OBIT: Casper Herps, 1900, Bullitt Co., KY

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Submitted by: herpulator@netzero.net
Date: 23 June 2001
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An  Old Citizen Passes Away

Casper Herps, after a long illness died of a complication of diseases at his home in Leaches last 
Wednesday, aged 77 years, 8 months and 15 days.   In many respects Mr. Herps was the most remarkable 
man that ever lived in Bullitt, and the fact that he held public office in the county for an unbroken 
period of forty years shows in what high esteem he was held by his fellow citizens.

He was born Rugheim, Germany, Aug. 26, 1822, and came to America in 1841. His  father who was also 
named Casper, (Kasper Hirbst is the German way to spell Casper Herps) and lived in Rugheim near the 
large stone government building.   The original Kasper Herps was a doctor and surgeon and served in 
the French German  war under Napoleon. He was also a surgeon  in the Prussian army when Napoleon was 
taken a prisoner and banished to the isle of Elba; and subsequently went to Paris with the army under 
Lord Wellington.  

After coming to America Mr. Herps went to Nelson County and lived for a while with Jack Truman, 
accepted a position at Dooms' tanyard at Cane Spring, this county, in 1842 where he remained ten 
years.  In his younger days he had a fascination for the chase, and spent much of his time deer 
hunting. On one occasion, while hunting deer his gun was accidentally discharged, sending a load of 
buckshot through his left hand, crippled him for life.  

At the August election 1854 he was elected County Surveyor of Bullitt County and held that office 
continuously until 1894, except for one term of four years when Capt. Abbott was elected. During his 
incumbency in office he surveyed every farm in Bullitt county  and was frequently called to find lost 
boundaries and corners in other counties.  He was an expert surveyor, and a fine mathematician, 
having graduated in the high school of Germany at the age of 18. He was a great student of economics 
and a man of very wide information. 

In 1861 he was married to Miss Susan Shoptaw and lived in Shepherdsville during the greater part of 
the civil war, in the house now occupied by Chas. Carroll, having been driven away from his farm by 
guerrillas. His wife died in 1887, since which time he has steadily declined in health. Mr. Herps was 
an honest, upright man, a good citizen, and was very kind to the poor.

                    
* Casper Herps died 11 APR 1900 at 5:45 PM.
I found this obituary on July 31st, 1997  in the Bullitt County court annex on the floor of the plat 
cabinet taped to the inside cover of an empty  plat book that belonged to Casper's son and my great 
grandfather, William Casper Herps.

                                                      Michael T. Herps