The Hangman's Ropemaker: Obituaries

"Jacob Bupp, the famous maker of hangman's ropes, is dead."

~Line from a syndicated newspaper article that ran in several newspapers 

*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*

In my last blog post, I wrote about Jacob Bupp's death at the Soldier's home in Dayton, Ohio on 21 February 1899.  I also mentioned that several versions of obituaries made their rounds throughout the world.

There were two major versions of notices of the death of Jacob Bupp that were printed in newspapers around the world (including newspapers in Australia, France, and Spain).  These two notices often went through minor changes depending on the newspaper that printed it, but the bulk of the notice stayed the same.  What makes them different is that Jacob's place of death is vastly different in the two.

Homewood Version

One of the versions of his newsworthy obituary erroneously lists his place of death as Homewood, Pennsylvania.  This obituary was the first such one, which came from Pittsburgh (and was, coincidentally, the first obituary that I ever found on Jacob Bupp, so you can imagine my confusion when I found out that even in the 1890s, reliable news-reporting wasn't always the case *wink*):

Jacob Bupp's Obituary as it appeared on page 4 of the 24 February 1899 edition of the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette 
(Now Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).  Found on Google News Archives 

It is unclear how this version of the obituary made its rounds.  Jacob Bupp did spend some time living with his daughter Emma in Homewood, but he had moved back to Allegheny City and then on to Dayton, where he resided in the Soldier's Home until his death.  Perhaps some of the family from Homewood had visited Jacob just before his death and reported back to the family and the message was mixed up in the reporting to newspapers?

To cover bases in research, a search was done of Beaver County Registration of deaths from 1893-1907 for Jacob Bupp, but it was a negative search.

A shortened version of this obituary appeared elsewhere in later months:

"General Entertainment," syndicated news column, The Bradford Star (Towanda, Pennsylvania), 11 May 1899, page 4

This version ran in several newspapers worldwide.

Dayton Version

Untitled article that ran in syndication.  This version was found in Catoctin Clarion (Mechanicsburg, Maryland), 9 March 1899, page 2, located on Chronicling America

The Dayton version of Jacob's obituary/death notice also went worldwide, and was more correct in its reporting, as Jacob did die at the Soldier's Home.  Several newspapers printed their own version of this article, so there are minor variations depending on the newspaper... usually in which cases they chose to highlight as Jacob making ropes for.

Over thirty obituaries and death notice write-ups have been located for Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's ropemaker, and had it not been for them, this blog series may not have had been conceived, as many of those who hangings Jacob made rope for were listed in a number of the accounts, which lead to the research that became this blog series.

Up next is the final blog post for the series, the post on what happened to Jacob's widow, Caroline.

Sources Used and Referenced:
"Annual Memorial Service: Lieut. James M. Lysle Post No. 128 Remembered Its Dead," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 11 December 1899, 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 26 March 2019).

"Around the County," syndicated news column, The Central News (Perkasie, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2: B8-B12, negative search for death record of Jacob Bupp; FHL microfilm 7619706 item 2.

"British and Foreign Mems," Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (Albury, New South Wales, Australia), 4 August 1899, page 33; online images, Trove (trove.nla.gov.au : accessed 18 November 2019), Newspapers; citing National Library of Australia.

"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Iola Daily Record (Iola, Kansas), 10 June 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 September 2019).

"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Saint Paul Globe (Saint Paul, Minnesota), 7 May 1899, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Died," death notices, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 25 February 1899, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Died," death notices, The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 26 February 1899, Page 13; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Échos Et Nouvelles," Le Petit Parisien (Paris, France), 8 June 1899, page 2; online images, Gallica (http://gallica.bnf.fr/accueil/ : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Famous Rope Maker Dead," Altoona Mirror (Altoona, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"He Made Hangman's Ropes," The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California), 13 March 1899, page 6; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 June 2019).

"General Entertainment," The Bradford Star (Towanda, Pennsylvania), 11 May 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 21 September 2017).

"Jacob Bupp," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

"Jacob Bupp," Le Stéphanois (Saint-Étienne, France), 10 June 1899, page 1; online images, Lectura Plus (http://www.lectura.plus/Presse/ : accessed 21 September 2017).

"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 Hangmen's Ropes," The Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland), 3 March 1899, page 14; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

"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).

"Random Comment," Cleveland Leader (Cleveland, Ohio), 4 April 1899, page 4; online images, Genealogy Bank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 21 September 2017), Newspaper Archive.

"Stadt und Umgegend (City and Surroundings)," Der Freiheits-Freund (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 1; online images, Google Newspapers (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2hszv8GT5-sC&dat=18770713&b_mode=2&hl=en : accessed 20 January 2018), Google Newspaper Archives.

Sykes, Edward C. "I Remember," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 20 July 1936, 27; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 November 2019).

