We’ve made it back as far as William Henry Hopkins and Bridget Lundy. William was born in Ireland, so we’ve touched on our homeland, but now it’s time to dig a little deeper. We’ll look at the Hopkins side now, and explore the Lundy side for the next post.

As far as I have found, William Henry was the youngest child of Peter Hopkins and Margaret Fox from Sligo, Ireland. The earliest record I have found of them is a Catholic Parish Baptism Record from 16 December 1832 for their son James, his sponsors being Michael McNulty and Harissa Fox. Carrowhubbuck is listed as the town of residence.

Carrowhubbuck South encompasses the town of present-day Enniscrone in County Sligo, Ireland, and sits along the northwestern coast of the country on Killala Bay. There is a long beach (or “strand”) along the bay, and the population in the village of Enniscrone was 331 in 1891, occupying 67 of the 79 houses in town. The surrounding area is mostly farmland, which was predominantly owned by English landlords and occupied by tenant farmers in our ancestors’ days.

Records in Ireland are sparse and incomplete from around this time, but from what I can piece together, there were at least three adult Peter Hopkins in Carrowhubbuck South from around 1829 through 1839, with another Peter Hopkins born in 1835 and two more in 1841! One of those adults was ours, born about 1810 and married to Margaret Fox some time before 1832, with the birth of their son James in December of that year. One of the 1841 Peter Hopkins was born to Peter & Margaret, the next son of record, followed by John (1842), Mary (1844), Thady (1846), and our own William Henry (1853).

I have come across Baptism records in Ireland for all except John and William Henry. I can’t explain the absence of John’s record. But as for William, did they move to a different town before William was born? The Great Famine had just happened from 1845-49, so they could have gone elsewhere after that. Another common practice was for individuals to move to Scotland or England to make extra money for the trip to America. Perhaps the Hopkins went abroad in preparation for their trip? I have yet to search English & Scottish records for evidence of this. 

The passenger list records I have found indicate that some of the family traveled together when coming to America. This was a rare thing, as the cost of passage was significant. If they hadn’t moved elsewhere to make money for the voyage, they likely boarded a steamship locally from the town of Ballina to travel to Liverpool to catch the transatlantic steamer.

Hopkins siblings in America

At least two of the Hopkins siblings made their way to Scranton as well. Mary Hopkins (listed as Maria in the passenger list) came over with her parents and our William in 1864, and in 1870 married grocer Thomas Philbin, also from Sligo. They went on to have at least six children together (Margaret, Agnes T, Isabelle G, Nellie, William Thomas, and Anna) before Thomas’s untimely death somewhere around 1882.

Mary then married Patrick J. Lenahan, with whom she had at least four more children (Francis Patrick, Catherine A, Florence, and Genevieve R) between 1885 and 1898. Patrick was dead by 1906, leaving Mary with a full house of nine kids (her oldest, Margaret had gotten married to a John Grier by that time). Records show she gave birth to a total of 12 children, 10 of whom were living by 1900. She continued to maintain a good-sized household at 538 Orchard Street until her death in 1931.

John Hopkins was the other sibling who came to Scranton. Records are scarce for him. As I mentioned, I see no baptism record for him despite finding all his siblings from the same time frame. The first major evidence I have of him is in the 1910 census, living at 538 Orchard with his sister Mary and her large family. He is about 65 years old and working as a peddler of “produce, etc.” According to the Scranton City Directory, he was living there in 1909 (working as a laborer), and in 1911 (working as a “huckster”). The city directories going back as far as 1867 list anywhere from three to seven different John Hopkins, but I cannot discern which (if any) are ours.

John died on 30 March 1912 while still living with Mary and her family at 538 Orchard Street. His death certificate indicates that he was a widower, yet because of the common nature of his name, I have been unable to identify his wife and when she died. I also cannot how long he was in the US. It seems like he wasn’t in Scranton for long before 1909, but he may have been elsewhere in the US until his wife died. Or he may have been in Ireland until then.

Does anyone have any stories to share from this period? Did anyone ever visit Mary’s home at 538 Orchard St? Did you grow up knowing a Philbin, Lenahan, Grier, Maron, Leggat, Donnelly, or other potential cousin from Mary’s line? Have you visited our homeland in Sligo, walked the “strand” at Enniscrone, or had a pint at the Hopkins Bar?