My Grandfather William Jesse (Hoppy) Hopkins

William Jesse (Hoppy) Hopkins

When Lizzie, Jesse's mother died, his father George left Jesse with a Choctaw family for 5 years. Jesse was listed as stepson on the 1900 Indian Choctaw rolls. Jesse learned and spoke the Choctaw language fluently.

They lived at Enterprise, Oklahoma, near Stigler.  Mr. Hopkins [Hoppy] told us the story of how George had taken him back and was going to beat Mr. Hopkins [Hoppy]. As the story goes, Jesse was driving a team of horses pulling a wagon behind George’s wagon.  Jesse got off and George did not know, as he was too far ahead of Jesse. This was when he left home for good. He was 14 years old, and this is when he started caring for himself. George was a very mean old man. They each had a load of watermelons. They could not sell all of them, so they were taking them back home to feed to their hogs, but Jesse gave some melons to a man alongside the road, and it made George angry. George said he was going to beat him when they got home. Jesse wrapped the reins around the brake handle and got off the wagon. The horses followed George's wagon home. Jesse ran away and was gone for 3 years before he ever went back to see George.

Hoppy is holding Wayne Hopkins. W.J. "Jay" Hopkins standing behind chair.