Where I Come From: Stephen Hopkins (Part 2)

The Mayflower

So Hopkins, his pregnant wife Elizabeth, children Constance and Giles from his first marriage, and child Damarius departed England on the Mayflower. While on the Voyage a child is born and named Oceanus. 

"On November 11, after 66 days at sea, the Mayflower came to anchor in what is now Provincetown harbor, and Stephen once again found himself on a ship which had reached an unintended destination."

Here, despite his experience in Bermuda, Hopkins petitions to have the company stay there. This time the captain makes the safe decision and they anchor there. He becomes one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact. It is late in the year and the colonist must find a place to settle soon. As one of only three passengers who have been to the new world before, he is a leader on this expedition The women are left on board while the men begin to scout the coast. On December 6th Stephen is one of only ten men willing to brave the weather to continue scouting the coast, when they are attacked by Indians. No one is harmed however, and they row on into a storm that breaks the rudder hinges, and mast. On December 11th they finally find "Thievish Harbor" where there is fresh water and no sign of natives. Here, the landing at Plymouth Rock takes place.

They spend the winter aboard the Mayflower as shelter is being built on shore. This time around however, Stephen does not escape the starving time. The woman were hit hardest with only 4 of the 18 surviving, by some miracle all the Hopkins family and servants were spared. One settler recorded that at times there were no more than 7 people of sound mind "who to their great commendations spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and hazard to their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them."

When the Mayflower departed for England in early April not one of the pilgrims chose to return to England. 

Hopkins was a great asset to the community. He was adept at fishing and hunting, and because of his previous experience as a colonist, he acted as a liaison to the local Indians, often welcoming them into his own home. One native, Squanto, lived with the Hopkins family. Squanto's stay was essential in helping the colonists form allies with native tribes.

He was not exactly a model citizen though. He was fined 5 pounds for the beating of John Tisdale, he was fined for serving alcohol on Sunday, allowing his friends to become drunk, and allowing servants to drink and play shuffle board. He was also convicted of price gouging and even landed in jail. His jail term came because "his indentured servant, Dorothy Temple, was pregnant by a man who had been hung for murder. She was whipped for having a bastard child, but then she had nowhere to live. The court ordered Hopkins, as her owner, to be responsible for her support for the duration of her contract. Hopkins wanted to resolve the matter on his own terms without a court order, and he was found to be in contempt. He spent four days in jail until John Holmes agreed to take Temple and her son to live with him for the payment of £3, relieving Hopkins of his obligation."

Hopkins died sometime in 1644 at the age of 63 as a wealthy man. He willed to his children "his house, many animals and 'movable goods' such as books, rugs, flannel sheet, a frying pan, fire shovel, butter churn, two wheels, a cheese rack, scale and weights and four skins."

(Part I: The Sea Venture)

Source:
http://forgottennewsmakers.com/2011/02/24/stephen-hopkins-1581-%E2%80%93-1644-jamestown-colonist-and-pilgrim-on-the-mayflower/

Buffalo Ranch Loop

I won't go into detail...

But this was me yesterday.
Have you had those days? Seriously cruddy.
Then to add to the day, apparently there was also a convention of grumpy in town and they had all their afternoon meetings in my office. Where did they all come from, and why all in one day?

I didn't wake up like this but one crazy, insane, mean, rude person at a time had me feeling this way when I left and headed home.

So what do you do in the summer time when all the world is mean?

You go for a bike ride!

I am so greatful to live somewhere so beautiful, where this bike ride is only a minute or two away.

Goose crossing! The Buffalo Ranch Loop that I rode last night, is only a few miles and you pedal right through a bird santuary on the bay.

I like to go at or near sunset. It really is so pretty.
You can't forget to wear a scarf though. That close to the water, that time of night, the bugs are EVERYWHERE! You don't want to swallow one. Believe me I have been there!

Then I met Joan (pronounced Joe-on) we went for a ride up the canyon while we blasted some country tunes, and sang along with the windows down.Thanks Joan!

Where I Come From: Stephen Hopkins (Part I)

The Sea Venture

I have been reading a lot about this grandfather of mine (11th).

I wanted to be as close to historically accurate as I could be, which has required the reading of a ton of material. I have taken what seems to be consistent between the accounts and included it here. It is long but a good story. Promise.

