Recent Family Events

An accidental dip in a NY fountain

Another Brigham Young University Graduation

School Days - senior year

class of 44

class of 44

class of 75
class of 68

class of 00
class of 02

class of 04
class of 06

Our grandfather Anthony COLBY - is grandfather of Prophets

Our Relationship to the Prophet Joseph Smith

(our common ancestors 1. Anthony and Susanna COLBY)

1. Anthony COLBY (abt. 1606) Of Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts and is wife Susanna HADDON (abt 1806) of Boston, Suffolk, MA.

Our tenth great grandparents Anthony and Susanna COLBY had eight children, two of them are our ancestors, another is a ancestor of the Prophet Joseph SMITH Jr. Making us cousins of Joseph SMITH Jr. and his mother Lucy MACK.

2. Isaac COLBY (6 Jul 1640) Salisbury, Essex, MA [brother / sisters]

2. Sarah COLBY ( Abt 1635) Cambridge, Middlesex, MA

2. Mary COLBY(19 Sep 1647) Salisbury, Essex, Massachusetts

3. Dorothy COLBY (15 Jun 1677) Amesbury, Essex, MA, daughter of Isaac COLBY
[1 cousin to Sarah BAGLEY / 1 cousin to Phillip SARGENT]

3. Sarah BAGLEY (2 Mar 1662/1663) Boston, Suffolk, MA daughter of Sarah COLBY

3. Phillip SARGENT Sr. (12 Aug 1672) Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, son of Mary COLBY
[1 cousin to Sarah BAGLEY / 1 cousin to Dorothy COLBY]

4. Martha HADLEY (23 Oct 1704) Amesbury, Essex, MA, daughter of Dorothy COLBY.
[2 cousin to Ebenezer MACK and 2 cousin to Phillip SARGENT who was her husband]

4. Ebenezer MACK (8 Dec 1697) Lyme, New London, CT

4. Phillip SARGENT Jr. (9 May 1731) Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts
[2 cousin to Ebenezer MACK and 2 cousin to Martha HADLEY who was his wife]

5. Martha SARGENT (14 Jul 1725) Amesbury, Essex, MA
[twice 3 cousin to Solomon MACK]

5. Solomon MACK (15 Sep 1732) Lyme, New London, CT

6. Moses QUIMBY (29 Sep 1755) Kingston, Rockingham, NH
[twice a 4 cousin to Lucy MACK]

6. Lucy MACK (8 Jul 1775) Gilsum, Cheshire, NH

7. Betsey QUIMBY (29 Jun 1795) Lunenburg, Essex, VT
[twice 5 cousin to Joseph SMITH Jr.]

7. Joseph SMITH, Jr. (23 Dec 1805) Sharon, Windsor, VT

8. Almeda Sophia ROUNDY (7 Mar 1829) Spafford, Onondaga, NY
[twice 5 cousin 1 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]
[twice 5 cousin to Joseph F. SMITH]

9. Charles PARKER (30 Dec 1853) Centerville, Davis, UT
[twice 5 cousin 2 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]
[twice 7 cousin to Joseph Fielding SMITH]

10. Laura Elizabeth PARKER (24 Jan 1889) Kanarraville, Iron, UT
[twice 5 cousin 3 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]

11. Kirt DeMar WOOD (12 Dec 1923) Hurricane, Washington, UT
[twice 5 cousin 4 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]

12. Lark
[twice 5 cousin 5 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]

13. TR
[twice 5 cousin 6 times removed to Joseph SMITH Jr.]

Union Soldier Escapes Confederate Prison

Fielding ROBERSON (1838-1924)
and Mary Ann DENBO (1857-1916)

Fielding ROBERSON
Birth: 21 May 1838, Crawford Co., IN, son of James ROBERSON and Fannie Eliza FROMAN