"Un Cordier Yankee," La Presse (Paris, France), 10 June 1899, p 2; online images, Gallica (http://gallica.bnf.fr/accueil/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," The Black Hills Union (Rapid City, South Dakota), 27 July 1900, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas), 11 March 1899, 4; online images, GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 18 November 2019).

"Untitled," Catoctin Clarion (Mechanicsburg, Maryland), 9 March 1899, page 2; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017). 

"Untitled," The Columbus Journal (Columbus, Nebraska), 10 May 1899, page 4; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017)

"Untitled," The Leavenworth Weekly Times (Leavenworth, Kansas), 9 March 1899, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 September 2017).

"Untitled," The McCook Tribune (McCook, Nebraska), 5 May 1899, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017), 

"Untitled," Le Mémorial Artésien (Saint-Omer, France), 15 June 1899, page 2; online images, Bibliothèque Numérique (http://bibliotheque-numerique.bibliotheque-agglo-stomer.fr/ : accessed 21 September 2017), Presse.

"Untitled," Tyrone Daily Herald (Tyrone, Pennsylvania), 2 March 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

"Untitled," Xenia Daily Gazette (Xenia, Ohio), 27 February 1899, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 September 2017).

The Hangman's Ropemaker: Homewood

"Jacob Bupp, who has made more hangmen's ropes than any other man in the United States, died last week at the home of his daughter in Homewood, Beaver county, Pa.".

~"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Iola Daily Record (Iola, Kansas), 10 June 1899, page 4

*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*

After retiring from rope-making finally in 1892 after the hanging of Patrick Fitzpatrick, Jacob spent at least a part of his remaining years at the home of his daughter, Emma Bupp McClurg, just outside Homewood, a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

Theories abound as to why he made the move:

1. He may have relocated to Homewood after the embarrassment of the trial he sustained due to his illegal actions as an alderman.  This is just a theory, but due to the timing of his move, it is possible.  
2. Also, there was also the controversy surrounding the breakage of the rope used to hang William West and the stretching of the cord used to hang David Nicely.  That embarrassment may also have caused him to want to move
3. There is evidence in his pension papers to support the theory that this was around the time that his mind began to slip as well.  Perhaps his wife Caroline was no longer able to care for him in the capacity that he needed, while Emma may have been able to.

Whatever the reason, for at least a year he lived in Homewood with Emma and her family.

A little history on Emma first......

Emma Sarah Bupp was the eldest surviving daughter of Jacob and Caroline.  She was born 27 December 1855, as stated in a previous blog, likely in the home the family lived in on Spring Garden Road in Reserve Township.  She is listed with Jacob and the rest of the family in the 1860 and 1870 census enumerations, living in Ross Township in 1860 and McClure Township in 1870. Sometime in 1874 or 1875, she married William Wallace McClurg, the son of Irish immigrants James McClurg and Catherine Hunter.  As he was born in Allegheny County and listed in the 1876 city directory as living with his father at 174 Washington Avenue in Allegheny City, the couple very likely married there as well, though a date of marriage AND location both have not been located as of yet.  By 1880, the couple was living on a farm in Big Beaver Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, just outside Homewood, and continued to live there until both of their deaths.  William died in 1915 and Emma died in 1944.

Emma and William had seven children that survived to adulthood, though there is evidence that nine children were born to the couple and that the other two had passed away at young ages (although their deaths were not registered in the "Beaver County Registration of deaths, 1893-1907" digitized on FamilySearch, which likely means they died in the period before such record keeping). The seven children were John Edward, Mary J, Katherine, Elizabeth Salina, James Harrison, George B and Emma Sarah.

Jacob Bupp lived with the couple during the period just after grandson George had been born, but before Emma had completed the family.

Jacob filed for an increase in pension that was dated 29 October 1892 and listed his post office address as Homewood, Pennsylvania.  William McClurg, his son-in-law, was listed as one of the two witnesses to the affidavit (the other was A. M. Gray, who is believed to be Alice M. Gray, though no connection is known between her and Jacob as of yet).  That same affidavit stated "It would be convenient for claimant to go to New Castle to be examined, it being only 10 miles distant."  This clue leads to the belief that while the post office address of the McClurgs was indeed Homewood, they lived just outside the borough in Big Beaver Township, as the census enumerations suggest.  Since William McClurg was a farmer, it is very likely that while their post office address was Homewood, they had to travel quite a way to pick up their mail.

An examination was done in New Castle, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania and was filed on 29 March 1893 by Dr. D. M. Kinney, Dr. Silas Stevenson and Dr. W. L. Smith, who were the heads of the board of examining surgeons for Lawrence County .  Jacob Bupp's claim of disability was listed as follows:

Surgeon's Certificate in the case of Jacob Bupp, Co. G, 6th Reg't, PA HA, Applicant for Increase, Certificate number 752533, examined March 29, 1893; Photocopy provided by NARA in the pension file for Jacob Bupp

The doctors that examined Jacob at New Castle did find some evidence of both an injury to his leg and rheumatism, but concluded that most of his disabilities came from plain old age and the wears and tears that came from that.  (Note here: He was also likely arthritic from the physical toils of the labor he did as a ropemaker.)  He was granted a pension increase as a result of $2 per month, bringing his pension to $12 each month.  This pension increase was reported in a newspaper account from Philadelphia in February of 1894.

