Surname: Hopkins

There are two separate Hopkins branches in my family tree, both of them coming to me via my grandpa Rosmer Kerr. We'll start with an eighth great-grandfather:

• Stephen Hopkins, born about 1582. He arrived at Plymouth aboard the Mayflower. He and his first wife, whose name is not known, were my tenth great-grandparents.
  
• Giles Hopkins, born 30 January 1608 in Hursley, Hampshire, England. He married Catherine Whelden on 9 October 1639 at Plymouth Colony. He died about 1690. Giles and Catherine were my ninth great-grandparents.
  
• Deborah Hopkins, born June 1648 in Eastham, Massachusetts. Deborah married Josiah Cooke, Jr. on 27 July 1668 in Eastham. Deborah and Josiah were my eighth great-grandparents.
  

The second Hopkins branch begins with Rosmer's seventh great-grandfather:

• John Hopkins, born before or about 1614. His wife's name was Jane. John died in 1654, and Jane next married Nathaniel Ward of Hadley, Massachusetts. John and Jane were my ninth great-grandparents.
  
• Stephen Hopkins, born in 1634. He married Dorcas Bronson, and together they had six children. Stephen died in October 1689. He and Dorcas were my eighth great-grandparents.
  
• Mary Hopkins, born about 1671. She married Samuel Sedgwick in 1689. They were my seventh great-grandparents.

For a couple of published genealogies, see Two Hopkins Lines at My Ancestors in Books.

To my knowledge, these two lines have not been proven to be connected. However, one researcher presented a pretty interesting case for just that:

Haxtun, Annie Arnoux. Signers of the Mayflower Compact. New York: Reprinted from The Mail and Express, 1896. Click on STEPHEN HOPKINS, Fourteenth Signer to read what she wrote as it appeared when published by The Mail and Express. You'll need your glasses. Or you can read or download a nice, legible transcription of the Haxtun article at The Vertical File.

I don't know whether Haxtun's theory has ever been proven or disproven. As always, I welcome additional information from anyone who knows more about this topic.

See also

• Stephen Hopkins in the Records of the 17th Century at Pilgrim Hall Museum.
• Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society
  
• Hopkins Surname Origin.