Married: 28 Sep 1873, English, Crawford, Indiana, Mary Ann DENBO daughter of Woodfield Grant DENBO and Lucinda MATHERS. Fielding and Mary Ann were the parents nine son and three daughter: Alva Thomas ROBERSON b.1878-d.1965, James Washington ROBERSON b.1875-d.1964, Lillie Jane ROBERSON LONGEST b.1878-1906, Fannie Lucinda ROBERSON b.1880-d.1905, Mann Woodfield ROBERSON b.1882-d.1969, Grover Cleveland ROBERSON b.1884-d.1965, Charles Edward ROBERSON b.1886-d.1981, William Fielding ROBERSON b.1888-d.1978, Bertha Mable ROBERSON LASWELL b.1890-d.1966, Reuben Russell ROBERSON b. 1893-d.1959, (Reuben married 1913 Edna Lula SEATON 1894-1961), George Hazelwood ROBERSON b.1895-d.1918, Irvin Ember ROBERSON b.1897-d.1992.

Death: 5 Sep 1924, Crawford Co., IN
Burial: Hamilton Roberson Cemetery, English, IN

Note: Civil War - Fielding ROBERSON
[Fielding Roberson Private Co E 50 REGT, Enlisted 1861]
Pvt. Co. E, 28th Regt. (1st Cav.) Ind Vol
age 24
Eyes blue, hair light, 5'7", complexion light
Mustered in April 4 1862 in Indianapolis, IN

Fielding was in the Indiana Cavalry during the civil war. He had three horses shot from under him during the battles. He must have been in the thick of it. He was captured, I believe, at Vicksburg, He smuggled a spoon from one of the meals and he and two other prisoners dug under the prison wall. The floor was dirt.

During the days they filled the hole back up and one of them would sit on it so they never got caught. It took several days to dig out. The dark night they finally made it they crawled out in pitch darkness. They had no directions and did not know which direction to go. The other two men crawled back in the prison and filled the hole. Grandpa decided he would go for it.

He traveled by 'night and slept in barns and straw stacks by day. One morning he awoke in the same barn he'd slept in three nights before. He was tired and hungry and decided to give himself up. He went to the house and told them who he was. It so happened that they were Northern Sympathizers. They fed him a big meal and told him how to get back to his outfit, which he managed to do. (Roberson Family Stories August 2006-Remembered and written by: Jack Roger Roberson, b. 1931)

Other family memories of Fielding:
Grandma Wanda Remembers when she was 3 years old, her mother, Edna, was canning pears in the yard. Uncle Grover came in a wagon and took her to visit her Grandpa Fielding . She was his favorite grandchild. She remembers his very wet kiss.

Fielding came home one day and found their log cabin home on fire. He went into the house put on his coonskin cap and walked out of the house. That was the only thing that survived the fire. Grandma Wanda remembers playing with that hat as a child until there was nothing left of it.

Fielding ROBERSON (1838-1924) and Mary Ann DENBO (1857-1916) marker, Hamilton Cemetery, CRAWFORD, Indiana

THE MICHAEL REASOR AND ALLIED FAMILIES

Michael REASOR Jr. Headstone - Little Mount Cemetery, Spencer County, Kentucky

THE MICHAEL REASOR AND ALLIED FAMILIES
_______________
F. HINER DALE
COPYRIGHT 1941

Page 5

The Early History of The Michael Reasor Family

In the year of 1653 three brothers, Wellington Reasor, William Reasor and George Reasor left their ancestral home in Bern, Switzerland and traveled to Portsmouth, England, where they became passengers on the good ship “John & Thomas” and sailed for America. They arrived safely and landed at Jamestown, Virginia. Each of the three brothers received grants of land in Virginia, upon which they settled and carved a home in the wilderness.

Wellington Reasor, whose descendants this book concerns married and had a son named Virginia. Virginia married and had a son named Michael, who was born in 1735. Michael was of an adventurous nature and served in Dunmore’s war in 1774. Lord Dunmore, born in Scotland in 1732, had come to the colonies and had been named Governor of New York in 1770. In 1771, he was made Governor of Virginia and in 1774, he led a campaign against the Ohio Indians. This campaign is known in history as Dunmore’s War.