So let's get started. In May 1609, At 28 years old he left his wife and two children in England and signed on with the Virginia Company as part of their third supply expedition to the new world. As he had no money to invest he was listed as a servant on the flagship The Sea Venture. He was to receive free passage, lodging, food and ten shillings every three weeks/months to send home. After his three year contract he was to receive 30 acres in the colony. While on board he was known as a loud mouth who quoted the Bible a lot. He is later described by William Strachey, who chronicled the voyage of the Sea Venture, as "A fellow who had much knowledge in the Scriptures, and could reason well therein" 

On July 24th the fleet sailed into a hurricane. The Sea Venture was taking on water and had lost contact with the other ships in the fleet. Fortunately within the week (4 days) they spotted land and ran the ship aground upon a reef about a mile from Bermuda. Not one passenger, including a dog, perished in the incident and Stephen himself made it to Bermuda clinging to a wine barrel.

The Sea Venture, while not sea worthy, did not break apart and the men were able to retrieve supplies from the ship as well as use the wood along with local cedar to build two new vessels.

Bermuda turned out to be a happy accident. They were on an uninhabited island so there was no threat of natives, and an island with plenty of food, and “bibby” made from the fermented fruit of the palmetto tree.
Despite this, their goal was still Jamestown, Hopkins was no fool however and thought they should stay in paradise and colonize it. He also thought that if they never made it to Virginia then they could not be held to their contract with the Virginia company. However, this line of thinking was seen as treason and he was tried for such his sentence was execution. However, due to his pleading on behalf of his wife and children at home in England that they would be ruined should word reach England of his mutiny, he was pardoned and was on one of the ships (Patience or Deliverance) bound for Virgina when they left Bermuda.

Both ships arrived safely in Jamestown in May of 1610 where they found that all the other ships in the company had made it safely to Jamestown. However the settlers had been met with adverse conditions and had dwindled dramatically in numbers. Even turning to cannibalism to survive. Records don't show if Stephan remained in Jamestown or as a mutineer was shipped straight back to England on the next available ship. However his wife dies in England in 1613 and he was not there. He also has vast knowledge of the local Indians when he returns on the Mayflower in 1620, leaving historians to speculate that he had spent a significant amount of time in Virginia before returning to England.

Once back in England, whenever it was, he discovers that his wife has perished and his three children are in the custody of the church. One of which is Constance Hopkins, My Great-Grandma (10). In 1618 he marrys again, they take up residence in a home just outside the east wall of London nearby the infamous Henage house. Henage house being home to a group of Separatists looking for funding for a Patent to settle a community of religious freedom in the new world. They were recruiting men with economic ambition to join them and Stephen was the perfect match. In 1620, this time with his entire family, he departs for the new world aboard the Mayflower.

(Part II The Mayflower)

Main Source of Resources for our story:
http://forgottennewsmakers.com/2011/02/24/stephen-hopkins-1581-%E2%80%93-1644-jamestown-colonist-and-pilgrim-on-the-mayflower/

http://www.mccarterfamily.com/mccarterpage/stories/stephen_hopkins/intro.htm

I Can Always Be Kind

The situation with the bus monitor Karen Klein being bullied makes my heart hurt so much.

I can't stop thinking about it this afternoon. It makes me grateful for parents who taught me to stick up for the under dog. It makes me proud of my sister Kate for letting Keith play wild stallions with her and her friends on the playground even though he was a little smelly.

When I look back on my own years I was never the cool kid in school. I was the Mormon, respected but generally left alone. It lead to a few lonely days, but in the end I was kind and funny and I made friends. Very good friends who are very good people. I have a lot of respect for the people I went to high school with, because no one was bullied, or tortured. I can think of a few kids who weren't cool. But they weren't made fun of. They were left alone. My mom taught me that I didn't have to be best friends with them, but I ALWAYS had to be kind. My friend Peet was the greatest example of this. She was as cool as it got in my mind, and yet in gym she would find the most awkward lonely kid and have him walk the track with us. I am still not sure either of us knew a word that Rich was saying but for one class period every day he knew he had a friend.

