Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (b. March 7, 1707; d. July 13, 1785) is a Founding Father of America. He was a farmer, a land surveyor, a lawyer. He was elected town clerk, a justice of the peace, representative to the general assembly, a chief justice of the common pleas court. Hopkins had a profitable career as a merchant and a ship builder, he became a Speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, a delegate to the Albany Convention, and was elected governor of the colony. Hopkins was elected to represent Rhode Island in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. Also, he was member of Rhode Island Legislature and a founder of the Providence town library. Hopkins was one of the earliest and most vigorous champions of colonial rights.
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Early Life
Stephen Hopkins was born in Scituate, Rhode Island. He was self taught and had little formal education. [1] Hopkins was a farmer that inherited his father's estate. In 1742, he sold of his father's farm and moved to Providence. He married at the age of nineteen to Sarah Scott and fathered seven children. Hopkins purchased a store and became a wealthy merchant.
Politics
Hopkins became a representative from Providence to the provincial assembly becoming Speaker. He would be reelected fourteen times, then appointed chief justice of the superior court. In 1754, he was a delegate from Rhode Island to the convention that met at Albany. His task would be to developing a plan uniting the colonies and arranging an alliance with the Indians. In 1756, Hopkins was elected governor of the colony and he held that office until 1764. In 1772, Hopkins was again elected to the general assembly and sponsored a bill that prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony. In August 1774, was elected with Samuel Ward to represent Rhode Island in the Continental Congress. In Congress, he would tell a colleague, [2]
| “ | The liberties of America would be a cheap purchase with the loss of but 100,000 lives | ” |
Hopkins experience with ship building made him particularly useful as a member of the naval committee that formulated plans to arm vessels. In 1777, Hopkins was an active member of the general assembly of Rhode Island. He helped found the Providence town library in 1750. It was destroyed in 1760 and he led the eefort to rebuild.
Death
Hopkins died at his Providence home at the age of seventy-eight.
