Hardin Goddard Hope (1846 - 1928)

Born 14 Feb 1846 in Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Tabitha Jane (Powers) Hope — married 14 Jul 1864 in Roane County Tenn

Husband of Sidney Jane (Bird) Hope — married 24 Oct 1897 in Rhea County Tenn

Descendants

Died 8 Dec 1928 at age 82 in Rhea, Tennessee, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Christina Anonymous [send private message]

Biography

Hardin was born in 1846. He was the son of Hale Hope and Nancy Goddard. He passed away in 1928. Putting the Hopes into perspective

Introduction: A History of Getty's Mill

Getty's Mill is the name of the old mill, Hardin Goddard Hope (1845-1928), worked at before he took up arms during the American Civil War. The short period he was there, he was noted as being a strong, yet quiet, young man - which sounds much like the character of his older brother Samuel Joseph Hope, whom Hardin lived beside for a number of years. It was reported by those who visited the mill that Hardin would be seen walking around helping his father who also worked there. On any given day, if you were to pass by, you would've probably seen Hardin carrying around some old burlap sacks of corn.

A question often asked is, how many of Hale's boys worked at the Mill? The answer is no more than 4, but more than likely 3.

Samuel Joseph Hope was noted as farmer, so more than likely he would've just been living close by (a surrounding county perhaps)with his own young family. According to his obituary, Samuel was a well-known and well-respected man of few words that prefered to be out on his own. He always kept to himself, but when others were in need of help, Samuel Hope was always right there. Many a people in Sweetwater, Tennessee from the late 1800's remembered him well.

Andrew Nelson Hope was always by his father. Andrew, like Hale, was a skilled Miller. It is said that Hale Hope helped build mills, so more than likely he played a part in helping build Getty's Mill in the 1840's-1850's, and then moved his family there afterward for work. Andrew had just started out on his own like Samuel did, but didn't move nearly as far away. He always lived next door to his parents until they died, so this time was no different. He was right there, more than likely employed at the Mill, learning the Miller craft under his father.

(Gabriel) David Lawson Hope was a victim to the Civil War. Facts of David are little to none, and to find word of him or what he was like is very crucial to his memory. In 1860, David was reported as living in Monroe County with the family. In 1861 he was married to Mary Emaline Hampton (Still in Monroe), 1862 his only son Samuel David Lawson Hope was born (Also still in Monroe), and by 1863 he was fighting a war. David was captured November 6, 1863 in Rogersville, Tennessee, and by March 10, 1864 he was gone. Now you may be asking yourself how do you figure David had a place at Getty's if he wasn't there by the time he had his son? Well you can thank our grandfather Hale for the information. Hale went in front of the MEIGS COUNTY COURT on August 7, 1865 to report David's death. While there, he also requested that he be the one to administer his son's estate. It seems to me that if David had last lived in Monroe County, then Hale would've had to go to the Monroe County Court to get permission to administer David's home. David moving to Meigs County in 1863 would also make perfect sense since that's the year the Hope's were noted there. It is more than likely that David Hope spent the last few months of his civilian life in Meigs County, working with his father and brothers at the Mill.

As for David's demeanor, not much, if anything, is known. It can only be inferred that he was a hard worker from the start. Out the brother duo (brother duo talking about David and Andrew), even though David was the younger of the two, he must've had a more "upbeat" attitude than that of his other brothers. David was the 1st of the 2 brothers to enlist in the 2nd Tennessee, and he was 1st overall out of all 3 Hope boys that fought in the Civil War to enlist.

The Possible Personalities Of The Men

Personality is merely a perspective of what each person points out about someone, or what sticks out about people to them, pretty much a whole opinion of what someone gives you based off of their actions and thoughts. Judging from records, this is what I can decipher about the oldest boys of Hale and Nancy Hope.

It appears the brothers had "tag-teamed" together. As stated earlier, Samuel Hope and Hardin Hope acted a lot alike and lived beside eachother for a time. Well Andrew and David were no different, not only were they brothers at home, they were brothers in arms as well.

After David enlisted in late 1862, he got his older brother to follow along (Andrew enlisted in early 1863) as they fought together in the 2nd Tennessee Infantry - Company A. It is believed they mustered in around June, but Andrew's military record did not give a clear date. Of course, now with their story being on Ancestry, everyone knows they eventually were split up for good at Rogersville.

Theories surrounding Andrew's Paul Revere-like ride are starting to arise since the story of it has been brought back to light. Many people have asked if he did it to try and save his little brother from the Rebels - Or did he do it to just try and help the Union men out in general? Either way we may never know since there was nothing more specified of it, we don't even really know for sure what Andrew did after the fact. It would certainly seem like David would've been a priority of his, especially since David was the younger, but without something like a diary or an account, it is possible we will never know what Andrew's intentions were in Rogersville.