Mom always taught us that the kids that are the dirtiest, smelliest, most obnoxious, etc. are probably that way because they don't have parents who love them like I do. I know for a fact that the three or four people I can think of that fit that description had horrible home lives, and most were in and out of foster care.

One of those girls recently added me on facebook. She was so negative and almost suicidal in her posts that I deleted her. Today I readded that girl I once knew, who is currently begging for help. Maybe just maybe I can be some influence for good in her life.

Guess what? That chubby kid who wore penny loafers with socks and jeans in high school... The one you thought was weird but were always kind to even though he had a huge crush on you and it kinda weirded you out. He will be the first person to call you when your mom dies, and he will make sure that your other best friend who is living in the Czech Republic knows about it almost before you do. When you fly back home a couple years later and are feeling so incredibly lonely for your mom, and every thing you touch or see is a memory that pricks at your aching heart... he will know that is probably the case and make sure to meet up with you at the local diner and talk with you and make you laugh. He will respect you for the rest of his life, and he will turn to you when things are tough. When someday he sees a Mormon kid getting picked on he will stand up for him because he knew a Mormon once who was a great person, and when the missionaries knock on his door he will be kind and cordial to them and offer them a Pepsi that they will politely refuse. Your life will be better because you were kind to one boy in high school you could have easily ignored.

Oh and that awkward, skinny red head in gym class. She lives in New York now and is a fabulous actress that has been a regular on a popular drama and in numerous movies. She is going to be a star someday, but in high school maybe you were her star, and she yours. All it took was kindness to find a very sincerely kind heart to cling to in rough times.

And to everyone who was kind to that one Mormon girl. I appreciate it. I share this not to toot my own horn. I share it because as I watched this video I realized bullying doesn't just happen with kids. I am no longer the Mormon, I mean I am still Mormon, but now I live in Davis County Utah (Mormon Central). I am no longer THE Mormon, I am one of many. So I reflect this afternoon on who is the "Rich" in my social circles. Who needs me to reach out and be kind? Who needs a good laugh or just a kind smile? I can always be kind.

The power of one good friend (Kip) changed my dad's life, changed my mom's life (the girl who invited her back to church), changed my brother's life (Jon) and thus changed my life. I can't be the person who passes up the opportunity to change the lives of those around me.

The Water Bottle

Have you purchased for yourself the water bottle from Costco yet? If not, go buy one right now! When I saw that it claimed to keep your water cold for 20 hours I scoffed at the idea. Too good is never true, am I right? But it was the kind I like the best with a rubber straw for sipping and it was metal on the outside so I wouldn't break this one.

It is the greatest thing that ever happened to me! I fill it up, stick one or two ice cube in it and the ice cube stay ice for days! The water from the water cooler at work stays cool all day. Perfection. Until Monday morning when I couldn't find my bottle anywhere. I searched the entire house. I was late to work because I was searching everywhere.

Days came and went and I was contemplating buying a new one. So I searched my car inside and out. I went through the house again. I borrowed keys and broke into the church to look there. Nothing. As I drive away from the church I am thinking "those darn Mormons, stealing my water bottle. People these days."

Until last night when I am telling my roommate every place that I looked and asking her if she has seen it and it comes to me. Maybe it rolled under the couch. I mean I would have looked there earlier but we just got the couch over the weekend (thanks to Kyle and his dad, in their fireman shirts no less). I have never had a couch on wooded legs before. I normally have the kind a water bottle would never fit under and you don't know what has made it under there until the movers lift it up and you are embarrassed beyond belief.

So Leah hops off the couch and peers underneath
"Um it is here."
"Seriously? Give it to me."

It was like I had found a 100 dollar bill on the side walk, which by the way would buy you 10 of the most perfect water bottles ever.

I forgot it at home today.

Cookies

"I had too many of your *darn* cookies last night." ~ Jess

 Is music to my ears.

* * * * * *
I am not sure there is much that I dislike more than an online recipe with no printer friendly version.
Seriously.

* * * * *
I just made myself sound really spoiled.

* * * * *

Laying on the floor,
barely able to move from the amount of food that had been consumed that evening
and JP says "wait! Annie made cookies? Hand me one of those!"

* * * * *

I don't like the way Target smells.

The Bake Sale

I'm posting this for Leah who witnessed this conversation and thought it was funny.

