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PILGRIM H OPKINS H ERITAGE S OCIETY ATLANTIC C ROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture VVVOLUME 1, I SSUE 2 DDDECEMBER 2007 Stephen Hopkins and Pocahontas by Caleb Johnson s early as 1769, Thomas A Mayo speculated that Stephen Hopkins of Plymouth may be the same man who ship- wrecked in Bermuda in 1609. But it was not until my 1998 discovery of Stephen Hopkins’ origins in Hursley, that actual documents could be cited to show they were indeed the same. Since the Bermuda castaways built two ships and made it to Jamestown in 1610, we are then left with an inter- esting question—did Stephen Hopkins know Pocahontas? The question is an intriguing one. Stephen, in his later life at Plymouth, was associated with Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Squanto, even housing him in sentence and her visits to his house. Could Stephen have Jamestown between 1607-1608 he was holding prisoner. After actually known and met the two are legendary. But the famous holding Pocahontas for a year, most famous Indians in early Captain Smith returned to Eng- she began to sympathize with American history? Pocahontas land in 1609, and Indian rela- her captors, and fell in love was the daughter of Powhattan, tions took a major downturn; by with one of the colonists, John the Indian ruler of most of the the time Hopkins arrived in Rolfe, and married him in April tribes around Virginia. Her res- 1610, Pocahontas no longer vis- 1614. cue of John Smith from a death ited. There were only two minis- Pocahontas would later be ters at Jamestown that could In this issue: captured by Captain Samuel have performed the wedding Argall, and returned a prisoner ceremony: Alexander Whittaker Hopkins Chest................. 3 to Jamestown in March 1613. and Richard Buck. The latter Biggest Achievement ...... 5 They tried to use her capture to was Hopkins’ employer—he DNA Projects .................. 6 negotiate with her father, had hired Stephen to be his Truro Boyhood................ 9 Powhattan, to return stolen continued on page 4 goods and several Englishmen AAATLANTIC C ROSSINGS Message from the Governor ur second year of opera- that we can keep our member- quire some prior experience O tion is coming to a close ship lists current. are that of Historian and and we feel confident that a In anticipation of our trien- Treasurer. lot more will be accomplished nial meeting in Plymouth in Any proposed alterations in our third. September of 2008, anyone to our bylaws should also be Cousins Susan Abanor and interested in running for office submitted. Judith Brister have done an should send a note to the cor- The Secretary will liaise outstanding job with the responding secretary with a with the Deputy Governor newsletter and with the web- short bio and qualifications. who is head of our Nominat- site which is about to be We will be electing a Gov- ing Committee. launched. ernor, Deputy Governor, Cor- We do hope to get a good Dues letters for the 2008 responding secretary, Mem- expression of interest in the period are in the process of bership secretary, Treasurer, various project committees being sent out. When mailing Historian and three members which are proposed here in your dues be sure to include to the board of assistants. The the newsletter and on the web- page. ▄ the member update info so two positions which do re- From the Editors his issue features Caleb wife of Daniel Doane, one of age data and a bit of Hopkins T Johnson’s thoughts on the Constance (Hopkins) Snow's history. We know there are possibility that Stephen Hop- daughters? Where did all the many very talented, web-savvy kins may have known Poca- families go? Many of Con- Hopkins cousins out there who hontas in Virginia, Stephen A. stance and Giles' descendants could help us enhance this in- Hopkins’ piece on an often stayed on Cape Cod for many formation tool. Your feedback overlooked achievement of his generations, but that is not the is welcome! In fact, we’d like namesake, Mary Ames case for Deborah and Damaris. to set up a “website team” of Mitchell’s speculations regard- To ring in the New Year, members with expertise in this ing the Hopkins links of an old the PHHS is off on a great ad- area to further develop the family chest, and the reflec- venture. With the help of web website. If you’d like to assist tions of our Governor Chester designer Angel Leal, we’ve on this front, want to find out Hopkins’ great uncle on his launched a website, more, or just give us your feed- Truro boyhood. www.pilgrimhopkins.com , to back, please contact webmas- We’re most