Stephen Hopkins 1581-1644 Jamestowne, VA

Thirty-seventh in a series of biographical sketches of qualifying ancestors of the Jamestowne Society whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company

            Virginia                    Bermuda                         plymouth, ma

Stephen Hopkins was born in England, possibly Hampshire. By 1609 he was employed as a minister’s clerk. On 2 Jun 1609 Hopkins set sail for Virginia on the Sea Venture, leaving behind his wife Mary and three children. Hopkins was shipwrecked on Bermuda until 10 May 1610, when he set sail with Governor Thomas Gates and the other passengers of the Sea Venture on two smaller boats constructed on Bermuda to carry the survivors on to Virginia. He had narrowly escaped hanging while in Bermuda because he had questioned Governor Gates’ authority, leading to his conviction for mutiny; but he was granted a pardon.
When he arrived in Jamestown, he witnessed the Jamestowne settlement after the starving time of the winter of 1609-1610. Hopkins and all the colonists wanted to return to England, but they were forced to stay by the arrival of the new governor, Lord de la Ware. Mary Hopkins, aged 33, died unexpectedly and was buried in Hursley, Hampshire, England on 9 May 1613. After receiving word in Jamestowne about Mary’s death, Hopkins returned to England to care for his orphaned children: Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles.
Back in England, Hopkins married Elizabeth Fisher at St. Mary Whitechapel in London on 19 Feb 1617/18. Stephen and Elizabeth Hopkins embarked on the Mayflower in 1620 with children Constance and Giles. It is possible that Stephen and Mary Hopkins’ daughter named Elizabeth had died by 1620.  When Hopkins wrote his will on 6 Jun 1644, he asked to be buried next to his wife Elizabeth. The destination of the Mayflower had originally been the Virginia Colony; but after landing at Cape Cod, strong winter seas kept the Mayflower from sailing on to Virginia The children of Stephen Hopkins by Mary were (1) Constance who married Nicholas Snow in Plymouth and had 12 children; and (2) Giles who married Catherine Wheldon in Plymouth and had 10 children. Stephen’s children with Elizabeth were (1) Damaris, born in England and died young in Plymouth; (2) Oceanus, born on the Mayflower and died young; (3) Caleb, born in Plymouth and died in Barbados as a seaman; (4) Deborah who married Andrew Ring and had 6 children; (5) Damaris 2 who married Jacob Cooke and had 7 children; (6) Ruth who died unmarried; and (7) Elizabeth who died unmarried. The burial place of Stephen Hopkins
is unknown.

Ancestor of First Mississippi Company Members John Willie Green, Jr., Beverly Zeller Herring