John Hopkins Sr (abt. 1732 - bef. 1791)

Born about 16 May 1732 in Ireland

Husband of Jean (Gordon) Hopkins — married 12 Oct 1759 in Augusta County, Virginia

Descendants

Died before 4 Jun 1791 before about age 59 in Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Elida Tirey [send private message], Richard Lanman [send private message], and Phillip Thompson [send private message]

Biography

John Hopkins was born in 1732 in Ulster, Ireland.^[1] The identity of his parents is not clear. He had two brothers, William and Archibald. See Research Notes.

In September 1758, a list of Augusta County (Rockingham was then part of Augusta County) men who fought in the French and Indian War to whom pay was due included Archibald Hopkins and John Hopkins (Lieut.)

John married Jean Gordon 12 Oct 1759 in Augusta County, Virginia.^[1][2][3] They had the following known children:

1. Archibald Hopkins (1760–1848)
2. Mary (Hopkins) Poage (1760–1835)
3. Sarah (Hopkins) Hinton (1761–1812)
4. John Hopkins (1763–1842)
5. Rebecca Ann (Hopkins) Poage (1765–1827)
6. Jane Hopkins (1767–1846)
7. Hannah (Hopkins) Shanklin (1769–1817)
8. Ruth Hopkins (1772–1834) ^[4]
9. Thomas Hopkins (1773–1834)
10. Ann (Hopkins) Rice (1780–1850)

After serving other Captains, John became a Captain in the Revolutionary War, Captain J. Hopkins' Company roster is in Oren Frederic Morten's book, A History of Pendleton County, West Virginia.^[5]

John Hopkins was a Member of the House of Delegates of Virginia in 1784, 1785-1787, 1788, and 1793 (either death date is wrong for Captain John Hopkins as before 1791 in Hopkins Genealogy, or or his son John Hopkins Jr. served in 1793).^[2][6][5]

John passed away before 4 June 1791 and is buried in Peaked Mountain Cemetery, McGaheysville, Rockingham County, Virginia.^[7]

Military

Captain John Hopkins Sr served with Augusta County Militia, Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.

Captain John Hopkins Sr performed Patriotic Service in Virginia in the American Revolution.

John Hopkins Sr is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A058054.

John Hopkins enlisted as a private in Capt. David Stephenson's company of Virginia militia. ^[1]

"Captain Johns Hopkins' Company was in service at Point Pleasant [now West Virginia]" and "Rockingham: Hopkins John Cp. , S. June 22, 1779." [Note there is a Col. John Hopkins in the referenced book but he is a different John Hopkins, the former being from Goochland County, Virginia.] ^[8]

From the referenced Hopkins book, A grandson of John Hopkins, the pioneer, says, "John Hopkins lived in Rockingham County and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He also represented his country in the Legislature." We also have this from the War Department, military secretary's office, at Washington: "The records of this office show that one John Hopkins served as a private in Captain David Stephenson's Company, 8th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel Abraham Bowman, Revolutionary War. He enlisted February 21, 1778, to serve three years. He was transferred to Captain William Croghan's Company, 4th, 8th, and 12th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel James Wood, in June, 1778; to Captain William Croghan's Company, 4th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel John Nevill, in September, 1778, and to Captain-Lieutenant Leonard Cooper's Company, same regiment, in May, 1779. His name last appears on the roll dated December 9, 1779 without special remark relative to his service." ^[3]

Excerpt from "A Chapter of Hopkins Genealogy"

Page 37: ^[3] John Hopkins, with his brothers, Archibald and William, came to the Shenandoah Valley some time before 1749. We find in the old "Session Book of Cook's Creek and Pyke Mountain Congregation" the record of his marriage on October 12, 1759, to Jean Gordon. He settled at the "Neff place" two miles west of Archibald Hopkins, near the mountain. This and the Gordon farm were the first two settlements in that locality. T. M. Gordon says, "I can remember seeing the mounds of an old fort on my father's farm where they protected themselves from the Indians, and the place goes by the name of Fort Spring to this day." Jean Gordon Hopkins is said to have been a good shot and often stood guard over her husband, protecting him with her rifle while he worked. It was here at the foot of North Mountain, with the wonderfully beautiful scenery of the Blue Ridge always in sight that John and Jean Gordon Hopkins made their home and reared their family. They built a substantial brick house. James M. Rice, of Peoria, m, says, "When I visited in Rockingham, Va,. in 1876, I saw the old house built about 1760, not far from the time Archibald Hopkins was born, which house was still in good order, two stories high, with four big fire places in it, two up stairs and two down. One of them I measured down stairs, was ten feet and eight inches across from the outside of the jamb on one side to the outside of the jamb on the other. There was a nice spring house by the residence with a large spring of cold crystal water and in front of the house was a row of willow trees, I should think about three feet or three and a half in diameter when I saw them a little more than twenty-five years ago." This house must have been the scene of many merry times and many sad partings for ten children played out their childhood, grew to manhood and womanhood, married, said goodbye to the old fireside and went to far-off places to make themselves new homes. These homes were "far off" not so much on account of distance as because of the lack of means of communication, in those days, between separated localities. It is no wonder that these brothers and sisters knew but little of each other and in some cases lost track entirely of the whereabouts of the next generation, and that to-day it is a difficult matter to trace them in their life histories.

