Lambeth Hopkins was born on 24 Sep 1800 at Jackson, GA; According to the family records which he kept in a family Bible and according to his death notice in the Texas Baptist Herald. The 1850 census record gives his birth place as South Carolina, but the 1860 census record gives his birthplace as Georgia, and from all other evidence we must accept Georgia as the correct birth place.1,2,3
We have no direct record of the life of Lambeth Hopkins during his boyhood and late teens into his twenties. However, knowing the movements of his family as recorded in land and military records we can infer something of his life and activities during that time. Lambeth was born in Jackson Co. GA in 1800. He was the oldest son of John and Elizabeth Autrey Hopkins. The date of his birth is about two years after his grandfather Lambeth Hopkins died in Jackson County and he was named after his grandfather. It must have been a community in which families knew one another quite well. His grandmother Priscilla Hopkins joined the Mars Hill Baptist church at the time of its foundation. Great uncles and uncles and aunts were also members of this church, so probably there were religious services of varying frequency held in the homes of relatives and friends which were also social occasions.
There was also, surely, the sharing of the work of harvest among the families. Lambeth, as the oldest son, must have begun early helping his father and mother with small chores around the house. By the time his family left Jackson County for Tennessee he was around eleven years old -- old enough to be of significant help to his father. He had two older sisters who would have been learning all the skills of keeping house on the frontier, one brother about two years younger with whom he would have played and worked, and four younger sisters who would sometimes have been his responsibility to watch.It was probably also at this time that Lambeth learned to read and write. He kept a family Bible (Pg.1) (Pg. 2) (Pg. 3) (Pg. 4) and and Age Book (Pg.1) (Pg.2)which have been invaluable in recording the history of his family. Schooling was evidently important to the Hopkins family because when his grandfather Lambeth died he made provision in his will for one year's schooling of his children of minor age who were at home at the time of his death.
FAMILY BIBLE AND
OTHER RECORDS OF LAMBETH HOPKINS, THE YOUNGER
I have a photocopy
of what appears to be the earliest record of Hopkins family births and deaths
as recorded by Lambeth
(b. 1800)
“I hereby certify
this to be a True and Correct Copy of a Family record sheet of the old and original
family records of
Lambeth Hopkins. These records are now in the possession of Bess H. Pearce,
Olive View, California.
In witness whereof, I hereunto SET MY HAND AND SEAL OF OFFICE this the 29thd
day of December, A.D., 1959.”
In this original record, Elizabeth Hopkins death date is given as July 27th,
1847. A record of birth and death for John
Hopkins, Sr. is not given.
Lambeth Hopkins birth
date of 1800 is recorded but his death date is not recorded.
The record for Aureny
and Cireny are water marked and almost totally illegible, which may be the reason
that the later
Age Book was started.
Susan Elin is recorded
as Susan Elender and the date of her birth is difficult to read. It could be
the 6th as recorded
in later entries, but it could also be the 11th, depending upon how the pen
strokes are read.
The record of the
birth and death for Jane has a word which may be “Mahala” which precedes
the “Jane”. The word is in
much smaller writing, and crowded in to precede the “Jane”.
In addition to the
births of Lambeth and Elizabeth’s children there are recorded the births
of other children as well as
the birth and death dates for William Wilson, husband of Lambert’s sister
Mahala. Interestingly, neither Mahala’s birth
nor death date is recorded. The dates for the children occur after 1838, so
they can’t be William Wilson’s children.
William Willson was
bornd in the yeare of our Lord 1807 and died July 11th 1838 his days was 31
years 4 months and 1 day
Dates of the children
recorded:
Fanny was bornd in
febuary 23th in the yeare of our Lord 1839
Mariah was born June (?) 6 in the yeare of our Lord 1841 or 6 (Hard to read)
Samuel was born August 16th in the yeare of our Lord 1847
Martin was bornd July the 27th in the yeare of our Lord 1849
Easter was bornd March 10th in the year of our Lord 1852
Lewis was bornd October the 23 in the year of our Lord 1854
The following records
are written in a smaller hand toward the bottom of the page. Part of the page
has been damaged
(torn/some water damage) and is unreadable. Because of the dates, the records
may refer to another family.
Lucy was bornd January (?) in the year of our Lord 1857
Mariah was bornd January 4 (?) in the yeare of our Lord 18--
Hester (?) was bornd April 18th in the yeare of our Lord 1857
Two pages over are recorded:
David was bornd febuary
the 20th 1859
Richard was bornd Janury (?) 19th 1861
Betsy was bornd Novem(ber?) 4th 1861 or 8 [depending on the reading of the pen
stroke.]