For his services in this war, Michael Reasor, Sr., received a warrant for fifty acres of land in Virginia. (See Vol. 2 p 328 Archives of Virginia State Library.) Michael Reasor, Sr. lived at Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. From There he moved to Augusia County, thence to Washington County, where he took up 112 acres of land on O’Possum Creek (See page 1244 First Surveys of Land in Washington County, Virginia.) On April 29, 1777, Michael Reasor, Sr. was appointed Administrator of the Estate of John Sex in Washington County. (See Annals of Virginia Page 959). Michael Reasor Sr. died at the age of 94 in Washington County, Virginia.

Family and official records tell little more of the life of Michael Reasor, Sr. Only two sons are mentioned, Michael and Frederick. It is with the descendants of Michael Reasor whose lives fill most of the remaining pages of this book. On February 3rd, 1760 Michael Reasor [Jr.] was born at Winchester, Virginia.

On May 1, 1777, Michael Reasor enlisted as fifer in Captain Gilkason’s Company of Colonel Kennedy’s Virginia Regiment under General George Washington and marched through Maryland to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and later to Philadelphia. In January, 1779, he was discharged at Philadelphia. Then Michael Reasor and his brother Frederick had a ship fitted out and sailed for Germany, and obtained a cargo of one half million dollars worth of leather goods for the Revolutionary army. Upon their return voyage a violent storm arose and disabled their ship. The Reasor brothers and their sailors were rescued by a passing Scotch vessel, and the Reasor brothers were landed in Philadelphia, without a dollar. Their ship and its cargo was abandoned to the waves of the ocean. Back on American soil the penniless, Michael Reasor reenlisted in the Revolutionary was under

Page 6
George Washington at Winchester, Virginia, in April, 1781, in Captain William Frost’s Virginia Company and he served with the Revolutionary army until September 1, 1781, when he was discharged at Richmond Virginia. He was present when Cornwallis surrendered his sword to George Washington.

For his services in the Revolutionary army, Michael Reasor was granted a pension of sixty dollars per year on his application S. 16514 dated September 10, 1832, which became effective as of March 4, 1831. His pension certificate was numbered 6580. His pension was discontinued on March 4, 1843 for the reason that he had acquired land to such an extent, that under the law a pension could no longer be paid.

By reason of his services in the Revolutionary war, all of his male descendants are eligible for membership in that patriotic society known as the “Sons of the American Revolution” and all of his female descendants are eligible for membership in the “Daughters of the American Revolution.”

On March 12, 1843, Michael Reasor certified to the War Department that he had resided in Spencer County, Kentucky, formerly a part of Shelby County, Kentucky, for forty years and that prior there to he had resided at Winchester, Virginia.

Soon after Michael Reasor was discharged from the Army of the Revolution the second time, and on February 27, 1782, at Winchester, Virginia, he married Anna Herbert, who was born in New Jersey, September 1, 1760. Her father, Thomas Herbert, was born in Germany in 1730. On June 11, 1843, Michael Reasor died at his home at Little Mount, Spencer County, Kentucky, and hi is buried in Little Mount cemetery. Anna Herbert died at Little Mount July 5th, 1847, and is buried beside her husband. They were cared for in their declining years by their son, James Reasor, who lived on the home place with them.

After their marriage Michael Reasor and wife resided at Winchester, Virginia, until 1797, at which time they had seven children. They then immigrated to what is now Spencer County, Kentucky, and settled on land at Little Mount, where they resided until the time of their death.

On the 23rd day of July, 1825, Michael reasor and his wife gave their son, Josiah, 58 acres of land on Brashears Creek in Spencer county, Kentucky. The original deed signed by Michael and Anna Reasor is now in the possession of Lula H. Greene of Pampa, Texas, a descendant.

In Will Book B. page 449 at Taylorsville, Kentucky, is given the settlement of the Michael Reasor estate, with receipts from the heirs. The heirs who signed receipts are as follows: Sinthy Ann Pector; Daniel Reasor; Margaret Scott; Mary Ann Lewis; James Brown;

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Eunice Brown, George Pectol; William Budd, Eliza Budd; Smith
Eunice Brown, George Pectol, Sarah Pectol; William Budd, Eliza Budd; Smith Reasor: William Reasor; Elizabeth Cronk; Ann Moore and Ruth Willis, heirs of Frederick Reasor; Samuel McCutcheon and Sarah McCutheon; John Galloway and Hannah Galloway; John Scott and Anna Scott; Harmon Scott and Margaret Scott. In the settlement of the estate, Dr. William Reasor received $82.50 for medical services rendered his father and his father’s family. There was no will and the estate was closed in 1848, by Josiah Reasor, a son, administrator. [Typed as found in book.]

Unfortunately little is known of the descendants of Frederick Reasor, brother of Michael. Frederick married Celia Copper November 27, 1887, in Winchester, Virginia, and moved to Scott County, Kentucky. His two daughters married in Scott county, Kentucky, and with their husbands, moved to Indiana. At the time of this publication, no more is known of them or their descendants, if any.

Children of Michael Reasor and Anna Herbert.
- Thomas Reasor B. in VA. Dec 27 1782, D. young unmarried.
I - Frederick Reasor B. in VA. Jan 6, 1785.
I I - Hannah Reasor B. in VA. Jan 26, 1787.
II I - Josiah Reasor B. in VA. Apil 2, 1789..
IV - Daniel Reasor B. in VA. June 15, 1791.
V - Elizabeth Reasor B. in VA. Sept. 29, 1793.
VI - Dr. William Reasor B. in VA. Feb. 10,1796.
VII - Anna Reasor B. in KY. Dec 25, 1797.
VIII - Margaret Reasor B. in KY. June 10, 1800.
IX - James Reasor B. in KY. Aug. 6, 1803.
X - Sarah Reasor B. in KY. Nov. 14,1804.

Ancestry Chain: BR, MRR, Garland Lee REASOR, Edgar Webster REASOR, Daniel Breckenridge REASOR, Daniel REASOR Jr., Daniel REASOR Sr., Michael REASOR Jr., Michael REASOR Sr.

Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR

Back Left: "Bood" Richard Sylvan REASOR b.1900, Edgar Webster REASOR b.1885 IN-d.1953 IN, Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR b.1887 IN-d.1985 IN, "Ella" Mary Alice Bell went thru life known as Ella Hammond b.1862 standing behind her sister, Elizabeth Jane BELL REASOR b.1863 IN-d.1947 IN, Gladys Gwendolyn REASOR LINTON b.1909.
Front Left: in front of "Bood" the blond boy Gerald Lester REASOR b.1914, taller boy Glenn Winnifred REASOR b.1910, two little boys are twins Gordan Lloyd REASOR b.1917 IN and Garland Lee REASOR b. 1917-d.2004 WA, sitting Elizabeth CURL BELL b.1839 IN-d.1933 IN, Opal Hall (with hand over her face) died at age 18, in front of of Gladys is Goldia Blanche REASOR GOLDMAN MILLER b.1913.

The life story of Lillie Belle Lytle Reasor.
as written for Kay....August 19, 1965,

Lillie had come from Indiana to Colorado to visit her son Lee and spent a month.

"The year 1887, James Warren Lytle lived on a small farm in a valley with cliffs on either side. He had six children. Namely Austin, Charlie, Lemuel, Rosa Monzelle, George Fredrick and Zena Monroe. On February 23, 1887 another little blond girl, that little girls name was Lillie Belle. Me. Came to live with them. The last of the family increase.

We lived in a four room house. Pretty full but we had fun. At Mifflin, Ind. When I was five years old I started to school. Had to walk 1 1/2 miles through mud and over creek, on footlogs. One time my sister Rosa fell off a foot log into the water. I got pretty scared. My teacher's name was Henry Dolittle. I went to a one room school through the 8th grade. We didn't have high school to go to then like we do now. I went to summer school instead. Studying to be a teacher which my mother wished me to be.

Back to the farm, we all had fun. Horse back riding, going to partys, apple pealing and cane stripping. We would work awhile then we'd all go out and play tag, or drop the handkerchief. The boys and girls went around together. Thats where I met my husband to be. We were at an apple pealing party. He took me home from there. Not in a car, no. We didn't have carsback then. We walked, rode horse back, or in a buggy. If a young man had a horse and buggy he was some 'pumpkin'! The girls were all after him. I generally rode on the horse behind Edgar.
That was my husband's name. Edgar Webster Reasor from Mifflin, Ind. He was borned in Dubois Co, Ind, near Birdseye.

Talking about horse and buggy days, one day my boy friend and I were walking along a road along came another boy with two fine horses to a buggy. He stopped and asked me to ride. I did. How silly! Anyway the next Sunday the boy I left went to the livery stable and hired a horse and buggy to take me to a church dedication. It worked. Ha. Guess we were naughty girls then, the same as now. No we didn't smoke, wear shorts, or drink.

I joined the Methodist church at Mifflin when I was about 15. The only church we had to go to. We enjoyed going to church and Sunday School. I never worked away from home. I did pick black berries and sell them for 10 cents per gallon, for spending money.

Back them days one could get a new calico dress for six cents per yard, took four yards for a dress. A new pair of shoes for $1.25 and we wore yarn stockings in the winter, which my mother knitted. In the summer cotton stockings, about ten cents a pair. We did very well selling berries at ten cents per gallon.

On April 15, 1908 Edgar and I were married. We rode in a buggy to English and got the license and were very quietly married. I had a white dress. We never had any honeymoon. Went back home. But oh what a charivari we did get. Even crawled under the house and shot guns. My husband had been converted to the Mormon Church. We were both baptized May 1909 by Mormon Elders. We had six children. Gladys Gwendowlin was born at Mifflin Sept 29, 1909. Glenn Winfred was born near Taswell Dec 16, 1910, Goldia Blanch March 18, 1919 at Taswell, Gerald Lester Dec 15 at Eckerty. Garland Lee Jan 21, 1917 and Lloyd Gordon Jan 21, 1917 at Eckerty. When the twins were 3 years old we moved to a farm near Grantsburg. Where they all grew up and went to school. Lee and Lloyd graduated from high school at Leavenworth, Ind. The children were all baptized in the LDS church. After children were all married we stayed on the farm awhile. Edgar contacted hart trouble. We bought property and moved to Endlish, Ind. He passed away in 1953. I went to work babysitting and am still babysitting."

!Letter excerpts from Lillie Reasor sent to ...Kay... 28 Nov 1977 "In regard to the kind of dress I wore when I was pregneant. We called them Mother Hubbards. Had a yoke at the top then gathered the rest and sewed onto the yoke. And let it hang loose around and long. In regard to nursing twins--I'd sit in a rocking chair. One on each knee and each one had a breast to suck on. Then they would go to sleep. I'd have to sit till Edgar came in and took one and put it to bed. Then I could get up with the other one and put him to bed. Never had a bottle for either one. I had a man to tell me one time I was as good as a Jersey cow. Ha. Boy it was fun raising two boys. A fellow don't know what he can do till he tries. Any way we raised two wonderful boys. Don't you think so"

!26 Feb 1978 "You were talking about my wedding dress. It was white and I made it myself. I embroidered it with white. Real pretty. It wasn't real long like most of them now. I didn't like long dresses.

!21 Mar 1978 "You asked about games we played when I was young. I remember one, we called 'Smile.' Everyone sat in a circle, one person went around to one at a time and tried to get them to smile. If they smiled or showed their teeth they had to give a 'forfeit,' like a pencil or knife, ring, or something they would want back. Then some one took a forfeit in his hand and goes to a person and says 'heavy, heavy hangs over your head.' He says fine or super fine, if it is a girls forfeit they say superfine, a boy is fine. What shall the owner do to redeem it? Then he tells some crazy thing they have to do. Like turn a somersault or stand on their head, roll over on the floor or some crazy stunt. We kids liked to play that, and tag. The kids all form a ring by joining hands and some one goes around to tap someone and start out running. If they catch you, you go into the ring for "soap grease." And another one was to drop a handkerchief behind someone. If he doesn't see it the one that dropped it gets back around and puts him in to the ring for "soap grease". Well probably you know how to play these games but they are fun to play.