John Hopkins died before June 4, 1791, as a letter from the old Cook's Creek church, bearing this date, speaks of Jane Hopkins as the "daughter of John Hopkins, deceased".

In a letter written December 21 1876, by Cyrus Hopkins, of Upper Tract, Pendleton Co., Va., a grandson of John Hopkins, the pioneer, he says, "John Hopkins lived in Rockingham County and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He also represented his country in the Legislature." We also have this from the War Department, military secretary's office, at Washington: "The records of this office show that one John Hopkins served as a private in Captain David Stephenson's Company, 8th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel Abraham Bowman, Revolutionary War. He enlisted February 21, 1778, to serve three years. He was transferred to Captain William Croghan's Company, 4th, 8th, and 12th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel James Wood, in June, 1778; to Captain William Croghan's Company, 4th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel John Nevill, in September, 1778, and to Captain-Lieutenant Leonard Cooper's Company, same regiment, in May, 1779. His name last appears on the roll dated December 9, 1779 without special remark relative to his service."

"There is a tradition that John Hopkins served in the Revolutionary War under General Washington and was in the siege of Yorktown."

Also from the Hopkins Genealogy we get clues consistent with his father being John Hopkins Sr. also from Ulster and eventually in Baltimore: (Written years ago by Dr. Archibald Hopkins, of Harrisonburg, Va., for his son, Dr. William Davis Hopkins. Dr. Archibald Hopkins was a grandson to "Ercebald,, Hopkins.): "A family of Hopkins emigrated from the north of Ireland to this country many years before the Revolutionary War, and landed first at Albany, N. Y. How long they remained there is not known. This family consisted of a man, his second wife, and three sons by his first wife. Owing to some difficulty between the sons and their step-mother, either at Albany, N. Y., or Baltimore, Md. (where we hear of them next), the three sons deserted the family roof and retired to the valley of Virginia. This was then almost a wilderness. They traveled up the valley as far as Greenbriar County, where they settled, and remained but a short time. Being attacked by Indians, and driven away from Greenbriar County, they returned to Rockingham County, which was then included in Augusta County, and settled in the western part, on Muddy Creek. (Braddock's defeat occurred on July 9, 1755. The consternation was universal, and many of the settlers on the western frontier fled across the Blue Ridge, and even as far north as Virginia.) The names of these three brothers were John, William, and Archibald, or "Ercebald," as spelled in an old deed. They sang the psalms as they were written in the Old Testament, and would not, in that day, tolerate innovations in the shape of modern rhymes. They were amongst the founders, or first members, of Cook's Creek, or, as it is now called, the New Erection Church. Their nearest neighbors were the Shanklins, Loves, Baxters, Gordons, Bryans, Rices, Ralstons, etc., with whom they and their descendants married and intermarried. An old deed, now in the possession of Miss Ruth Hopkins, of Harrisonburg, Va., from William Castleberry and wife to Ercebald Hopkins, conveying three hundred and fifty acres of land lying in the county of Augusta, on Muddy Creek, for the sum of five shillings, current money of Virginia., is witnessed by Pat Cunningham, Abraham Bird, and John Pirkins, and was admitted to record at a court held for Augusta County, on the 16th of March, 1757, John Madison being clerk of the court. This is the place where Archibald settled, and his descendants have owned the place until 1875 when it was sold to William Chrisman. John Hopkins settled at the Neff place, about two miles west of Archibald. William settled five miles north of the other two..."

Research Notes

• Parents: The names of his parents are uncertain. It has been suggested in the referenced book, "A Chapter of Hopkins Genealogy", that his father's name was John, but no proof was provided.

According to the book, The Descendants of Robert and John Poage"

"A family of Hopkins came from North Ireland, a man, his second wife and three sons by the first. They landed at Albany, N.Y. and in time removed to Baltimore. The sons then settled in Greenbrier County, but, attacked by Indians, returned to Rockingham and settled on Muddy Creek, John, Archibald and William." The Hopkins book tells a similar story.

