98 HEREDITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL OFFICERS. 



V I, William Hawkins (1565-1613), made voyages to the Straits of Magellan and the 

 West Indies in 1582, sailing with Captain Fenton as lieutenant-general of his fleet, and being 

 brought back in irons. In 1607 he sailed for the East Indies as captain of the Hector; founded 

 the East India Company's first trading-house at Surat; was ambassador to the Great Mogul at 

 Agra. V 2, Judith, Clare, and Grace Hawkins. V 3, Richard, Francis, Nicholas, and William 

 Hawkins. V 4, Frances, Mary, and Elizabeth Hawkins. Child of Propositus: V 5, Sir Richard 

 Hawkins (ca. 1560-1622), was his father's constant companion and was brought up to a sea life. 

 In 1582 he made his first voyage to the West Indies with his uncle, William Hawkins; in 1585 

 he sailed with Drake and Frobisher to the West Indies. He commanded the Swallow against 

 the Spanish Armada. In 1593 he went on an expedition of exploration around South America, 

 was made a captive and sent to Spain for several years. He returned to England in 1603, was 

 knighted, became vice admiral of Devon, a privy councilor and a member of Parliament. He 

 died when engaged against the Algerian pirates. V 6, Judith. 



Child of child of Propositus: VI 1, John Hawkins (born 1604), went to sea. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



HAWKINS, M. 1888. Plymouth Armada Heroes. The Hawkins Family. Plymouth: W. Bren- 

 don & Son. 189 pp. 



MARKHAM, C. R. 1878. The Hawkins' Voyages during the Reigns of Henry VIII, Queen Eliza- 

 beth, and James I. London: Printed for the Hakluyt Soc., vol. 57, liii: 453 pp. 



WALLING, R. 1907. A Sea-Dog of Devon. A Life of Sir John Hawkins. New York: The 

 John Lane Co. xii + 288 pp. 



WORTH, R. N. 1886. A History of Devonshire. London: E. Stock, x + 347 pp. 



27. ESEK HOPKINS. 



ESEK HOPKINS was born at Scituate, Rhode Island, 1718. At the age of 20 

 years he shipped on a vessel going to Surinam. He soon rose to the command of 

 a vessel and became a prominent New England master mariner. He married in 

 1741 and moved to Providence in 1748. He served for a time on the school com- 

 mittee. Later he was, for 20 years, a trustee of Rhode Island College; also tax 

 assessor, etc. From 1754 to 1763 he was privateering on French and Spanish 

 vessels. He had become rich by 1756 and owned a farm of 200 acres and a house 

 on it for his family; but he preferred "the dash and excitement incident to life on 

 board a privateer." While on shore he was active in politics. When his brother 

 Stephen was running for governor of the colony against Samuel Ward, Esek entered 

 into the contest "with activity and acrimony." He was elected, in 1763 and 1764, 

 to the general assembly; and he made long voyages to Africa, China, and the 

 West Indies for four years. In 1771-1773 he was returned to the legislature. In 

 1775 a battery was established on Fox Hill in Providence Harbor and Hopkins 

 was put in command of it. Shortly afterward he was appointed commander-in- 

 chief of the fleet of the colony. In November 1775 he was appointed by Congress 

 commander-in-chief of the continental navy. In February 1776 he started on 

 a cruise to New Providence to get gunpowder, and secured cannon, shell, and 

 a little gunpowder. Returning early in April, he captured a 6-gun English tender, 

 Hawke, and the bomb-brig Vulcan, 8 guns. He next attacked the Glasgow, 29 

 guns, but she, being much larger than any of his fleet, succeeded in escaping. He was 

 heavily censured for letting this ship escape, first by the people of the colonies and 

 then by Congress, in August 1776. After some months of inactivity he was "dis- 

 honorably discharged" from the service, in April 1777. He passed the remainder 

 of his life in Rhode Island, and was for many years a member of the assembly. 



Hopkins was highly social and the struggles of political life appealed to him. 

 In this respect he resembled his brother Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785), a signer 