I'm sure it hurt Andrew a lot to see his brother taken from their homestate in Tennessee. Without knowing the exact details of Andrew after the battle, we can only guees that he probably made beeline for home after being shot and scared half to death. The family probably wasn't expecting him either since he and David hadn't been gone too long. It is also possible, and highly likely, that he would've been the one to also tell the family of David's capture.

Andrew's last military-related date was either September 17th or 30th, 1864 (both have been reported) when he was said to have deserted. Knowing those dates, he probably returned to the service early 1864 at some point - This comes about 10 months after Rogersville, and about 6 months after David's death. The last possible battle Andrew would've seen was Knoxville, when the Union pulled it from the clutches of the Confederates.

His younger years were not full of the happiness and excitement that he probably wished, but Andrew's family has went on for the better. They are some of the top Hale Hope descendants out and about today, and Andrew's family is now probably the most militarily involved now. It is noted that even some of his grandkids have acheived the rank of things as high as Colonel while serving in the United States Army.

Going back and finishing up with Samuel and Hardin, it is quite possible that they would've been the more well-to-do of the 4 brothers (granted David didn't really have much of chance to succeed in life as his was cut short). As stated earlier, Samuel Joseph Hope was always to himself, however, while he and Hardin might've acted similar in some ways, Samuel was indeed his own person. Just from looking at records, he was never "on a side" so to speak. He did not fight in the Civil War, and he did not believe in anything, well rephrase that, he did not know what to believe in because he thought there was no real way to actually know if a God existed. Not to get him confused with an Atheist, Samuel did not believe that there wasn't a God, he just didn't know. The term for what Samuel was is Agnostic, meaning he didn't really know for sure, and he chose not to take part in the subject of religion. To be something other than a Christian in the South during the 1800's might seem a bit odd, especially including the fact his parents were methodist, Hardin (seemingly his favorite brother) was a methodist, and also his second wife Hannah was a Baptist, but it seems Samuel marched to the beat of his own drum despite what might've been the majority. Again the source to what we can infer about Samuel is all in his obituary, when it said things like "He was a man of no religious convictions..."

Hardin was not a very wealthy person up until his second marriage to a Ms. Sidney Jane Bird, a lady in her 40's, who had never been previously married before. Just like the theories surrounding Andrew's ride, there are theories surrounding Hardin's 2nd marriage. Many people think Hardin married Sidney because she was a fairly wealthy woman thanks to her family. The farm that Hardin left his son, Henry Russell "Batch" Hope, was supposedly that of what Sidney's family previously owned. It was a fairly large farm with a lot of good, flat land, and even better water from White's Creek - which caught the corner of part of the property.

Hardin, unlike Andrew during the war, was highly aggressive while fighting for the Union. He was forced to sign with the Union after being with South and losing Knoxville to the North. He tried everyway in the world to get out of the Union Army. One time he was so fed up with the Union, that he just said he wasn't going to go back....well that didn't go over good with the Union Army in Tennessee. Later on, men from the 7th Tennessee Mounted Infantry came and pretty much busted down his door, searched his home, and arrested him infront of his wife and baby daughter. After that they took him to Nashville, where he stayed until his commander came for him.

It appears he didn't dislike the Union in general, but also certain people. What he did to him is unknown at the time, but Henry Green, another soldier in the unit, made Hardin mad and he lashed out on him. Hardin got so mad that they ended up having to tie him down. Later on as punishment, Hardin and Henry were forced to dig up a tree stump outside the stockhouse that the detatched Company K was camped near.

After the war, Hardin tried to draw money for medical reasons. He said his since life-long illness was a result of his military service, which may have been more believable had Hardin not tried to runaway so much. The case was closed after report of his death in 1928.

Hardin's children quite possibly never saw their father healthy in their lifetimes. No matter when or where it was caught, it was evident that sometime during the 1860's Hardin got sick never to be better. During his medical pension application case he stated his sons worked his farm, these same sons, Henry and Sam, said that there were days when all their father would do was lay in bed because he would be in so much pain.

Times were definitely hard on him. Hardin resulted to drinking and making homemade wine. This wine was made out of grapes, berries, or literally almost anything he could get his hands on. It is said that the wine was extremely intoxicating and that he was arrested for it as well. He was, but also wasn't, very good at trading things depending on what they were. An example of that would be when Hardin tried to swap horses with Robert Marney, or when he tried to bum drinks off of him. Hardin traded things like the beforesaid horses, one time he traded some gourds for a coffee grinder, and also some knives.

Samuel, Andrew, David, and Hardin are the 4 oldest boys in the family of Hale Hardin and Nancy Matilda Goddard HOPE.

