"Constable Jacob Rupp of the Eleventh ward, Allegheny, sometime since appointed J. J. Hays one of his deputies."
*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*~ "Court Brevities," Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 23 March 1876, page 4. The "Rupp" was likely a typo.
Since he had already been elected as a judge, and apparently was starting to become a popular gentleman in the area, likely due to his burgeoning rope-making business and the success of his hangman's ropes, Jacob Bupp decided in 1873 to run for constable of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City.
In those days, a constable in Allegheny City maintained the peace, executed warrants, and policed crowds. They served the court system by delivering summons, complaints, subpoenas and orders of eviction and protection. They also were the only law enforcement officials allowed to be on duty at polling places on Election Day.... coincidentally they were also elected to their positions.
According to the opinion of the editors in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review article "The Philadelphia Constable," there had been a number of questionable practices of constables. Some constables were elected and never carried out their duties as constable. Some collected exorbitant fees for their services from those who elected them. Some accepted bribes for the appointment of deputy constabularies, who then often were as corrupt as those they bribed. As stated in the same opinion piece:
"Apparently, many constables run for election without any intention of practicing. They may run merely for the satisfaction of winning in a public election, for the prestige of holding the title of constable, or because they just happen to be available when a ward leader needs someone to fill out the long ballot." (page 511)It is not known if any of the above were true in Jacob's case.
What is known is that Jacob was nominated by the Republican Party in Allegheny City and endorsed by them for constable after winning the Republican primary for the position in the days leading up to the general election. On 9 Dec 1873, he was elected constable of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City with 107 votes. His competitor was M. Beard, who only had 27 votes.
Constables were usually paid on a fee system, so they also could have full time jobs, such as Jacob did with his ropemaking. However, the directory listings for Jacob Bupp in both 1874 and 1875 in the Pittsburgh and Allegheny City Directories list him as a constable, and living on the same lot his son had purchased in 1871, in what is now the Shadeland neighborhood.
*Edit made 6 June 2019*: Further research having been done, it is now known that Jacob Bupp was likely the manufacturer of ropes for two separate hangings while in office. The two events were the hanging of Ernest Ortwein, done on 23 February 1875, and the hangings of William Murray and Frederick Myers, who were hanged on 6 January 1876.
Constables did not have a limit to how many deputies they could have, however in Allegheny County, an appointment of a deputy constable had to be affirmed by an order of the court. Constable Bupp had one such deputy that created quite a scandal.
Bupp had appointed a man by the name of J. J. Hays as one of his deputies. One of the court's judges, Judge Kirkpatrick, had refused the commission of deputy constable Hays on multiple occasions, as Hays had apparently had a recent run-in with the law, having been suspected in the murder of a local girl. Hays had also been brought up a few months prior on charges for perjury for making false claims in another trial that had been brought up in front of Judge Kirkpatrick, as well on several charges of assault and battery the previous year.
On 21 March 1873, Hays applied to another one of the court judges, Judge White, for approval and White approved it, but upon learning Kirkpatrick had refused to sign off on the commission, White withdrew his approval, and Hays was summoned to the court to give up his commission.
It is unknown if Hays gave up his commission. He was found not guilty of perjury, but ordered to pay half of the court costs in another case he was involved in. He ultimately skipped town, and by the end of 1876 found himself having been extradited back to Pittsburgh from Ohio, and was jailed for skipping out on his bondsman.
It is not clear when Jacob finished his term as constable, but given that typically a constable was elected for six years, it can be assumed he completed an entire term, which would mean he was done in late 1879 or 1880. However, directory listings for him for the years 1876, 1878 and 1879 list him as a ropemaker and laborer (he was missing from the 1877 directory). This could mean that either he had given up his commission after 1876 or he was no longer working full time as a constable but rather was using it to supplement his rope-making income.
In any case, it appears his constabulary days were limited to a single term.
Jacob continued to reside in the Wood's Run/Shadeland neighborhood in the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City, but what is curious is his enumeration listing for the 1880 census, where he, Caroline, and their daughters Kate and Lizzie are enumerated in the Tenth Ward, which lay just to the east of the Eleventh Ward per the city maps from the time. Why he was there remains a mystery, but he is enumerated as being a fifty-eight year old laborer born in Pennsylvania, whose parents were also born in Pennsylvania. Caroline is listed as his wife and housekeeper, aged fifty and born in France. Both daughters are listed as "at home." By 1882, he was back living on Shady Avenue, presumably in the family home, so why he was briefly in the Tenth Ward is still a confusion.
Perhaps it had something to do with debt. In March of 1877, a sheriff's sale notice appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for the lots owned by Jacob and William H. Bupp. Another notice appeared in September of the same year, and by 1 December 1879, the Wood's Run Savings Fund and Loan Association held a deed of indenture on the properties. While William appeared to continue to live on his lot, Jacob had apparently moved out, temporarily. The Bupp family appeared to reacquire the property, however no deed has yet been located to prove this.
"A Constable Sues for Damages", The Pittsburgh Commercial Daily (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). 14 March 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
"Allegheny", Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). 9 February 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
"Allegheny City Election," The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 December 1873, page 1. Jacob Bupp elected constable of the Eleventh Ward with 107 votes; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).
"Allegheny City Primaries," Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 8 December 1873, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book 273: 505-506, Deed of indenture from Grantor Fred J Melaney and wife Sarah to Grantee William H. Bupp, dated 14 June 1871; FHL microfilm 1509878.
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Deed book 400: 221-223, William H. and Elizabeth Bupp deed of indenture to Woods Run Savings Fund and Loan Association, 1 Dec 1879; FHL microfilm 8092439.
"Allegheny Elections," election results, Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 December 1873, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "1880 United States Federal Census," database online with images, Ancestry.com Operation, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp and family, Year: 1880, Census Place: Allegheny Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1088, Family History Film: 1255088, Page: 82D, Enumeration District: 027, and Image: 0162.
Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny: From Official Records, Private Plans and Actual Records (Philadelphia: G. M. Hopkins, 1882), plates 35 and 36; online images, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 15 May 2019).
"Brevities", Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). 19 Dec 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
"Court Brevities," Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 23 March 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1874/1875 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G. H. Thurston, 1874), 112, "Bupp Jacob, police, Shady av, 11th wd, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).
Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1875/1876 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1875), 111, Bupp Jacob, constable, Cliff, 11th wd, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).
Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1876-1877 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1876), 111, "Bupp Jacob, rope maker, McClure av, 11th wd, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).
Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1878/1879 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1878), 126, "Bupp Jacob, lab, McClure av, 11th wd, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).
Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1879-1880 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1879), 139, "Bupp Jacob, rope mkr, McClure av, 11th wd, A"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).
Editors, "The Philadelphia Constable," University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 104 (1956), online archive, Penn Law (https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7472&context=penn_law_review : accessed 13 May 2019), 508-542.
Joint State Government Commission, "Overview of the Constabulary: History," Constables in Pennsylvania: Proposed Statutory Reforms (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, April 2014), 5; JSGC Public Website (http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/resources/documents/ftp/publications/2014-369-Constable%20Report%206.03.14.pdf : accessed 13 May 2019).
"Quarter Sessions - Judge Kirkpatrick", The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). 21 March 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
"Sheriff Sales," notice of auction, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 March 1877, Page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).
"Sheriff's Sales," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 September 1877, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).
"Troubles of a Deputy Constable," The Pittsburgh Commercial (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 23 March 1876, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).
"What the Heck are Constables and Does Pittsburgh Need Them?," Popular Pittsburgh, 10 June 2016 (https://popularpittsburgh.com : accessed 13 May 2019).
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