“My hand trembles, but my heart does not!”

 

Stephen Hopkins (1707–1785) was a prominent Founding Father from Rhode Island, a key early advocate for colonial rights, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Key Highlights of His Life

• Early Life: Born March 7, 1707, in Providence (area now part of Cranston/Scituate), Rhode Island, to William Hopkins and Ruth Wilkinson. He grew up on a family farm, was largely self-educated through voracious reading, and was influenced by his mother’s Quaker background (though he wasn’t formally a Quaker until later in life).

• Career and Public Service: He served multiple terms as Governor of Rhode Island (elected nine or ten times across the 1750s–1760s), Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Speaker of the General Assembly, and the first chancellor of what became Brown University. He was also involved in surveying, mercantile pursuits, and even astronomical observations (e.g., the 1769 transit of Venus).

• Revolutionary Role: A decade before the Revolution, he authored The Rights of the Colonies Examined (1764), a strong critique of British policies like the Sugar and Stamp Acts, arguing against taxation without representation. He attended the Albany Congress (1754) and the Continental Congresses (1774–1776). At age 69, he was the second-oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence (after Benjamin Franklin). Due to a neurological condition (often described as cerebral palsy or a similar tremor), his hand shook as he signed, and he famously said something like: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.”

• Personal Life: Married Sarah Scott in 1726 (they had seven children, several of whom survived to adulthood); after her death, he married Anne Smith in 1755. He died July 13, 1785, in Providence and is buried in the North Burial Ground. His home in Providence still stands as a historic site.

He came from established Rhode Island colonial families on both sides—his father’s line tied to early Providence settlers (including connections to Roger Williams’ circle), and his mother’s Wilkinson side also prominent.

Our Genealogical Connection

Our lineage traces correctly through the Smith family:

   • Common Ancestor: Christopher Smith (c. 1595–1676).

• His daughter Susannah Smith (1621–1692) → Ruth Wilkinson (1685–1731) → Stephen Hopkins.
• His son Simon Smith (immigrant/founder of Haddam, CT, 1628–1687) → Benjamin Smith → Daniel Smith → Lt. William Smith → Esther Smith → Smith Bailey → Orange Bailey → David Solomon Bailey → David Jackson Bailey → Franklin Jackson Bailey (our grandfather).

This makes Stephen Hopkins our 2nd cousin 9 times removed, as noted. The Smith line splits in the 17th century between Rhode Island/Providence connections (via Susannah) and the Connecticut Haddam branch (via Simon, one of the early settlers there).

Weaving Stephen Hopkins into our Bailey Line

Celebrating America 250

In the early 1600s, as the New World called to brave souls seeking new beginnings, Christopher Smith left his mark on two emerging colonies through his children. One branch carried his blood into the wilds of Connecticut’s Connecticut River valley, where his son Simon helped found the town of Haddam. There, generation after generation of Smiths—Benjamin, Daniel, William, Esther, and the Baileys who followed—put down roots, farmed the land, raised families, and built lives that eventually led to our grandfather, Franklin Jackson Bailey. These were the steady hands tilling soil, raising barns, and passing down stories of resilience in a young America.

Meanwhile, Christopher’s daughter Susannah’s line wove into Rhode Island’s vibrant tapestry. Through her daughter Ruth Wilkinson, the family helped shape the fiery spirit of independence in Providence and Scituate. It was Ruth’s son—our distant cousin Stephen Hopkins—who rose to become one of the boldest voices against British tyranny. A farmer’s son turned statesman, governor, judge, and scholar, Stephen stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams in Philadelphia. With a trembling hand but an unwavering heart, he signed the Declaration of Independence, declaring that the colonies would no longer bow to taxes without representation.

Imagine the threads of that shared Smith ancestry quietly connecting our Bailey forebears in their Connecticut and later journeys with Stephen’s world in Rhode Island. While our direct line cleared fields and built communities farther west or inland, Cousin Stephen was in the halls of power, penning pamphlets that stirred a revolution and helping birth a nation. He championed education (as Brown University’s first chancellor), navigated colonial politics, and lived the Quaker-influenced values of plain speaking and liberty that echoed in many early American families.

Today, discovering Stephen feels like uncovering a hidden chapter in our family’s American epic—a bridge between the everyday pioneers who sustained the young republic and the towering figures who defined its founding ideals. He’s not just a famous name in a history book; he’s proof that our lineage has helped steer the course of freedom since the very beginning. From Christopher Smith’s immigrant dreams to the Baileys of the 19th and 20th centuries, and to us today, the blood of independence runs deep.

