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In 1854 Robert Hopkins and family immigrated from England to the Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. This is the Hopkins family story — before, during and directly after immigration pieced together from historic records. Continue reading Hopkins Family Story: Immigrating to America
Hannah Hopkins fully acknowledged she had bouts of insanity. The implications to her parents Robert and Susannah Hopkins were all too real. Nonetheless, exactly how her insanity manifested itself is hard to discern. What is more apparent is how her parents supported their daughter through her trials. Taking a step back, in Victorian times mental patients were typically labelled with mania, dementia, melancholy or moral … Continue reading The Sometimes Insane Life of Hannah Hopkins
On May 12, 1864 at 4:30 a.m. the Union Second Corps attacked Muleshoe salient at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia under the command of Major General Winfield S. Hancock leading to some of the most violent fighting in the Civil War. As part of the Second Corps, the Michigan 26th Regiment joined the charge and was one of the first regiments to plant its colors on … Continue reading The Fiery Spotsylvania Court House Battle and John Hopkins
In 1859 Edwin Drake struck oil at 69 feet below ground along the banks of Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania. Drake’s well was one of the first commercial oil wells in the United States. Within a few years the Pennsylvania oil boom was in full swing. Thousands came to the Oil Creek area to strike it rich or just find good work. William Hopkins, … Continue reading William Hopkins and the Pennsylvania Oil Boom
The DNA trail doesn’t always fit neatly into paper proofs of lineage or family stories. In fact, at times DNA tells a very different story. My DNA cousins, the Jackson Whites, who call themselves the Ramapo Mountain Indians, are part of our family DNA from approximately 5-6 generations ago on both the Jones-Sweet and Smith-Edwards lines. This is likely at least a generation or two … Continue reading Our DNA Cousins, the Jackson Whites
There is something bold, almost sassy about Emilie, Lilian and Myrtle photos. Educated, ambitious, beautiful, well-off, and talented they were poster women for the times they lived in. A step-change in a single generation, women were crossing the Rubicon. During the first quarter of the 20th century heady opportunities bubbled in the cities. Good jobs outside the home. Not the old seamstress, nanny or washwoman options … Continue reading Emilie, Lilian and Myrtle Gallery
The Boating Genealogists 