Mayflower Ancestors

If you are one of my Witherell second cousins, you can trace your ancestry back to the Mayflower through our great grandfather L.M. Witherell, who could claim descent from four Mayflower passengers:

If you are one of my Williams first cousins, you can claim descent from the four Mayflower passengers listed above, plus three more through ancestral lines running through our grandfather Charles R. Williams:

If you are one of my Williams first cousins or one of my Cuzner third cousins, you can claim descent from the following Mayflower passenger through ancestral lines running through our great great grandfather Charles Carr:

Stephen Hopkins led an adventurous life even before sailing on the Mayflower. In 1609, while on board a ship named the Sea Venture, headed for Jamestown, Virginia, Stephen and his fellow passengers and crew were shipwrecked in the Bermuda Islands. While subsisting on turtles, birds, and wild pigs over a period of nine months, the castaways built two smaller boats from the remains of the Sea Venture and local timber. They eventually made it to Jamestown. The story of the Sea Venture shipwreck is thought to have formed the basis for Shakespeare's play The Tempest, written in 1610-11. Stephano, a character in the play, may have been based on Stephen.

Stephen was in Jamestown for at least four years before returning to England, to be reunited with his children (his wife Mary having died during his absence). Stephen remarried in 1617 and joined the Mayflower expedition with wife Elizabeth, children Constance and Giles from his first marriage, and daughter Damaris from his second. 

Stephen was not a Separatist. He may have been recruited for the voyage because of his experience and leadership qualities. Upon arrival in what was to become the Plymouth Colony, he was involved in exploring the area and meeting with the Indians.  (A recent documentary traces Stephen's journeys prior to and after the Plymouth landing.  Produced by a Hopkins descendant, it is not free unless you attend a public viewing, but well worth watching.)

Thomas Rogers brought his oldest son (Joseph) with him and left the rest of his family in Holland. However, Thomas was one of the 45 Pilgrims to die during the first winter. Son John arrived in Plymouth in 1630.  If you are one of my Williams first cousins, then you are descended from Thomas Rogers through his son John, as well as his son Joseph.

Like Thomas Rogers, Francis Cooke sailed aboard the Mayflower with his oldest son John, leaving the rest of the family behind in Holland. After a time, wife Hester and their other children (Jane, Jacob, Elizabeth, and Hester) sailed to Plymouth on the ship Anne, which arrived in 1623.

Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins accompanied her husband Stephen aboard the Mayflower, along with their child Damaris and two children from Stephen's first marriage (Constance and Giles).  While crossing the Atlantic, Elizabeth gave birth to son Oceanus, the only child to be born during the voyage.  Damaris and Oceanus both died young and another daughter was later given the name of Damaris. My descent from Elizabeth is through the second Damaris.  

Edward Doty, an apprentice to Stephen Hopkins, was in his teens when he boarded the Mayflower.  Edward had a tendency to get into disputes with other colonists.  The most serious turned into a duel over honor, but neither duelist was seriously injured. As punishment, both men were to be tied up and denied food or drink for 24 hours. However, the authorities took pity on them and they were both released within an hour.

Our ancestral line to Elizabeth and Edward runs through our great grandfather Roger Williams (born 1858), his mother Mary Ann Palmer, her maternal grandfather Francis LeBaron, his mother Hannah Turner, and her maternal grandmother Elizabeth Doty. Edward Doty was Elizabeth Doty's paternal grandfather.  Damaris Hopkins was Elizabeth Doty's maternal grandmother.    

Richard Warren came by himself to Plymouth. His wife and five daughters arrived on the ship Anne to rejoin him in 1623.  Daughter Sarah later became the wife of John Cooke.

Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum where the lives of some of the Pilgrims are re-enacted. Below is an interview with someone playing the part of my 10th great grandmother Elizabeth Hopkins: