The Hangman's Ropemaker: Jacob Bupp, the Alderman (Part Three: 1891)

"The 'Squire, by the way, makes hangman's ropes, and occasionally quotes Scripture, in addition to his Aldermanic duties."

~ "Quite a Different Case," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 April 1891, page 7

*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*

Jacob Bupp had been elected as Alderman in 1889, and spent a good part of 1890 in the news for either his alderman duties or his ropemaking.  1891 was also a busy year for Jacob Bupp, and it was his last year in office as alderman of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City at 18 McClure Avenue. He also continued his rope-making business.

On 26 February 1891, both Harry Marsh and William West were hanged using ropes he created.  William West's hanging caused a stir because the rope broke.  But more on that in another blog post.

One of his constables, Bartley Maree, had a bit of excitement on 20 March 1891.  Maree had a warrant for a man by the name of James Crowley, who was up on charges of disorderly conduct.  Crowley was found in a saloon on Preble Avenue in the Ninth Ward of Allegheny City.  When Maree tried to make the arrest outside of the saloon, another man by the name of Sullivan, asked Maree to read the warrant.  When Maree reached for the paper in his pocket, Crowley knocked him down and then Crowley and Sullivan used the constable's mace to beat him insensible before disappearing.  Maree was left with some very ugly injuries.  A manhunt was done of the area afterwards for Crowley, but it is unknown whether or not he was caught.  Maree did recover from his injuries, as Pittsburgh area newspapers in September listed him as making arrests again.

*Note here - Woods Run was apparently a dangerous area in that time, and The Pittsburgh Press had run a quote after the Maree incident that stated "The police in the Woods Run district are getting frightened.  It is a common occurrence with them to get hurt while making arrests." ("Dangerously Beaten," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 March 1891, page 2)*

On 2 April 1891, a pair of brothers, David and Joe Nicely, were hanged in Somerset County using his ropes.  Their hanging also created a stir for Jacob, as he almost didn't get paid for the ropes.

On 14 April 1891, a fight occurred outside Jacob's office between Alex Dugan and Peter Weis, who had just had a hearing rendered by Jacob and didn't like the outcome of said hearing.  Constable Merriman, one of Jacob's constables, charged both men with disorderly conduct the very next day.

On 25 April 1891, William Jackson appeared before Jacob Bupp on charges of chicken theft.  Jackson was described as a "venerable colored man, with hair frosted by the night winds."  he had stolen chickens because he had no money to buy food, and after arguing Scripture with Jacob, he was discharged with no fines, because the old alderman could see wisdom in the old man's statement.

On 10 June 1891, Mrs. Cook of Woods Run was brought up by Mrs. Barbara Stipple on a serious charge and was arrested by Constable Merriman of Bupp's office.

On 20 June 1891, Jacob Bupp appeared before Alderman McKelvy to give more information on his service in the military during the Civil War for his pension claim.  An physician's examination was done on him on 2 July 1891 because he claimed he had an injury to his right leg and had rheumatism as a result of his service. No injuries were found and his claim was denied, a mentioned in the post on his Civil War service.

In July 1891, three Hungarian men and Alexander Killian/Killen were all supposed to be hanged, all using ropes made by Jacob.  However, all four men cheated the hangman, just as Jacobs, Rudy and Smith did the previous year.

By 4 July 1891, Jacob Bupp had apparently and abruptly resigned from his post, even though he later vehemently denied handing in his resignation.  W. F. Richardson was appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania in Bupp's stead, and for a bit it seems the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny had two aldermen.  But it appeared Jacob's run as alderman didn't last much longer, even if he didn't abruptly resign.

You see, there was a bit of a scandal.....

Jacob Bupp was arrested 9 August 1891 on a charge of misdemeanor in office.  Henry Shaney was the prosecutor that made the charges and alleged that he asked Jacob to collect money for him while Jacob held his commission as alderman, but that after Jacob collected the money, he pocketed it instead of turning it over.  Alderman McMasters was the one assigned to hear the case on 14 August 1891 and listened to testimony from Isaac Glantz, who was the plaintiff in the case in which Jacob pocketed the money.  The amount Jacob pocketed was $11.50 (roughly worth $325 today).  McMasters found against Jacob, and the hearing was referred to the trial court system.

