Hope Family History

Alexander Hope and Dora Hope were born into slavery. Alexander was born in February, 1840 and was 32 years old when he married Dora (maiden name unknown) who was born in April 1857 and, was 15 years old at the time.  They were married in 1872 and lived on a plantation. The census recorded that they had 17 children together however only 13 were found in the records.

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They are: 

• John Hope, born in 1876

• Willie Hope, born in 1877

• Louisa Hope, born in 1878

• William Alexander Hope born March 1879-Papa *

• Walker Hope, born April 1885

• Sam Hope, born December 1886

• Mattie Hope, born October 1887

• Robert Hope, born May 1890

• Arthur Hope, born March 1882

• David Hope, born August 1897

• Claudia Belle, born January 1895

• Clarence Hope, born January 1897

• Alexander Hope, born April 1899

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Most likely, Dora and Alexander probably had children soon after their marriage but there are no records of these births and there is a six year gap between the date of Papa’s birth and Walker’s birth. Our family always said that Papa was the oldest of the children but clearly he wasn’t. One of our cousins in South Carolina said that her grandfather, Sam Hope, told her that a few of his siblings just walked away from the plantation and never returned home. Papa was one who left the plantation when he was 14 years old and worked as a railroad construction worker until he settled in Baltimore, Maryland. However, he continued to have a relationship with his family in South Carolina.

When Papa settled in Baltimore, he worked as a builder helping to build many places that are well known, namely Douglass High School, Western High School and the Ashburton Reservoir. He met the beautiful Estella Smackum and they were married and had 10 children.
Estella Smackum, was born in Maryland. I believe Aunt Mabel once said she was born in Carroll County, Maryland. Her parents were Edward and Georgeanna Smackum. Edward was born in September 1858 and Georgeanna was born in January 1850. The census spelled their name as Sonackum because the census taker did not write their name legibly on the form but if you read it, you can see that the name is Smackum. They were married in 1884 and had 5 children.

They are:

• Jeffries Smackum, born March 1884

• Estella Smackum, born January 1887 Moma

• Edward Smackum, born August 1888

• Beulah Smackum, born March 1890

• Mary Smackum, born June 1891

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There is no record of when Papa and Mama married. They lived at 1848 Lorman Street in Baltimore and they had 10 children. Papa’s obituary said he had six daughters but we could not find any record of a six daughter and I never heard talk of one. From the family records, talking to cousins and looking at obituaries, I found the birthdates of the Hope children with the exception of Odessa. There is no mention of her name in any of the obituaries. We know of Odessa only through oral history. My mother, Naomi Heggins, told me that when I was born, her mother thought I looked like Odessa and asked that I be given that name. At least her named lived on.

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William and Estella’s children were:

• James Arthur Hope, born March 1906

• William P. Hope, born December 10, 1907

• Ruth Estella Hope Hammond, born February 3, 1916

• Naomi Dorothy Hope Heggins, born June 4, 1917 

• Mildred Hope Rock Ceaser, born August 2, 1918

• Mabel Robbie Hope Rodgers-Smith, born February 6, 1920

• August Rainey Hope, born April 14, 1922

• Oswell Robert Hope, born August 7, 1925

• Horace Milton Hope, born March 26, 1927

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There you have it, starting with Alexander and Dora Hope all the way down to William and Estella Hope and their children.