Elizabeth Wilson and Frederick William Hopkin

Elizabeth Wilson Hopkin was born on Oct. 22, 1889, in Ogden, Utah, a daughter of Isaac Wilson and Elizabeth Baird. In 1897 her father and his brother bought a ranch in Star Valley, Wyoming, and the family moved there. After three years they were called by the Church to join the colony that was going to the Big Horn Basin. They were supposed to meet the other members of the colony before they crossed South Pass, but her father broke his ankle and had to return to Ogden for medical treatment so they were late getting started.

Elizabeth Wilson

They left in April after the spring storms were over. Elizabeth and her brother, Bob, had to herd cattle on the trail. She loved to recall exciting incidents of the trip. When they crossed the Snake River and the lead team of mules refused to pull the wagon through the river, her father had to climb out onto the wagon tongue and unhitch the balky team so the other horses could go on.

            They crossed South Pass and the Owl Mountains. It took a whole day to cross this range. When they finally reached the Byron area she was considerably relieved as the entire trip had taken six weeks.

            The first several months they lived in tents until her father built them a two room cabin of logs. They were very thankful for this simple home and the family was very happy.

            When Elizabeth was fourteen years old, her mother died. It was very hard for the family to stay together while her father had to be away working on the canals and railroads. She and her brother stayed for a time with their married sister, Maude. The next year she stayed with the Johnson family in Byron. By then she was old enough to begin working out at domestic service in the homes. She also cooked for reclamation crews that were building the Corbett Dam where her father and brother worked.

            While she was employed at Mary Hopkin’s Garland Hotel, she met her future husband, Fred. They were married June 18, 1913, in Penrose. They settled in that community where they were engaged in farming and ranching. It was here that their family of six children, Mary, Fay, Fred, Zona, Burchell and Harold, were born and raised.

            Elizabeth was a hard worker. Because of her having to learn the culinary arts as a young girl, she gained a reputation of a good cook. Her pies, cakes, puddings, and homemade bread were her specialty. She almost always had one or more hired men to cook for, as well as her own family. She also kept a big garden and chickens and turkeys.

            On March 6, 1942, Fred bought a ranch in the Bull Mountains, near Roundup, Montana. For the first time since their marriage, they moved from Penrose. During the time they lived at this ranch, their son, Fred, and son-in-law Sam Roper, farmed the Penrose property.

Because of Fred’s failing health, he sold the ranch and returns to Penrose shortly before his death in 1947.

            When Elizabeth found herself a widow, she and the family members decided it would be better for her to move to town. She bought a house in Powell at 545 Ave. B. This home was a haven for her grandchildren who would come to visit and she loved all of them. It was a sad time for them and her children when she passed away on December 7, 1965, at the age of 77. Grandma Hopkin was remembered and loved by all who knew her.

            Elizabeth lived long enough to see all of her 28 grandchildren born, and actually lived long enough to see all of her grandchildren reach the age of two; her youngest grandchild (Christie Roper) was only 17 days away from having Elizabeth live long enough to see all the grandchildren reach the age of three. 

Fred and Elizabeth's three sons (from left: Burchell, Whitey and Fred)

Family photo from 1946. Back row: Zona, Harold "Whitey", Fred, Fay. Front row: Mary, Elizabeth, Fred, Burchell

Elizabeth with grandchildren (circa 1954). Back row: Dennis Smith, Diane Roper, Harold Smith, Donna Roper, Nancy Hopkin. Middle row: Thayne Hopkin, Elizabeth Wilson holding Debbie Hopkin and Julie Hopkin, Libby Roper, Janet Hopkin, Kurt Hopkin, Dorthy Roper. Front row: Kathy Hopkin, Lynn Hopkin, Zona Gayle Roper, Heather Hopkin, Byrne Hopkin

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Frederick William Hopkin

                                                                                          On September 22, 1885, Fred William Hopkin was born in Croydon, Utah, to John and Mary Ellen Pennington Hopkin. He was the eighth of eleven children. At the age of 17, his father and some of his families (he was a polygamist) moved to the developing Shoshone Valley. Young Fred assisted his mother in the operation of the Central Hotel in Garland. In 1909 they moved to Penrose where his mother, Mary, ran a weigh stations for travelers who hauled freight across the Shoshone River. Fred was a helpful son in whatever his mother required of him. On June 18, 1913, he married Elizabeth Wilson, whom he had met earlier when she worked for his mother at her hotel. They settled in Penrose, where Fred began farming and ranching. A Friend, Violet Magnus, describes Fred as such: “Fred was a ranchman, farmer, and stockman. He liked his work and he did it well. He had a natural gift for making money. He never turned down a contribution to help his neighbor when death, fire or disaster came. He was the kind of businessman who took pleasure in financing two sons on missions to England.”

            Fred loved his family and his wife. He used to play the piano at the community dances they help in

Penrose and was among the first to go get his wife for a little dance. Fred spent most of his life in Penrose community where he gave of his time and labor to the development of the Elk Canal and the Penrose Drainage District. He had a reputation of being a successful farmer and rancher and truly made the “desert blossom as a rose”. He owned ranch properties at Monument Hill at one time, and at the Bull Mountains in Montana until shortly before his death. He figured actively in the church’s development in Penrose and other valley points serving in the Sunday School Presidency and as a Ward Teacher saying “he guessed he’d do the best he could”. On March 20, 1947, he passed away unexpectedly in Billings, Montana, where he had gone for a routine check-up, of a heart attack at the age of 61. At his funeral, many friends and neighbors and community members gathered to pay tribute to his memory. Dr. Tom Croft and Grant Taggart, prominent men of the church and community, were the speakers. Relatives from Utah and various parts of Wyoming were present. His family saw him for what he was: a good father, a loving husband, and a kind friend.

Elizabeth Wilson and Frederick William Hopkin