Jessie Isabella HOPKIRK was the daughter John Glassford Hopkirk & Jessie Hamilton
Jessie was born 15 Sep 1820 at St. Cuthberts, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Below is a portrait of Jessie Isabella HOPKIRK. This portrait is currently for sale at the website http://www.listedart.com/main/inventory.htm
Below the portrait is an explanation that goes along with the portrait, that has some inaccuracies. The first of those is her name is Jessie Isabella HOPKIRK, not Isabella Jessie HOPKIRK. The second is that the narrative says she was the last of James Hopkirk's(1749-1835) grandchildren, but we know there were many grandchildren of James Hopkirk. Possibly she was the last of his granddaughters until the births of Barbara in 1824, Anne in 1830, and Christian, the daughters of Thomas Hopkirk, John Glassford HOPKIRK's brother. The third discrepancy is it says she was the eldest of six, and her mother died when she was only 4 years old, which is unlikely. We also know that Jessie had at least three older brothers. As for her name, since we know that her brother John William Hamilton HOPKIRK probably went by the name of Hamilton, it is possible that even though Jessie was named after her mother, she went by her middle name of Isabella. This could explain the confusion over her name. This is reinforced by the Canadian Hopkirk History which says there was a daughter named Isabella. There were also many other grandchildren of James Hopkirk's youngest son James,
Isabella Jessie Hopkirk
Artist: John Graham Gilbert
Oil on Canvas
27 x 221/4
30 x 341/2 Framed
Original frame from Aitken & Dott in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Isabella Jessie Hopkirk was born on the 15th day of September, 1820, in the parish of St. Cuthbert in Edinburgh, Scotland. Isabella was the eldest child of six but was the only one to survive past infancy. Her mother died when she was only four years old and she herself never married. Her grandfather, James Hopkirk I, was a very well to do merchant in Glasgow. He was devastated by the deaths of his grandchildren and doted on Isabella, his only surviving grandchild. Having had his portrait painted by John Graham Gilbert he commissioned this portrait of Isabella.
John Graham Gilbert, 1794-1866, Scotsman, Artist, member Royal Scottish Academy, painted the portrait of Isabella Jessie Hopkirk, and a portrait of her Grandfather, in the years that he lived in Edinburgh, Scotland between 1827 and 1834. Of course, he painted many more portraits and other scenes, most of which are housed in museums.
This page last updated on April 15, 2004