Another interesting family tidbit

Ok, even though Thanksgiving is next week I am posting this now while I am thinking about this family history lesson 101. Besides my brain might be mush by next week! We have another great person in our family gene pool. His name is Stepheh Hopkins. Here is his interesting adventures....

Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins is the same Stephen Hopkins who was on board the Sea Venture, which was shipwrecked in Bermuda in 1609. The Sea Venture was part of a fleet of 9 ships under the command of Sir George Somers and Sir William Gates. Scattered by a hurricane, some of the ships made their way to Jamestown. The Sea Venture, however, was wrecked off Bermuda. Stephen Hopkins was a minister’s clerk who fomented a mutiny on the grounds that the authority of the governor ceased when the ship was wrecked. Stephen Hopkins was sentenced to death, but pardoned, with reference made to his [unnamed] wife and children. This Stephen Hopkins spent a further two years in the English colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. Before going back to England. He then later tried coming to the Free World on the Mayflower. Elizabeth Hopkins accompanied her husband on the Mayflower. With them were Stephen’s two children by his first marriage (Giles and Constanta), and Elizabeth and Stephen’s daughter Damaris. Their son, Oceanus, was born while the Mayflower was at sea.

Stephen Hopkins had positions of responsibility in the Colony. One of which being one of the signers of The Mayflower Compact. He was one of 10 men that set out on December 6, 1620 that had one of the first encounters with the "Native People". Hopkins and Edward Winslow were chosen to approach Massasoit and Hopkins repeated this duty as emissary. He nevertheless ran afoul of the law several times, for assault, for not properly regulating other people’s alcohol intake, and for overpricing.