Note that two of
the children in the above list have the same names as younger children of Lambeth
Hopkins, elder as
named in his will.
Susan (must have
been Susan Elin or Elender) Died March 2 1863
Bety died March 8
Esther do March 15
Susan’s baby March 22
Fanny do March 28
Fanny’s child March 29
These doleful records must have recorded a time of great grief for the Hopkins
family.
LAMBETH HOPKINS
AGE BOOK
“I hereby certify
this to be a True and Correct Copy of a Family record sheet from the old Lambeth
Hopkins Family Bible.
These records are now in the possession of Bess H. Pearce, Olive view, California.
In witness whereof, I hereunto SET MY HAND AND SEAL OF OFFICE this the 29thd
day of December, A.D., 1959.”
The following is
as accurate a transcription of the Age Book as I can make. After inspecting
the copy closely, I have
decided that the word “bornd” does have a “d” on the end
of the word. The writing is very uniform on this document and
looks as if the entries had been all done at the same time with the exception
of the record of Lambeth’s own death date.
Another record which includes the same information with the addition of some
other births appears as if the entries were
made at different times and parts of it show water damage.
L Hopkins July 26
1869
AGE Book
John Hopkins Seign
was bornd in the 1769 (sic) and died December 12 th 1813
Elizabeth Hopkins Seign bornd January 27 in the yeare of our Lord 1771 and died
July 28th 1847
Lambeth Hopkins was bornd September 24th in the yeare of our Lord 1800
Susan Hopkins was bornd in October 14th in the yeare of our Lord 1803
Elizabeth Hopkins was bornd in March 12th in the yeare of our Lord 1827
Sarahan Hopkins was bornd April 20 in the year of our Lord 1828
Mary Hopkins was bornd November 27th in the year of our Lord 1829
Aureny Hopkins was bornd October 11th in the yeare of our Lord 1831
Cireny Hopkins was bornd October 11th in the year of our Lord 1831
John A Hopkins was bornd October 12th in the yeare of our Lord 1833
Susan Elin Hopkins was bornd October 6th in the yeare of our Lord 1835 and died
March 2th 1863
Louisiana Hopkins was bornd September 30th in the yeare of our Lord 1837 and
died July 27th 1844
W W Hopkins was bornd December 10th in the yeare of our Lord 1839
Priscilla Hopkins was bornd October 4th in the yeare of our Lord 1841
Nancy Hopkins was bornd July 26th in the yeare of our Lord 1843
Richard L Hopkins was bornd August 16th in the yeare of our Lord 1845
Lambeth Hopkins Departed
this life July 8th Ad 1873
Age 72 years Nine months and 15 days
Calley Spencer was born Dec 20th 1860
EARY LIFE
Lambeth's father John was on the tax rolls of Jackson County Georgia from 1799 to 1811. Others of the family who were on the tax rolls of Jackson County in 1799 and 1801 are found on the tax rolls of Clark County in 1802 and in subsequent years. Therefore John Hopkins must have lived in a portion of Jackson County which remained in Jackson County although he may have owned land in Clark and Greene counties as indicated by deeds in those counties. John's cousins Elijah and Samuel left Clark County for Kentucky about 1808 and it is possible that John left Jackson County about the same time. Tax collectors sometimes left people on the rolls for several years after they had already left the tax district.
At any rate, John Hopkins chose to leave Jackson County, but rather than going to Kentucky he settled instead in the newly formed county of Bedford Tennessee near Shelbyville. It was not too far as moves went in those days, but to a boy somewhere between eight and eleven it must have been quite an adventure. John Hopkins probably went to Tennessee to scout out the area and perhaps he even took Lambeth with him, but, since Lambeth was the oldest son, it is much more likely that he left him at home to help his mother Elizabeth. Once the decision had been made to make this move, there would be the preparation for establishing a new life. Land in Georgia would be sold and eventually wagons packed and teams hitched and the first steps taken as the family made their way along the rough roads cut through the forests and fields in the countryside between Athens Georgia and Shelbyville Tennessee. John's father Lambeth had owned three slaves, and there is a record in Greene County AL in which Lambeth's mother Elizabeth sold a slave, so it is quite likely that one or more slaves travelled with the family to Tennessee.
