Family
In 1726, at the age of 19, Hopkins married Sarah Scott, the daughter of Sylvanus Scott and Joanna Jenckes, and a great great granddaughter of early Providence settler Richard Scott whose wife was Katharine Marbury, the youngest sister of the famed Puritan dissident minister Anne Hutchinson. Richard Scott was said to be the first Quaker in Providence. Hopkins and Sarah had seven children, five of whom lived to maturity. Sarah died on 9 September 1753 at the age of 46, and following her death, Hopkins married Anne Smith, the daughter of Benjamin Smith, and the widow of an unrelated Benjamin Smith. Hopkins and Anne did not have children together. Hopkins' younger brother, Esek Hopkins, became the first commander in chief of the Continental Navy, and another brother, William, became a celebrated merchant.
Hopkins' seven children with his first wife included his oldest child, Rufus (1727-1813), who married on 18 October 1747 Abigail Angell, a great granddaughter of Thomas Angell who was one of five men who came with Roger Williams to found Providence. Rufus married second Sarah Olney. John (1728-1753) married a cousin, Mary Gibbs, and died of smallpox at St. Andrews, Spain. His wife was a daughter of Robert and Amey (Whipple) Gibbs, a granddaughter of wealthy Providence merchant Joseph Whipple, and a great granddaughter of early Providence settler John Whipple. Ruth died in infancy in 1731, and Lydia (1733-after 1785) married Daniel Tillinghast, a great grandson of early Providence Baptist minister Pardon Tillinghast. Sylvanus, (1734-1753) was killed by Indians at St. Peter's Island in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Simon (1736-1743) died as a youngster, and George (born in 1739) married Ruth Smith, the daughter of his father's second wife.
Read more about this topic: Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“Providing for one’s family as a good husband and father is a water-tight excuse for making money hand over fist. Greed may be a sin, exploitation of other people might, on the face of it, look rather nasty, but who can blame a man for “doing the best” for his children?”
—Eva Figes (b. 1932)
“It is best for all parties in the combined family to take matters slowly, to use the crock pot instead of the pressure cooker, and not to aim for a perfect blend but rather to recognize the pleasures to be enjoyed in retaining some of the distinct flavors of the separate ingredients.”
—Claire Berman (20th century)
“Govern a small family as you would cook a small fish, very gently.”
—(20th century)