Albert J. Hopkins

Albert Jarvis Hopkins (August 15, 1846 – August 23, 1922) was an American politician and lawyer. A Republican, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Illinois.

Born near Cortland, Illinois, Hopkins practiced law. He served in the House from 1885 to 1903, then in the Senate from 1903 to 1909, though had a mostly uneventful political career. Politically, he was conservative.

Early life and education Hopkins was born on August 15, 1846, near Cortland, Illinois, one of eight children born to Cyrus B. Hopkins and Fannie (née Larkin) Hopkins. Fannie was his father's second wife, his first wife being Mary J. Gandy, with whom he had three children. He was of Welsh descent.

Hopkins was raised on a farm, with his family later moving to Aurora. He began attending public school in Sycamore at age seventeen, graduating from Hillsdale College in 1870. He read law under J. C. Metzner, He refused to participate in the following election, instead running for the United States Senate. He was elected, serving as Senator from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1909. While serving, he was chairman of the Committees on Fisheries and on Enrolled Bills. though he held a liberal view on tariffs. On the Congressional floor, he was reserved and undemanding, with reformer George E. Cole calling him a "second-class man in a first-class office". This led to him losing his re-election. He once made a three-hour speech regarding the stipulations of construction of the Panama Canal, for which he was thanked by President Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

Personal life and death After serving in Congress, Hopkins returned to practicing law, in Aurora and Chicago. In 1873, he married Emma C. Stolp, with whom he had four children. He died on August 23, 1922, aged 76, in Aurora, and was buried at Spring Lake Cemetery, in Aurora.