Thank you Grok xAI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy

The Ferry at the Edge of War: John and Mary Tripp's Crossroads of History (1676)

 

In the tense summer of 1676, amid the brutal height of King Philip's War—New England's deadliest conflict per capita—Tripp's Ferry (later Bristol Ferry) emerged from obscurity into the historical record. This modest crossing on Aquidneck Island's western shore, operated by John Tripp and his wife Mary Paine Tripp from their small 3-acre homestead in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, became a vital artery for colonial forces. 

Captain Benjamin Church, the innovative "first American Ranger" and premier Indian fighter of his day, used the ferry in his relentless pursuit of Wampanoag sachem Metacomet (known to the English as King Philip). Church's mixed company of English volunteers and Native allies crossed here, gathering intelligence and pressing toward Mount Hope (in present-day Bristol). At daylight on the morning of August 12, 1676, they surrounded the swamp where Philip was encamped. One of Church's allies, John Alderman, fired the fatal shot. Philip's death effectively ended the war, though the conflict had already devastated both Native and colonial communities across the region. 

Church's own narrative provides the first known mention of "Tripp's Ferry," describing how his men used the crossing and interacted with a Native deserter who offered to guide them to Philip in exchange for revenge against his brother's killers. The ferry wasn't just a backdrop—it was a logistical lifeline in a fluid, swamp-and-forest guerrilla war where Church pioneered mobile ranger tactics that contrasted with more conventional (and often less effective) colonial approaches.

The Operators: From Indentured Servant and Barmaid to Ferry Keepers

John Tripp (b. 1610 in Horkstow, Lincolnshire, England; d. 1678 in Portsmouth) arrived in the colonies as an indentured servant, possibly to a ship's carpenter. He gained freedom, signed the Portsmouth Compact as a freeman, and built a life as a farmer, town servant, and boatman. He held roles like inspecting cattle, serving on the Governor’s Council (1670), and acting as Town Moderator (1673). By the 1650s–60s, he gradually became the go-to ferryman, using his boats for transport across the bay. 

Mary Paine Tripp (c. 1611–1687) had her own enterprising story. In 1666, as a barmaid at William Baulston’s Tavern in Portsmouth, she acquired the key 3-acre lot overlooking the future ferry site from Richard Searl in exchange for a single pint of wine (a transaction later ratified by the town council based on witness testimony). She and John married around 1639 and raised a large family (at least 10–11 children). Mary helped run the ferry operation; after John's death in 1678, she inherited his boats and received a license in 1679 to sell food and drink to travelers—possibly turning their home into an informal tavern. This full-circle moment tied back to her tavern days. 

Their homestead and ferry represented the gritty reality of early colonial life: starting in dugouts or simple thatched homes, farming, serving in the militia, and seizing entrepreneurial opportunities in a new settlement founded amid religious and political dissent (Portsmouth's ties to Anne Hutchinson's followers).

Lasting Legacy and Family Line

The ferry landing on the Aquidneck side grew into a major transportation hub connecting Newport and Providence. It served notables like George Washington, Lafayette, and Rochambeau during the Revolutionary era. Before bridges, ferries like Tripp's (and nearby Borden's) were essential for commerce, livestock, and military movement. 

Our direct lineage through daughter Alice Tripp (1650–1710) → John Hall → Preserved Hall → Capt. Caleb Hall → Frances S. Hall → Waity Gardner carries this story forward through Rhode Island's farming and maritime communities into the early American republic. Captain Caleb Hall's own military service in later conflicts echoes the frontier resilience of his Tripp ancestors.

Shadows at the Water’s Edge: The Ferry That Helped End a War

Celebrating America 250

August 1676. The air over Mount Hope Bay hangs heavy with the sharp tang of salt marsh, woodsmoke, and the faint, metallic scent of fear. King Philip’s War has scorched New England for over a year—villages burned, families slaughtered on both sides, and the once-powerful Wampanoag confederation driven into hiding. In the pre-dawn gloom, oars creak rhythmically against thole pins as a boat cuts through the dark water at Tripp’s Ferry. Waves lap against the hull with a soft, insistent slap. On the Aquidneck Island shore, lanterns flicker like wary eyes.

Captain Benjamin Church, lean and weathered from months of relentless ranging through swamps and forests, steps ashore with his mixed band of English volunteers and Native allies. Boots sink slightly into the muddy landing. Muskets clink, powder horns rattle, and low voices murmur in English and Algonquian. A deserter from Philip’s camp—eager for revenge—had hallooed from the opposite shore earlier, signaling his willingness to guide them. The ferryman’s modest homestead nearby shows signs of life: a thin thread of smoke from the chimney, the lowing of cattle, and the scent of baking cornbread or porridge wafting on the breeze. 

This is no ordinary crossing. Tripp’s Ferry—little more than a rough landing, a sturdy boat or two, and a 3-acre homestead—has become a critical artery in the final hunt for Metacomet (King Philip). By daylight on the morning of August 12, 1676, Church’s force will have encircled the sachem’s swamp encampment. One of Church’s Indian allies, John Alderman, will fire the shot that ends the war’s most famous leader. Philip’s body will later be quartered in grim ritual, his head displayed on a pike in Plymouth—a brutal punctuation to years of bloodshed.

The Keepers of the Crossing: John and Mary Tripp

John Tripp (1610–1678), once an indentured servant from Lincolnshire, England, now stands as a respected ferryman, farmer, and town leader. At 66, his hands are calloused from years of oars, plows, and cattle inspections. He knows every current and sandbar in the bay. On mornings like this, he likely helps pole or row the heavily laden boat himself, muscles straining as the vessel fights the tide. The war has brought uneasy traffic: messengers, militiamen, refugees, and the constant worry of raids. His signature on the Portsmouth Compact years earlier marked him as a freeman in a colony born of dissent; now his ferry helps decide its survival. 

His wife, Mary Paine Tripp (c. 1611–1687), embodies the tough pragmatism of frontier women. Once a barmaid at Baulston’s Tavern, she famously acquired their strategic 3-acre lot in 1666 for nothing more than a pint of wine. In the dim light of their home, she might be stirring the fire, preparing food for travelers, or keeping watch over their large brood of children. The air inside carries the smell of woodsmoke, herbs, and tallow candles. After John’s death two years later, Mary will inherit the boats and earn a license to sell food and drink—turning the ferry house into a makeshift tavern. Her resourcefulness keeps the family and the crossing alive. 

Imagine the scene at the landing: the crunch of boots on shells and gravel, the nervous whinny of horses waiting to be ferried, the distant call of seabirds. Tension crackles—every shadow in the treeline could hide an ambush. For the Tripps, this is not abstract history. It is another demanding day: ferrying armed men while tending livestock, mending nets, and praying the war’s violence stays on the far shore. Rhode Island tried to remain neutral, but its lands still echoed with raids, displaced families, and the smoke of burning farms.

Echoes Through Generations

From this modest ferry landing, your lineage flows onward: through daughter Alice Tripp (1650–1710) and into the Hall and Gardner lines—Preserved Hall, Capt. Caleb Hall, Frances S. Hall, and Waity Gardner. Each generation carries forward the resilience forged at the water’s edge: farmers, captains, and community builders in a young America.

The ferry itself outlived the Tripps. It evolved into Bristol Ferry, a bustling hub where George Washington, Lafayette, and Rochambeau would later cross during the Revolution. Today, the site whispers of those early days—the slap of water, the creak of wood, and the quiet courage of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times.

Thank you Grok xAI for your wisdom, research and narrative assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy

The General’s Shadow: Kinship, Cloaks, and the Crucible of Liberty

 

When we look back across 250 years of the American experiment, history can feel like a collection of textbook chapters—static, distant, and neat. But for those of us who dig into the soil of our own lineages, the American Revolution isn't a distant story. It is a family chronicle.

Recently, a deep dive into our Spencer roots unlocked a remarkable realization: General George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army and our first president, isn't just a historical figurehead. Through our shared descent from Sir John Spencer of Hodnell (1434–1475), Washington is officially our 8th cousin 8x removed.

Yet, blood is only half the story. The true magic of our family tree is how our ancestors—cousins, grandfathers, and patriots—marched directly through the path of Washington’s life, serving as the eyes, ears, weapons, and backbone of his hard-won victory.

