Saturday, March 20, 1999
Marshal's honor lacks descendants
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDEPENDENCE — It has been more than 96 years since Town Marshal Nicholas Hopperton escorted a saloon brawler to the edge of town and made the mistake of handing him back his shotgun.
The marshal lost his life that November day at the hands of Billy Rice, described in newspaper accounts of the time as a “real character when sober and much worse when drunk.”
For his sacrifice, Marshal Hopperton's name will be engraved this spring on the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
So far, the ceremony will lack Hopperton family. Nobody can find any descendants of the only Independence police officer killed in the line of duty.
Independence Police Sgt. Ed Bailey looked for anything that might list survivors. Newspaper stories don't list the names of the marshal's surviving wife and young child.
“He gave his life for the dignity and peace of Independence,” Sgt. Bailey said. “It should be a well-known story, and his family should be proud.”
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