Anna Hoppe

HOPPE, Anna Bernardine Dorothy. b. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 7 May 1889; d. Milwaukee, 2 August 1941. Hoppe, a Lutheran Wisconsin Synod member, penned around 600 original hymns and chorale translations that remained uncollected and unpublished until 75 years after her death. She was born to German-Lutheran immigrants Albert and Emilie Hoppe. Baptized and confirmed by pastor Johann Bading of St John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, she alone of her five siblings attended the parochial school there, completing the eighth grade. She became inspired by native and patriotic literature, trying her own hand at historical poetry. When her father died in 1910, Anna took up work to support herself, her...