The Cloak: The Spies and Statesmen in Washington’s Orbit

Washington famously remarked that he could not have won the war without his secret intelligence network. Right at the center of that network was family. Our cousin Robert Townsend (alias Samuel Culper Jr.) operated under the General’s direct, classified mandate as a linchpin of the Culper Spy Ring in occupied New York. While Washington outmaneuvered the British in the field, Townsend risked the gallows to feed him the British naval secrets that altered the course of the war.

When the guns fell silent and the monumental task of building a nation began, our kin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the President to shape the new republic:

• George Mason, our uncompromising cousin, penned the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which laid the ideological foundation for the liberties Washington fought to protect.
• Samuel Huntington and Oliver Ellsworth worked intimately within the political architecture that supported Washington’s administration.
• Timothy Pickering, serving as Washington's fierce and efficient Adjutant General and later Secretary of War, kept the wheels of the state turning.

The Hearth: Providing Sanctuary and Saving the Big Guns

Some of our family's most intimate encounters with the General occurred not on the battlefield, but at the hearth. During the dark, freezing winter of 1777, Washington established his nerve center at Valley Forge. That legendary stone headquarters belonged to none other than our cousin, Isaac Potts. It was on this land that the enduring American folklore of Potts witnessing Washington kneeling in solitary prayer in the snow was born.

But the Potts family didn't just provide the General with shelter; they saved his firepower. At the historic Warwick Furnace, our Potts cousins took drastic action to prevent the advancing British army from seizing the Continental artillery, literally burying the American cannons in the earth to preserve the firepower Washington desperately needed for the campaigns ahead.

       THE CRUCIBLE OF LIBERTY: OUR FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO WASHINGTON

       

       [THE CLOAK] ─── Spy Robert Townsend (Culper Jr.) feeds intel to Washington.

       [THE HEARTH] ── Cousin Isaac Potts' home becomes Valley Forge Headquarters.

       [THE ANVIL] ─── Potts cousins bury the Continental guns at Warwick Furnace.

       [THE SWORD] ─── Gen. Nathanael Greene & Caleb Sweet serve on Washington's Staff.

       [THE LINE] ──── Grandfathers Bailey, Brown, and Wilson hold the frontier lines.

The Sword: On Staff and in the Ranks

On the field of battle, our family tree answered Washington’s call to arms with fierce devotion. His most trusted military strategist and "right-hand man," Major General Nathanael Greene, was our 3rd cousin 7x removed.

Closer still to the General's personal military family was our 5th great-grandfather, Dr. Caleb Sweet. As an army surgeon, Caleb tended to the sick and wounded under Washington's command, eventually being honored as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati—receiving the prestigious eagle medal directly under the legacy of the Commander-in-Chief. Alongside him stood the rhythm of the army, exemplified by the teenage drummer Putnam Catlin, who drummed the regiments to order under Washington’s grand strategies.

The Line: The Frontier and the Militia Backbone

While Washington led the main Continental line, our grandfathers were holding the brutal, exposed frontiers and strategic choke points that prevented the British from slicing the colonies in half:

• Oliver Bailey (1738–1822), a true hero of two wars, stood as a pillar of early American resilience.
• Captain James Wilson, our patriot of the Upper Hudson, guarded the northern corridors against British invasion forces.
• Solomon Brown, our frontier defender, faced the harrowing realities of the wilderness conflicts, while Zephaniah Rogers held the line near Fort Stanwix, a gateway that secured the Mohawk Valley and ultimately pointed the family’s next generations toward the Ohio frontier.
• Farther south, the Jersey Blues transformed the "Cockpit of the Revolution" into an unyielding wall against British expansion.

Even after Washington's era closed, this ancestral fighting spirit echoed into the next generation. Simon Weeks took up arms with Bellinger’s Regiment of New York Militia, and Samuel R. Brown rode with Ball's Squadron of Light Dragoons, defending the very borders and liberties that our 8th cousin George had spent his lifetime establishing.

A 250-Year Legacy

From the Puritan Great Migration out of Massachusetts down to the Iowa Territory, our family’s footsteps have beaten a path entirely parallel to the American story.

To look at George Washington now is to look at a cousin. To look at his army is to look at our grandfathers. As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we don't just look back at history with detached admiration—we look back with the pride of a family that helped clear the land, fight the battles, spy out the secrets, and build the foundations of the home we inherit today.

