The Hangman's Ropemaker: Jacob Bupp, the Alderman (Part Two: 1890)

"A hearing was held yesterday before Alderman Jacob Bupp, of the Eleventh Ward, Allegheny...."

~ "For Dynamiting Fish," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 3 August 1889, page 12 (yes, I used the same quote as last blog!)

*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*

Note: This is part two of three of Jacob Bupp's life as alderman of the Eleventh Ward of Allegheny City.  Click here to read part one.  Click here to read part three.

Jacob Bupp's first eight months in office were fairly eventful, as my previous post demonstrated.  The next year was just as busy for him, as he continued to make ropes for several hangings (to be written about in the future and posted to this blog when done) as well as be an alderman.  

By the end of his only full year in office, he appeared to have an actual office space at 18 McClure in which he carried out his alderman duties, as evidenced by the Allegheny City directories from that year and the year following.  He still resided in the house on 191 Shady Avenue though.

In February, he was noted in few newspapers as creating the rope that hanged George W. Clark of Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.  While he worked as an alderman, this hanging also demonstrates that he worked his ropemaking business as well.

On 14 March 1890, Frank Gerade of Shady Avenue came into Jacob Bupp's office, a day before he murdered his eight year old step-daughter Annie Hofer by bashing her brains out.  Jacob gave testimony that he saw Gerade three times that day, and that each time the man was acting in a wildly strange manner.  He added that the man in question was brought before him on several times for several various charges, though none of those charges made the papers. However, Bill Loftquist, in his blog on Frank Gerade, states that the Gerades "were regularly involved in serious incidents of child and spousal abuse," so it is likely that some of those charges were brought before Jacob in his alderman duties. (Gerade was later sentenced to death for the murder, but eventually was able to get that sentence reversed.)

At the end of  March of 1890, Jacob Bupp was written about in an interview done by The Pittsburg Dispatch in an article titled "Making Nine Ropes," that appeared on the second page of the 31 March 1890 edition, but parts of the article ended up being syndicated by newspapers across the country about his singular record of hangman's ropes.  According to the interview, he had created the ropes for eight-eight different hangings, mostly in Pennsylvania, but a few across the country.  He was busy making ropes for several hangings that were to take place the first week of April (interviews said nine hangings-but in reality it was only seven).  William H. Bartholomew in Easton, Alfred Andrews in Bellefonte, Zach Taylor in Waynesburg, and Charles Carter in Ebensburg all hanged.  Three others had their sentences commuted ultimately to life in prison: James H. Jacobs and John W. Rudy of Lancaster and William H. Smith of Allegheny City.

The syndicated article mentioned nothing about him being an alderman, but did state that:

"Personal Gossip," The Wichita Daily Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), 29 May 1890, page 2; source: Library of Congress via Chronicling America  - Note the spelling of Pittsburgh without the 'h'.... the city didn't adopt the current spelling until 1911

The full interview by The Pittsburg Dispatch described him as being an "old gentleman, having resided in the Eleventh ward  for many years.  He is small in stature, with a full gray  beard.  He is robust and healthy, and is a good conversationalist, particularly on criminal matters.  He keeps well posted on the affairs of the country."  The same article then goes on to say that he was the father of only three children, which, as stated in other blogs, was not truth.  His children William, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Ann all lived in Allegheny City with their own families, while Emma lived in Big Beaver Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania with her family. The only two children as of yet unaccounted for in 1890 were Alice and Ella.

 On 18 June 1890, Jacob Bupp heard a case in which John Miller asked for charges to be brought up against his neighbor John Doge for trespassing when Doge's cows got into Miller's garden and proceeded to eat most of the produce growing there.  The suit had been brought up after Miller tried to resolved the problem himself by making Doge keep the cows penned up, but the problem repeated itself, so Miller pressed charges.

On 29 July 1890, Frederick Hamma was brought before Jacob Bupp on charges of disorderly conduct for using abusive and vile language around his neighbors.  Hamma was described as a tough citizen who lived in the Ninth Ward of Allegheny City.

