Any leads on this brick wall: Sylvanus Hopkins (ca. 1761-1837 Richford, NY) & Elijah Hopkins (1803-1879 Groton, NY)?

Question

Hello,

I've hit a fairly large brick wall trying to research Sylvanus Hopkins [Hopkins-4645], who was born ca. 1761, and was buried in Richford, Tioga Co., New York. He is thought to probably be the father of John Ebenezer Hopkins (c. 1784-1864), and in some way related (presumably as father) to Elijah Hopkins (1803-1879).

The family tree compiled by relatives in the 1970s notes that Elijah Hopkins married Rachel Gee, and John E. Hopkins married her sister, Elizabeth; this is where the theorized connection comes from. John Ebenezer Hopkins is not, however, believed to be the father of Elijah Hopkins.

Queries on FamilySearch come up with little; there's some census records, but there were multiple people named Sylvanus Hopkins who lived in New York at the same time, and none of them actually lived in Tioga County at the time the censuses were taken.

Additionally, it seems that there is conflation of two Elijah Hopkins. There was also an Elijah Hopkins, b. 1785 who reportedly married Rachel Gee; however, this is disproved by the fact that the 1803 Elijah Hopkins is buried next to his wife, who is named as "Rachel Gee Hopkins".

The questions I'm left with are:

• Is Sylvanus Hopkins in fact the father of John E. or Elijah Hopkins?
• If so, were there any other children in between (since the age difference is 19 years between John E. and Elijah)?
• If Sylvanus is not the father of Elijah, is Elijah related to the Elijah Hopkins b. ca. 1785?
• If not, could Elijah Hopkins be related to the Voluntown Hopkins family (descendants of Hopkins-6670), considering many of them moved to Groton?
• In any case, who are the parents of Sylvanus Hopkins?

Answer 1

Have you checked the history of the county? People often list the incorrect Counties due to boundary changes and the creation of Counties. That also applies to cities, towns and states. Make sure that the area was not named something else at that time. This is the link to Tioga County, New York Genealogy. It also has information on the creation and boundaries of that area.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Is this a possible marriage of Sylvanus?

https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/21754883?h=7c7e99&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url

Edited to add

This record has father Rufus

https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/21754900?h=588326&utm_campaign=bandido-webparts&utm_source=post-share-modal&utm_medium=copy-url

Comments

Hello,

The Sylvanus Hopkins that is the son of Rufus Hopkins appears to be a different Sylvanus Hopkins, who died in Norwich, CT in 1824: https://archive.org/details/genealogyofoneli00holb/page/48/mode/2up

Nonetheless, thank you for trying to help!