PILGRIM HOPKINS HERITAGE SOCIETY ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 www.pilgrimhopkins.com DECEMBER 2011 The Story of Constance by Judith Brister This is the fifth in our series of articles There is some dispute by Steve Photo Heaslip/Cape Cod Times on Stephen Hopkins’ children. Due to as to how many chil- its length, this article will be published dren she had, but she in two parts. We welcome readers’ could have had up to comments, insights, corrections and 12. The nine children additional information on these com- who genealogists are mon ancestors. Your feedback will sure about gave Con- broaden and enhance our preliminary stance a total of 74 research, and will be shared in the grandchildren. newsletter, as appropriate. As seen in the pro- he story of Constance, the sec- files of Stephen’s other T ond eldest daughter of Pilgrim daughters (Elizabeth, Stephen Hopkins and his first wife Damaris and Deborah) Mary, is one of very wide interest, in previous issues of Gravestone for Constance in Eastham's Old Cove Burial Ground. as she is the direct ancestor of a this newsletter, piecing together the three, apparently set sail for James- huge number of Hopkins descen- lives of women in early American town, Virginia on the Sea Venture. dants, including PHHS members. history is challenging, given the This vessel was the flagship of the paucity of information on them in “Third Supply Relief Fleet,” com- the records. Constance’s life story prised of seven ships and two pinna- is no exception. cles owned by the Virginia Com- We do know, as noted in the first pany of London, whose mission was issue of Atlantic Crossings, that to provide fresh supplies and new Constance’s baptismal records were colonists from England to the young found by Caleb Johnson (author of and troubled Jamestown settlement. the 2007 Stephen Hopkins biogra- He most likely had a contract to phy, Here Shall I Die Ashore) in the work for seven years, and might Image courtesy Pilgrim Hall Museum parish registers of Hursley, Hamp- have planned to serve this out before shire, England. She was baptized on sending for Mary and the children. May 11, 1606, one of three children In his absence, probate records sug- of Stephen Hopkins and his first Constance Hopkins’ hat, shown here, is on ex- gest that Mary ran a shop to support hibit at Pilgrim Hall Museum. Beaver fur, im- wife, Mary (?). An older sister, the family. On July 25 the Sea Ven- ported from the colonies, was processed into felt Elizabeth, was baptized on March 13 ture ran into a hurricane and was to make hats like this. They were very popular in 1605, and her younger brother Giles buffeted by the storm for three days, the early 17th century for both men and women. was baptized on January 30, 1608. until the leaky boat was wedged Her early years were marked by between two reefs to prevent it from Also in this issue: loss and upheaval. As indicated in Governor’s Message ................. 2 sinking, just off the Bermuda coast. the Atlantic Crossings article on Stephen Hopkins and the other September Meeting ................... 3 Giles (Vol. 3, Issue 2), the first loss Constance's MtDNA ................ 6 felt by Constance and her siblings continued on page 4 Bermuda Cruise ....................... 7 was that of their father, who on June 2, 1609, when Constance was just ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Message from the Governor his has been a productive year for the Pilgrim election meeting in Plymouth, thanks to help from T Hopkins Heritage Society. PHHS members Harold Woolley, Eunice and Donald Our election meeting last September gave us a Ballam. new slate of officers and board members. Some offi- Rod Fleck and Edward Flaherty worked hard on cers have stayed on and are continuing the great the process of incorporation of the PHHS in the state work they have been doing for us: Ed Flaherty as of Massachusetts and the papers have been filed. Treasurer and Rod Fleck and Carole Dilley as mem- Our historian Kenneth Whittemore has been ex- bers of the Board of Assistants. Kenneth Whittemore tending our lineage for the website. If you have ap- stepped down as Corresponding Secretary and has proved applications, please send him a copy so he taken on the task of Historian. We welcome new can add your lineage (for privacy reasons we do not officers Rick Denham as Deputy Governor, Linda include people born after 1900). This new data Hart as Corresponding Secretary and David Morton should facilitate the task of all those researching as member of the Board of Assistants. Many thanks their Hopkins family lines. to the wonderful volunteers that have retired but are Looking ahead, our dynamic new Deputy Gover- still active members of PHHS: Ruth Freyer, Deputy nor, Rick Denham is organizing an exciting cruise to Governor; Judith Elfring, Historian, and Everard Bermuda in June for PHHS members and others. Munsey, member of the Board of Assistants. The cruise will feature author Caleb Johnson and The Signage Team, led by Helen MacLaren, will raise funds for PHHS signage projects. Check made good progress this year, placing the first PHHS out the details on page 7 of this issue. historic plaque on the Hopkins House in Brewster, Massachusetts. Helen worked closely on this project Wishing you all the best for the holiday season with team member Judith Brister and the very coop- and health and happiness in the New Year. erative owners of the Hopkins House bakery and gift shop, the late Mary Beth Baxter and her daughter Sincerely, Heather. Photos of the plaque were displayed at the Susan B. W. Abanor, Governor PHHS Website Usage Pilgrim Hall Museum ince the counter on the website began operating You can help preserve Constance Hopkins’ hat by S on 6 January 2008, we have had 101,336 visitors. supporting Pilgrim Hall Museum. You can also re- The pages most visited are as follows: ceive information directly to your home about Pil- History ...........................................................14,921 grim Hall Museum’s programs by becoming a mu- Latest News .....................................................7,974 seum member. You receive newsletters, advance Membership .....................................................7,484 notice of programs and members events, free admis- Events ..............................................................5,973 sion to the museum, a discount in the museum store Newsletter ........................................................5,336 and the knowledge that you are helping preserve the Activities ..........................................................4,670 objects belonging to the Mayflower Pilgrims – your Links ................................................................4,212 ancestors. You can access a membership application Contact Us .......................................................3,791 on line at www.pilgrimhall.org or by contacting Lineage ............................................................2,006 the museum’s director Ann Berry at Approved Lineage ...........................................1,659 [email protected] or 508-746-1620 x2. PAGE 2 Page # VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 Our September Meeting t the Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society meet- file for non-profit status. Associated by-law changes A ing on September 11, 2011 in Plymouth, Mas- were discussed and approved. A conflict of interest sachusetts, 37 members signed the guest book. Par- policy was proposed, discussed, amended and ap- ticipants came from all over the country. proved. Harold S. Woolley was nominated and elected The proposed slate presented by our Nominating Secretary pro-tem, and the minutes of the last meet- Committee, chaired by Ruth Freyer, Deputy Gover- ing were distributed and approved. nor, was as follows: By a show of hands, participants indicated their Governor: ...........................Susan B. W. Abanor line of descent from Stephen's children. Some were Deputy Governor: ...............Carl Richard Denham descended from more than one child. Constance ..................................................... 17 Corresponding Secretary: ...Linda Hart Giles ............................................................. 15 Historian: ............................Kenneth Whittemore Deborah .......................................................... 1 Assistant: ............................Carole Dilly Damaris .......................................................... 8 Assistant: ............................Rod Fleck Reports from PHHS officers were then pre- Assistant: ............................David Wade Morton sented. Among the issues discussed at this meeting With no new nominations from the floor, this slate were our application to incorporate and our need to of officers was elected. Participants at our September triennial election meeting at Plymouth, Massachusetts. Photo by Susan Abanor In Memoriam Edward Winslow, Jr. October 3, 1939- October 15, 2011 PAGE 3 ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Constance Story difficult transition to adulthood during the Colony’s tu- From page 1 multuous first years. Central to the author’s take on Constance’s personal- castaways spent ten months in Bermuda before arriving ity was no doubt the first duel to take place in New Eng- land, on June 18, 1621, between Stephen Hopkins’ two in Virginia in May 1610. servants, Edward Leister and Edward Doty. Clapp is During this period it seems Hopkins was unable to among a number of historians and writers who speculate communicate with his family, and they had consequently