!31 Jan 1978 "You wanted to know how we made soap. We lived on the farm and raised hogs. We butchered the hogs for our meat. When we butchered a hog we would strip the fat off the intestines. And rendered the grease out of them and made soap out of the grease. Or we used chicken fat or any other fat, fried bacon fat. We had a big iron kettle we would put everything in it. Some times I had meat scraps I'd put them in the kettle with some water and a can of lye and boil them until the meat scraps were cooked up with lye water. It would boil like jelly when it was done. Now there, ha ha! Is that the way you made soap? I guess you just had the pease and lye and a little water.

Two Disputed relationships with the Mayflower 1620

From what I have read on what seem to be official Mayflower biographies it seems two of our relationships to the Mayflower are doubtful. Although the following relationships have been sealed several times and I know that family relationships researched for eternal purposes come with special help, there are also many problems with newfamilysearch connections.

I am sure we would not be invited to join any Mayflower descendants association - If our only relationships to Mayflower Pilgrims were disputed. Some say that Berthia Hopins is not a child of Stephen Hopkins claiming her mother was never married to Stephen Hopkins. Peter Brown Jr. is thought not to be the son of Peter Brown.

(Follow the label Mayflower to see our other Mayflower grandfathers.)

Mayflower 1620

Possible 10th great grandfather Peter Brown of the Mayflower b.1582

Peter Browne/ BROWN Jr. b.1632

Abigail BROWN b.1662
Jonathan FOWLER b.1685
Catherine FOWLER b.1723
Lydia NOBLE b.1768
Horace Datus ENSIGN b.1797
Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831
Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859
George Ensign SMITH b.1898
Camilla SMITH b.1926
Lark
JR

[Research of Amy Isaksen gives Peter Jr. as son of Mary and Peter BROWN]
For Peter Brown Jr. as son of Peter Brown see: History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters, By Leon C. Hills, Leon Clark Hills.

Peter BROWN Biographical Summary

Baptized: 26 January 1594/5, Dorking, Surrey, England,
son of William Browne.
Marriages:

• Martha Ford, by about 1626, Plymouth.
• Mary, by about 1631, Plymouth.

Death: 1633, probably in the autumn during the general sickness at that time.
Children by Martha: Mary, Priscilla
Children by Mary: Rebecca, and a child whose name has not been discovered.

[Disputed Relationship: Peter Brown Jr. son of Mary and Peter Brown.]

Peter Browne's English origins were just recently discovered. [Author] published the results of my research and discoveries into his origins in The American Genealogist, 79(July 2004, came out in October):161-178. Peter Browne was baptized in Dorking, co. Surrey, England on 26 January 1594/5, the son of William Browne. The Browne family appears to have had several associations with the Mullins family of Dorking, who also came on the Mayflower. Peter Browne's brother John Browne came to America about 1632, and settled in Duxbury, just to the north of Plymouth. John Browne was baptized in Dorking on 29 June 1600.

On 12 January 1621, Peter Browne and John Goodman had been cutting thatch for house roofing all morning. They ate some meat and went for a short walk to refresh themselves, when their two dogs (an English mastiff and a English spaniel) spied a great deer and gave chance. Peter and John followed and quickly got lost. They wandered around the entire afternoon in the rain, and spent the night in a tree (and pacing back and forth under it) fearing that they had heard lions roaring in the woods. The next day they made their way up a hill, spotted the Bay, reoriented themselves, and made it back home to an extremely worried Colony that had already sent out two exploring parties in an attempt to find them.

In a partial list of the house locations of the Pilgrims made out in 1620, John Goodman and Peter Browne appear to have been neighbors on the south side of the Street and the ocean side of the Highway. Peter Browne was apparently still living there during the 1623 Division of Land. By about 1626, he married Martha Ford, who arrived as one of the only female passengers on the ship Fortune in 1621. She gave birth almost immediately after arriving, but husband Ford apparently died during the voyage or shortly after arrival. In the 1627 Division of Cattle he, his wife Martha (Ford), his daughter Mary Browne, and his stepchildren John and Martha Ford were included with the Samuel Fuller and Anthony Anable families. About a year later, Peter and Martha would have daughter Priscilla (perhaps named after Mayflower passenger Priscilla Mullins who was also from Dorking), but wife Martha would die shortly thereafter. Peter remarried to a woman named Mary, whose maiden name has not been discovered. With her, he had a daughter Rebecca born about 1631, and another child who was born about 1633 and died before reaching adulthood (the name of this child has not been discovered).

