TOPE FAMILY PAGE

    John Henderson Tope, son of George Washington Tope and Elizabeth Donaldson, was born November 16, 1846, Carroll Co., Ohio, and died January 13, 1929.  He married Mary Frances Huron, daughter of William Hurin and Emily Senteny [note 1]. She died 29 Jan 1884 in Carroll Co., Ohio.  
    John and Mary had five children:

1. William Henderson Tope, son of John Henderson Tope and Mary Huron, was born 21 February 1871 in Harrison Twp., Gallia Co., Ohio [note 2], and died 1 May 1948. He married Hattie Belle Spangler [note 3] on 1 September 1897.  She was born 3 March 1875 in West Virginia [note 4], and died 11 July 1966 in Carroll Co., Ohio [note 5]. William was a minister in the United Methodist Church.   
William and Hattie had two children:
1. Merrill Spangler Tope was born 30 July 1901 in Bloomfield, Ohio, and died 21 June 2003 in Rosewood Care Center, Elgin, Kane Co., Illinois [note 6].  He married Esther Miller on 25 July 1932.  She was born 21 June 1905 [note 7], and died 20 August 2001 [note 8]. Merrill was a minister in the United Methodist Church and served in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church for 38 years before he retired in 1967. He was Pastor of the Riverside United Methodist Church for 19 years, and before his death was a member of the Grace United Methodist Church, Elgin. [note 9].  His last known residence was Los Alamos, Los Alamos Co., New Mexico [note 10.
2. Mary Ruth Tope was born 10 February 1904, Ohio [note 11].  Mary was a teacher.  
2. Wilson George Tope, born 5 March 1873, Harrison Twp., Gallia Co., Ohio.
3. Enos Tope, born 21 July 1876, Harrison Twp., Gallia Co., Ohio. 
4. Emma Tope, born 1878, Harrison Twp., Gallia Co., Ohio, was known as "Aunt Emmy."  One source gives her name as Emily Elizabeth, born 27 September 1884; died July 1977, Portsmouth, Scioto Co., Ohio.
5. Harry W. Tope, born 22 Feb 1879, Harrison Twp., Gallia Co., Ohio, married Ollie Champer and had three children.

---

Notes:

1. Except for the following noted sources, the above text was based on History of The Tope Family, Melancthon Tope, 1896, revised by A.D. Maddux, 1980.  Used with permission.  An unidentified online source gives the original Huron name as Mahurin, Irish or Scottish descent. It was changed to Hurin and Huron on entry into the USA.  There is no proof online of these two names.  The source also gives John's ancestral Tope name as Duff, and has not responded to requests to share data. [Return to text]
2. Ancestry.com, One World Tree (sm), Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., n.d., Online publication - Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc.  Original data provided by Bruce Wayne. [Return to text]
3. Obituary, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). [Return to text]
4. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007. [Return to text]
5. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, ibid. [Return to text]
6. Ohio Deaths 1958-69, ancestry.com, Certificate Number: 49762, Volume Number: 18515. [Return to text]
7. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, ibid. [Return to text]
8. Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index, ibid. [Return to text]
9. Obituary. [Return to text]
10. Ancestry.com, Social Security Index, ibid. [Return to text]
11. Census, 1920, United States Federal Census, , Enumeration Districts 819-839 on roll 323, Birthplace: Ohio. [Return to text]

Updated  23 February 2009
Today's date: