Stephen Hopkins (settler)
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Stephen Hopkins (born about 1582 - 1644) was a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony. Stephen was the 16th of 41 signatories of the Mayflower Compact and was an assistant to the governor of the colony through 1636.
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[edit] Sea Venture shipwreck and Mutiny
Hopkins had made a previous attempt to reach the New World in 1609 aboard the new flagship of the Virginia Company, the Sea Venture, on which Hopkins was embarked as a Minister's Clerk, the Admiral of the Company, Sir George Somers, took the helm. The ship was on the way to the Jamestown Colony in Virginia with much needed supplies and was deliberately driven onto the reefs of Bermuda to prevent its foundering as a result of the damage it had sustained during a severe storm. All aboard, 150 passengers and crew, and 1 dog, survived. The Sea Venture's longboat was fitted with a mast and sent to find Virginia but it and its crew were never seen again. Mr. Hopkins attempted to start a mutiny while stranded on the island. He was sentenced to death when this was discovered but was eventually set free after complaining of the "ruin of his wife and children". Hopkins and the remaining survivors spent nine months on Bermuda building two smaller ships, the Deliverance and Patience from Bermuda cedar and materials salvaged from the Sea Venture. He and the other castaways eventually made their way to Jamestown and appears to have stayed for (some say) two years before returning to England. The Hopkins family is considered one of the First Families of Virginia. The story of the Sea Venture shipwreck (and Hopkins' mutiny) is said to be the inspiration for The Tempest by William Shakespeare.
[edit] Diplomat and Veteran
In 1621 Hopkins along with Edward Winslow and William Bradford were delegated by there associates to treat with the Indians in the vicinity on behalf of the Pilgrims and succeeded in winning the friendship of chief, Massasoit (1580 - 1661), and culminated in a negotiated peace treaty on March 22, 1621. He served in the Pequot War of 1637.
[edit] Marriage
1. Mary (maiden name unknown), who may have died while he was on his first attempt to reach the New World
2. Elizabeth Fisher, died 1639 in Plymouth, (Mayflower passenger), they were married at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, London on 19 February 1617/8
[edit] Children
Stephen and Mary had three children:
- Elizabeth, she more then likely died before the voyage
- Constance B: England, (1607 - 1677) (Mayflower passenger), married Nicholas Snow, who came to Plymouth on the ship Anne in 1623
- Giles B: England, (1607/8) (Mayflower passenger)
Stephen and Elizabeth had seven children:
- Damaris B: England, (1618) (Mayflower Passenger)
- Oceanus (born en route to Plymouth on Mayflower)
- Caleb B: Plymouth, (1623), Dead by spring of (1651)
- Deborah B: Plymouth, (1626)
- Damaris B: Plymouth, (1628)
- Ruth B: Plymouth, (1630)
- Elizabeth B: Plymouth, (1623)
[edit] References
1. Caleb Johnson, The American Genealogist 73:161-171, “The True English Origins of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower”, July 1998. His first wife was not Constance Dudley, though this erroneous name is given by older references
2. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Volume Six, Third Edition, Stephen Hopkins ISBN 0-930270-03-7
[edit] External links
- Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower
- MayflowerHistory.com page on Stephen Hopkins
- Stephen Hopkins in the Records of the 17th Century
- Last Will and Testament of Stephen Hopkins at The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