Dad: Reese you need to go to the doctor because this could be cancer.
Me: But it's so expensive.
Dad: Don't you have insurance now?
Me: Yeah but it's a 5,000 dollar deductible and it's not like the bank loans dying people money.
Dad: The hospital will always treat you. They won't let you die.
Me: But I will be making payments for the rest of my life and I'd probably rather be dead.
Dad: Well someone will have a bake sale for you.
Me: Dad that's so sweet you'll have a bake sale for me?
Dad: No I thought your friends would do it.
Me: We aren't friends?!?!
Dad: *laughing
Me: I guess I am going to have to resort to putting a can on the counter at the Maverick for people's loose change.

P.S. I don't even a little bit have cancer. I was just telling my dad that my hip hurt. But it doesn't hurt because I am sick, it hurts because I have abandoned my car and now walk or ride my bike everywhere I go. It is amazing (I have an inappropriate attachment to my bike) and I couldn't be happier, but it takes a few days for your bottom, and hip apparently, to adjust to this new activity. I even took my bike to return Kyle's power tools. I thought I'd have an empty satchel on my way home but was incorrect, as apparently I had left enough of my own things at his house to fill the satchel right back up! He likes it when I leave my shoes in his car!

Father's Day

About a month ago:

Kate: What are you doing?
Me: Calling Dad
Kate: Why?
Me: Just to talk to him, no reason.
Kate: Save it for Father's Day!
Me(to dad): Dad, Katy told me to save it for Father's Day when I wanted to call you.
Dad: Well I will remember that and avoid her when I am in town next week.

I hope Kate remembered to call Dad yesterday. Otherwise, I suppose she won't be able to call him again until his birthday. Or maybe Christmas.

Perhaps

It might be time to invest in a new rotary board.

I took that picture with my phone...

If you go here you can make one too.

I used the text of the testimony I shared here.

I like it.

Thanks for the link Kay!

Compensation

I have been pondering recently, the principle of compensation.

When Elder Wirthlin gave his talk Come What May and Love it, I remember thinking. How will I be compensated for the loss of my mom and so many other dear friends in my life? I decided I should be compensated with a cowboy husband. I decided and I waited.

And I am still waiting because that is not how The Lord works. We don't pick our blessings do we?

In all actuality I am not waiting for my compensation.

I realized this a few weeks ago.

I had been outside playing with these two kiddos.

We even went fishing.
Later that night when I was holding this one tight as he fell asleep with a fever,

I looked down at him and thought "This is my compensation." I have 4 new eternal family members, that I wouldn't trade. If something happened to one of these guys my grief would be exponential. I lost one and gained 4. It isn't the compensation I picked out for myself, but I'll take it. I will more than take it. I will be eternally grateful for every sticky kiss, sassy expression, and story read.

I haven't given up completely on my cowboy husband.

Since you brought it up....

This is how I now feel about my cowboy man.
If you aren't an actual cowboy that's cool, you can be a cowboy on the inside.

Don't

• Look up Pizza Man on amazon.
• Let your friend read Pizza Man to you when you have a hacking cough. 
• Wear a Shade layering tee as just a tee. Layer it, trust me.
• Put off going to the doctor for two months when you have a hacking cough.
• Start liking a boy before he asks you out.
• Ask someone why he is trying to get into your hotel room until you make sure you are in the correct hallway. 
• Listen to Jason Aldean all the way up if you have cheap speakers. 
• Listen to your new favorite song *Kiss You Goodnight* 30 times in a row.
• Eat Cheetos, then iron your temple dress.

Seriously.... Don't.

If you give a girl a perscription...

She's going to want a date to go with it.

"I have always wanted an inhaler. Just think of the possibilities. Say a professor calls on you randomly and you aren't prepared. Just start sucking away on that thing and you are home free!" ~Spencer (co-worker at USU)

I have been sick since I drove home from Vegas. Seriously it was miserable. No one needs to have a horrible cough for 2 months. But I kept thinking it was getting better. My boss told me to go to the doctor I didn't. My friends told me to see a doctor and I didn't. I have had, in general, only horrible experiences with doctors. I know that typically they are amazing men and women who work hard, and save lives. My experience however, has been large bills for no improvement.

