Mystery Papers Curator Thomas Temple Hoopes Ph.D 1898-1981
Thomas Temple Hoopes Ph.D 1898-1981
When I was 9 years old, living at 5 Walnut St, I found a folder in the pantry. It was high on a shelf. I opened it and discovered something interesting. There was a picture inside. For years, I wondered who the person in the picture was and why the folder was in my childhood home.
One day, I googled him. I found many search results, but no one seemed to have as much personal information about him as I did in this folder. I learned he was the Curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From 1936 to 1964, he was also the curator of the St. Louis City Art Museum. He has published many works and has an award for students from various colleges, including Harvard and the University of Texas.
He is an expert in arms and armor and served as an officer in the Navy. His childhood family lived in Newbury/Byfield. Do you have any information about him? I have more information about this individual than I ever thought I would have.
Some items include custom printed Christmas cards, newspapers featuring his photo, classified Navy documents, personal letters, maps, member information from the Union Club Member of Boston, genealogy information, and so on.
I plan on listing the items in the folder and using them to develop a bio. Let me know if you have any. I still don’t have the reason for these papers showing up where I lived.
In this photo, he is on the left side of the picture.
About Shawn Gearin - ModeratorShawn is a former NBPTMA resident from 1967-1996. He lived at 5 Walnut St in a gray Greek revival home. He was a Whittier Tech 1986 graduate and a Northern Essex Community college graduate where he wrote and photographed for both school's newspapers. Finishing his education at Hesser College and North Shore Community College, he received a BA in Business Management and a FAA Private Pilot Certification. An aviation, photography enthusiast and telecommunications project manager, he enjoys writing history, personal memoirs, and asking lots of questions on his hosted websites. Now a resident of North Carolina, he lives with his family in a 1930 farmhouse on a gentleman's farm surrounded by cattle from other nearby farms. YEAT!
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11 Responses to Mystery Papers Curator Thomas Temple Hoopes Ph.D 1898-1981
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Duncan Chase Old Hill Burying Ground 
Father Gerard Darcia French Church. Federal St.
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Built: 1878 Manufacture: Button Cylinders: 10 Reg #: 650 Fire Department: Newburyport, Ma Class: A Neptune 8 – is owned by the Neptune Veteran Firemen’s Association of Newburyport Ma. ————————————————————————————————————- Ould Newbury Protection #1 -This pump’s hometown is Newbury, Ma. Built: 1865 Manufacture: J Cylinders: 10 Reg #: ?? Fire Department: Newbury, Ma Class: A […]
Would you please contact me – I have questions on Thomas Temple Hoopes.
Thanks!
I have a photo of Thomas when he was in the Wright Bro flight school in 1919. Its an 8×10 of him on a biplane sitting at the pilots seat. Apparently Thomas along with 7 others were chosen to attend the Wright flight school as part of a Harvard program called Harvard flying corps. There are a few links out there that point to this. Also the photo is signed by Thomas and has best regards to a Mr. Dale. E Bieve.
[img]https://nbptma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/57-1.JPG[/img]
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Thanks, nice picture. How did you get your hands on this original photo? All my Hoopes papers were found tucked up on the top shelf in our pantry when I was growing up in Newburyport at 5 Walnut St.
I purchased it on ebay. Early photos of aviation history are very rare. This photo dates back to aviation earliest years. Especially rare is this is a part of the wright Bros. aviation school. Thomas was one of the early graduates/pilots.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Dx9EAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA379&lpg=PA379&dq=Thomas+hoopes+++wright+flying+school&source=bl&ots=Rk6AGx6uWm&sig=WDPjkj5Oqf7zZisYG000eGr6EM0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SjvVVObPB8aZsQTc14KwBQ&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Thomas%20hoopes%20%20%20wright%20flying%20school&f=false
[img]https://nbptma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ScreenShot.jpg[/img]
Did you ever finish your bio of Thomas Hoopes? I would be keenly interested in reading it, especially the genealogical information. I’m a relative of his and have very little information about him and zero info on his wife, Catherine, other than the fact that she existed and was his 2nd wife.
Hello,
Thomas Temple Hoopes (1898-1981) is my first cousin, twice removed. He was born in Boston, to Wilford Lawrence Hoopes and Lillie Edith Merrill. Wilford was for many years rector of Calvary Church, Providence, RI.
I stumbled upon this page and found your discovery fascinating.I’d love to learn more details.
I bought an old blunderbuss at an antique store many years ago in Alton, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, where he was curator at the St. Louis Art Museum. I was told it was sold as part of an estate. The name stamped on it is Hoopes. I thought it might have been part of his personal collection since he was a firearms expert.
I wish I knew if it was his
I recently purchased what I believe to be a 1930s era dentists case. It was filthy but the price was right. Once I removed the protective layer of crust it exposed the doctor's name stamp as well as this Antwerp to New York shipping label with his address.
Hello Robert what a great find, especially since he is a topic of discussion on this site. Was the full address legible? This seem like 1 in a million that you would come across this piece of local history. Was that a purchase in the Massachusetts area or NY? I'm still trying to find out how all his personal papers ended up in my childhood home at 5 Walnut St.
I purchased this at Sheffields Antiques in Collierville, TN.
I wasn't given any history on it but as for the label it's destination was 27 West 44th St. N.Y.C. Dated March 28th but unfortunately no year.