The Old Pike / A History of the National Road, with Incidents, Accidents, and Anecdotes Thereon

by Thomas B. Searight

COL. WILLIAM HOPKINS.

William Hopkins was one of the best known of the old commissioners. He was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, September 17th, 1804. He was of Scotch origin, on the paternal line, and his mother was a native of Ireland, so that he was a genuine Scotch-Irishman. He figured conspicuously in the public affairs of Pennsylvania, for many years. At the age of twenty-three he was a justice of the peace, holding a commission signed by Governor Shultze, one of the early German governors of the State. In 1831 he was a county auditor. In 1834 he was elected to the State Legislature, and re-elected four times, consecutively. He was speaker of the House in 1838, 1839 and 1840. In 1842 he was secretary of the land office of Pennsylvania. During his first term as speaker, the public commotion occurred, known as the “Buckshot War.” Troops surrounded the State house, and a bloody collision seemed inevitable. Speaker Hopkins, on this trying occasion, behaved with distinguished wisdom and firmness, and he is credited with having averted the horrors of civil war. In 1852 Colonel Hopkins, as he was invariably called, was nominated and elected Canal Commissioner, as before stated. In this important office he fully sustained his high reputation for honesty and ability. In 1861 he was again elected to the State House of Representatives, and re-elected in 1862. In 1863 he was elected a State Senator. The experience of his previous legislative career gave him a great advantage over others less favored in this regard, and he became, by common consent, “the Nestor of the Senate.” In 1872 he was elected a member of the convention to revise the Constitution of the State. He was chairman of the committee to devise and report amendments to the bill of rights, and author of the preamble that reads thus: “We, the people of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, recognizing the sovereignty of God, and humbly invoking His guidance in our future destiny, ordain and establish this Constitution for its government.” If there was nothing else to his credit, this alone would immortalize him. While a member of the Constitutional Convention, he made a visit to his home, and on the cars contracted a cold which developed into pneumonia, and terminated fatally, March 5th, 1873. His funeral was one of the largest and most impressive ever witnessed in Washington.

Rev. Doctor Brownson, the distinguished Presbyterian minister of Washington, grouped together the leading traits of Colonel Hopkins in the following terms: “Such a man could not but be extensively known and respected. In fact, his mental force, discriminating judgment, urbanity, integrity and kindness, joined with his facility as a writer and speaker, rising above the defects of early education, were a continual pledge of public favor and success. He was very firm in adhering to his own views, but considerate also of the feelings and opinions of others. In co-operation or in opposition, he commanded respect. In private life, also, it was impossible not to realize the power of his politeness, and his delicate regard to the sensibilities of all about him. His fondness for children seemed to increase with his years, showing itself both in a desire for their enjoyment and their good. His fine business capacity was often taxed for the benefit of others, especially widows and orphans. In the hallowed circle of home, he was the central object of uncommon reverence and affection, answering to his own peculiar love and tenderness within his domestic relations. But, better than all, is the witness he leaves behind him, in his confession and life as a disciple of Christ, and in the repose of his heart upon the divine promise, when called down into the valley and shadow of death.”

The late Judge Black, one of the most eminent men of his day, spoke of Colonel Hopkins as follows: “I do not underestimate the very high qualities of my associates in this body (the Constitutional Convention). I do not think, indeed, that any man here appreciates their various abilities and virtues more than I do; but I devoutly believe that there is no man in this Convention, that we could not have spared better than him who has gone. I do not propose to give an analysis of his character, and it is not necessary to repeat his history. I may say, for I know it, that he was in all respects the best balanced man that it was ever my good fortune to know. His moral and personal courage were often tested; he was one of the most fearless men that ever lived, yet all his measures were in favor of peace, and every one who knew him testifies to the gentleness and kindness of his manner.”

Mr. Biddle, a Philadelphia member of the Convention, said: “I well recollect being struck with the commanding figure and strongly marked countenance, in the lineaments of which were unmistakably written simplicity and directness of purpose, integrity and unswerving firmness. He has rounded off a life of great moral beauty, of great usefulness, of great dignity, by a fitting end, and he has fallen before decay had begun to impair his faculties.”

One who stood very close and was very much endeared to Col. Hopkins, brings out his great character in form of metaphor, as follows: “There was a remark in your paper which has given me a great deal of mental exercise of a reminiscent character. The wheel of time turns only one way. At the moment I read this, and in the multitude of times it has since come into my head, my mind ran at once to a point in the revolution of that wheel which you never could guess. That point is marked with the year 1838. I had been turned up far enough out of the darkness of the wheel pit to get a view of the top of the wheel, where stood a group of men who have over since been ‘the heroes I loved and the chiefs I admired.’ In the center of this group, and the most heroic figure in it, stood William Hopkins. The various members of that group have gone down beyond sight, as the wheel of time kept turning steadily, but their virtues and their public services remain fresh in my memory. They rendered Pennsylvania as great a service as Washington and his compeers rendered the United Colonies.”

