Stephen Hopkins and All Saints Church, Upper Clatford, Hampshire

Happy new year to all!

I first wrote about Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644), my 10th great grandfather (and my direct Mayflower ancestor), soon after I began this blog, here. Today, another genealogy blogger, Heather Wilkinson Rojo, has written a post on her blog, Nutfield Genealogy, in her series of Tombstone Tuesdays posts about the churchyard in Upper Clatford, Hampshire, England, Stephen's birthplace. But Heather's post includes photos, and so I decided to post a link to her excellent post here. While you're looking at these photos, be sure to click on the link to Heather's earlier post that gives more information about Stephen.

Here's my line of descent from Stephen Hopkins to my great grandmother, Charlotte Butler:

Stephen Hopkins m Mary Kent

Giles Hopkins m Katherine Weldon

Deborah Hopkins m Josiah Cooke

Deborah Cooke m Moses Godfrey

David Godfrey m Priscilla Baker

Jonathan Godfrey m Lucy Calkin 

Samuel Godfrey m Olive Webster

Margaret White Godfrey m John Waddell Fisher

Mary Olive Fisher m Samuel Butler

Charlotte Butler m Elias Nelson

The never ending story continues....



© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2018 All rights reserved

The Nova Scotia roots weekend

I spent this past weekend in Nova Scotia, to attend the annual meeting of the Nova Scotia Colony of Mayflower Descendants in Digby. There was a great write-up about the colony and the large number of Nova Scotia Mayflower descendants in the Halifax Chronicle Herald earlier in the week, generating wonderful attendance on Saturday.

Stephen Hopkins is my Mayflower ancestor. His direct descendant and my 6th great grandparent, David Godfrey first arrived in Nova Scotia in about 1761.

After arriving at Halifax early Friday afternoon, I took what I intended to be a leisurely scenic route to my friends in Kentville from the airport, intent on doing some exploring. But it was pouring rain all afternoon, and so while I still did the drive, the scenic part wasn't really that visible at times. I did drive to Great Village (today's population is 500), which is where my father and uncles spent many boyhood summers working on their Nelson grandparents' farm (and giving respite to my grandmother, who had five sons in nine years).

That farmland was the Crown land grant (those seized Acadian lands again) that my New England Planter 4th great grandfather Alexander Nelson received in 1761. At the Colony meeting on Saturday, I learned from an excellent guest speaker that there may be some merit to the story that he fought with General Wolfe at the Plains of Abraham in 1759. I have new leads in the form of muster rolls to explore on that story.

from The Elizabeth Bishop Centenary Blog

I need to do more research about Great Village, but I did find this image of farmland there. Perhaps my ancestors farm is seen here.

Besides Great Village, on my scenic rainy drive, I saw many place names and family names with which I've grown very familiar through my years of genealogy research. Places like Old Barns and Salmon River. Family names like Archibald and Yuill and so on. Isn't it comforting to be among your ancestors?

The never ending story continues....

Our immigrant ancestors -- David Godfrey & Priscilla Baker

Continuing to recount my New England ancestors, my 6th great grandparents, David Godfrey (abt 1707-abt 1777) and Priscilla Baker (abt 1710-abt 1777) married on Cape Cod in Chatham on 14 Oct 1731. Through his grandmother Deborah Cooke, David is a 2nd great grandson of Mayflower passengers Stephen Hopkins, and great grandson of Giles Hopkins.

By about 1748, David and Priscilla had moved with their family to Connecticut, where they lived for about 12 or 13 years. They followed their eldest son, a sea captain, also David (1732-1813), to Nova Scotia, as part of the New England Planters' arrival in about 1761, when David received a land grant in Horton, which he farmed. David and Priscilla remained in Nova Scotia for the rest of their lives.

I descend from David and Priscilla's second son, Jonathan (1739-1826) and his wife, Lucy Calkin (1740-1825), who after arriving from Connecticut, lived first in Cornwallis and later, Windsor. They arrived in Nova Scotia about 1766.

There are many Godfrey descendants across North America today, including of course, in Nova Scotia.

The earliest Godfreys are recorded in Eastham, on Cape Cod in the mid 1660s. The first, George Godfrey, arrived there by 1661 from England, married (his wife's name is unknown), and began a family that grew to at least nine children, born between 1663 and 1688.

The never ending story continues...

Our Immigrant Ancestors -- Stephen Hopkins

With thanks to Lorine McGuinnes Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy for the idea, this post kicks off a weekly feature focusing on one of my many immigrant ancestors to North America. And who better to start with, than my first immigrant ancestor? I'm speaking of course of Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644), my 10th great grandfather.

It's true that the Mayflower reached what is now Plymouth on Cape Cod in 1620, but Stephen actually came earlier -- to Jamestown, the first and ill-fated settlement of the Virginia colony in 1610.