Finally, yesterday, I saw a doctor. Thanks to my adorably sweet bishop and his wife who made the appointment with a friend of theirs. Along with a lot of assurance that I would be in goods hands and taken care of.

What I wasn't anticipating was the incredibly ATTRACTIVE student doctor he brought in with him. That is not exactly the place you want to run into a sexy man. I am looking homeless, coughing up a lung, smoker voice, making a great impression I am sure. He also made sure he administered the nasal spray himself. Awkward having this incredibly attractive man stick medicine up your runny nose.

For the record that nasal spray is the worst tasting thing that I have ever had in my nose. Seriously so gross. I would trade in a heart beat for that pink bubble gum flavored stuff I choked down as a child.

The story gets better though because just when you thought you couldn't get any sexier he prescribes you an inhaler. Seriously. Maybe he was just trying to make sure no one else would want me. That is the story I am going to tell myself. Then he was going to get off work and hang out at Smith's Marketplace hoping I would need to stop by and pick up some cilantro for dinner. Unfortunately, when I stopped to pick up cheese for dinner he wasn't there. Maybe I should have checked the produce section.

P.S. I was going to include a picture with this post. However, when I googled attractive doctor, none of them were as attractive as my student Doctor... and don't type in hot doctor. WARNING!

P.P.S. My cough was gone when I left the office. No more cough! What a beautiful thing!

Where I come from: Mary No-Pee

I have always been teased by one of my Uncles about being a descendant of an Indian "princess" names Mary No-Pee on my dad's side. I decided to find out more about her.

She was born sometime between 1597 and 1603. She was said to have had flaming red hair and was from one of the Wampanoags tribes living on Martha's Vineyard Island. Wampanoags means white Indian, and it is legend that the tribe is of viking heritage. Her husband John Hyanno made an extremely favorable impression on the pilgrims with hospitality, generosity, and his incredible good looks. "A young man in his twenties, he was personable, gentle, courteous, and fair-conditioned; indeed, not like a savage save for his attire. His entertainment was answerable to his parts, and his cheer plentiful and various." (New York: Time Incorporated, 1964)

In a Captain's journal provided by the London Maritime, (I don't know which captain or which vessel) reads "We have, this day, met the daughter of one of their chiefs, by name of Iaano, called by them Mary. She seems upwards of some 20 years of age, is most self possessed even able to speak coherently in our tongue. Most surprising, she has hair like the setting sun, with eyes of a clear sky."

I find it curious that her name was No-Pee and her father is recorded as either No Took Seat and/or No Took Salt. I wish I knew the story behind that one.

Their daughter Mary "Little Dove" Hyanno married  Augustine Bearse in1639 who was a full blooded gypsy deported by the British on The Confidence of England in 1638. They were married under Pagan Indian ceremonial rights and later joined the Puritan church in 1650 for the protection it provided. Their marriage is possibly the first European/Native marriage on the Continent.

How about that? I not only have Viking heritage on my mom's side, which I have always known, I also have it on my dad's side. Throw in a little bit of gypsy and we are on our way to figuring out where I come from. 

Bookshelves

I found this picture some time ago and pinned it. I like the idea of a man who will build bookshelves for me. I like what I call a retrosexual man. A man who is a man, and it is only fair then that he gets a feminine woman.

I was raised by MY mom and dad however, and today when I was in Lowe's for much longer than planned and also Saturday comparing prices on power tools and purchasing the one that said 60% more power, I realized I am a lot like my parents. The woman who took welding classes, was learning to blacksmith, and restore her 55 Willies Jeep. The man who loves to use his chainsaw, and drive motorcycles in the desert.

Later I was at IKEA with a man who is all about being manly. I was teasing him and I said "I am going to purchase this bookshelf, I am going to carry it to my car by myself, and I am going to go home and assemble it with my own tools! How does that make you feel?" and he let me.

When I was home later, watching Gettysburg, assembling my new bookcase, and building my bench with Kyle's power tools. I thought "I could text a cute boy and tell him I need help and we could have a good time doing all these things together." But then I realized I was having too much fun to ask a boy over because without fail they always take over and I have to watch them have all the fun. (Like when I changed my brake pads and just wanted the boy to loosen a lug nut but he did the whole thing while I stubbornly protested that he was taking all the fun.) So I didn't call anyone and I did it myself and I enjoyed every stinking minute of it.

