West in New England: Hopkins Stephen

Showing posts with label Hopkins Stephen. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

ANOTHER HOPKINS MAYFLOWER CONNECTION

Now that the John Cutter West brickwall has come down, I have new branches of the family to explore. Recently I took advantage of the week of free access to all the databases at the AmericanAncestors.org website to fill in some gaps. Many of my early West ancestors came from Barnstable County, Massachusetts and so far I hadn't found many documents online for them, but there were databases on AmericanAncestors that I was able to see during that free access week.

So I started in on investigating the family of my 5x great grandmother Sarah (Hamilton) West, tracing it back with vital records, probate files and town and family histories. Much to my surprise and delight, I found another connection to Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins. I had previously discovered one with his daughter Constance (Hopkins) Snow; this new one was was with his son Gyles/Giles Hopkins. Here's a relationship from Gyles/Giles to my Dad:

As I said, there are vital records and probate files for many of the people in this line, and I'll be discussing them here as I go along. But I found other family lines that I will list in the next posts.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

(( I first posted articles about my Mayflower family descents back in
November 2011 and decided to repost them every year as a Thanksgiving
tradition.))

Back when I first started researching the family genealogy online I was
thrilled to discover we were descended from several Mayflower passengers.
At one point I even carried around a small folded up piece of paper
in my wallet with the lines of descent to show when discussing genealogy
with some customer at the bookstore. But I lost that some time ago, so I
thought I'd post them here for other family members.

The first three lines come down through my Ellingwood ancestry from
Stephen Hopkins, Thomas Rogers, and James Chilton.

Hopkins Line
Stephen Hopkins and Mary____
Constance Hopkins & Nicholas Snow
Elizabeth Snow & Thomas Rogers
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Rogers Line
Thomas Rogers & Alice Cosford
Joseph Rogers & Hannah___
Thomas Rogers & Elizabeth Snow
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Chilton Line
James Chilton & ?
Isabella Chilton & Roger Chandler
Sarah Chandler & Moses Simmons
Moses Simmons Jr & Patience Barstow
Patience Simmons & George Barrows
Moses Barrows & Mary Carver
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Friday, November 23, 2018

ANOTHER HOPKINS MAYFLOWER CONNECTION

Now that the John Cutter West brickwall has come down, I have new branches of the family to explore. Recently I took advantage of the week of free access to all the databases at the AmericanAncestors.org website to fill in some gaps. Many of my early West ancestors came from Barmstable County, Massachusetts and so far I hadn't found many documents online for them, but there were databases on AmericanAncestors that I was able to see during that free access week.

So I sarted in on investigating the family of my 5x great grandmother Sarah (Hamilton) West, tracing it back with vital records, probate files and town and family histories. Much to my surprise and delight, I found another connection to Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins. I had previously discovered one with his daughter Constance (Hopkins) Snow; this new one was was with his sone Gyles/Giles Hopkins. Here's a relationship from Gyles/Giles to my Dad:

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

(( I first posted two articles about my Mayflower family descents back in
November 2011 and decided to repost them every year as a Thanksgiving
tradition.))

Back when I first started researching the family genealogy online I was
thrilled to discover we were descended from several Mayflower passengers.
At one point I even carried around a small folded up piece of paper
in my wallet with the lines of descent to show when discussing genealogy
with some customer at the bookstore. But I lost that some time ago, so I
thought I'd post them here for other family members.

The first three lines come down through my Ellingwood ancestry from
Stephen Hopkins, Thomas Rogers, and James Chilton.

Hopkins Line
Stephen Hopkins and Mary____
Constance Hopkins & Nicholas Snow
Elizabeth Snow & Thomas Rogers
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Rogers Line
Thomas Rogers & Alice Cosford
Joseph Rogers & Hannah___
Thomas Rogers & Elizabeth Snow
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Chilton Line
James Chilton & ?
Isabella Chilton & Roger Chandler
Sarah Chandler & Moses Simmons
Moses Simmons Jr & Patience Barstow
Patience Simmons & George Barrows
Moses Barrows & Mary Carver
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Sunday, July 22, 2018

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 26:STEPHEN HOPKINS OF PLYMOUTH, MA.

Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower is my 10x great grandfather through his daughter Constance (Hopkins)Snow. With some of my ancestors I've been unable to find much information to write a blogpost about them. I have the opposite problem with Stephen Hopkins. There is so much out there on him I could find enough for a half-dozen blogposts. But for the purposes of not falling too far behind on the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, I've chosen an excerpt from Annie Arnoux Haxtun's Signers of the Mayflower Compact, Volume 1. It was first published in 1869 and is written in florid style common to that period:

STEPHEN HOPKINS'S POSITION.
Stephen Hopkins's power and position are always shown by his being called "Mister," a title applied as Master.

"Only twelve people have the prefix Mr. in the whole list of the passengers on the Mayflower, Fortune and Little James."

Mr. Stephen Hopkins was a man of great enterprise, and in the present day would have been a very acceptable and appreciative companion at all athletic sports, whether on sea or land. At his place, near Eel River (Plymouth), which he sold in 1637, there was a wharf which gave evidence of age, and was the first one spoken of in the colony. His yacht is not mentioned, though he was part owner of the first ship built in Plymouth, but it was on hand if he could materialize matters to his liking, and there were sure to be "chips" on board for a time of need, though he never carried a "chip on his shoulder."

Not to give precedence to his allegiance to old Neptune, he owned the first horse on record (1644), when a mare belonging to the estate of Stephen Hopkins was appraised at £6 sterling.

Its rate of speed has not come to us, but nothing slow flourished under this master.

His otticeholding was continuous—of the Governor's Council from Plymouth, 16234-5-6; in 1637 one of the volunteers in aid of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut in their war with the Pequods, when the colony concluded to send them assistance, and then was of the committee appointed to levy an assessment to pay the charges of the expedition; then in 1642 was chosen to the Council of War from Plymouth,

No desire could make a narrow-minded Puritan of Mr. Stephen Hopkins; he was broad enough for the methods of the present day. It was not in the blood to live up to the requirements of that early "Vigilance Committee," who were a law unto themselves, with a "single eye" to the faults of others.-p25
Signers of the Mayflower Compact, Volume 1, The Mail And Express Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1896

I expect to write more posts about Stephen Hopkins in the future,

Saturday, November 18, 2017

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

Friday, November 18, 2016

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

Sunday, May 12, 2013

STEPHEN HOPKINS OF THE MAYFLOWER PT2

Among the entries in the Plymouth Court Records Volume 1 1633-1640, there is
this entry for a trial on Sept.3 1638 that would have consequences for my ancestor
Stephen Hopkins:

Arthur Peach, Thomas Jackson, Richard Stinnings, and Daniell Crosse were indicted
for murther & robbing by the heigh way. They killed and robd one Penowanyanquis,
an Indian, at Misquamsqueece, & took from him fiue fadome of wampeux, and three
coates of wollen cloth.
The jurys names that went vpon them were these:-
Sworne                                         Sworne
Willam Hatch,                          John Paybody,
John Winslowe,                      Richard Sillis,
Willm Pontus,                          Humfrey Turner,
Edward Foster,                        Samuell Hinckley,
Richard Derbye,                      Giles Rickett,
John Holmes,                           Gabriell Fallowell,

They found the said Arthur Peach, Thomas Jackson, and Richard Stinnings
guilty of the said felonius murthering & robbing of the said Penowanyauquis,
but say that they, nor any of them, had any lands or tennements, goods, or cattles,
at the tyme of the said felonie comitted that they know of ; and so say they all.
Daniell Crosse made an escape, & so had not his tryall ; but Peach, Jackson, &
Stinnings had sentence of death pnounced ; vizt, to be taken from the place from
whence they came, and thence to the place of execucon, and there to be hanged
by the neck vntill their bodyes were dead, wch was executed vpon them accordingly.
pp96-97

Now Stephen had no part in that trial, either as a witness or a juror. The consequences
didn't become apparent for a few months, but eventually they couldn't be ignored
and they led to a few tense days in court the following February. The year is still recorded
as 1638 because under the old English calendar March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation
was the first day of the new year. That was changed to January 1st in 1752 when the
Gregorian Calendar was adopted by England and all its territories:

4Feb 1638
Concerning Mr. Stephen Hopkins and Dorothy Temple, his servant, the Court doth
oder, wth one consent, that in regard by her couenant of indenture shee hath yet
aboue two years to serue him, that the said Mr Hopkins shall keep her and her child,
or puide shee may be kept wth food and rayment during the said terme; and if he
refuse so to doe, that then the collony ;puide for her, & Mr Hopkins to pay it. p111

Mr Steephen Hopkins is committed to ward for his contempt to the Court, and shall
so remayne comitted vntill hee shall either receiue his servant Dorothy Temple, or
els puide for her elsewhere at his own charge during the terme she hath yet to serue
him. p112

The connection with the murder trial was that one of the defendants, Arthur Peach,
was the father of Dorothy's child. I don't know the exact reason for Stephen's
refusal to fulfill his responsibilities under the terms of Dorthy's indenture contract
with him. Perhaps he may have know the victim since he had dealings with the
Indians on the colony's behalf. It could also be he felt that Dorothy's association
with a murderer reflected badly upon him as her master. Whatever the reason,
the issue was resolved four days later. The Court Record doesn't say if Stephen
spent that whole time in the jail:

8Feb 1638
The 8th of Februar., 1638. Memorand : That whereas Dorothy Temple, a mayde servant
dwelling wth Mr Steephen Hopkins, was begotten wth child in his service by Arthur
Peach, who was executed for murther and robbery by the heigh way before the said
child was borne, the said Steephen Hopkins hath concluded and agreed wth Mr John
Holmes, of Plymouth, for three pounds sterl., and other consideracons to him in
hand payd, to discharge the said Steephen Hopkins and the colony of the said
Dorothy Temple and her child foreuer ; and the said Dorothy is to serue all the residue
of her tyme wth the said John Holmes, according to her indenture.p113

So Stephen paid John Holmes 3 pounds and some other items to take over Dorothy's
contract. While that ended his legal problems, it wasn't quite over for poor Dorothy.
Premarital sex, or fornication as the Pilgrims called it, was sternly dealt with in
Plymouth Colony. By the following June her baby was delivered and Dorothy was back
in court:

4June 1639
Dorothy Temple, for vncleanes and bringing forth a male bastard, is censured to be
whipt twice ; but shee faynting in the execucon of the first, thother was not executed.
p127

I haven't found any mention yet of the fate of Dorothy and her infant son. I hope she
found a husband to take care of them that they lived out the rest of their lives
uneventfully.

Friday, May 10, 2013

STEPHEN HOPKINS OF THE MAYFLOWER PT1

I've always had a soft spot for my Mayflower ancestor Stephen Hopkins. He was
the only man known to have been both at the Jamestown Colony in Virginia
and at Plymouth Colony. He was one of the "Strangers", a Mayflower passenger
who was not part of the Pilgrim congregation but a representative of the men
in London who had invested in the new colony. His experience at Jamestown
with the Indians was supposedly the reason that the Pilgrim leaders had Samoset
sleep in the Hopkins house when the Indian leader visited, but I suspect that
as a Stranger he was viewed as expendable.

Despite his status as an outsider, Stephen did quite well in the settlement and
was given a position of authority as an Assistant to the Governor. He was also
given a license to serve liquor, and that, along with perhaps a bit of temper,
led to some difficulties and appearances in the General Court. They were
recorded in the Plymouth Court Records Volume 1 1633-1640:

7th Jun 1636
"At the same Court an accon of battery was tried between John Tisdale,
yeoman, plaintiffe, & Stephen Hopkins, Assistant to the governmt, deft,
wherein the deft, Stephen Hopkins, was cast in five pownds starling to our
sov. lord the King, whose peace he had broken, wch he ought after a speciall
manner to have kept, and also forty shillings to the plaintiffe. both wch he
was adjudged to pay." p42

2Oct 1637
"Presentments by the Grand Inquest
Mr Stephen Hopkins, first presentment, (for suffering men to drink in his
house upon the Lords day, before the meeting be ended, and upon the
Lords day, both before & after the meetings, servants & others to drink more
then for ordinary refreshing) is respited untill the next Court, that the testimony
of John Barnes be had therein."

"Mr Stephen Hopkins, psented for suffering servants and others to sit
drinkeing in his house, (contrary to the orders of this Court,) and to play at
shovell board, & such like misdemeanors, is therefore fined fourty shillings.
p68"

5Jun 1638
"Mr Stepheen Hopkins is presented for selling beer for 2 pence the quart, not
worth one pence a quart. Witness Kenelme Winslow." p87

4Sep 1638
"Mr Steephen Hopkins, upon two psentmnts against him the last Court, and three
psentmnts this Court, for selling wine, beere, strong waters, and nutmeggs at
excessive rates, is fynd 5li.". p97

Hopkins seems to have settled down after that last fine, because I didn't find
any incident involving alcohol after 1638. But there is one other incident
involving a servant, which I'll discuss in the next post.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

MY BAD BOY PLYMOUTH COLONY ANCESTORS

One of the best sources I've found of family stories since I began working on my genealogy
has been the Google Books editions of the Essex County Court Records. I've found a lot
of blogpost material from them, too! I hadn't been able to find equivalent Plymouth
County online records for my ancestors from that area of Massachusetts, But then last week
I found the Plymouth Court Records on Caleb Johnson's MayflowerHistory.com website. I
don't know how long they've been there but this was the first time I'd seen them. (If you
have Mayflower or Plymouth Colony ancestry and haven't visited Caleb's site before I highly
recommend you do so now.)

Of course, if your ancestor is in a court record and he isn't on the jury, he's involved in a
court case. He's either the defendant on criminal charge or he's involved in some civil suit
over a piece of land or over livestock. My Essex County ancestors were mostly involved
in the civil suit sort of cases and some were part of the witchcraft trials. My Plymouth
ancestors, on the other hand, seem to been a rather rowdy lot, given to getting drunk
and causing scenes. One of the earliest posts here was one about my 9x great grandfather
John Barnes who was a well known drunk and whose bizarre death was cause in part from
drink. I've found court records of other incidents that would make you wonder why Gov.
Bradford and other officials put up with him. Apparently John Barnes might have been
a drunk but he was a rich drunk, proof that between drinking bouts he was an industrious
member of the community.

I also found cases involving my Dunham ancestors. My immigrant ancestor John Dunham
might have been a sober pious man but he seems to have a hard time keeping his sons Benajah, Joseph, and John Jr. on the straight and narrow. My Mayflower ancestor Stephen
Hopkins was involved in brawls and was the host on some evenings where his guests
drank too much. (Today we'd call him an "enabler").

And then there are the ancestors who were charged with fornication, even after they
were married to each other!

So like many other Pilgrims, my Plymouth Colony ancestors were naughty boys and girls,
and I'll be telling you all about them here.

Monday, November 19, 2012

MY ELLINGWOOD MAYFLOWER ANCESTRY

((First posted November 2011))

Back when I first started researching the family genealogy online I was
thrilled to discover we were descended from several Mayflower passengers.
At one point I even carried around a small folded up piece of paper
in my wallet with the lines of descent to show when discussing genealogy
with some customer at the bookstore. But I lost that some time ago, so I
thought I'd post them here for other family members.

The first two lines come down through my Ellingwood line from
Stephen Hopkins and Thomas Rogers.

Hopkins Line
Stephen Hopkins and..
Constance Hopkins & Nicholas Snow
Elizabeth Snow & Thomas Rogers
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Rogers Line
Thomas Rogers
Joseph Rogers & Hannah___
Thomas Rogers & Elizabeth Snow
Eleazer Rogers & Ruhamah Willis
Experience Rogers & Stephen Totman
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Chilton Line
James Chilton & ?
Isabella Chilton & Roger Chandler
Sarah Chandler & Moses Simmons
Moses Simmons Jr & Patience Barstow
Patience Simmons & George Barrows
Moses Barrows & Mary Carver
Deborah Totman & Moses Barrows Jr.
Asa Barrows & Content Benson
Rachel Barrows & John Ellingwood Jr
Asa F. Ellingwood & Florilla Dunham
Clara Ellingwood & Philip West
Floyd West Sr & Clara Barker
Floyd West Jr & Anne M White

Thursday, May 17, 2007

OF JAMESTOWN AND PLYMOUTH

While eating breakfast and then sorting my laundry I did my
occasional Google search on the words `Massachusetts’ and
'history’ and came across a newspaper article about the
recent festivities down at Jamestown with the President and
Queen Elizabeth in attendance. The article was entitled
“Take That, Plymouth!” and I was somewhat amazed at how
some of the Virginia and Jamestown authorities seem to have
some inferiority complex regarding how Plymouth gets more
attention then they do: the historians over how Plymouth’s
story is better known and the state officials over tourists who
visit Plymouth and spend their dollars there.

Yes, Jamestown is older. Yes, the Plymouth Rock story is
most likely 99% myth. But neither Jamestown nor Plymouth
is the oldest European settlement in North America. That
should be St Augustine in Florida, I believe. And there were
the Spanish missions and towns of the Southwest, and the
French colonists of Canada and the Mississippi Valley. They
are far older than the English colonies and get very little
of the attention they deserve in our history.

I am proud of my New England roots, some of which I’ve only
recently discovered. But I am also well aware of how rich
a past other regions possess. So, congratulations to Jamestown
on their anniversary, but let’s not turn it into some historical
spitting contest.

Oh, and what colonist was the only man to be accused of
mutiny in Jamestown and then later a colonist in Plymouth?
My ancestor, Stephen Hopkins!

Pages

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Friday, November 23, 2018

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Friday, November 18, 2016

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Friday, May 10, 2013

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Monday, November 19, 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2007