The Hangman's Ropemaker: The Soldier's Home at Dayton and the Death of the Ropemaker

"Jacob Bupp, of Allegheny, who died Tuesday night in the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, claimed the distinction of having made more ropes with which to hang murderers than any other man in this country."

~"Made the Rope That Hanged Guiteau," The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 25 February 1899, page 6

*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*

Aside from the time spent in other states during the Civil War, and a possible stint in Illinois that has not yet been proven or disproven, Jacob Bupp spent most of his life living in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  However, the last seven months of his earthly life, he resided in the state of Ohio.  He was sent to live at the Soldier's Home in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. 

A Little History on the Soldier's Home at Dayton First
The United States Sanitary Commission, a group that took care of wounded veterans from the Civil War, lobbied hard to have the homes opened as a place for veterans to go. The act that established the National Home for Disabled Veterans was created by Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in March of 1865.

The home in Dayton, Ohio was the second of the homes established and was opened in the fall of 1867.  The first one was opened in Togus Springs, Maine the previous year.  The homes were originally called the National Asylums for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, but the name was changed by Congress in 1873 to the Home for Disabled Veteran Soldiers  The Dayton home was the Central Branch of these homes and had housed more than 7000 veterans by the time Jacob Bupp arrived in 1898.

Each home had a guardhouse where guards stopped and checked each coming and going of visitors and inmates.  The Dayton branch also boasted a conservatory with fountains and aquatic gardens, a menagerie, several barracks, over six miles of roadway and a 250 acre farm that produced much of the food the veterans ate.   The Central Branch had one of the best hospitals in the nation at the time.  Built in 1870, the hospital had steam operated elevators, a steam boiler system for heat, and indoor plumbing and was considered a innovative and progressive marvel at the time it was created.

Those veterans who were able were encouraged and even required to help around the home. Visitors were welcomed and encouraged to visit, as the mission was to create a home-like atmosphere for the veterans that lived there.  Because it was close to the railroad in the city of Dayton, many people could easily ride the train into the city and then come to the home.  It became a popular attraction that upwards of 150,000 people came to visit each year.

The Soldier's Home at Dayton in 1902, taken by Underwood and Underwood
Source: Library of Congress, Stereograph Cards, digital id cph 3b41068, photo in the public domain

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a wonderful virtual tour of the facility that takes one back to 1885 for those who are interested.  It helped give some sense of what the home was like in the time Jacob lived there.

Today the home is part of the VA Hospital system and is known as the Dayton VA Medical Center.

Jacob Bupp's Time at the Soldier's Home
At the time that he entered the soldier's home, Jacob Bupp was getting $12 per month in pension from the government for his service in the Civil War.

Paperwork found in his pension file stated that Jacob Bupp admitted to the home for defective vision and also for senility.  He was treated at the home beginning on 19 July 1898 for defective vision, senility and chronic rheumatism.  Glasses did not improve his vision, due to the fact that he had cataracts, and it appeared his hearing was also going.

Jacob Bupp's Medical history
Source: Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp

Little is known about his time at the hospital, or if any of his family visited him while he resided there.  The travel by train from Allegheny City to Dayton apparently took the better part of two days, so it is plausible that family made the trip if they were able.

On 21 February 1899, at 245 pm, Jacob Bupp died in the hospital at the Soldier's Home.  His cause of death was given as cardiac dilation with senectus, which would be diagnosed today as dilated cardiomyopathy (or an enlarged heart) due to old age, and the doctor who signed his death certificate was D. C. Huffman.

His body was sent back to his widow Caroline at their daughter Mary Anne Wasson's home at 319 Shady Avenue in Allegheny City the next day, arriving in Allegheny City late on the 23rd. According to one newspaper account of the body's arrival:

"The body bears a number of fresh looking wounds and the family intend investigating the cause of his death.  Bupp has been an inmate of the Soldiers' home for some time and was reported in excellent health early in the week.  The news of his death caused great surprise and the family fear he met with rough treatment." (Source: "Jacob Bupp's Death: Friends of the Deceased Will Have an Investigation Made," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 8).

However, as of the date of this blog post, a search for information on whether or not this investigation actually happened yielded no results.

EDIT HERE 4 June 2020: New evidence was discovered in the form of a newspaper article in the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette:

Source: Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennylvania), 25 February 1899, page 12; online images, see online at Google News Archives

Interestingly enough, one the physicians who examined him for one of his pension claims was William J. Langfitt, who also examined John D. Wood in 1889.  Jacob Bupp was the alderman who notarized that affidavit.

Jacob Bupp was buried on 26 February 1899, but it is not known which of the many cemeteries in Allegheny County was chosen for his final resting place.  It is quite possible he is buried in Highwood Cemetery, as Caroline later was buried there. EDIT HERE:  An inquiry into the records at Highwood Cemetery did in fact reveal that he was buried there in the same plot as Caroline.

Jacob Bupp's interment order from the Highwood Cemetery Association.

Interestingly enough, there were several versions of obituaries that made their way across the world with news of his death, though none of them mentioned a cemetery.  Click here for the next blog post, which discusses those versions.

Sources Used and Referenced:
Burns, Carolyn Johnson. Soldiers Home of Dayton, Ohio: Information about the Central Branch of the National Military Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers known today as the Dayton VA Medical Center (http://www.carolynjburns.com/soldiers/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

Central Branch, National Home for D. V. S., Certification of death of Jacob Bupp, died 21 February 1899; filed 1 March 1899 by D. C. Huffman; located in the pension file application of wife Caroline Bupp; 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.

Central Branch, National Home for Disabled Veterans; Medical History for Jacob Bupp, late of G Co, 6th Regiment, Penn H. Art.Volunteers. Dated 13 March 1899, filed 23 May 1899 ; 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., "Died February 21st 1899, from Cardiac Dilation with Senectus."

Death Notification to the Honorable Commissioner of Pensions from Central Branch National Home for D.V. S.; Notification of death of Jacob Bupp, died 21 Feb 1899, pension certificate 752533, co G, 6th regiment Pa H.A. filed 1 March 1899; 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.

"Died From Natural Causes: Physicians Found No Marks of Violence on the Body of Jacob Bupp," Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennylvania), 25 February 1899, page 12; online images, Google News Archives (https://news.google.com/newspapers : accessed 4 June 2020).

Gasbarro, Norman. "Old Soldiers' Homes," Civil War Blog: A Project of PA Historian, 9 May 2012 (http://civilwar.gratzpa.org/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

"Jacob Bupp's Death : Friends of the Deceased Will Have an Investigation Made," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 8; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Made the Rope That Hanged Guiteau," The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), 25 February 1899, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 September 2017).

"Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," online database with images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 17 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp, 21 Feb 1899; citing Death, Montgomery, Ohio, United States, source ID v 4 p 22, C; FHL microfilm 1,030,827. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6VF-YN1.

Plante, Trevor K. "The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers," Prologue Magazine, Spring 2004; online, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue : accessed 11 November 2019).

Powell, Lisa. "Dayton’s soldiers’ home was among the country’s first to care for veterans," Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), 24 May 2019, information on the history of the Dayton Home; online archives (https://www.daytondailynews.com/ : accessed 6 November 2019).

"U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 August 2016), Entry for Jacob Bupp; born 1823; Admitted 1898; citing Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1749, 282 rolls); Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Virtual Museum," webpage, U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, Dayton VA Medical Center, Ohio (https://www.dayton.va.gov/museum/index.asp: accessed 6 November 2019), information on the Dayton Soldier's Home.