Benjamin F. Hopkins

Benjamin Franklin Hopkins (April 22, 1829 – January 1, 1870) was an American politician and telegraph operator. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the last three years of his life. Earlier he had served one term each in the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly, and had worked as a private secretary to Wisconsin Governor Coles Bashford.

Benjamin F. Hopkins
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1867 – January 1, 1870
Preceded byIthamar Sloan
Succeeded byDavid Atwood
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 1862 – January 1, 1864
Preceded byJohn B. Sweat
Succeeded byThomas Hood
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Dane 5th district
In office
January 1, 1866 – January 1, 1867
Preceded byJames Ross
Succeeded byEleazer Wakeley
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Franklin Hopkins

(1829-04-22)April 22, 1829
Granville, New York
DiedJanuary 1, 1870(1870-01-01) (aged 40)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery
Madison, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
  • Ethalinda Lewis
  • (died 1855)
  • Mary E. Willcut
  • (died 1899)
Children
  • Arthur Frank Hopkins
  • (died 1854)
FatherErvin Hopkins

Biography

Born in Granville, New York,[1][2] Hopkins attended the common schools as a child and later became a telegraph operator.[2] He moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and then to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1849,[2] and served as a private secretary to Governor Coles Bashford in 1856 and 1857.[1] He was exonerated of involvement in the Bashford railroad scandal in 1860.[2] He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate in 1862 and 1863 and served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1866. Hopkins was elected a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1866 as part of the 40th United States Congress, representing Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district. He was reelected to the 41st Congress and served from 1867 until his death. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds from 1869 to 1870. He died in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 1, 1870, following an attack of paralysis.[1][2] He was interred in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison. His death created a vacancy in congress that was filled by David Atwood for the remainder of the 41st Congress.

References
  1. "The Death of Hon. B. F. Hopkins—What Is Said by the Press Elsewhere". Wisconsin State Journal. January 4, 1870. p. 1. Retrieved August 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "The Late B. F. Hopkins". Wisconsin State Journal. January 10, 1870. p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

See also
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ithamar Sloan		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district
March 4, 1867 – January 1, 1870		 Succeeded by
David Atwood


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