• Martha Lee (Hopkins) Lanman, recounted that her father had a Revolutionary War citation or medal, given to John Hopkins, the pioneer. She speculates it could be in the Versailles, Ripley County, Indiana museum.

Some Ancestry.com family trees suggest Captain John Hopkins parents were John Hopkins (1706-1779) and Elizabeth Dinsmoor (1719-after 1768) who married in 1725 at Ballywattick, Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ulster Province, Ireland. His parents arrived in New Hampshire in 1733.^[9]. However, this is unlikely as Elizabeth Dinsmoor's father John Dinsmoor gave his son-in-law, John Hopkins, March 19, 1735, one half of his real estate received of the proprietors. In the stone house Mr. Dinsmoor, with his son-in-law, lived till his death. February 5, 1762, Mr. Hopkins deeded one half of his real estate, 130 acres to his son, Robert [Hopkins], who lived in the stone house with him. February 5, 1779, he deeded "the whole of the real estate on which I now dwell" to the children of my son Robert, Solomon, John, and Thomas, minors.John Dinsmoor made a will January 19, 1778, leaving bequests to wife Elizabeth, to his "loving grandsons" William, Ebenezer, and David, "sons of James Hopkins, late of Francestown, deceased;" Also to his "loving granddaughters," Mary Balch, Alice, Naomi, Ruth, and Elizabeth, daughters of James Hopkins, late of Francestown; also his daughter Margaret Nesmith, and grandson Benjamin Nesmith, son-in-law Isaac Cochran, and son John Hopkins, Jr.; also grandsons James and John, sons of John, Jr., He also desired his "Stock of Black Cattle and Sheep" to "be sold or divided." He lived till after February 5, 1779. Ch.:- [1] James, born Ireland, removed to Francestown. [2] Margaret, born Ireland; married Arthur Nesmith (see Nesmith family) [3] John, born March 10, 1739, in Londonderry; lived in Windham. [4] Robert, born Londonderry; lived in stone house on Hopkin farm. [5] Nancy or Molly, born in Londonderry; died at B. F. Senter's in Windham. [6] Ruth, married October 28, 1765, Deac. Isaac Cochran and removed to Antrim, March 10, 1784."^[10] Thus, John Hopkins and Elizabeth Dinsmoor had a family in the Londonderry/Windham/Francestown area of Rockinhgam County, New Hampshire and could not be the parents of our Captain John Hopkins.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} DAR Lineage Book : National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR): Volume 096 : 1912
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Woodworth, Robert Bell. The Descendants of Robert and John Poage, Pioneer Settlers in Augusta Co, VA Volume I. Staunton, Virginia: McClure Print. Company, 1954. Pages 4 - 5
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Harrison, Ella Warren. Hopkins, Archibald Wilson. A Chapter of Hopkins Genealogy, 1735-1905. Chicago, IL: The Lakeside Press, 1905. Page 29 Page 37 Page 41
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #59323464 accessed 02 November 2019, memorial page for Ruth Hopkins (24 May 1772–1 Dec 1834), citing Pioneer Cemetery, Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, USA; Tombstone photo attached. Birth and death dates inscribed
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Morton, Oren Frederic. A History of Pendleton County, West Virginia. Dayton, Virginia: Ruebush-Elkins Company, 1910. Page 399 - Captain J Hopkins' Company ; John Hopkins , Legislator, Page 372
6. ↑ Wayland, John Walter. A History of Rockingham County. Rockingham County, Virginia: Ruebush-Elkins Company, 1912.Link
7. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #21066297 accessed 01 May 2018, memorial page for John Hopkins (unknown–1791), citing Peaked Mountain Cemetery, McGaheysville, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Lee Ashmore.
8. ↑ McAllister, Joseph Thompson. Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War: McAllister's Data. McAllister Publishing Company, 1913. McAllister's Data, page 44: and page 229-230, Section 277.
9. ↑ COPELY, WILLIAM. "Scotch-Irish Settlers in New Hampshire, 1719-1776." In Historical New Hampshire (New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord), vol. 50:3/4 (Fall/Winter 1995), pp. 213-228.
10. ↑ Morrison, Leonard Allison,. The history of Windham in New Hampshire (Rockingham County), 1719-1883 : a Scotch settlement (commonly called Scotch-Irish), embracing nearly one third of the ancient settlement and historic township of Londonderry, N.H., with the history and genealogy of its first settlers and their descendants, and most of the families of its past, and all of its present permanent inhabitants, comprising more than two hundred different family names. Boston, Mass.: Cupples, Upham & Co., 1883, pages 589-590.

See also:

• We Relate data on John Hopkins Link

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all of the contributors. See the Changes page for the details of edits.