New-York tribune., 1881-12-26


A LONG ISLAND VILLAGE STARTLED on CHRISTMAS
MoRNING-EDwARD HOPPE SHOOTS HIS WIFE
AND THEN HIMSELF
| Edward Hoppe, German shot his wife through
the heart and then took his own life, at College
| foint' Il. l., yesterday morning. Hoppe had been
! addlcted to drink for the past year and was
! drunk in the village Saturday night. He
| returned to his house sometime after mid
/ night and lay down somewhere in the
lower part of the house. HIS wife and two
! daughters were asleep upstairs and his two sons
occupied a room on the ground floor. At $50 yes
! terday morning Mrs Hoppe rose and went down
stairs to start the fire in the livingroom closely
! followed by her Younger daughter Lucy, yonog
woman twenty years old. The stairs from the upper
part of the house end in little entry. and as Mrs
Hoppe reached the foot Of the flight her husband
stepped ou' of the livng-room. and, pointing pis-
tol at her fired two shots in rapid succession. Both
bullets penetrated her breast she sank to the floor
| and expired almost instantly
The report Of the pistol and the cries of the
daughthcr soon brought the rest of the family to
the spot. Hoppe, Immediately after firing. stepped
back into the liying-room and shut and locked the
door Some ono of tho family ran to
the next house and summoned t8 occupant,
DIR. Paul +. FcTer. The doctor found the
lifc'css body Of tho wife lying the floor
Of :he entry, and around it her four children dazcd
ard Mortified by the sgdden blow that had befalen
them. He ran down the street to the house Of
Police Justice Russell and told him what had taken
place. Two constablcs were hastily summoned and
the four men went 10 the Hoppe house and
broke in the door Of the hving-room
for the purpose of getting at Hoppe TO
arrest him. When they crossed the threshold
they found him lying on the floor with bullet
through his heart Tho pistol was still tightly held
in his right hand. His clothing was burned away
over ms left breast. so closely mad he held the
weapou to his body when he discharged it.
The ho1y of Mrs. Hoppc was taken up and laid
bcNde that of her husband in the lving-room.
By thus time her aged mother, said
20 he nearly hundred years DID,
was aroused by the unusual noise and went down
stairs to who was stirring early on Christmas
morning When the dead bodies Of her daughter
and son-in-law met the old ady's sight she lsnclt
between them. and remained for some time weeping
and PRAYING refusing To br cOmiortcd.
Edward Hoppe am bis Wife Frcderca were both
born in ~a&ony. They came 10 thls country IN
1853, and met at COLLEGE Point where they
had secured work. They were married
ou the year of thcrarriya and until last year, have
lived very happily together. Hoppe was INDUS
trioua sayirr and rrnl tious and the wife was m
econ1mc manager of household affairs. He pur-
chased "A neat cottage in Ihlrtccuth-st., and they
lad uycd there ever since. -Four children wero
twcnfy-tyr and twenty yrarH ana TWO sons, one
twcuty-thrcc and the 0.Hrr seventeen years old.
For the last year Hoppe has been drinking very
hard. and there has been much uEpcaSautncSS IN
the family ON that account. Two weeks ago he
went to hotel M the village 10 tako ms meals,
though lodging at home; but foT the last week he
has been living entirely at home. aud has been sober
and much lac h' former sell. On CuIlS mas eve
however. he got drunk ain, with the fatal results
given above. Hoppe was uty-three years old
and bis wife was iorye.gut. They held iar social
lft4.f Il
the Rubber Como Company factory. lie has often
f t,t. t,Ill of committing suicide and was i'm tho
habit %! teIliug his f.mIly trouble, when he was
drunk llr recently -ad 10 thc bartender of "A
lager beer shop which he lrequentcd that he wa9
going 20 shoot A,s wife. Al the factory
hc said that he was going TO take opium ana XII
himself 80 one ever believed that hc would carry
uut his threat, and no attention was pud 20 them.
llc -omrfimrs told hs children that uc would iaKe
hI. he n DO w,rr not Tor them. Ills family never
knew o. ] yesterday morning That hr hal a pistol.
The weapon WAS hycharrcicd revolver oI b.
coroner Edward Mueller summoned a jury yes
tcray. Aflcr viewing the bodies the case was adj
iourncd til tuesday. COLLEGE Point thf village
where the tragedy occurred, ~ situated on 'he
North shore division of the Long Island kaiIold.
Iuc Inhabitants number between thrco and lQur
thousand and are mostly Germans. Last night,
when IEiHUN, reporter visited The place, all the
liquor stores were oucn and brilliantly LEhted,
and = theatre was IN iulI operation. Two lubDcI
works aud silk factory furnish employ ym'ht gen
orally iUt such OF the inhabitants d' 40 hOt Keep
lager beer shops. The oao topic ot conversation
last night Wa, the Hoppe tragedy, ana there wsr'
alI kind. of ruInors IN regard to the affair The
common impression seemed to be tnat since
Hoppe had taken to drinking ne Iad
boon treated hlisnly by ms WIZ ana idIhly.
The children bear hi igh character Tor intelligence
and industry. The two girls work al the rubocr
comb factory the cider boy l7 SILK weaver ana inc
Younger one ,Irarung the trade Dt machlnlst he
older son thAre, sad to TRIBUNE reporter last
nlght that thore was sanity ~ hls rather iAh,
iy ana that hs father never app lred INSANE Inui
the last wear their home had been happy, and
though domestic troubles hHd recently been OF ire
qucnJ occurrence they 10 the siga'cst ahtlc-
p4ted such Il terrible blow Even when his father
was iHtoA,atod hc said. he Was o pcacaOe diSpO-
sIuou, and never offered any violence to the ncm-
Oers OF the family.