PILGRIM HOPKINS HERITAGE SOCIETY ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 www.pilgrimhopkins.com DECEMBER 2012 The Mysteries of Caleb — Part One by Susan Abanor and Judith Brister irst, the scant information avail- F able from the records: Caleb Hopkins was born in Ply- mouth ca. 1622, the third child of Stephen Hopkins and Elizabeth (Fisher?). The first child of this mar- riage, Damaris, was born in England in 1618/19 and died some time after 1627. The second child, Oceanus, was born on the Mayflower in 1620 but lived only a few years. Caleb’s half- siblings, Constance (bp. 1606) and Giles (bp. 1607/8), children of Stephen Hopkins first wife, Mary (Kent?), were teenagers when Caleb was born, and his birth was followed quickly by that of four younger sisters: Deborah, Damaris (the second), Ruth and Eliza- beth (Johnson 1998, 161-171; Neal 2012, 38-53). Caleb was one of the 13 persons included in the seventh lot of the Ply- mouth Colony 1627 Division of Cattle List, comprised of Stephen Hopkins and his “companie” (PCR 12,11) Richard Ligon’s 1657 map of Barbados. At about the age of 15, he was marry Damaris Hopkins) (PCR 1:61). While it might seem unusual for among some 40 They never saw action, however, as the Stephen Hopkins to name his second Plymouth men Pequots had been defeated by Con- son his heir, first son Giles was at that to volunteer necticut and Massachusetts Bay con- time 35 years old, well-established and service in the tingents by the time the Plymouth men living in Yarmouth, having “…already taken possession of Stephen’s house 1637 Pequot were organized. and lands…” there and having “… War, along with The 1643 Plymouth list of men received full satisfaction as the eldest his 56 year old between 16 and 60 “able to bear arms” son…” (Johnson 2007, 142). Perhaps father, his 28 includes the then 20 year-old Caleb trying to give his 21year-old son Caleb year-old brother (PCR 8,188). a start in life, Stephen bequeathed him Giles and 19 The next Plymouth Colony record his house and lands in Plymouth, a year-old Jacob to refer to Caleb Hopkins is his fa- pair of oxen, all the debts owed to Cooke (later to ther’s will. The references are in fact him, and very importantly, the right to the land on Cape Cod which Stephen extensive. Caleb is designated in this was entitled to as a “First Comer” (see Also in this issue: will, dated June 6, 1644, as “heire ap- Atlantic Crossings Vol. 2, Issue 2, Governor’s Message ................. 2 parent” as well as executor, and jointly December 2008). September Meeting .................. 2 with Captain Myles Standish, “supervisor” of the will (PCPR continued on page 4 Hopkins Heritage Festival ........ 3 1:1:61). ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Message from the Governor his has been a busy six months. As reported in the last flew over the hurricane on our return to New York City - T Atlantic Crossings, the cruise to Bermuda was so suc- only to have it hit us with a vengeance a few days later. cessful that another cruise is being planned for this year. Judith Brister and I live at opposite ends of this particular Look for further details in this issue and on our website. island, so while she was lucky and didn’t lose power, my I am pleased to report that the excellent press coverage eleventh floor apartment was without power for four days. of the Bermuda cruise earned the PHHS an award from The For those of you with good walking legs and a sense of General Society of Mayflower Descendants, which we re- adventure, we are organizing a 40-mile, two-day historic port on here. You can also read about the award given to walk this spring. The intent is to retrace the steps of Stephen Hopkins descendant Kia Taylor-Riccio by the Stephen Hopkins, Edward Winslow and Squanto when in Stephen Hopkins Colony of the Florida Society of May- 1621 they visited Massasoit for the first time. Details are in flower Descendants. this newsletter. If you’d like to join us, just let our Corre- An interesting article on Stephen Hopkins' wife Mary's sponding Secretary, Linda Hart, know and she can put you origins, focusing on the Kent family, was published in on the contact list. Mayflower Descendant 61:38-59(Spring 2012). Another If you are interested in DNA testing for the Hopkins article on the Machell side of Mary's family will appear in family, there is a new test called Family Finder at Family- the Autumn 2012 issue of the Mayflower Quarterly. Both tree DNA, familytreedna.com. I have been tested and was articles are written by Simon Neal. able to see which of my chromosomes match some of my Our annual meeting was held September 8, 2012 in cousins. I suggest that the older generations get tested as Mount Laurel, NJ. We were one member short of a quo- well as yourself and your children. More information about rum, so we quickly enlisted a new member in the person of this test will appear in the next newsletter. Ren Cushing, husband of member Muriel