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ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture

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ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture PILGRIM HOPKINS HERITAGE SOCIETY ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1 www.pilgrimhopkins.com JUNE 2014 Enoch Crosby, Revolutionary War Spy by Judith Brister mong the more colorful of Pil- Dutchess (now A grim Stephen Hopkins‟ notable Putnam) County, descendants was Enoch Crosby New York, and (1750-1835), whose portrait hangs was buried in Car- in the Smithsonian‟s National Por- mel‟s Gilead trait Gallery. Cemetery, once the Born in Harwich, Massachusetts, site of the farm of Enoch was Stephen Hopkins‟ great- her husband, Tho- great grandson (Elizabeth Hopkins5, mas Crosby Nathaniel4, Stephen3, Giles2, Stephen1). (bp.1705, d. 1781). Enoch‟s maternal grandfather, Nathan- Enoch‟s paternal iel, was a blacksmith, married to Mercy grandfather, also Mayo. Enoch‟s mother, Elizabeth Hop- Thomas Crosby, kins (1711-1801), died in Carmel, had arrived in Newtown (now Cambridge, Massa- chusetts) as an Crosby’s cover was that of an itinerate cobbler/peddler. infant in 1635. After graduating from Harvard Col- Enoch spent his early years on his lege, he was ordained as a minister, father‟s farm in what is now Seminary following Rev. John Mayo as pastor of Hill in Carmel, New York. Due to his the Eastham Church on Cape Cod. family‟s financial struggles, at age 16 Enoch had four siblings who lived Enoch left home to fend for himself. His to adulthood: Phebe (b. 1736); Eliza- first step was to become an apprentice beth (b. 1741, who married their shoemaker in the town of Kent. After cousin Solomon Hopkins), Benjamin completing his apprenticeship in January (b. 1744), and Thomas (b. 1752). In 1771, at age 21, he moved to Danbury, the early 1750s Enoch‟s parents, Tho- Connecticut to practice his trade. mas and Elizabeth (Hopkins) Crosby, It was in Danbury in May 1775 migrated with their children from Cape that Enoch initially enlisted in the Cod to a narrow strip of disputed land Continental Army. He served for along the New York/Connecticut bor- eight months, including campaigns in der, approximately sixty miles long Canada, until he became ill and was and two miles wide, known as “the allowed to return home. When he recovered, he became an itinerant Enoch Crosby (1750-1835) Oblong.” They were among a group of shoemaker, traveling throughout Harwich families, including other Westchester and Putnam counties in Hopkins and Crosbys, to do so at about Also in this issue: New York. the same time. While some of the Cape Governor‟s Message................. 2 In August 1776 he reenlisted, this Cod families in this migration wave time into the regiment commanded by The Oblong .............................. 3 were Quakers, better and more abun- Col. Sworthaut in what was then Book Review ............................ 3 dant farm land than that found on Fredericksburgh and is now Carmel, Speech on DNA ....................... 5 sandy Cape Cod may well have played a role in uprooting the Hopkins and continued on page 4 Revolutionary Soldiers ............. 6 Crosby families. ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Message from the Governor Photo by Susan Abanor by Susan Photo he PHHS by-laws give the office of Governor a kins and myself. T two term limit of three years; I will therefore be There have been stepping down at the next election, in September 2014. three Deputy Gover- Being involved with the founding of the Pilgrim nors: Carole Dilley; Hopkins Heritage Society and serving as the second Ruth Freyer (my Governor has been an honor, an education and fun. It sister), and Rick has been a great pleasure to have met and have worked Denham. Edward with many dedicated and interesting Hopkins cousins Flaherty has been to help form and perpetuate this very special society. our one and only Our first governor, Chester Hopkins, has stayed on the Treasurer. Our sec- PHHS Board as Governor Emeritus, as I plan to do. retaries have been The PHHS has a core group of members that work Jackie Sheldon, to keep the society alive and interesting for the other Catherine Hopkins members. I would like to thank everyone who has con- (Chester‟s wife), Susan Abanor, Governor of the PHHS tributed their time, energy and creativity. Kenneth Kenneth Whitte- from 2008-2014. Whittemore deserves high praise for his dedication. He more (twice), Linda has taken on many different tasks for our society, in- Hart, and Deon Mattson (Kenneth‟s daughter). Our cluding serving as our diligent secretary and historian. only recording secretary, Sarah Abanor (my daughter), Edward Flaherty is our very organized and efficient is on maternity leave. We have had three historians: PHHS Treasurer. He has done a magnificent job keep- Loren Somes; Judith Elfring, and Kenneth Whittemore. ing our accounts and investments organized and his As members