Caleb H. Johnson

Here Shall I Die Ashore' by Caleb Johnson is an excellent book for Stephen Hopkins descendants and those who are interested on those who came over on the Mayflower. What was their background? Why did Stephen Hopkins join this group?

This book clears up some genealogical clutter on the controversy about who was his wife and weaves a tremendous collection of historical details into an organized and riveting story. That story is backed up with well documented research in the footnotes and six Appendixes at the back of the book.

I had done quite a bit of research on Stephen Hopkins prior to reading this book and have my research agrees with everything that is in the book and the book fills in quite a few holes, making the puzzle of Stephen Hopkins much more complete.
I keep wondering why Stephen Hopkins survived to have tens of thousands of descendants. Why didn't he drown when the Sea Venture was being savagely tossed around in a hurricane? The Sea Venture was a new ship therefore the oakum which was a tarred fiber to hold the seams of the ship together like was still fresh and did not bar leaks during the hurricane. There were plenty of leaks but the biggest leak was never found. The food was gone, ruined by the torrential rains, when they sighted land. The ship with its starving crew was in the Bermuda Triangle which was well known even in 1609 to be a black hole of the ocean. The Sea Venture had to be forced to speed ahead and lodge upon some rocks. This was the northern shore of Bermuda.

How did Stephen Hopkins survive when he was found guilty of mutiny on the island? Shakespeare put him in his play The Tempest as Stephan. The penalty was death, of course. Later he lived through a famine in Jamestown. After all those death defying adventures, I have often wondered why did he bring his family on the Mayflower, wasn't he sick of the New World?

The only thing that I found missing was details of his negotiations between the Indians and the residents of the Plymouth Plantation. I think that Caleb Johnson did an excellent job of researching and writing this book.

I highly recommend it for any descendant of Stephen Hopkins or anyone wanting to know the background of the Mayflower passengers.… (mehr)