Abraham
Tope was the first
son of
John Tope and Mary Helmick [note 1]. He married
Elizabeth
Roop
on 30
April
1811 in Jefferson Co., Ohio [note 2]. Elizabeth was born 11
September 1795, and died 14 April 1878 [note 3]. After Abraham's death,
Elizabeth married John Farver on 3 November 1816 [note 4].
Elizabeth and John Farver are buried in New Bedford
Cemetery,
Holmes Co., Ohio [note 5].
In the War of 1812, Abraham was called into
service on 21
September 1812 [note 6]. The brigade in which he served was not used in
combat, but "constructed a military road from Canton, Ohio, through
Wooster and Mansfield, to Fort Feree in what is now Upper
Sandusky, Ohio [note 7]." Therefore, it is unlikely that he died in
combat.
There is no record of his birth, or death, but he may have
died after
21 March 1813 on which
day he was marked
present, but did not collect his military pay. And during the April
1816 term of the Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas, Jacob Roop and
Abraham's widow, Elizabeth Tope, petitioned the court to divide the
property of Abraham Tope [note 8]. Therefore, he died before
April 1816.
Abraham and Elizabeth had one
child,
Levi
Tope, and possibly a
daughter, Susanna Tope Houzer (or Houser), named in John Tope's will as
grandchildren [note 9].
Notes: unless otherwise
identified, all
notes are from the Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly Vol. 49, No. 3
as cited by Eric E. Johnson, President of the Ohio Chapter, Society of
the War of 1812:
- History
of
the Tope Family,
1896, by
Melancthon Tope, revised 1980 by
Austin Dale
Maddux, p. 22. In this history his name is listed as Abram.
- Marriage Records, Jefferson
County Ohio, Probate Court,
1797-1813, OGS Quarterly, p. 158.
- Birth date is calculated
from her age at death; 82yrs, 7mos, 3das.
- Hunter, Miriam C., Vol. 1,
(Coshocton, OH: Coshocton Public
Library, 1967), p. 158.
- The Mystery of Abraham Tope,
p. 158.
- Excerpt from service record
for Abraham Tope, Private, Capt. David Peck's Company of infantry in
the Reg't of Ohio Militia commanded by Lt. Col. John Andrews, War of
1812 shown as present on March 21, 1813 (copy furnished to Donald Kear
by Eric Johnson).
- Mystery,
p. 156.
- Ibid.
- John
Tope's will
Updated: 22 October 2009
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