To say that Stephen led an interesting life is an understatement. Sailing to Jamestown aboard the Sea Venture in 1609 from England to Virginia, he was shipwrecked in a bad storm in Bermuda. You can more read about the Sea Venture here. Some say that Shakespeare's The Tempest is based on this event, but that may be a tall tale. He and his companions managed to make their way from Bermuda to Virginia almost a year later, finding the colony decimated by starvation. Some time after the 1613 death in England of his first wife, Stephen returned there, only to return in 1620 with his new wife and his blended family, including his son Giles, from whom I descend.

Noted Mayflower historian Caleb Johnson wrote a biography about my ancestor that's a fascinating read. Here's a bit of a synopsis of Here I Shall Die Ashore.

Stephen wasn't fleeing religious persecution when he signed on to the Mayflower. He was not a Puritan or a Separatist. He was on the Mayflower as a "stranger", someone interested in the potential economic opportunities that the New World might present. In other words, he was the first entrepreneur in my far-flung family. He was one of 41 men who signed the Mayflower Compact very soon after they reached shore. This was the first governing document in the New World. Read more.

Immigrant Ancestors, 1942 entry

Once settled in Plymouth, Stephen operated a tavern, but ran into problems with the authorities. Plymouth records indicate that he let "men drink in his house upon the Lords day".. "for suffering servants and others to sit drinking in his house" (contrary to Court orders) Also to play games "& such like misdemeanors, is therefore fined fourty shillings." And unscrupulous, with the Court having several charges against him "for selling wine, beere, strong waters, and nutmeggs at excessiue rates, is fyned." (source: Mayflower Quarterly, November 2011)

Last September, at the annual two-day meeting of the Nova Scotia Colony of Mayflower Descendants, I met "Stephen Hopkins", very convincingly interpreted in character, language and costume by professional colonial interpreter Chris Messier of Plimoth Plantation. It was a really wonderful experience.

The Nova Scotia Colony is a branch of the Canadian Society of Mayflower Descendants, which is a partner society of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. It is thanks to yet another internet cousin that I learned of my descent from Stephen Hopkins, a discovery that opened the doors to many other finds over the years. And yes, I'm a member of the Society.

I was so excited last year when the National Geographic Channel produced Saints and Strangers, that aired the week of American Thanksgiving. It chronicled the Mayflower passengers' earliest days. But the National Geographic Channel we get in Canada is licensed to another broadcaster who isn't bound to broadcast all of the American channel's programming. The things you learn when you ask why. Instead, they air mindless looped pseudo reality programming with titles like Airport Security: Colombia, Science of Stupid, and Border Security. I'm still waiting to see Saints and Strangers. I'm sure that one day I will.

This is a very abbreviated history of my 10th great grandfather, Stephen Hopkins. Much has been written about my ancestor. 

The never ending story continues....

The Nelson side -- Nova Scotia

Elizabeth Alice Nelson (1879-1953) -- always called Alice -- was my paternal grandmother.

Alice Nelson

She was born in Salmon River, Colchester, Nova Scotia, now part of Truro and near Great Village. It is through Alice that I descend from ordinary people, heroes and villains, nobility, royals, Magna Carta sureties and barons, a Mayflower passenger and some of the oldest families of North America.

Alice trained as a teacher at the Truro Normal College, but teaching was not for her it seemed. So in 1908, aged 28, she went off to Montreal to become part of what became the first graduating class of registered nurses at the Royal Victoria Hospital. In her final months as a student, she was assigned to care for a young man who was recovering from an appendectomy. That man was my grandfather, John James Dougherty (1879-1953). Alice graduated, but never worked as a nurse, instead marrying John on 20 Sep 1909 in Montreal, after converting to Roman Catholicism, having been raised a Baptist.

Marriage record, St Michael the Archangel Parish register

The first Nelson to come to the Truro area was my fourth great grandfather, Alexander Nelson (abt 1737-1803), who may or may not have fought with General Wolfe at the Plains of Abraham -- that's one of the stories or perhaps a tall tale. He was probably born in Glasgow, Scotland. Alexander was a New England Planter who arrived in Nova Scotia from Boston, newly married, in 1761 and received a Crown land grant.

Alexander Nelson land grant

These land grants were of seized lands during the Acadian Expulsion, a fact not to be proud about. I believe a part of the land Alexander received remains in Nelson hands to this day. My father and his brothers spent many boyhood summers working on the farm in Great Village.

Alexander was followed to Nova Scotia over the next 25 years by many other of my New England ancestors. And yet, I still can't prove any link to United Empire Loyalists -- yet -- which some friends will find very funny indeed.

Alexander and his wife Margaret had at least 13 children, some of whom died young, but many more of whom married and had their own large families. Some of those stayed in Nova Scotia, others went to the United States. Besides me, some of Alexander's better known descendants are Wild Bill Hickok and Ozzie Nelson (the 1950s Ozzie and Harriet show).

The never ending story continues.