If you thought you knew all about Stephen Hopkins, Mayflower passenger, this book, released in April 2020, will change your mind. As a 10th great-granddaughter of Hopkins, I was eager to read this new account by attorney and Hopkins descendant Jonathan Mack. I was not disappointed.

Though Hopkins is generally credited with being a helpful “stranger” to the colonists (ie: not of the religious group known as the Pilgrims), the importance of his role in sustaining, even saving the colony from disaster has been vastly under-rated. Mack brings to light, using extant records of the period, the absolute vital part Hopkins played in the survival of the Pilgrims, particularly during that first perilous year.

Mack begins at the beginning, which includes Hopkins’ first trip to America eleven years prior to the Mayflower voyage. The struggles and challenges that he and his companions faced on that voyage, complete with shipwreck on a deserted Bermuda for ten months, helped to prime Hopkins for what he would soon encounter in Jamestown. There, he became fascinated with the indigenous people, even learned their language, which would prove indispensable in Plymouth, and developed a lifelong admiration and respect for the “Indians”. His years as indentured servant in Jamestown also instructed him in wilderness survival and the elements of success (or failure) that must be considered when founding a new colony.

With this knowledge base and set of skills, Hopkins became a pivotal voice, once the Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod rather than Virginia. Not only was he a Mayflower Compact signatory, he likely had a hand in its creation, for example. Jonathan Mack shows us the many other specific instances and events when, without the influence of Stephen Hopkins, the survival of the nascent colony would almost certainly have gone awry. In doing so, the full character of Hopkins can be gleaned, because the author doesn’t shy away from exploring his less admirable side. Stephen Hopkins was by no means a “saint”, and I appreciated the examination of his foibles, many of which are in the written record of the period, and others which can be deduced based on related records that do exist.

The book is far from a dry history, however. Hopkins’ life was certainly one of drama and suspense, including nearly being hanged for mutiny and a personal acquaintance with none other than Pocahontas! What I wonder is why, after being shipwrecked on Bermuda, followed by several miserable months in Jamestown and then a perilous journey back to England … why on earth would he even consider another trip to America? Nothing would have gotten me on that ship! But I am glad that he did.

Like any one of us, Stephen Hopkins was an imperfect person, and he made mistakes throughout his life. However, I came away from this book with new admiration for his courage, perseverance, foresight and for his unusually amicable stance on the Indians to which he held fast against all detractors to the end of his life. I recommend the book as a great read for this 401st anniversary year and especially for anyone fortunate enough to be a descendant of this remarkable man. ( )

In A Stranger Among Saints: Stephen Hopkins, The Man Who Survived Jamestown and Saved Plymouth, Jonathan Mack argues, “Because of his unique experience on Bermuda and then in Jamestown, Hopkins might have been the most important person on board the Mayflower when it sailed for England” (pg. x). He continues, “Tested by hardships and setbacks, the entire enterprise hung in the balance, and it was during these trials that Hopkins demonstrated his value, both to his fellow Pilgrims and to history. Without him, they would not likely have lasted through that brutal year” (pg. x). Examining the historiography, Mack writes, “Despite creating endless volumes of research, scholars have largely overlooked Stephen Hopkins, even though he was a key figure in the Pilgrims’ struggles and triumphs in the New World. Certainly, he was the most knowledgeable about the challenges they would ultimately face” (pg. ix). Mack draws upon accounts such as Nathaniel Philbrick’s history of the Mayflower, Caleb Johnson’s history of Stephen Hopkins, Here Shall I Die Ashore, Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith’s account of the Sea Venture wreck, as well as primary sources like William Strachey’s account, John Smith’s own writings, William Bradford’s history of the Plymouth colony. Though Mack is not an academic historian, his background in the law gives him the tools he needs to research and document his work such that he successfully recreates the seventeenth-century history he recounts. There are times he gives in to speculation when he does not have answers, but overall the work merits a look for those interested in the Mayflower on its quadricentennial.

Discussing the impact of Hopkins’ voyage on the Sea Venture, Mack includes the presence of two members of the Powhatan Confederacy, from whom Hopkins could have learned Algonquian (pgs. 18, 33). Further, Hopkins befriended John Rolfe on the voyage, later meeting Pocahontas at Jamestown and learning more about the Native American social structure and Algonquian language (pg. 35). Mack questions historians’ claim that Hopkins was one of the Pilgrim Separatists based on his experience in the Anglican Church, a connection he was unlikely to refute (pg. 51). He also offers some possible reasons for Hopkins’ choosing to accompany the Mayflower expedition and bring his family with him, including either a thirst for adventure based on nostalgic memories of his time in Jamestown or the successful recruitment of Thomas Weston and the Merchant Adventurers (pgs. 52-53, 56). Mack does not believe that money played a significant role in his decision as he had secured both finances and position from his time in Jamestown, though Hopkins possessed more experience in the New World than John Smith.

Mack argues that Hopkins’ experience played a key role in the Mayflower passengers first forays onto shore, both for his experience facing potentially hostile resistance in the face of colonizers and as his language skills could ease these tensions (pg. 117). Further, Mack speculates that Hopkins’ experiences in the poorly-situated Jamestown colony gave him insight which could have played a role in the choice of Patuxet as a final landing site since it had abundant natural resources and, most importantly, a supply of freshwater (pg. 136). Discussing the effect of Hopkins’ worldview as the colonists began building a fortification, Mack writes, “Hopkins would likely have been [the] perfect counterweight to [Myles] Standish, a man who perhaps could quench the fiery captain’s temper, for Hopkins was included to the abstract, a cool thinker who ‘could reason well,’ in the words of his Sea Venture shipmate, William Strachey. Where Standish likely viewed the Wampanoag as hostile based upon their only interactions thus far, Hopkins probably still believed in the possibility of peace” (pg. 147). In this, Mack credits Hopkins with helping to ensure the peace through his conversations with Samoset, which paved the way for the Massasoit and the Pilgrims to reach an accord (pg. 166).

Mack suggests that Hopkins eventual place on the wrong side of the law may have stemmed from a lack of approval for the subsequent colonial ventures following Plymouth, which strained the relationships in the region between colonizer and indigenous people (pgs. 193-200). In this, Mack further casts Hopkins as an outsider, someone who vitally contributed to the Pilgrims’ colonial venture though had previously rebelled against colonial authority and who felt more comfortable as an intermediary than a member of the Pilgrim congregation. In his conclusion, he traces the descendants of Hopkins and the influence of his actions and the Mayflower Compact on U.S. history, showing how this foundational national narrative continues to live in our civic history. I primarily purchased this book less as an academic historian than in my desire to better know my ancestor as Stephen Hopkins is my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. Those interested in the history of the Mayflower on its quadricentennial will find this an enlightening read while academics may find excerpts useful in U.S. history seminars. ( )