of the Board of Assistants, Rod Fleck has reports are always professionally presented. He also served all three terms, Carole Dilly and Everard Muncy stepped up when we needed a member to represent the served two terms, and Judith Elfring and David Morton society with an address in Massachusetts for the IRS. served one term each. Rod Fleck, a member of our Board of Assistance, has I would like to thank my husband, Harold Woolley dedicated much of his time to the PHHS, organizing for all the hours he has spent of editing and listening. our By-laws and Constitution and provided the Gover- He has come to all our meetings and has volunteered as nor with essential advice. His hard work and persever- Secretary Pro Tem many times. ance in filing for and establishing our non-profit status Keeping the PHHS alive and well is a team effort. has been a major contribution to the PHHS. My Co- There are many different ways members can help. Editor, Judith Brister, has worked and traveled with me For example, our historian could use volunteers for to complete 15 issues of Atlantic Crossings, our news- data entry. Our Editors would love to hear from you letter. She has been a wonderful sidekick on our many about your family histories. There is a need for web- investigations into the Hopkins family history. Helen site assistance. The plaque team could use additional MacLaren has headed our Plaque Committee and has researchers for new Hopkins plaque sites. You could overseen the two plaques that are now installed, one in make up your own projects, like Rick Denham did by Brewster, MA and one in Bermuda. She is now work- organizing the cruise to Bermuda. Fundraising and ing with our team of five members to install a third membership are other areas where extra hands are re- plaque in Plymouth, MA, on the site of the original quired. Please consider donating some time to your Hopkins home. society. Our future as a society depends on it. Starting with our founding in 2005, many members Enjoy your summer! I look forward to seeing you at our meeting in September. have been involved with keeping our society running smoothly. We have had two Governors: Chester Hop- Susan Abanor, Governor PHHS New Hopkins Plaque in Plymouth The plaque team (Susan Abanor, Judith Brister, Rick Denham, Richard A. Hopkins, Helen MacLaren and Melissa Tricoli) is hoping to place a new PHHS plaque to mark the Hopkins lot in Plymouth, Massachusetts by the time of our 7 September meeting. If all goes according to plan, a plaque dedication ceremony will be held after our meet- ing. The wording on this plaque will be as follows: “This building, on the north easterly corner of Main and Leyden Streets, occupies the lot once owned by Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower.” PAGE 2 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 1 The Oblong by Susan Abanor he Oblong is a 1.81 mile strip of land running along the http://www.hopefarm.com/connecti.htm T New York/Connecticut border, extending north from http://www.oblongland.org/about/ Ridgefield, CT to Massachusetts (see map). Prolonged land http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_panhandle disputes in this area started in 1633 between the Dutch and http://www.blogtalkradio.com/janeewilcox/2013/12/05/the the English, with each side claiming land by charter from -oblong-in-new-york-with-ron-taylor their respective governments. These conflicts were finally ended by an agreement ratified by New York and Connecti- cut State Legislatures and confirmed by the National Con- gress during the session of 1880-81. This settlement gave Connecticut its “Panhandle,” encompassing what is now Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien and part of Nor- walk, and New York received, as “equivalent land,” the nar- row Oblong, stretching to Massachusetts, as well as an undis- puted claim to Rye. Several Cape Cod families were early settlers in the Oblong, including a number of Hopkins family members who emigrated from Harwich to the Oblong starting in 1730. The largest wave of Cape Cod migrants arrived in 1749. The chart on page 7, compiled from the Mayflower Fami- lies, vol. 6, 3rd ed., lists some of Pilgrim Stephen Hopkins‟ descendants who moved to the Oblong, including Enoch Crosby‟s parents Elizabeth Hopkins and Thomas Crosby. With the creation of the Oblong in New York and the Panhandle Readers viewing this page on-line can click on the names and in Connecticut, long-standing land disputes were resolved. trace their lineages through our database. continued on page 7 For more information about the Oblong consult: Book Review by Judith Brister The Plymouth Papers, by Clifton Snider. Published by April 1865 as he reads fictional journals of Giles Hopkins, Spout Hill Press, 2014. 207 pp. Available from letters written by Stephen Hopkins, and other family writ- www.amazon.com. ings preserved by Taylor‟s recently deceased Aunt Huldah.
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