grateful for highlight the work being done [email protected] . these diverse and interesting by the PHHS and to facilitate For those of you with differ- contributions, and hope they’ll the sharing of information ent interests and skills, the inspire some of you Atlantic about our common ancestors. PHHS is also launching a num- Crossings readers to send us The e-mail address is: ber of other projects. Getting equally interesting articles for [email protected] involved in any of these could our summer issue. We know We consider this a pilot, make your participation in the there are many Hopkins stories containing just the nuts and PHHS more rewarding. As to tell and mysteries to unravel. bolts of our aims, membership listed on the “Activities” page For instance, was Constance, procedures and activities, line- continued on page 4 PPPAGE 222 Page # VVVOLUME 1, I SSUE 2 The Hopkins Chest by Mary Ames Mitchell n 1955, when my mother, I née Eileen Mary Hopkins, inherited an old, dark, beat-up wooden chest at the death of her grandmother in Santa Bar- bara, California, she didn’t think much about it. “It was just the piece of furniture on which Grandma kept the an- tique Russian Samovar,” Mom said, “which I found much more interesting.” Mom didn’t care much about her American heritage since she was born and raised in England. Her American fa- ther, Prince Hopkins, brought her to America after her Eng- lish mother died, and to rescue her from the Blitzkrieg in 1939. don’t match the more modern The chest was moved to hinges with screws attaching Pasadena and placed in a dark the lid. Slots at the back reveal living room we seldom used. the placement of the original In 1965 it was transported hinges, probably of leather across town, and served as a that disintegrated long ago. resting place in Mom’s bed- A trip to England brought room for her clothing and ear- us to the chest’s twin, during a rings, when she was too hur- tour of an old manor house in ried to store them properly. Surrey. The docent reported Not until 2004, when Mom the twin to be Jacobean, made Charles Harris Hopkins (1836-1913) gave the chest to me, did we in 1606. where the chest resided for the place it in some light and look My great grandfather first 160 to 184 years. We will at it closely. Charles Harris Hopkins never know which ancestor It’s a massive beast, brought the chest to California brought it to America, but roughly four feet wide, two from Maine sometime after here are some possibilities. feet deep and two feet tall. 1850. Most, if not all his an- Charles was a seventh gen- The crudely carved decoration cestors had sailed from Eng- eration descendent of Stephen was chiseled and stamped by land to America between 1620 Hopkins through Stephen’s hand. The lid has no male and 1640. Since no seats were son Giles, and an eighth gen- counterpart to the lock on the available on board ships back eration descendent through chest, So we’ve determined it then, such chests served as Stephen’s daughter Constance. to be a later replacement. tables and benches as well as Could the chest have been Also, the wooden pegs and containers. brought on the Mayflower by hand-hammered metal plate By 1640, Charles’ ances- one of them? Or by Stephen covering the chest’s keyhole tors had settled on Cape Cod, continued on page 10 PPPAGE 333 AAATLANTIC C ROSSINGS Pocahontas ter does not exist, only a brief summary of the From page 1 letter jotted down in a Virginia Company log- book. Could the scribe have misread the name? clerk. We do not know which reverend per- We know that a Stephen Hopkins married formed the wedding ceremony. Whittaker was Elizabeth Fisher in February 1618 at St. Mary more familiar with Pocahontas, and was the man Matellon, Whitechapel, London. This is in the who helped Christianize her. Buck, on the other heart of where Separatists were organizing the hand, was the primary minister of Jamestown, Mayflower's voyage from the London side. We and given the status and prominence of the mar- know from Gov. Bradford that Stephen Hopkins' riage (deemed to be a royal marriage), he may second wife was named Elizabeth, and we also have been the one. In any case, the wedding was know that this couple's first child, Damaris, was almost likely attended by nearly everyone. born about nine months after the Whitechapel So when exactly did Stephen leave James- wedding. Combining these tidbits it would seem town? There is no record of when he returned to that Stephen returned to England between 1615- England. The normal “contract” for a Virginia 1617, and therefore almost certainly was around Company employee was for seven years.