Two Mrs. Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was married twice. He married Sarah Scott, daughter of Silvanus and Joanna Jenckes Scott, in 1726. They both descended from Quaker stock, and both of them were barely twenty years old. Sarah’s great-grandfather was Richard Scott, apparently the first man from Rhode Island to become a Quaker. Richard’s wife, Catharine Marbury, was whipped in Boston because of her stubborn resistance to religious authority. Her sister, Ann Hutchinson, was driven from Boston because of religious intolerance.

There is very little known about Sarah personally, but it is recorded that she was “a kindly, industrious, and frugal woman, a good mother and an affectionate wife” (Wives of the Signers – The women behind the Declaration of Independence, 87). She was the mother of seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood: Rufus, John, Lydia, Silvanus, and George. Her son, John, age 24, was the master of the ship Two Brothers when he died of smallpox in 1753 off the coast of Spain. His ship immediately put into port to bury him, but he was denied a Christian burial because he was a Protestant. That same year, Silvanus was a mate on a small schooner that wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia. He attempted to return to Louisburg in an open boat but was surprised by Indians on the shore of St. Peter’s Island. His body was left on the beach. Sarah died the same year as her two sons after 27 years of marriage.

Stephen married a widow by the name of Anne Smith in 1755. The certificate bearing the signatures of the bride, groom, and witnesses is preserved in the collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society. An interesting note about Anne is that she was the daughter of Benjamin Smith of Providence and her first husband’s name was Benjamin Smith – no relation. She was also a descendant of John Smith, one of the four men who accompanied Roger Williams on his journey from Massachusetts in 1636. Anne was 38 years old when she married Stephen, and she brought three children with her – Benjamin, Ruth and Amery. Apparently, there was a wonderful relationship between Stephen and his step-children. There were a couple of marriages within the blended family: Anne’s daughter, Ruth Smith, married Sarah’s son, George Hopkins. Anne’s son, Benjamin, married Mary Tillinghast, a stepdaughter of Sarah’s daughter Lydia.

A few months after his marriage to Anne, Stephen was elected Governor of the Province. He continued serving in one political office after another until he died on July 19, 1785. Ann died about two years prior to his death.