BIOGRAPHY Posted 23 Dec 2017 by Anthony Smith HALE HARDIN HOPE

1813 - 1886

HALE HOPE was born 17 Aug 1813 in either Roane or Blount County, Tennessee the eldest of five children of Samuel and Agnes (Duncan) Hope.[1]

The first instance of his appearance in the record is at his marriage on 11 April 1837 in Knox County, Tenn. J. D. Bennett, J.P. officiated. His wife, Nancy Goddard, 17, was the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jordan) Goddard of Knox County. [2]

In 1840, he lived in Roane County, his appearance in the census of that year being the only record of his presence in that county. His family consisted of himself, his wife and one son.

Hale is next located in Blount County on 14 Feb 1845 at the time his son Hardin was born. The date and place being attested to by Hardin Hope in his pension claim file. On 20 July 1846 H. Hardin Hope and wife Nancy, both of Blount County, heirs of Joseph Goddard, sold land in Knox County to William Goddard.[3] Tax lists attest to his continued residence in Blount County to 1856.[4]

The census of 1860 places H. H. Hope and his growing family in Monroe County. Eight children were living with them Samuel 11, Andrew 9, Gabrielle 7, Elizabeth 5, Nancy 4, Hardin 2 and William 1. In the spring of 1861, Hale moved to Meigs County where he was employed as a miller by James R. Gettys at his mill at Sewee. He was complimented as an extraordinary miller.[5] In 1862, Confederate troops compelled Hale Hope to leave Getty’s Mill and move to Johnson’s Mill on Half Moon Island in Roane County.[6]

Perhaps at his earliest opportunity Hale Hope returned to Meigs County where on 5 June 1865 he is tasked by the county court to lay off provisions for the wife of Caleb Moore, decd.[7] On 7 Aug 1865 he again appeared before the county court to report the death of his son David and requested to administer his estate which was granted.[8]

Around 1867 he briefly lived again in Roane County and by 1870 had removed to McMinn County where he would live out his days.

Nancy Goddard Hope died 3 Sept 1883 at the age of 63. She had borne her husband ten sons and six daughters. She was buried in Spring Creek Campground Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, now known as Spring Creek Methodist Church Cemetery.[9]

Hale Hope died 4 March 1886 in McMinn County at the age of 72, probably of pneumonia.[10] He was buried alongside his wife in Spring Creek Campground Methodist Episcopal Cemetery.

Although Hale Hope died intestate, an extensive estate inventory was prepared by his son, Andrew N. Hope, the final accounting being submitted to the McMinn County court on 11 April 1888. The estate inventory included one Bible which was valued at a mere 55 cents.[11]

[1] His birth date is taken from his grave marker. His birthplace could have been Roane County where his parents married the year before or Blount County where they were known to be living in 1829. The time in-between cannot be accounted for.

[2] Knox County Marriage Records. Hardin Hope and J. D. Bennett were the sureties.

[3] Knox Co. Deeds, Book L-2, p. 115-116.

[4] There are no surviving Blount County tax lists for the period 1857 to 1860.

[5] Deposition of William M. Ray for Hardin G. Hope, 6 March 1886. Hardin Hope Military Pension File no. 305,603.

[6] Deposition of Robert Marney on behalf of Hardin G. Hope, 6 March 1886. Hardin Hope Military Pension File no. 305,603.

[7] Meigs Co. Court Minutes, Book 5, p. 546.

[8] Ibid, p. 562.

[9] Date of death from her grave marker.

[10] Deposition of William M. Ray on behalf of Hardin G. Hope, 6 March 1886, op.cit., wherein he states Hale Hope “was bad off with pneumonia fever lately.” When the W.P.A surveyed this cemetery n the 1930s, Hale Hope’s gravestone was inscribed with the name H. H. Hope and the dates of his birth and death. At some time before 1985, the top portion of his stone broke off and disappeared. The bottom portion retained the date of his death. When I visited the gravesite on 25 Sept 1999, the date of his death was no longer legible. As the grave marker of his wife stood next to his, there was no doubt that the broken marker was that of Hale Hope.

[11] McMinn Co. Administrator’s and Executor’s Settlements, Book 1, 1876-1885, p. 385.

The Hale Hope Facebook Group Hope Family - 1841

Putting The Hopes Into Perspective 1863

Meigs County, Tennessee, USA

Possible personalities of the 4 oldest boys of Hale Hardin Hope and Nancy Matilda Goddard based on the known records of them. Also an introduction and short history of Getty's Mill.

Sources

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKN-KJZC : 13 December 2015), Hardin Goddard Hope, 1928; Burial, Spring City, Rhea, Tennessee, United States of America, Spring City Cemetery; citing record ID 44315969, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• Paternal relationship is confirmed by an AncestryDNA test match with (Hope-4485). 3x great grandfather. Confidence: Extremely High.