In 1816 Nicholas Hopkins of Gorey died leaving a Will.
Nicholas was a son of Benjamin and Mary (Leggett) Hopkins who held land at Tomacork in Wicklow.
Nicholas was likely born about 1773. A brother Benjamin died in 1812 and it is not known if he was married. He was buried at Mullinacuffe with his father.
Nicholas c1773-1816 was unmarried but in his Will he provided for the training of a son of Ann Harris, a boy "known as John Hopkins". There are a couple of possibilities of why he made this provision...
a) This "John Hopkins was the illegitimate or adopted son of Nicholas?
b) This John Hopkins was a son of Ann Harris through a previous marriage to a Hopkins...most likely the Benjamin Hopkins who died in 1812. IF this were the case, and "Ann" had remarried before 1816 it would explain why she was not buried with Ben Hopkins and why Nicholas provided for the training of a nephew.
In any case, one must assume that the John Hopkins in question was John Hopkins, born about 1800 who married a Sarah Cullen in Gorey in 1821. He had been trained as a shoemaker (thanks to an Uncle Nich?). This training likely commenced when he was about 16 or when Nicholas Hopkins of Gorey died, leaving a provision in his Will for the training of Ann Harris' son "known as John Hopkins".
In 1822 John and Sarah had a first son and named him Nicholas (after the uncle?).
In 1829 the couple had a son John who would marry Mary Buttle in 1852. Mary, born 1822, was a daughter of Thomas Buttle and wife Ann Hopkins. Ann was a sister to Nicholas Hopkins of Gorey, and Ben Hopkins of Tomacork.
IF my "speculations" above are correct, John Hopkins and Mary Buttle would have been first cousins. They emigrated to Canada in 1852.
IF ANYONE CAN CONFIRM THE ABOVE, IT WOULD BE GREAT.
Specifically I am tryin to find:
a) A baptism for John Hopkins c1800. It would likely be at Gorey or perhaps Carnew.
b) A marriage for an Ann to a Harris or widow Hopkins to a Harris 1812-1816. It would likely be at Gorey or perhaps Carnew.
Many thanks for any help.