There is conflicting information in regards to how long Jacob Bupp lived with Emma and William McClurg in Beaver County.  A newspaper account that ran in syndication across several newspapers that told of his death stated that he died at his daughter's home near Homewood in 1899 (which will be disproved in another blog).  It is possible that the evidence points to the fact that he remained with Emma until he moved to the Soldier's Home in Dayton, Ohio in July of 1898. Another of Jacob's numerous newspaper obituaries even goes so far as to state that "On Tuesday his relatives in this city had received a letter from Mrs. McClurg that her father was enjoying good health and late Wednesday evening came a message announcing his death." ("Jacob Bupp," obituary, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 4).  There is still mystery surrounding why exactly some of his obituaries stated he died in Homewood.

However, other evidence points to him returning to Allegheny City sometime after the pension increased in February of 1894.  The 1896 to 1898 city directories for Pittsburgh and Allegheny City list him as living at 325 Shady Lane in Allegheny City with no occupation.  This home was the home of son William Bupp, and Caroline and  Jacob likely lived with him for a time.  A small blurb in a York paper in 1896 stated that Jacob Bupp "of Pittsburg" was visiting the city (More on this visit in a future blog, I promise).  While not solid evidence, these do suggest he only remained in Big Beaver Township for a few short years, which adds to the theory that he moved to get away from the embarrassment he may have caused his family.

Because the paper trail for this part of his life is sparse, there is a great deal of conjecture and assumptions that can be made.  It may never be known for certain why and how Jacob came to be living in Beaver County or for how long.  But these are questions that will continue to keep the research going.

Sources Used and Referenced
"1900 United States Federal Census," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 August 2019), Entry for William Mcclurg and family, Year: 1900, Census Place: Big Beaver Beaver, Pennsylvania, Page: 10, Enumeration District: 0018, and FHL microfilm: 1241374; citing United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

"1910 United States Federal Census," database online, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 29 August 2019), Entry for William McClurg and family, Year: 1910, Census Place: Big Beaver Beaver, Pennsylvania, Roll: T624_1310, Page: 14B, Enumeration District: 0016, and FHL microfilm: 1375323; citing Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

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 29 August 2019), Entry for William McCleary and household, Year: 1880, Census Place: Big Beaver Beaver, Pennsylvania, Roll: 1097, Page: 79D, and Enumeration District: 177; citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Bupp's Ropes Famous," The Iola Daily Record (Iola, Kansas), 10 June 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 September 2019).

Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1876-1877 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: G.H. Thurston, 1876), 486, "McClurg, Wm Wallace, lab, 174 Washington av, A(llegheny)" Also living at this same residence was a James McClurg, laborer. Assumption made that James was William's father; digital image, University of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 31 August 2019).

"Jacob Bupp," obituary, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 24 February 1899, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 16 August 2016).

J.F. Diffenbacher's directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny cities, 1896/1897 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1896), 207, "Bupp Jacob, 325 Shady 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, 1897/1898 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Diffenbacher and Thurston, 1897), 208, "Bupp Jacob, 325 Shady av, A(llegheny)"; digital image, Unversity of Pittsburgh, Digital Research Library, Historic Pittsburgh (www.historicpittsburgh.org : accessed 17 August 2016).

Original Invalid Pension Claim for Jacob Bupp, Private, Company G, 6th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery; 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.

"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.

"Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 August 2019), Entry for William W. McClurg, died 7 Jan 1915, cn 3988; 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, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993," database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 August 2019), Entry for William McClurg; probate date 22 Sept 1914; Will Books, Vol R-U, 1911-1917; Probate Records, 1803-1917; Index to Register's Office, 1803-1965; Author: Beaver County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Beaver, Pennsylvania; citing Pennsylvania County District and Probate Courts.

"Pension Certificates Issued," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 3 March 1894, page 2; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 5 September 2019).

"Random Comment," syndicated news column, Cleveland Leader (Cleveland, Ohio), 4 April 1899, page 4; online images, Genealogy Bank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 21 September 2017), Newspaper Archive.

Register's docket for probate of William W. McClurg (1915), Probate records, 1803-1917; index to register's office, 1803-1965: volume 11, page 288; Beaver County Court, Beaver, Pennsylvania.

Surgeon's Certificate in the case of Jacob Bupp, Co. G, 6th Reg't, Pa HA, Applicant for Increase, Certificate number 752533, examined March 29, 1893; 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.

"Untitled," syndicated news column, The McCook Tribune (McCook, Nebraska), 5 May 1899, page 7; online images, Chronicling America (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ : accessed 21 September 2017), Historic American Newspapers; citing the University of Nebraska-Lincon Libraries, Lincoln, Nebraska.