Catherine Cooper Hopley (5 October 1817 – 1911), also known by the pen-name Sarah L. Jones, was a British author,

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

, artist, and naturalist known for her books on the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and her nature books for general audiences, including the first popular book on snakes in the English language.

Early life and family

Hopley was born in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay. The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...

, Kent, the only daughter among four children to parents Edward Hopley (1780–1841), a surgeon, and Catherine Cooper Prat (1792–1878). Her oldest brother Edward Hopley (1816–1869) became a noted painter and entomologist, while her second brother, John Hopley (1821–1904) emigrated to America and became a noted publisher and political figure in Ohio. Her youngest brother Thomas Hopley (1819–1876) was a schoolteacher convicted in the beating death of a student in the Eastbourne manslaughter trial. Little of Hopley's early family life is known.

Travels in the United States

Hopley came to the United States in the mid-1850s to visit her relatives in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. She was active in the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

area from 1855 to 1859, displaying crayon drawings and watercolours in the Ohio State Fair and giving instruction in drawing, painting, music and French. In 1860 she traveled to Virginia, where she was present at the outbreak of the

. During her travels, she met several Confederate leaders, including

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

Stephen Mallory Stephen Russell Mallory (1812 – November 9, 1873) was an American politician who was a United States Senator from Florida from 1851 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. For much of that perio ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

and

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

. She corresponded with the London press, and her habits of frequent sketching made some Virginians suspect her of being a spy for the North. Unable to cross the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederate States of America, Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required ...

to return north, she traveled further south, and was a tutor to the children of Florida governor

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

. She left Florida in 1863, and soon returned to England. She returned briefly to the United States in 1883, as a guest of

Lucretia Garfield Lucretia Garfield ( Rudolph; April 19, 1832 – March 14, 1918) was the first lady of the United States from March to September 1881, as the wife of James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States. Born in Garrettsville, Ohio, Gar ...

, the widow of President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot two months earlier. A preacher, lawyer, and Civi ...

. In England, she began publishing works on her travels in the US. In her two volume ''Life in the South'' (1863), she describes her observations of the social culture in Virginia between 1860 and 1862 writing anonymously as "A Blockaded British Subject", "Miss Jones, and under the initials "S.L.J.". The tone of her works "remained neutral in sentiment"; though she opposed slavery, Hopley wrote that slavery in the US was not as bad as it had been portrayed. Hopley also noted instances of Northern opposition to emancipation. Her biography of Stonewall Jackson was published in August 1863, one of the first biographies published after Jackson's death at the

battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

. It was generally not well received. Hopley's third book, ''Rambles and Adventures in the Wilds of the West'' (1872), contained information on American birds, plants, and insects.

Natural history

Back in England, Hopley became increasingly interested in reptiles and amphibians. She worked in the Gardens of the London Zoological Society (the precursor to today's

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

), and published short notes on snakes, fish, and insects in journals. Her 1882 book ''Snakes: Curiosities and Wonders of Serpent Life'' was the first popular book on snakes in English. The '' British Quarterly Review'' described ''Snakes'' as "the most thorough, the most complete, and the most popularly readable that has been published in English on the subject." ''Snakes'' includes detailed observation of feeding behaviour in snakes, including the mechanism by which ''

Xenodon ''Xenodon'' is a genus of New World snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. Geographic range Species of the genus ''Xenodon'' are found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Diet Snakes in the genus ''Xenodon'' pre ...

'' snakes erect their teeth in a viper-like fashion, an observation that predates those by E. G. Boulenger (generally credited with the description) by over 30 years. Hopley never married, and she died in England in 1911, aged 93. The date of her death has been stated as 9 April, while some contemporary obituaries have a byline of 1 May. Contemporary obituaries state she was suspected of being a British spy while in America and imprisoned for several months.

Books

''Life in the South: From the Commencement of the War''
(1863)
''"Stonewall" Jackson, Late General of the Confederate States Army''
(1863)
''Rambles and Adventures in the Wilds of the West''
(1872)
''Aunt Jenny's American Pets''
(1872)
''Stories of Red Men from Early American History''
(1880)
''Snakes: Curiosities and Wonders of Serpent Life''
(1882)
''British Reptiles and Batrachians''
(1888)

Notes

References

External links

Catherine Cooper Hopley, Renaissance Woman
at Ohio Memory
Finding aid to Hopley Family Papers
at the

Ohio History Connection Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopley, Catherine Cooper 1817 births 1911 deaths English naturalists 19th-century English non-fiction writers English women non-fiction writers English watercolourists British herpetologists Women herpetologists English science writers English governesses People from Whitstable Catherine Cooper 19th-century British women writers 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English women artists