The military record of John Hopkins shows him as a mounted rifleman in the Tennessee militia company in which he was enrolled. That meant that he had the means to have a good rifle and a good horse which he rode, and was not part of the team. Very likely John Hopkins rode with his family by the side or at the head of the wagons, and Lambeth, as the oldest son, drove one of the wagons. One of the older girls or Elizabeth their mother may have driven one of the other teams.
When they arrived in Bedford County Tennessee no one in the family, including young Lambeth realized that their days as a complete family with a father and a provider were numbered. When they first arrived and settled in their new location there was most likely land to clear for crops, a cabin or small house to build and herds to build up, even though they may have driven some cattle with them on their journey. During that time rumors of trouble with the Indians in the Mississippi Territory and the role of the British in these Indian troubles must traveled north into Tennessee. For some reason in late 1813 even though he was a middle-aged man of forty-four, John Hopkins enrolled in a militia company of mounted riflemen and was present at the Battle of Talladega. Perhaps he remembered his experience as a youth moving with his family before the British army from the Georgia frontier of Wilkes County to the greater safety of like-minded Revolutionaries of Montgomery County, North Carolina.
Lambeth as a young teen was the oldest man in the household while John was soldiering and must have assumed a much greater measure of responsibility than he had previously had. His father was gone for three months, and when he returned he died three days (or thirteen days depending on the source of information) before Christmas. Lambeth was thirteen and now the male head of the family.
His mother Elizabeth must have been a strong woman. Her husband died in Tennessee, but within five years she and her family were found in Marengo County, Alabama where her daughter Nancy married John Fisher in 1818. There is a record of Elizabeth Hopkins purchasing and selling land and a slave in Greene County. After Lambeth married Susannah Adcock in 1826 the two households must have joined. Elizabeth remained with Lambeth and Susannah until her death in 1847 in Perry County Alabama though she always had an independent household. The land that she purchased in Perry County was part of the parcel of land that was sold by Lambeth Hopkins to his son John Alexander when he and others of his family moved to Milam County Texas in about 1869.
In Deed Book A of Greene County we find the first record of the presence of Elizabeth and Lambert Hopkins. Lambert was twenty years old at the time.
Elizabeth Hopkins to Samuel Swilley of Greene County AL slave deed, 6th of March 1820. Witnesses: Lambeth Hopkins, Sillar X Hopkins (Elizabeth's daughter Priscilla, Thomas Childress.4
According to Bureau of Land Management records, Elizabeth and Lambeth Hopkins purchased land in Hale County in 1825. Hale County was not actually formed until 1867 from Perry, Greene and Tuscaloosa so the land that Lambath purchased in Hale County could have been in Greene County in 1830. The land for Greene County was purchased at the St Stephens Land Office; all were cash entry sales.
Elizabeth Hopkins:
|
Document Number: 722 |
20/10/1824 |
E*NW |
Section Number 15 |
Township: 21N |
Range: 3E |
Total Acres: 80.42 |
|
|
Document Number: 1155 |
20/10/1824 |
W*NW |
Section Number 15 |
Township: 21 N |
Range: 3E |
Total Acres: 80.142 |
Lambeth Hopkins:
|
Document Number: 1154 |
5/25/1825 |
W NW |
Section Mumber 25 |
Township: 21N |
Range: 3E |
total Acres: 79:99 |
AL0030.197 |
|
Document Number: 1155 |
5/25/1825 |
E NE |
Section Number 26 |
Township: 21 N |
Range: 3E |
Total Acres: 80.17 |
AL0030.198 |
It is highly likely that Lambeth purchased land in order to prepare a home for a wife and family. Lambeth Hopkins and Susannah Adcock were married in Greene County, Alabama June 4 1826. Lambeth was twenty-six years old and had been the responsible male in his family for thirteen years. Susannah was twenty-three years old and, according, to one family tradition was an orphan raised by relatives. Susannah Adcock's origins are not clear. She most likely descended from the Adcocks of Buckingham County, Virginia. The 1850 census of Perry County AL reports her birthplace as South Carolina , while family tradition says Putnam County Georgia. A John Adcock is listed as a trustee of the Methodist Church in Greene County, Alabama in 1827 although what relationship he has to Susannah is uncertain.5
There is a deed in Greene County Deed Book D:
Lambeth Hopkins and wife Susannah Hopkins to William Meaders 6 Jan 1827.6
From 1827 with the birth of their first daughter to 1847 with the birth of their last daughter, Lambeth and Susannah (or Susan or Susanna) produced thirteen children, ten of whom were girls. There was one set of twin girls born in 1831, Aureny and Cireny. John Alexander was the sixth child and first son born seven years after the marriage of Lambeth and Susannah. (A family group sheet is available.).
The land that Lambeth purchased in the 1830's and 50's was in Perry County. Lambeth were in an enumeration district of Perry County in 1830 even though land purchases in Perry County by Lambeth are not recorded until 1835. When they did purchase land in Perry County, the land is in the northernmost section of the county in what is now the Talladega National forest just south of the Tuscaloosa County line.
1830 Census Record
Lambeth Hopkins is listed in the Alabama 1830 census for Perry County. He is listed with 1 male, 4 females and no slaves. Elizabeth Hopkins (p. 81) is listed with 1 male, 4 females and 1 slave. John A. Hopkins (p. 72) is listed with 1 male 1 female and 2 slaves.7
Perry County AL Land Patent Records -- 1830's
The first purchase was made at the St. Stephens land office, but by 1837 the Cahaba land office had been opened and the purchases were made at that office. All the sales were cash entry sales.
|
Document Number: 15416 |
19/9/1835 |
SW SW |
Section Number 28 |
Township: 21N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 39.92 |
AL0430.198 |
|
Document Number: 22667 |
10/4/1837 |
NE SW |
Section Number 32 |
Township: 22 N |
Range: 3E |
Total Acres: 39.85 |
AL0580.340 |
|
Document Number: 29959 |
12/8/1837 |
W NW |
Section Number 4 |
Township: 21 N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 76.94 |
AL1720.020 |
Elizabeth Hopkins purchased the following land:
|
12/08/1837 |
NW NW |
Section Number 33 |
Township: 22N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 39.96 |
Perry County 1850 Census
Lambeth Hopkins is listed in the 1850 census for Perry County AL. His age is given as 49, his occupation as farmer, birthplace South Carolina. Susan is listed as age 46, born in South Carolina. Seven children are listed in the household: Sarah A (21), John (17), Susan (14), William (11), Prisilla (9), Nancy (7), and Richard S [sic] 5. All the children were born in Alabama. Also in the household were Zacharah Mattox [sic] and his wife Mary who was the daughter of Lambeth and Susan. They had been recently married and were probably living with Lambeth and Susan for financial help and so that Zacariah could assist Lambeth with the farm work. 8
Elizabeth Hopkins had died in 1847 so she was not listed in the census. She was born in 1771 and lived for 76 years; she had become a widow at 42; she moved to Alabama with her family and bought and sold land and maintained her own household throughout the rest of her life. She was a woman to be admired.
Perry County AL Land Patent Records -- 1850's
The first two purchases were made at the Cahaba land office, but by 1858 the Greenville land office and opened and the remaining two purchases were made there. All sales are cash entry sales.
|
Document Number: 38060 |
10/8/1850 |
SW NW |
Section Number 33 |
Township: 22N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 39.96 |
AL1880.260 |
|
Document Number: 43489 |
2/10/1854 |
NE NW |
Section Number 28 |
Township: 22 N |
Range: 3E |
Total Acres: 39.92 |
AL1970.111 |
|
Document Number: 44218 |
1/11/1858 |
E NE |
Section Number 29 |
Township: 22 N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 119.98 |
AL1980.199 |
|
Document Number: 44217 |
1/11/1858 |
NE NW |
Section Number 28 |
Township: 22 N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 0 |
AL1980.199 |
Perry County 1860 Census
From the 1860 census of Perry County AL:
Buck Snort P.O. p. 554 Household 328 Lambeth Hopkins Farmer $3000 (value of real estate) $13,455 (value of personal property) Born: GA Susan 56 Domestic Born: GA Prisilla 18 Domestic Born: AL Nancy 16 Domestic Born: AL R.L. 14 [School] Born: AL9
From the 1860 slave schedule for Perry County AL:
Lambeth Hopkins owned 15 black slaves (as distinguished from mulatto) and had 2 slave houses.10,11
Perry County AL Land Patent Records -- 1860's
This record is a cash entry sale from the Greenville AL land office.
|
Document Number:50962 |
21/4/1860 |
S SW |
Section Number 21 |
Township: 22N |
Range: 7E |
Total Acres: 199.96 |
AL2090.127 |
|
SE NW |
Section Number 28 |
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NE SW |
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NE SE |