When I started researching Stephen Hopkins, my Jamestown-bound, shipwreck-surviving 11th great-grandpa, I didn’t realize the twists and turns my research would take.
Years of life: 1581-1644
Places lived: England, Bermuda, etc.
Tree branch: Smith
Relation: My 11x great-grandfather
I did not expect my brain to become consumed by one oddly specific question:
Which Bible was he holding in his hands in 1609?
Why? Stephen Hopkins signed up for a seven-year indenture in the brand new colony of Jamestown. His assignment was to be the assistant, or clerk, to the Reverend Richard Buck. His duties would require him to help Buck with anything he needed. One day he may be sweeping the floor, the next he could be leading a worship service. He definitely needed a Bible for this assignment.
I am a Bible reader. I’m interested in which Bible my 11th great-grandpa used. I read a lot of information about 16th century Bibles. Here are the results of my research.
Step 1: We can rule out one obvious option
If your first assumption was that he used the King James Bible, that would be a good guess. Except the King James Version didn’t exist yet. It wasn’t published until 1611, nearly two years after Hopkins left England.
Step 2: So that left me with three options
* The Great Bible (1539)
The first “authorized” English Bible, large, formal, and used in churches—but less common for personal travel because it was… um, great in size.
* The Geneva Bible (1560)
The favorite of English households: more portable, more affordable, filled with helpful marginal notes, beloved by Puritans and everyday readers.
* The Bishops' Bible (1568)
The official Church of England Bible for public worship before 1611—what clergy were supposed to use during services.
Step 3: The Big Question—Was Stephen Hopkins an “Official” Church Appointee?
This is where I got stuck.
Hopkins was hired as clerk/assistant to Reverend Richard Buck, which raised a surprisingly complicated question:
Would an indentured servant appointed to assist clergy have been issued an official Church of England Bible? Or would he have brought the Bible most people carried—the Geneva?
I read Virginia Company records, Anglican guidelines, and historians’ websites but still needed clarity.
Step 4: The Warwick Bible Museum (I actually live next door)
So I did the only reasonable thing. I walked over to the Bible Museum in Warwick, New York, and—probably sounding slightly crazy—asked the curator, who happens to be my friend:
“Hi, I need to figure out which Bible my ancestor personally used in 1609.”
He was not phased by my question. In fact, he seemed like it was the most normal question in the world.
After jumping the line and moving stanchions out of the way, he walked me through early English Bible history, standing in front of actual 1500s and 1600s editions of the Great Bible, Geneva Bible, and Bishops’ Bible. (Yes, I took pictures. And yes, there is a photo of me posing with the Bibles.)
His conclusion? It could reasonably have been any of the three.
His instinct leaned Geneva—the most popular Bible among English families.
But if Hopkins’ role as Rev. Buck’s assistant was considered an official Church of England appointment, then he might have used the Bishops’ Bible, since that was the authorized text.
So… Which Bible Was It?
The real answer is: We can’t be 100% certain. But I'm going with Geneva. If a Bible History expert's gut is telling him Geneva, then that's my answer too.
And that, friends, is how one simple question turned into a multi-evening research spiral, and a visit to the museum, and an out-of-the-blue call to the curator.
But now I can confidently say:
Whatever Bible Grandpa Hopkins used, it was one of these three—and I’ve stood inches from all of them.
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| Left to right: Me, Great Bible, Geneva Bible, Bishops' Bible |