The Rest of the Story--Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--Our family’s interactions with George Washington, his life, his army, and the birth of the republic:

The Barrel-Maker’s Quill: The Shared Blood of Samuel Huntington

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-barrel-makers-quill-shared-blood-of.html

Patriot of the Upper Hudson: The Life and Legacy of Captain James Wilson

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/patriot-of-upper-hudson-life-and-legacy.html

A Drifting Cowboy Celebrates America 250 — June 2026

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/a-drifting-cowboy-celebrates-america.html

Colonel William McDonald: High Sheriff of Somerset County

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/colonel-william-mcdonald-high-sheriff.html

Cockpit of the Revolution: Jersey Blues to the Ohio Frontier

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/cockpit-of-revolution-jersey-blues-to.html

The Unyielding Pen: Our Kinship with Founding Father George Mason

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-unyielding-pen-our-kinship-with.html

The Frontier Crucible: Our Littlefield-Stevens Family in Maine

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-frontier-crucible-our-littlefield.html

The Mythic Legacy: Isaac Potts and the Praying Washington

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-mythic-legacy-isaac-potts-and.html

Burying the Guns: How Our Potts Cousins Saved Washington’s Artillery

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/burying-guns-how-our-potts-cousins.html

Plymouth Rock 1620 to "We the People" 1787 & Beyond: Our Family’s Footsteps Through the American Story

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/plymouth-rock-1620-to-we-people-1787.html

America 250 Thematic Anthology

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/america-250-thematic-anthology.html

Putnam Catlin: The Teenage Drummer of the Revolution

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/putnam-catlin-teenage-drummer-of.html

The Convergence of Empires: From Manhattan Fortresses to Narragansett Fields

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-convergence-of-empires-from.html

The Engine of the State: The Uncompromising Hand of Timothy Pickering

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-engine-of-state-uncompromising-hand.html

The Fortress and the State: The Structural Mastery of the Wingate Bloodline

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-fortress-and-state-structural.html

Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/ethan-allen-and-green-mountain-boys.html

Major General Nathanael Greene our 3rd cousin 7x removed

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/05/major-general-nathanael-greene-our-3rd.html

The Brown Family Great Migration Out of Massachusetts

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-brown-family-great-migration-out-of.html

The Patriotic Legacy of our Townsend Line

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-patriotic-legacy-of-our-townsend.html

Early American Medical Folklore and Revolutionary Heroism

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/05/early-american-medical-folklore-and.html

America 250, Cousin Robert Townsend, Alias Samuel Culper Jr., was a Spy for George Washington

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/04/america-250-cousin-robert-townsend.html

America 250, Caleb Sweet: An Original Member of the Society of the Cincinnati

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/02/america-250-caleb-sweet-original-member.html

America 250, Oliver Ellsworth: A Most Underrated Founding Father

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/02/america-250-oliver-ellsworth-most.html

Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/life-liberty-and-pursuit-of-happiness.html

DNA CONNECTION, THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR AND PRESIDENT FRANKLIN PEIRCE

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2023/11/dna-connection-mexican-american-war-and.html

As American as French Apple Pie

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2020/11/as-american-as-french-apple-pie.html

Great-grandfather Caleb Sweet was awarded "The Order of Cincinnati” medal by General George Washington

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2020/11/great-grandfather-caleb-sweet-was.html

Oliver Bailey (1738-1822) — A Hero of Two Wars

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/07/oliver-bailey-1738-1822-hero-of-two-wars.html

George Washington's 1777 Valley Forge Headquarters was Cousin Isaac's House

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2017/10/george-washingtons-1777-valley-forge.html

Cowboy Legacy -- Founding father and independence

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/02/cowboy-legacy-founding-father-and.html

Cowboy Legacy -- Puritan New England 1638 to Iowa Territory 1845

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/01/cowboy-legacy-puritan-new-england-1638.html

The Frontier Defender: Solomon Brown’s Revolutionary Service

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-frontier-defender-solomon-browns.html

Samuel R. Brown and Ball's Squadron of Light Dragoons

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/samuel-r-brown-and-balls-squadron-of.html

Simon Weeks and Bellinger’s Regiment of New York Militia

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/06/simon-weeks-and-bellingers-regiment-of.html

Fort Stanwix, Zepheniah Rogers and the Road to Ohio

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/05/fort-stanwix-zepheniah-rogers-and-road.html

Cowboy Legacy -- Fight for Liberty

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/02/cowboy-legacy-fight-for-liberty.html