG 15; 2,807 rolls, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

The Allegheny City Society. Images of America: Allegheny City 1840-1907. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2007.

Beers, F.W. and Beers, S. N. Map of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania : from actual surveys (Philadelphia: Smith, Gallupp and Hewitt, 1862); digital image, Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division (https://www.loc.gov/item/2012592151/ : accessed 23 November 2017)

Cushing, Thomas. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: including its early settlement and progress to the present time; a description of its historic and interesting localities ; its cities, towns and villages ; religious, educational, social and military history ; mining manufacturing and commercial interests ; improvements, resources, statistics, etc. Also portraits of its prominent men, and biographies of many of its representative citizens, vol. 1 (Chicago, IL: A. Warner & Co., 1889), 282-283, (https://archive.org/details/historyofalleghe1889cush : accessed November 16, 2017).

Directory for 1856-1857 of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Cities: Birmingham, East Birmingham, south & west Pittsburgh, Temperanceville, Manchester, Duquesne and Lawrenceville boroughs, East Liberty, and parts of Pitt and Collins Township (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: George H. Thurston, 1856), 171, "Bopp Jacob, ropemaker, Spring Garden Road"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://digital.library.pitt.edu : accessed 16 August 2016).

Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1862-1863 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1862), 38; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/historic-pittsburgh-city-directories : accessed 16 August 2016).

Floyd, Charlie. "How rope is made at the only traditional working ropewalk in the world." Insider. 16 November 2018. Online. https://www.thisisinsider.com : 2019

"Hemp for the Hangman," The Weekly Courier (Connellsville, Pennsylvania), 30 July 1886, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 September 2017).

Horn, Alyse. "Spring Garden, A Historic Northside Neighborhood," The Northside Chronicle (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 29 December 2016; online archives (http://www.thenorthsidechronicle.com : accessed 5 January 2018).

Jordan, John W. Genealogical and personal history of western Pennsylvania, Volume 3 (New York, New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), page 1661; online image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/genealogicalpers03jord : accessed 16 November 2017.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 August 2016), Entry for Catherine Happstein, died 7 Feb 1943, certificate number 20001; Date of birth on certificate is one year off, as she was born in 1859 according to census; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 August 2016), Entry for Elizabeth H Farley, died 18 Dec 1943, certificate number 119132. citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Entry for Emma Sarah McClurg; died 15 January 1944; Certificate number: 991; citing Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Prem, Al.  “History - St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church.” Allegheny River Family Archives. (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njm1/03stjohnhistory.htm ; accessed 21 October 2017)

Rooney, Dan and Peterson, Carol, Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh’s North Side, (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013)

"Rural Elections," Pittsburgh Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 March 1856, page 3, online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

Sidney, J., Neff, J., and McRea, S, Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with the names of property-holders : from actual surveys (Philadelphia and Allegheny City: S. Moody, 1851); digital image, Library of Congress (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3823a.la000699 : accessed 5 January 2018).