Call Number:

Ms.Coll. 1503

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.2 linear_foot (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Hopkinson and Dale family collection, 1779-1870, Ms. Coll. 1503, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1779-1870 (inclusive)

Form:

Correspondence, Currency, and Financial records

Abstract:

The Hopkinson and Dale families are tied to the colonial and early American history of the Mid-Atlantic, to the medical field, and to the University of Pennsylvania for at least four generations. The families joined when Edward Hopkinson (1850-1935) and Abigail Dale (1859-1887) married, probably in the early 1880s. This collection provides small glimpses into the lives of four generations of the families. Each individual is represented by only a few documents; however, this scant group of documents addresses important issues in early American politics, including George Clinton and Aaron Burr as vice presidential candidates and the Burr conspiracy; life as a sailor in the United States Navy in the 1820s; the Siege of Paris in 1870; and the importance of family.

The Hopkinson and Dale families are tied to the colonial and early American history of the Mid-Atlantic, to the medical field, and to the University of Pennsylvania for at least four generations. The families joined when Edward Hopkinson (1850-1935) and Abigail Dale (1859-1887) married, probably in the early 1880s.

Edward Hopkinson was the son of Oliver Hopkinson (1812-1905) a Penn graduate, a lawyer, and civil engineer; who was the son of Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842), a Penn graduate, a lawyer, legislator, and judge; who was the son of Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), a member of Penn's first graduating class, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a politician.

Abigail Dale was the daughter of Richard Colgate Dale (1810-1876), a silk importer; who was the son of Richard Colgate Dale (1771-1818), a physician and captain during the War of 1812.

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) was "a signer of the Declaration of Independence; a jurist; an inventor; an artist; an essayist; a scholar; a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's first class (1757); an organist; a psalmodist; and a harpsichordist." (Library of Congress). He married Ann Borden and they were the parents of five children: Joseph (1770-1842), Elizabeth (1772-1840), Maria (1773-1868), Ann (1779-1823, and Francis (1779-1823). Hopkinson is credited with designing the American flag of 1777, designing currency, and having composed the earliest surviving American secular composition, "My Days have been so Wondrous Free."

His son Joseph, (1770-1842), was born in Philadelphia, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1786, and thereafter, worked as a lawyer. He was elected to Congress, serving from 1815 to 1819; was elected to the New Jersey Assembly, serving from circa 1820 to 1822; served as judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1828 to 1842; served as chairman of the Constitutional Convention in 1837; served as secretary of the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in 1790 and 1791; and served as trustee from 1806 to 1819 and from 1822 to 1842. He wrote the anthem ``Hail Columbia!'' in 1798. He married Emily Mifflin (1774-1850), daughter of Governor Thomas and Sarah Morris Mifflin, and they were the parents of nine children who lived to adulthood: Thomas (1794-1871), Francis (1796-1870), Elizabeth (1800-1891), John Pennington (1801-1836), Alexander Hamilton (1804-1827), James (1810-1875), Oliver (1812-1905), Edward (1814-1831), and Joseph (1816-1865).

Of these children, Alexander Hamilton (A.H) and Edward both died during their service in the Navy, and John Pennington, a doctor and demonstrator of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania died at age 35. Thomas and James appear to have been farmers (James enslaved people at the Cassina Point Plantation on Edisto Island in South Carolina); and both Oliver and Joseph served the Union in the Civil War. Oliver was an officer and Joseph was chief surgeon of the Mower Hospital in Chestnut Hill. Joseph died of yellow fever in 1865.

Oliver graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1832, studied law, worked as an engineer for a short period of time, and then worked as a lawyer in Philadelphia. He was a member of local militia companies which provided him with the experience to be elected Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Delaware Infantry in October 1861. He was wounded at Antietem and was discharged due to his wounds. After he recovered, he served as Colonel of the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry. He married Elisa Swain and they were the parents of eight children, including son, Edward (1850-1935). Oliver died at age 93.

Edward married Abigail Woodruff Dale. She was the daughter of Richard Colgate Jr. (1810-1876) and Elizabeth Woodruff Dale. Richard imported silk and was involved in stock for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His brother, John (1814-1891) was a civil engineer living in Delaware.

Their father, Richard Colgate Dale (1771-1818), was a physician who according to Delaware estate inventories enslaved between three and six people. It appears that he served in the military during the Quasi-War with France and during the War of 1812. During his military service, he served as a surgeon under the controversial General James Wilkinson. He married Margaret Fitzgerald (1783-1865) daughter of Thomas Fitzgerald (1749-1822) who may have been a cabinet maker.

Dale's sister, Ann (born 1774), married Isaac Gibbs.

Works consulted:

"Francis Hopkinson, 1737-1791," (https://loc.gov/item/ihas.200035713), accessed 2023 January 25.

"Francis Hopkinson, 1737-1791," (https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/francis-hopkinson/), accessed 2023 January 25.

"Hopkinson, Joseph, 1770-1842" https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000784

"The Judge's Lawyer," Pennsylvania Gazette, 2018 February 20 https://thepenngazette.com/the-judges-lawyer/

Cassina Point Plantation, SC Picture Project (https://www.scpictureproject.org/charleston-county/cassina-point-plantation-2.html)

This collection provides small glimpses into the lives of four generations of prominent Philadelphia, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey families. Each individual is represented by only a few documents; and therefore, researchers will need to consult additional collections in order to gain a fuller picture of any person documented in this collection. However, this scant group of documents addresses important issues in early American politics, including George Clinton and Aaron Burr as vice presidential candidates and the Burr conspiracy; the Siege of Paris in 1870; life as a sailor in the United States Navy in the 1820s, and the importance of family.

This collection is arranged chronologically and documents, to a small degree, the members of the family described in the biographical/historical note. Beyond the Hopkinson and Dale immediate families, there are documents related to influential early Americans including Robert Morris (1734-1836), Caesar Augustus Rodney (1772-1824), and General James Wilkinson (1757-1825).