Such a man was William Hopkins, once a commissioner of the National Road, familiar with every mile along its line, and in daily touch with its moving masses. The writer of these pages had the honor of knowing Col. Hopkins personally and well, and can and does testify that no word of eulogy herein quoted concerning him is in the least overwrought.

An act of the Pennsylvania Legislature, approved April 4, 1831, named William F. Coplan and David Downer of Fayette county, Stephen Hill and Benjamin Anderson of Washington county, and Thomas Endsley of Somerset county, to be Commissioners of the Cumberland Road for the term of three years from the passage of the said act, after which time the right to appoint said Commissioners shall vest in the Governor of the Commonwealth. In 1834 the Governor appointed these same gentlemen Commissioners for another term of three years. In 1835 an act was passed reducing the number of Commissioners to two, and under this act Stephen Hill of Washington, and Hugh Keys of Fayette county, were appointed on May 7th, 1835, until their appointments were suspended or annulled. On the 9th of January, 1836, the Governor appointed George Craft of Fayette county, and Benjamin Leonard of Washington county, to act in conjunction with the other Commissioners appointed in pursuance of an act approved April 1, 1835. Thompson McKean of Fayette county, and Robert Quail of Washington county, were appointed Commissioners by the Governor on the 29th day of January, 1839, until appointments were suspended or annulled. Robert Quail’s appointment was suspended by an act of 1840. An act was approved March 28th, 1840, reducing the number of Commissioners to one, and William Hopkins was appointed for a term of three years, but served less than two years, and resigned, to take the position of secretary of the land office. William Searight was appointed by the Governor on May 3, 1842, for a term of three years, and on April 19th, 1845, William Hopkins was again appointed. On the 8th of April, 1848, an act was approved authorizing the courts of Somerset, Fayette and Washington counties to appoint trustees for the road, with power to appoint Commissioners. Under this act William Searight was again appointed, with jurisdiction limited to the line through the counties of Fayette and Somerset, and served until 1851, when David Hartzell of Somerset county was appointed. William Roddy of the same county succeeded Hartzell in 1852. James Marlow succeeded Roddy and died in commission. Robert McDowell was appointed in 1856. Under the act of 1848, above quoted, Joseph Lawson was appointed for Washington county, and was succeeded in 1852 by Mark Mitchell, in 1856 by Alexander Frasher, and in 1858 by John Long. In 1861 the act of 1848 was repealed in so far as it related to the appointment of Commissioners in Fayette and Somerset counties, but continued in force as to Washington county, stripped of the intervention of trustees. In 1862 John Long was appointed Commissioner for Washington county by the court. In 1864 G. W. Botkins was appointed; in 1866 John Long was restored, and continued until 1871, when T. W. Beatty was appointed. In 1872 Joseph Doak was appointed, and was succeeded in 1876 by George W. Smith. In 1877 the appointing power, as to Washington county, was restored to the Governor, and Samuel Kelley was appointed. In 1881 Peter Hickman was appointed, in 1887 James W. Hendrix, in 1890 Marshall Cox, in 1891 John McDowell, present incumbent. In 1862 the Governor of the State appointed Redding Bunting Commissioner for the counties of Fayette and Somerset. Bunting was the famous old stage driver and stage agent, mentioned in previous chapters. He served as Commissioner until 1864, when the Governor appointed Sebastian Rush, the old tavern keeper before referred to. Rush served until 1870, when Solomon Crumrine was appointed, and served until 1872, when Rush was restored. In 1875 Charles H. Rush, a son of Sebastian, was appointed, and served until 1881, when William Endsley was appointed. In 1883 George W. Daniels was appointed. In 1887 David Johnson was appointed, and in 1891 Ewing Searight was appointed.

As before stated the road east of Cumberland was owned by associations or companies. Allen Darsie was one of the leading stockholders and general superintendent as early as 1835. He lived at Poplar Springs, twenty-six miles west of Baltimore, was the proprietor of a large and fertile tract of land, and a slave owner. Allen Darsie, jr., succeeded his father in the superintendency of the road, and remained in charge down to the date of the civil war. Thomas Bevins of Hancock succeeded the younger Darsie, and Denton Oliver succeeded Bevins. West of Cumberland, in the State of Maryland, the superintendents were: Thomas Thistle, the old tavern keeper near Grantsville; Jonathan Huddleson, another old tavern keeper, Nathan Dudley, John Swan, Benjamin B. Edwards, George Cady, Henry Atkinson, Robert Welsh, Edward Doneho and William Hall. William Otterson was an old Commissioner in charge of the road through Virginia, and among his successors appear the familiar names of Moses Thornburg, Lewis Lunsford and Abram Bedillion.

In the year 1888 the court of quarter sessions of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, condemned that portion of the road lying within the borders of said county, decreed it exempt from tolls, confiscated all its belongings, and turned it over to the tender care of the township supervisors, under authority supposed to be conferred by an act of assembly, approved June 2d, 1887.