Stephen Hopkins

     Stephen Hopkins was born circa 1582, probably in Hampshire, England. "Stephen was possibly a son of John Hopkins of Winchester. It is known that Stephen Hopkins had a brother in England who provided nails to the Pilgrims; and note is taken of William Hopkins, probably son of John Hopkins of Winchester; that William married there 16 April 1591 Constance Marline; and that the given name Constance, extremely rare in Hampshire, was bestowed by Stephen upon his second daughter."¹

He married Mary (?) circa 1600 in England.¹ He "was undoubtedly the man of that name who served as minister's clerk on the vessel Sea Venture, which sailed from London 2 June 1609, bound for Virginia. The ship was severly damaged in a hurricane, and the company was washed ashore on the Bermudan 'Ile of Divels' on 28 July. The 150 survivors were marooned on the island for nine months, building two vessels which ultimately took them to Virginia. During the sojourn Stephen Hopkins encouraged an uprising by his fellows upon grounds that the Governor's authority pertained only to the voyage and the regime in Virginia, not to the forced existence in Bermuda. For his remarks he was placed under guard, brought before the company in manacles and sentenced to death by court-martial. 'But so penitent hee was and made so much moane, alleadging the ruine of his Wife and Children in this his trespass,' according to William Strachey's record of the voyage, that friends among his cohorts procured a pardon from the Governor. The two newly built vessels, the Patience and the Deliverance, arrived at Jamestown on 24 May 1610, and Stephen may have remained in Virginia for a time. Strachey noted that while Hopkins was very religious, he was contentious and defiant of authority and possessed enough learning to undertake to wrest leadership from others."²

He married Elizabeth Fisher on 19 February 1618 in St. Mary Mallon, Whitechapel, London.¹

Stephen Hopkins immigrated in 1620 to Plymouth"aboard the Mayflower, where he was one of the 'Londoners' or 'strangers' recruited for the voyage. He was called "Master," and only two others of the 17 freemen on the voyage were so styled. Upon the ship's arrival at Cape Cod 11 Nov. 1620, Stephen was among the men signing the Mayflower Compact in the cabin. He was one of three men designated to provide counsel and advice to Captain Myles Standish on the first land expedition of the Pilgrims in the New World. During the third day out, the company chanced upon an Indian deer trap, and Stephen was able to explain its function and danger to his fellows. In February of 1621, when Indians appeared on a neighboring hilltop, Captain Standish took Stephen Hopkins with him to negotiate with the savages. Thereafter, Stephen was invariably deputized to meet the Indians and act as an interpreter. In July of 1621 he served as envoy to friendly Chief Massasoit, and he made a friend for the colonists of Samoset, another Indian whom Stephen entertained in his house."³

He died in 1644 in Plymouth.¹