Stephen Tyng Hopkins (March 25, 1849 – March 3, 1892) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life and career

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Hopkins attended the Anthon Grammar School and became an

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

merchant and broker. He later moved to Catskill, and was connected with several

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

and iron syndicates in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Hopkins served in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard a ...

, and was

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of New York's 86th Infantry Regiment. In 1871, Hopkins married Mary Warner Munn, (died January 28, 1887). Their children included Louis Davis Hopkins (born January 24, 1874), a

businessman. A Republican, he was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

( Greene County) in

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

and

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

. As an Assemblyman he was identified with the

Stalwart Stalwart may refer to: Ships * , several Royal Australian Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * ''Stalwart''-class ocean surveillance ship, a US Navy class ** , lead ship of the class * RSS ''Stalwart'', a Singapore Navy frigate Places * Sta ...

Republicans, and was accused of using some of his children's inheritance to buy legislators' votes for

Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as List of ambassadors of the United States to France, United States ambassador to France, as a United States H ...

during the 1887 election to succeed

Warner Miller Warner Miller (August 12, 1838March 21, 1918) was an American businessman and politician from Herkimer, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a U.S. Representative (1879-1881) and United States Senator (1881-1887). A na ...

. Hopkins was elected to the Fiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1889). During his congressional term, there were reports that he was behaving erratically, and observers presumed that he was mentally ill or drinking excessively in response to the death of his wife. After leaving Congress, he was a Watchman in the

New York Custom House The United States Custom House, sometimes referred to as the New York Custom House, was the place where the United States Customs Service collected federal customs duties on imported goods within New York City. Locations The Custom House ...

from April to August 1890.

Death and burial

He was found dead by a train crew alongside the railroad tracks near Pleasantville, adjacent to

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

on March 3, 1892. He had apparently traveled to Atlantic City following medical treatment for alcoholism at a facility in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. The circumstances of his death were unclear, although observers indicated that based on the condition of his body when it was found, he did not appear to have fallen or been thrown from a train. Because he had not been robbed and there were no signs that he had been murdered, Hopkins was presumed to have committed suicide by poison or drug overdose because of business reverses and alcoholism.Philadelphia Times
The Body of a Man Discovered Near Pleasantville, N.J. A Probable Suicide
March 4, 1892 He was interred in

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

References

External links

*
Stephen T. Hopkins
a
''The Political Graveyard''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Stephen Tyng 1849 births 1892 deaths Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives