Stephen Hopkins1

M, #12352, b. Oct 29, 1581, d. Jun 6, 1644
Relationship9th great-grandfather of Malcolm Kenyon McKown Jr.
Pedigree
Father*Nicholas Hopkins b. circa 1548, d. after 1582
Mother*Mary Poole b. circa 1552, d. after 1582

Family 1

Constance Dudley b. circa 1580, d. circa 1613
Child

Family 2

Mary Hopkins b. circa 1581, d. May 9, 1613
Children

Family 3

Elizabeth Fisher b. circa 1595, d. Feb 4, 1639
Children

Chronological Events

Birth*Oct 29, 1581 Stephen Hopkins was born on Oct 29, 1581 at Hampshire, England, United Kingdom.1 
 He was the son of Nicholas Hopkins and Mary Poole. 
Marriage*May 9, 1599 Stephen Hopkins married Constance Dudley on May 9, 1599 at London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom.1 
Marriage*circa 1603 Stephen Hopkins married Mary Hopkins circa 1603 at Hursley, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. 
Marriage*Feb 19, 1618 Stephen Hopkins married Elizabeth Fisher on Feb 19, 1618 at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom. 
Emigration*1620 Stephen Hopkins emigrated in 1620 from England, United Kingdom, on the ship Mayflower. 
Immigration*1620 He immigrated in 1620 to Massachusetts, United States; arrived on board the Mayflower. 
Death*Jun 6, 1644 He died on Jun 6, 1644, at age 62 at Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.1,2 
Burial*Jun 7, 1644 He was buried on Jun 7, 1644 at Cove Burying Ground Cemetery, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Find A Grave Memorial# 6776866.3 
Will* He left a will, witnessed by an unknown person , naming an unknown person as Executor; The Last Will and Testament of Stephen Hopkins

"The sixt of June 1644 I Stephen Hopkins of Plymouth in New England being weake yet in good and prfect memory blessed be God yet considering the fraile estate of all men I do ordaine and make this to be my last will and testament in manner and forme following and first I do committ my body to the earth from whence it was taken, and my soule to the Lord who gave it, my body to be buryed as neare as convenyently may be to my wyfe Deceased And first my will is that out of my whole estate my funerall expences be discharged secondly that out of the remayneing part of my said estate that all my lawful Debts be payd thirdly I do bequeath by this my will to my sonn Giles Hopkins my great Bull wch is now in the hands of mris Warren Also I do give to Stephen Hopkins my sonn Giles his sonne twenty shillings in mrs Warrens hands for the hire of the said Bull Also I give and bequeath to my daughter Constance Snow the wyfe of Nicholas Snow my mare also I give unto my daughter Deborah Hopkins the brodhorned black cowe and her calf and half the Cowe called Motley Alsoe I doe give and bequeath unto my daughter Damaris Hopkins the Cowe called Damaris heiffer and the white faced calf and half the cowe called Mottley And I give to my daughter Ruth the Cowe called Red Cole and her calfe and a Bull at Yarmouth wch is in the keepeing of Giles Hopkins wch is an yeare and advantage old and half the curld Cowe Also I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth the Cowe called Smykins and her calf and thother half of the Curld Cowe with Ruth and an yearelinge heiffer wth out a tayle in the keepeing of Gules Hopkins at Yarmouth Also I do give and bequeath unto my foure daughters that is to say Deborah Hopkins Damaris Hopkins Ruth Hopkins and Elizabeth Hopkins all the mooveable goods the wch do belong to my house. as linnen wollen beds bedcloathes pott kettles pewter or whatsoevr are moveable belonging to my said house of what kynd soever and not named by their prticular names all wch said mooveables to bee equally devided amongst my said daughters foure silver spoones that is to say to eich of them one, And in case any of my said daughters should be taken away by death before they be marryed that then the part of their division to be equally devided amongst the Survivors. I do also by this my will make Caleb Hopkins my son and heire apparent giveing and bequeathing unto my siad sonn aforesaid all my Right title and interrest to my house and lands at Plymouth wth all the Right title and interrest wch doth might or of Right doth or may hereafter belong unto mee, as also I give unto my saide heire all such lande wch of Right is Rightly due unto me and not at prsent in my reall possession wch belongs unto me by right of my first comeing into this land or by any other due Right, as by such freedome or otherwise giving unto my said heire my full & whole and entire Right in all divisions allottments appyntments or distributions whatsoever to all or any pt of the said lande at any tyme or tymes so to be disposed. Also I do give moreover unto my foresaid heire one paire or yooke of oxen and the hyer of them wch are in the hands of Richard Church as may appeare by bill under his hand Also I do give unto my said heire Caleb Hopkins all my debts wch are now oweing unto me, or at the day of my death may be oweing unto mee either by hooke bill or bills or any other way rightfully due unto me furthermore my will is that my daughters aforesaid shall have free recourse to my house in Plymouth upon any occation there to abide and remayne for such tyme as any of them shall think meete and convenyent & they single persons And for the faythfull prformance of this my will I do make and ordayne my aforesiad sonn and heire Caleb Hopkins my true and lawfull Executor ffurther I do by this my will appoynt and make my said sonn and Captaine Miles Standish joyntly supervisors of this my will according to the true meaneing of the same that is to say that my Executor & supervisor shall make the severall divisions parts or porcons legacies or whatsoever doth appertaine to the fullfilling of this my will It is also my will that my Executr & Supervisor shall advise devise and dispose by the best wayes & meanes they cann for the disposeing in marriage or other wise for the best advancnt of the estate of the forenamed Deborah Damaris Ruth and Elizabeth Hopkins Thus trusting in the Lord my will shalbe truly prformed according to the true meaneing of the same I committ the whole Disposeing hereof to the Lord that hee may direct you herein June 6th 1644
By me Steven Hopkins
Witnesses hereof Myles Standish, William Bradford.4 
Researcher's Note* 
Stephen Hopkins was from Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, and in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire; he and wife Mary had their children Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles all baptized there. It has long been claimed that the Hopkins family was from Wortley, Gloucester, but this was disproven in 1998.

Stephen Hopkins went with the ship Sea Venture on a voyage to Jamestown, Virginia in 1609 as a minister's clerk, but the ship wrecked in the "Isle of Devils" in the Bermudas. Stranded on an island for ten months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. Six months into the castaway, Stephen Hopkins and several others organized a mutiny against the current governor. The mutiny was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with sorrow and tears. "So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company". He managed to get his sentence commuted.

Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown. How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate which mentions her children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles.

Steven was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher, but apparently had every intention of bringing his family back to Virginia. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife, and children Constance, Giles, and Damaris on the Mayflower (child Elizabeth apparently had died). Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrims shortly after arrival, perhaps a result of his being one of the few individuals who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions, and was used almost as an "expert" on Native Americans for the first few contacts. While out exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. And when Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Stephen Hopkins' house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several of the ambassadorial missions to meet with the various Indian groups in the region.

Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636, and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to occasionally run afoul of the Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday. Early the next year he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively in his house: guest William Reynolds was fined, but the others were acquitted. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Stephen Hopkins' maidservant got pregnant from Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled he was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out of his household and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy's remaining two years of service from him: agreeing to support her and child.

Stephen died in 1644, and made out a will, asking to be buried near his wife, and naming his surviving children.4


 

Citations

  1. [S802] Site - Ancestry.com, online at http://www.ancestry.com
  2. [S79] Gravestones - Find-A-Grave.com, online at findagrave.com.
  3. [S58] Gravestones - Death Cert, Find-A-Grave, BillionGraves.
  4. [S771] Personal Knowledge - Valentine, Jack.