Through
the diligent and laborious efforts of my
grandfather (Gramps), Dr. Edwin S. Flinn, my family's lineage has
been traced to one of the passengers who came
over to the new world on the Mayflower in 1620 -
a man named Stephen Hopkins. Actually, Hopkins had
come over on an earlier voyage to the Jamestown
colony in 1609. For those reasons, our
family is eligible for membership in both the
Mayflower Society and the Jamestown Society.
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Hopkins is known to have been one of the more
interesting people on the Mayflower, having made
a previous journey to the new world in 1609, and
for being shipwrecked on an island in the
Bermudas for ten months on that first journey.
He was also the Assistant Governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. At one point,
Hopkins had been sentenced to death for mutiny
against the current governor while he was a
castaway on that island in the Bermudas.
In looking through Gramps' documentation, I am
finding that our ancestors not only came over on
the Mayflower, but subsequent generations of the
Hopkins and Taylor
bloodlines were living and working on American
soil when the Declaration of Independence was
signed. They lived mostly in
Massachusetts, in Eastham, Chatham, and Orleans, on Cape
Cod. How ironic that the house in which I now live is on "Cape Cod" Circle!
These are the charts that Gramps put together
showing our lineage to Stephen Hopkins.
The charts end at my father, Donald H. Flinn,
but the soon-to-be-posted PowerPoint slides will
show the lineage down to and including my
children (click on
an image to see full size):
Through the incredible help and knowledge of my
Aunt Pat, who has many of the actual articles
and background about the things you will see in
these pages, I hope to put together a historical
documentation of our family's connection with
the early pilgrims, and early American history.
So check back often, as these pages will be
extremely dynamic as new information and
treasures are discovered.
If you are
interested in tracing your lineage to discover
or verify your Mayflower ancestry, the video
below has some great information on how to do
that.
It is therefore my quest
to get all of
the official documentation in place so that my
children, their children, and their children's
children can apply for membership in either or
both of these great historical societies.
I think it is important to be able enjoy and to proudly claim our rich
and historical heritage, not only because it is
who we are, but to help preserve the many other
traditions and history on which our country was
founded. This portion of the
Gonzo's Garage site is therefore dedicated to my
family and as a lasting momentum of the
treasures and discoveries that materialize from
this search.
One thing
that I do need to point out, and in keeping with
the theme of Gonzo's Garage of proclaiming the
blessings of liberty that we enjoy in America
today, our Pilgrim ancestors taught us one of
our very early lessons about how
socialism does not provide people with wealth,
prosperity, independence, or even a basic
living. Soon after they arrived in the new
land, the discovered that the socialist
practices to which they were adhering did not
work, and they all nearly starved. Many
did perish from starvation. But what
turned it all around was William Bradford
providing each family with a parcel of land and
left it up to them to produce as much food as
they can and practice in a free market to sell
or trade their food for other goods.
If you have a
resource suggestion that you would like to
submit for an item to be featured on Gonzo's
Garage, please visit the
Resource Suggestion Page for more
information!
If you are
interested in adding your name and location as a
Stephen Hopkins descendent, you can do so by
visiting
Mayflower American Ancestors. They can
also assist with Mayflower Society membership.
Hopkins is known to have been one of the more
interesting people on the Mayflower, having made
a previous journey to the new world in 1609, and
for being shipwrecked on an island in the
Bermudas for ten months on that first journey.
He was also the Assistant Governor of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. At one point,
Hopkins had been sentenced to death for mutiny
against the current governor while he was a
castaway on that island in the Bermudas.
In looking through Gramps' documentation, I am
finding that our ancestors not only came over on
the Mayflower, but subsequent generations of the
Hopkins and Taylor
bloodlines were living and working on American
soil when the Declaration of Independence was
signed. They lived mostly in
Massachusetts, in Eastham, Chatham, and Orleans, on Cape
Cod. How ironic that the house in which I now live is on "Cape Cod" Circle!
It is therefore my quest
to get all of
the official documentation in place so that my
children, their children, and their children's
children can apply for membership in either or
both of these great historical societies.
I think it is important to be able enjoy and to proudly claim our rich
and historical heritage, not only because it is
who we are, but to help preserve the many other
traditions and history on which our country was
founded. This portion of the
Gonzo's Garage site is therefore dedicated to my
family and as a lasting momentum of the
treasures and discoveries that materialize from
this search.