Sometime during the summer of 1890, a suit was brought up in front of him by August Wetzel of Manchester against August Walz/Waltz, his brother-in-law, for the return of money spent by Wetzel to secure passage to America for Walz and family.  His wife was the sister of Walz' wife, and wanted her sister and family to come to America.  Bupp ruled in favor of Wetzel.  However, Walz entered a counter suit because while the families were living together, he had done work for Wetzel, and the counter-suit was found in favor of Walz for the amount owed Wetzel.  Since the suits cancelled each other out, the families seemed happy, according to the papers.

However, like most city officials, Jacob Bupp was not without scandal.  While the misdemeanor was unknown, a true bill was found against him by a grand jury on 10 September 1890 and the trial for that charge was held a week later.  The outcome of that trial is yet unknown, but it can be assumed he was allowed to keep his office regardless of the outcome, as he was still doing alderman duties afterwards.


On 18 October 1890, Jacob Bupp first applied for a pension for his military service, which was already covered in depth on the post about his Civil War service.  A few days later, he was a witness on the naturalization petition for Charles Fenner, who was renounced his citizenship from Germany. 

Sometime in December of 1890 August Messner was charged with assault against the wife of Ernest Morzke and agreed to pay $200 to the Morzke family before Jacob Bupp.  However, Messner refused to pay the fine and the trial went to court in 1891, where he was found not guilty.

Jacob had one more year as alderman.... Part Three:1891 can be found by clicking this link.

Sources Used and Referenced
Ancestry.com, "1890 Veterans Schedules," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp. Year: 1890, Census Place: Allegheny Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Roll: 88, Page: 2, and Enumeration District: 226.

"A Terrible Tragedy," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 15 March 1890, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

"A True Bill Found," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 11 September 1890, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 September 2017).

"A Welcome Worn Out," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 6 August 1890, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 30 September 2017).

"Briefly Sketched," Saline Observer (Saline, Michigan), 10 April 1890, page 6; online images, Digital Michigan Newspapers (https://digmichnews.cmich.edu/cgi-bin/michigan : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Claimed Innocence," Butler citizen (Butler, Pennsylvania), 28 February 1890, page 2; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 7 September 2017).

"Cows in the Garden," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 19 August 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Expert in Nooses," The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio), 10 April 1890, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"Fast Losing Hope," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 28 March 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"The Hangman's Halter," Wessington Springs Herald (Wessington Springs, South Dakota), 23 May 1890, page 4; online images, Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Jacob Bupp Once More," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 31 March 1890, Page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"The Judgements a Stand-Off: Brothers-In-Law Sue Each Other for Boarding and Other Bills," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 6 August 1890, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

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).

"Local Brevities," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 29 July 1890, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 October 2017).

Loftquist, Bill. "Frank Gerade," State Killings in the Steel City: The History of the Death Penalty in Pittsburgh, 9 February 2018 (https://state-killings-in-the-steel-city.org/ : accessed 7 July 2019)

"Making Nine Ropes," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 31 March 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Met Death Bravely," Pittsburgh Dispatch (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 27 February 1890, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

Naturalizations - PA Western," database online with images, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 6 July 2019), Entry for Jacob Bupp, witness in petition for Charles Fenner of Germany, 21 Oct 1890, referencing roll 48; citing Naturalization petitions of the U.S. District Court, 1820-1930, and the Circuit Court, 1820-1911, for the Western District of Pennsylvania; Records of the US Circuit and District Courts: Declarations of Intent and Petitions for Naturalizations, Oct 1820-Jan 1931, RG 21; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Neighborhood Notes," The Butler Citizen (Butler, Pennsylvania), 4 April 1890, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 14 September 2017).

"Personal Gossip," Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa), 13 April 1890, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 19 September 2017).

"Quartet Hanged Today: Bopp, the Expert Choker-Maker, Provides the Hemp," The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts), 9 April 1890, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 3 July 2019).

"Smith, the Wife Murderer," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 1 April 1890, page 7; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 14 October 2017).

Soldier's Application and Declaration for Invalid Pension for Jacob Bupp, Private, Company G, 6th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery filed 20 October 1890; 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.

"Today's Trial Lists," official announcement, Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 17 September 1890, page 3; "Criminal Court - Commonwealth vs. ...... Jacob Bupp"; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Untitled," Lincoln Evening Call (Lincoln, Nebraska), 4 May 1890, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).