Across the Atlantic

I've occasionally shared here stories from my family tree. Here's a pretty good one.

With so many of my ancestors living in Massachusetts, I've often wondered if any of them had a connection to the Mayflower. Seems like the odds would be in favor of it. My cousins' mother did have such an ancestor, but I couldn't find one.

Until Friday.

Then I found a link back to the parents of Elizabeth Howland through Grandma Bailey. Ancestry.com lit up when I added those names to the family tree, as they both came over on the Mayflower.

It seems that John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley crossed the ocean blue in 1620. I was starting to feel a little snooty about the whole thing when I read that Howland actually worked as a man-servant for the Carver family while making the trip, although he probably was closer to an administrative assistant in some ways. In other words, though, he probably helped unload the Mayflower.

"Hey, Howland, get these trunks off the boat! Put them by that big rock on the shore for now!"

Howland almost died on the way, according to accounts, but made it to Plymouth. Tilley, who was around 14 upon arrival, came with her parents. Sadly, the winter of 1620-21 was a tough one, and both of Elizabeth's parents died in the spring of 1621. That left Elizabeth as an orphan. John Carver also died in the spring of 1621 he had been the first Governor of the group.

Within a few years, Howland and Tilley got married and had a daughter, also named Elizabeth, some years later. You've got to believe that John didn't have a whole lot of romantic competition for Elizabeth; not many other single men were in town. And the family tree goes from there.

Too bad my grandmother missed out on hearing this story. She would have enjoyed knowing that her great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents had made the trip to Plymouth.

First visitor times two

During my digging of family history, which is pretty easy because of ancestry.com, I've been wondering if I could find some sort of connection to the Mayflower. Much of my mother's side of the family has New England roots that go back to the 17th century, and I thought it might be possible that someone landed in Plymouth in 1621.

Well, I have found said person. The catch is that the person is a direct ancestor of three of my cousins. My aunt's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather is Stephen Hopkins, who indeed was on the Mayflower. The fun part is that Hopkins has a lot more going for him than stepping on a big rock.

Hopkins grew up in England, and headed to Jamestown in 1609. Sadly, his ship, the Sea Venture, was marooned on an island along the way, believed to be Bermuda. It actually was a break for the passengers, since a drought hit Jamestown at that time and most of the residents died. After nine months, Hopkins was part of an uprising against the leadership. He was sentenced to death for his actions, but apparently whined and begged his way out of it. Hopkins eventually landed in Jamestown, stayed for a while, went back to England in the mid-1610's. Supposedly, Shakespeare used part of the episode in "The Tempest," and Hopkins was used for part of a character.

But Hopkins wasn't done with the New World yet. He hitched a ride on the Mayflower, seeking fortune again. The ship was split into religious believers who wanted to worship in peace, and people like Hopkins who were out to make a buck. Hopkins had a son born on the way over, and named him Oceanus, which is a pretty ugly name by any time and standards.

Once arriving, Hopkins was an expert on communicating with the Natives. When Samoset showed up in Plymouth to welcome the English, he stayed at Hopkins' house. About 15 years later, though, Hopkins got into trouble for serving alcoholic beverages at his shop. He died in 1644.

Sounds like the movie rights to that sort of story should be up for bid. (You can find a longer biography by clicking here.)

Call me officially jealous of my cousins to have such an interesting ancestor.