Grace Hopkins (bef. 1623)

Born before 7 Feb 1623 in Ilchester, Somerset, England

Ancestors

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Biography

Grace was baptized on 7 February 1622/3 in Ilchester, Somerset, England.^[1][2] She is the daughter of William Hopkins and Joan Arnold.

There has been a misunderstanding about when Joan was buried, which has led to the doubt that Grace was her child. Joan's burial on 10 March 1622 is based on the Yeovilton parish register.^[3] This is the Julian calendar year that was being used at the time. The date is in the overlap of the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The dual year to clarify this is 1622/3. Elisha Arnold, in "The Arnold Memorial,"^[2] is evidently incorrect in modifying this date to 1621/2, which is from where many have taken their information.

Grace Hopkins was baptized as "Gratia Hopkins" on 7 February 1622, based on the Ilchester parish register. English parish registers at that time were often written in Latin. The same is true of this date in terms of the Julian and Gregorian calendar overlap. With the dual year, the date is 7 February 1622/3. Another source is a modified transcription converting both her name (to "Grace") and her birth year to Gregorian form (1623).^[4] There is only one William Hopkins in the records for Ilchester and Yeovilton at this time, making it extremely likely her mother was Joan Arnold. This shows that Grace was baptized about a month before her mother was buried.

Elisha Arnold only includes Grace's baptism as part of his listing of entries in the parish register and didn't consider her a child of William and Joan, presumably based on this date confusion.

Sources

1. ↑ "Gratia Hopkins," daughter of "Willami." Somerset Baptism Index, findmypast.co.uk $.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Arnold, Elisha Stephen, The Arnold Memorial: William Arnold of Providence and Pawtuxet, 1587-1675, and a Genealogy of his Descendants. Page 20has transcriptions of the register.
3. ↑ >"Johanne Hopkins," National Burial Index For England & Wales, findmypast.co.uk $.
4. ↑ England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975, findmypast.co.uk $; see also "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch [1], which also uses this modified transcription.