On 8 October 1891, it was reported that Jacob was in jail, having defaulted on his bail from the hearing on 9 August 1891.  Apparently he could not find a bondsman to pay for his bail while he awaited trial, so he ended up having to sit in jail at the Allegheny County Courthouse.  Further research will need to be done to determine the outcome of the case - and this log post will be update to reflect that if and when it should ever be found.

Apparently the outcome of the case was resolved enough that Jacob could be home in December, as he was again interviewed by a local newspaper  The interview did state that Jacob "was formerly the Alderman in the ward in which he lives, and dealt out justice with as much delight as he made ropes" ("Hanging's the Way," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 December 1891, page 3).

The State of New York had just begun to implement electrocution as an execution method, and Jacob chimed in against the novel idea.  He felt electrocution was too horrible and cruel a method to be used as a capital punishment.

It stated in the interview that he was the maker of over 101 hangman's ropes at this point, and had witnessed 72 of those hangings himself.  This article also stated he worked as a rope maker in Illinois for a period of years in the 1840s and became acquainted with some of the early Mormon leaders when he was there.  (Further research will need to be done to verify this statement, and will appear in a future post should I ever find such information.)

Even though he wasn't an alderman in 1892, he was listed in the directory as such.  It was likely that the directory information was given and printed before he resigned (or was forced to give up) his office.  He was also referred to as "Alderman Jacob Bopp" in a newspaper article dated 26 Feb 1892, when he was mentioned as the ropemaker for the hanging of Patrick Fitzpatrick.

Sources Used and Referenced
"A Pugnacious Prisoner," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 March 1891, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

"A Rope for West," The Daily Republican (Monongahela, Pennsylvania), 16 January 1891, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

"A Ward With Two Aldermen," Pittsburg Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 4 July 1891, page 12; online images, Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 19 August 2016), Historic American Newspapers.

Additional Evidence in the Claim of Jacob Bupp, Private, Company G, 6th Regiment Pennsylvania, Affidavit of Jacob Bupp filed by H.K. Tyler (lawyer) of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania filed June 22, 1891; 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.

"Alderman Bupp in Jail," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 8 October 1891, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Bupp's Statements Denied," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 9 March 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"Business for the Hangman," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 July 1891, Page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 September 2017).

"Collided with the Law," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 11 June 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).

"Court Proceedings Condensed," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1892, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 9 October 2017).

"Dangerously Beaten," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 22 March 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 July 2019).

"Didn't Like the Decision," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 18 July 2019, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 July 2019).

"Echoes of the Night," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 August 1891, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 22 March 2016).

"Ex-Alderman Bopp Roped In," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 10 August 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"Flashbacks," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 8 April 1931, page 8; online images, Google News (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 19 August 2016).

"Hanging's the Way," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 December 1891, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 12 May 2019).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1890/1891 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher & Thurston, 1890), 874, "Bupp Jacob, 18 McClure av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1891/1892 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher & Thurston, 1891), 978, Listed under aldermen "Bupp Jacob, 18 McClure, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1892/1893 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher & Thurston, 1892), 186, "Bupp Jacob, alderman, 18 McClure av, h Shady av, 11th wd, A(llegheny)"; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (http://historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

"Little Local Items," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 27 May 1891, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).

"Nicelys Hear Their Doom," Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 23 January 1891, page 4; online archives with images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

"Notes about the State," Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 19 March 1891, page 5; online images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 13 May 2019), Newspaper Archives.

"Pound the Officer," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 21 March 1891, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 October 2017).

"Quite a Different Case," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 April 1891, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

Surgeon's Certificate in case of Jacob Bupp, Co. G, 6th Reg't, Pa. H. A. claim number 931690, examined July 2nd, 1891 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania; 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.