Peter Browne died in 1633, probably during the general sickness that occurred that autumn and also killed neighbor Samuel Fuller, Mayflower passenger Francis Eaton, and several others in Plymouth. His estate inventory taken 10 October 1633 shows that he owned 130 bushels of corn, six melch goats, one cow, eight sheep, and a number of pigs, among other things.

http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/PeterBrowne.php

See Also: Caleb Johnson, "The Probable English Origin of Mayflower Passenger Peter Browne, And His Association with Mayflower Passenger William Mullins," The American Genealogist 79(July 2004):161-178.


Possible 12th great grandfather Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower b.1581

Berthia HOPKINS b.1605
Mark KELSEY b.1628
Thomas KELSEY b.1663
Thomas KELSEY b.1701
Thomas KELSEY b.1729
Marcy KELSEY b.1764
Thomas LUCAS b.1788
Marcy Jane LUCAS b.1814
Polly WILLIAMS b.1838
Elizabeth Ann DAVIS b.1859
Laura Elizabeth PARKER b.1889
Kirt DeMar WOOD b.1923
Lark
TR

Baptized: 30 April 1581, Upper Clatford, Hampshire, England, son of John and Elizabeth (Williams) Hopkins.
Marriages:

• Mary, maiden name unknown, prior to 1604, probably in Hampshire, England.
• Elizabeth Fisher, 19 February 1617/8, St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, Middlesex, England

Death: Between 6 June 1644 and 17 July 1644, at Plymouth.
Children by Mary: Elizabeth, Constance, Giles
Children by Elizabeth: Damaris, Oceanus, Caleb, Deborah, Damaris, Ruth, and Elizabeth.

[Disputed Relationship: Some believe Constance DUDLEY was a wife of Stephen HOPKINS, married 1599 in England. She was the mother of Berthia HOPKINS and John HOPKINS. Constance died in England between 1609-1613.]

Stephen HOPKINS Biographical Summary

Stephen Hopkins was from Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, and in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire; he and wife Mary had their children Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles all baptized there. It has long been claimed that the Hopkins family was from Wortley, Gloucester, but this was disproven in 1998. For more information on the true English origins of Stephen Hopkins, see the "Published Research" section at the bottom of this page.

Stephen Hopkins went with the ship Sea Venture on a voyage to Jamestown, Virginia in 1609 as a minister's clerk, but the ship wrecked in the "Isle of Devils" in the Bermudas. Stranded on an island for ten months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. Six months into the castaway, Stephen Hopkins and several others organized a mutiny against the current governor. The mutiny was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with sorrow and tears. "So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company". He managed to get his sentence commuted.

Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown. How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate which mentions her children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles.

Stephen was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher, but apparently had every intention of bringing his family back to Virginia. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife, and children Constance, Giles, and Damaris on the Mayflower (child Elizabeth apparently had died). Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrims shortly after arrival, perhaps a result of his being one of the few individuals who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions, and was used almost as an "expert" on Native Americans for the first few contacts. While out exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. And when Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Stephen Hopkins' house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several of the ambassadorial missions to meet with the various Indian groups in the region.

Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636, and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to occasionally run afoul of the Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday. Early the next year he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively in his house: guest William Reynolds was fined, but the others were acquitted. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Stephen Hopkins' maidservant got pregnant from Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled he was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out of his household and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy's remaining two years of service from him: agreeing to support her and child.

Stephen died in 1644, and made out a will, asking to be buried near his wife, and naming his

surviving children.

http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/StephenHopkins.php

See Also: Will of Stephen HOPKINS

See Also: Ernest M. Christiensen, "The Probable Parentage of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower," The American Genealogist, 79(October 2004):241-249.

See Also: Caleb Johnson, "The True Origins of Mayflower Passenger Stephen Hopkins," The American Genealogist, 73(1998):161-171.