So I would like to revise the above to: I want a boy who will build bookshelves with me, let me use the power tools once and awhile, loan me his testosterone when I need it, and be okay with watching Gettysburg. Do you think I can get someone to print that out in vinyl for me? 

Where I come from: Martha and my Pioneer Dilema

I, like many in the church, have a pioneer heritage. However, I have never gotten into it much because while my ancestors on mom's side were handcart pioneers none of them, that I was aware of, stayed faithful members upon their arrival in Utah. I hear stories of sacrifice and faith and think "how come my family made all these same sacrifices to travel from Europe, walk to Utah, and then couldn't remain faithful upon their arrival?"

I had forgotten about Martha. On Memorial day we stopped to put flowers on mom's grave. She is buried in Peterson, UT right next to her great grandma Martha. Peterson cemetery is in a beautiful location in the foothills.

 The only thing visible from the cemetery is horses and mountains. I really really love it there. While there I was reminded of her story so I googled her online this morning. I didn't think I would find anything, but her and her husband Peter are listed in the Encyclopedia of Famous Mormons.

ANDERSON, Martha Hansen, wife of Peter Anderson, was born Feb. 27, 1829, at Elverom, Osterdalen, Norway, the daughter of Breda Hansen and Ingeborg Hansen. Becoming a convert to "Mormonism" she was baptized August 5, 1860, by Peter Olsen and immigrated with her husband Peter, to America in 1861 on the ship "Monarch of the sea." She crossed the plains in Samuel A. Woolley's Handcart Company, which departed Omaha and arrived in Salt Lake City on Sept. 22m 1861. She walked and carried a baby(My G-Gpa) in her arms the entire way. While crossing one of the rivers, where the water was very deep, she had to hold the baby (G-Gpa) above her head, the water reaching to her shoulders. As the stream was about to carry her and the baby away, a man by the name of Olsen jumped in the water from the opposite bank and saved them both. Sister Anderson became the mother of nine children, five boys and four girls (2 girls passing in infancy); she presided over the Ward Relief Society at Peterson about six years. She was a remarkable woman of very strong character, and in early days was often termed the "Good Samaritan," as her house was always open to hungry and weary emigrants or travelers. Her house was a typical country hotel, except that she never was known to make any charge. And when the appreciative traveler, whether stranger or acquaintance, would ask what the bill was for such royal good treatment, she would invariably answer with a pleasing and welcome smile, Always care for those in need as I have cared for you and thus your bill will be paid in full." Sister Anderson died April 15, 1901. 

So she sounds pretty great right? Well she was, and she was faithful her whole life. To me this becomes even more significant when you consider another part of her story. Her husband Peter served a mission to Norway from1882-1884. While there he married Dorthea Maria Gulbrandsen, without permission from Martha, and as far as I know without her knowledge. So Martha raised all 7 children who lived past infancy alone. In a time when many were illiterate, she taught them to read and write and many of her children became well known for their writings. Including Nephi Anderson who wrote Added Upon as well as a few LDS fiction novels.

So my pioneer dilemma has been solved. I do have an ancestor who joined the church, crossed the Atlantic, walked to Zion, and no matter what life threw at her, remained faithful.

Where I come from: Relative Finder

I have almost no apps on my facebook. I use facebook to chat with my dad, show off my cute siblings, tease friends I don't see often, and stay up to date on ward activities. BUT there is a one app I think is fantastic and you should all give it a try. It is called Relative Finder. You install the app and it will have you sign into New Family Search. Your log in is the same as it would be for any church websites, such as lds.org. Once you are logged in it will show you all the famous people you are related to.

Mine goes on and on forever, it really does, however I don't really care that I am 10th cousins with Richard Nixon. I also don't think that being 10th cousins once removed with Elder Holland will get me an invite for Sunday dinner. But it is cool. I am also 10th cousins with varied degrees of removal from Ballard, Hales, Oaks, and Perry, because I know you wanted to know.

There is also a feature, once you have logged on, where you can see how you are related to your facebook friends that also have the app installed. So log on and find out how we are related. You know you want to and maybe you will find some interesting people you are related to like I did. I am planning on sharing the interesting, and directly related ones here. GET EXCITED!