Cushing. We then proceeded to have a very interesting and productive Please note that the PHHS has new contact information, so meeting, which you can read about here also. Thanks to check before mailing in your dues. Our Corresponding Secre- Ren for being such a good sport! tary has recently moved and is now settled into her new home. In July, your editors spent an enjoyable afternoon at the We are still waiting to get an approval from the IRS for Hopkins Vineyard in Warren, Connecticut for the 225 year non-profit status. The PHHS is most grateful to Rod Fleck celebration of that family’s ownership of the property, for all he has been doing toward getting this approved. I which we have duly documented for you. Going further would also like to thank Ed Flaherty for his continued work afield, in October we went to Barbados to delve into the as treasurer and for assisting Rod with the IRS. And a spe- many mysteries surrounding Stephen Hopkins’ son Caleb. cial thanks to Linda Hart for agreeing to wear a second hat We certainly didn’t solve all the mysteries, as you will see and taking on the challenging job of web administrator. We by reading the first part of our article published here, but are fortunate in that she brings exceptional skills and exten- sive experience to this position. we did make the happy discovery that hurricanes usually travel north of Barbados, and the last one to hit the island Very best wishes to you and your family this Holiday Season, was in 1955. True to form Sandy missed Barbados and we Susan Abanor Board of Assistants .......................................... Carole Dilley Our Team ................................................................ David Morton Governor ............................................... Susan B.W. Abanor ...................................................................... Rod Fleck Editors ............................................................. Judith Brister Deputy Governor ............................................. Rick Denham ....................................................... Susan B.W. Abanor Treasurer ................................................ Edward P. Flaherty Signage ......................................................... Helen McLaren Corresponding Secretary ........................ Linda Munroe Hart Web Administrator ................................. Linda Munroe Hart Historian ............................................... Kenneth Whittemore Lineage ................................................ Kenneth Whittemore September Meeting he meeting took place September 8, 2012 in Mount Lau- T rel, NJ. There were 11 members present: Sarah Abanor, Susan Abanor, Judith Brister, Muriel Cushing, Ren Cushing, Rick Denham, Linda Hart, Thomas Kellogg, Ephraim Lasar, Kenneth Whittemore and Harold Woolley. Two items of New Business were brought up at the meet- ing. Our Corresponding Secretary, Linda Hart, proposed that funds be raised to support the research for the publication of the forthcoming Mayflower Families Through Five Genera- tions Volume 6. Approval was given at the meeting for a do- nation of $1,000 by PHHS. In addition, members will be in- continued on page 3 vited to make a special donation towards this research. PAGE 2 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 Hopkins Family Heritage Festival n a warm summer afternoon, Atlantic Crossings edi- O tors attended the Hopkins Family Heritage Festival celebrating 225 years of Hopkins family ownership of the farm which now includes the Hopkins Vineyard in Warren, Connecticut. The well-attended July 7, 2012 festival on the shores of Lake Waramaug was a themed Colonial Era event with music and costumes representing the year 1787, when Elijah Hopkins founded the farm after returning home from serving in the Revolutionary War. Activities included an American Revolution Color Guard parade and Proclama- tion of the Anniversary, honoring American Patriot Elijah Hopkins, 18th century music, children's theater, and dem- onstrations of quilting, spinning and weaving, candle- making, rope-making, a working black-smith shop, kettle corn and open fire cooking. Colonial era arts and crafts were for sale and food was catered by the Hopkins Inn. Hilary Hopkins, President of the Hopkins Vineyard, presiding over ceremony at the festival, accompanied by family members and friends. Photos by Abanor by Susan Photos The public was given hands-on lessons in rope making. Quilt-making was one of the crafts demonstrated. September Meeting Finder, by Family Tree DNA, and encouraged older PHHS From page 2 family members to be tested. Finally, she noted that there had been 131,093 hits to the PHHS website since January 2008. The treasurer’s report was given by Harold Woolley. It Atlantic Crossings editor Judith Brister reported that she stated that PHHS has over $16,000 in the bank and that current and co-editor Susan Abanor were carrying out research for dues more than covered expenses.