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!