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EDWARD J. HOPP is one of the leading merchants of Pinckneyville, and he has only himself to thank for his success. He has given all of his time to the organization and development of his business, sacrificing any longings that he might have had towards entering the political field, and centering his whole attention upon satisfying his patrons and extending his business. He is of good old German stock, and has shown throughout his career the characteristics that have made the German immigrant the most welcome of the many people that pour through the gate of Ellis Island into our country. He never had to learn the lessons of thrift, industry and honesty, for they were inherent in his nature, and with these as a foundation he has become the best type of the modern, hustling American business man.
Edward J. Hopp was born in Perry county, Illinois on the 13th of January, 1870. His father was Thomas Hopp, a farmer, whose death occurred five years later. He was a native of one of the German states, and came to this country as a young man. He was the only member of his family to migrate to America, at least so far as his children know. He left no tangible record of his birthplace, and since his wife died seven years after his demise, the children grew up with practically no knowledge of their forebears. The mother of Edward Hopp was Apalona Muench, and two of the three children born to her reached maturity: Anna is the wife of Joseph Batka, of Perry county, Illinois, and Edward J.
After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hopp an uncle took charge of the children, and it was in the home of this uncle, Adam Muench, that young Edward grew up. He had the advantage of spending part of his youth in the country and part in the city, so he gained from his country life the healthful vigor that marks him both physically and mentally, and from his city life the self reliance that was particularly valuable to him, for he was largely dependent upon his own resources. He was educated in the parochial schools, and as a mere youth adopted the tinner's trade. He had learned this trade in his uncle's store in DuQuoin, and he followed this business with fair success until 1891, when he left DuQuoin and came to Pinckneyville. He did the work of a journeyman for a time, but his German breeding was beginning to show itself, and by his careful economy the pennies soon became dimes and the dimes dollars, and presently he had enough money to invest in a shop of his own. He
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conducted this shop from 1891 to 1900, and in 1902 he opened his present hardware store. His present prosperity might be taken as an example of the old proverb "Good wares make quick markets," for he has held to the new doctrine of commercialism, not how much can I sell but how can I make my stock more attractive and better worth buying.
Mr. Hopp is a man of deeds. Politics have never swept him into the whirlpool of those who seek for office. He has no patience with those who talk much and accomplish little, and is content to see the political plums fall into other mouths, not that he has not the greatest respect for those representatives of the people who are truly in earnest, but they do seem so few and far between.
Mr. Hopp was married on the 22nd of May, 1895, to Kate Mangin, a daughter of Michel Mangin, who was a German settler in Perry county. Her mother was a Miss Martin, and Mrs. Hopp was one of a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. Hopp are the parents of three children, Mary, Joseph and John.