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John Henry Hopkins Papers

 Collection
Identifier: mss-112

Scope and Content Note

The John H. Hopkins Family Papers consist largely of miscellaneous manuscripts of Bishop Hopkins and his great-granddaughter, Edith Hopkins. The Bishop's papers include notes for sermons, texts of theological writings, and posthumous material on his funeral and the monument erected in his memory at Rock Point. Edith Hopkins' manuscripts are primarily school papers from Burlington High School in 1915-1916 and Russell Sage College in 1924. The collection also contains a variety of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Hopkins family photographs and four John H. Hopkins, Jr. volumes of German translation work.

For other manuscript material relating to Bishop Hopkins and his family, see the Thomas H. Canfield Papers and the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Papers at UVM. The Vermont Historical Society also has some Hopkins papers among its manuscript holdings.

Dates

  • 1825-1925

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Access:

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Manuscripts.

Biographical Note

Artist, lawyer, ironmonger, muscian, architect, theologian and first Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, John Henry Hopkins was born in Dublin, Ireland on January 22, 1792. Raised in Philadelphia, Hopkins tried a variety of professions before accepting the position of rector at Trinity Church in Pittsburgh. Elected Bishop by Vermont's first diocesan convention in 1832. Hopkins remained head of the Green Mountain episcopate until his death in 1868. In those thirty-six years he established the Vermont Episcopal Institute in Burlington and became one of the nation's most noted (and controversial) clergypersons, with more than fifty books and pamphlets published between 1833 and 1868.

His son, John Henry Hopkins, Jr. was born in Pittsburgh in 1820 and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1839. Ordained to the Episcopal Church at the age of 30, he founded and edited the "Church Journal" and served as a priest in Plattsburgh, New York and Williamsport, Pennslyvania. His publications included a lengthy biography of his father, volumes of poetry and theology, and numerous hymns and carols--most notably, the "Song of the Magi," better-known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are." John Henry Hopkins, Jr. died in Hudson, New York in 1891.

Extent

1.0 Linear feet (One Carton)

Abstract

Artist, lawyer, ironmonger, muscian, architect, theologian and first Episcopal Bishop of Vermont, John Henry Hopkins was born in Dublin, Ireland on January 22, 1792. The John H. Hopkins Family Papers consist largely of miscellaneous manuscripts of Bishop Hopkins and his great-granddaughter, Edith Hopkins.

Physical Location

Library Research Annex; contact uvmsc@uvm.edu for access.

Acquisition Information

Mrs. Bradley

General note

Mrs. Bradley's gift also included a full set of the flower lithographs that the Hopkins family printed in the 1840s. These lithographs are filed under Hopkins in the Views and Prints drawers of the Special Collections map cases.

Title
Guide to the John H. Hopkins Papers, 1825-1925
Status
Completed
Date
1998
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Silver Special Collections Library
48 University Place, Room B201
Burlington Vermont 05405 U.S.A. US
(802) 656-2138
(802) 656-4038 (Fax)