Jim’s 5th great-grandfather, Lt. Caleb E. Hopkins (1749-1824) DAR (#A047932) served as a Lieutenant Revolutionary War Patriot.
He was the son of Abijah Hopkins (1703-1794) and Elizabeth King (1715-1798) born in Baleville, Sussex, Colonial New Jersey. He married on 23 Sep 1782 Ruth Hull (1763-1841).
Jim is descended from their first child, Rosanna Hopkins (1783-1842)
Rosanna married William Hampton and they had 5 children, the 4th was Rebecca Hampton (1820-1876)
Rebecca married George Pealer (1818-1897). They had 6 children, the oldest of whom was Russel Ralph Pealer (1842-1918). Russel Ralph, the great-grandson of our subject, has shown up before in other blogs, but I will remind the reader that Russel Ralph Pealer proudly served in the Civil War and became very active in the Grand Army of the Republic in Michigan.
Revolutionary War Service
According to the Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War, compiled by William S. Stryker and DAR applications, Lt. Caleb E. Hopkins DAR (#A047932) enlisted in Captain Bonnel’s Company of New Jersey, state troops, in which he served throughout the Revolutionary War.
In Fold3.com, there is a collection of US, Revolutionary War Pensions, 1800-1900. Contained as part of the collection is a pension claim from Ruth Hopkins dated August 20, 1836. I include the Fold3 AI transcribed version of image you see:
State of New Jersey
Sussex County fs. Be it remembered that on this twentieth day of August, AD eighteen hundred and thirty six, before me Francis C. Negusar
One of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature of the said State of New Jersey personally appeared Ruth Hopkins, late of Angelica in the county of Allegany and State of New York, now a resident in Sussex county in the State of New Jersey, who being duly sworn according to law, on her oath doth depose and say; I am the widow of the deceased Caleb Hopkins formerly of the said county of Sussex, afterwards for some time a citizen of Pennsylvania, but at and for some time before his death an inhabitant of the State of New York. I was lawfully married to the said Caleb Hopkins in the month of September but the day of the month, or the particular year I do not now recollect, but it was in the last year of the Revolutionary War. The marriage was celebrated by and before Francis Price Esq a Justice of the Peace and one of the Judges of the county Court in and for said county of Sussex. At the time of our intermarriage the said Caleb Hopkins was a commissioned officer of the rank of Lieutenant in the army of the United States. The Captain of the company to which he was attached was James Bond. But I do not recollect the Colonel or number of the Regiment to which he belonged. The said Caleb Hopkins continued in said Military service until the close of the war. I continued to live with him as his wife until his death, which was
the 19th July, AD eighteen hundred and twenty four. I will recollect often to have seen the Commission of the said Caleb, but have not been able to find it since his death, and know not what has become of it. The Room and Subscribed the Ruth & Hopkins day Just aforesaid - beforemark Jno. B. Newson Justice of the peace. Court of Nineteen.
N. B. The said Ruth from infirmity & indisposition was unable to subscribe - otherwise than
by her mark
N. B. Mary Hopkins being duly sworn deposeth and saith - I am the daughter of Caleb & Ruth
Hopkins above named - I am in the forty-eight year of my age. I well recollect to have seen
in the possession of my father in his lifetime a Commission to him as a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army. But both before and since his death I have applied to make search among his papers - for said commission and have not been able to find the same. I well
recollect often to have heard my father say that he served as such Lieutenant till the end of the Revolutionary War. He was stationed on the Delaware River in the upper part of the county of Sussex.
Sworn & Subscribed the 20th Aug. 1836. before me
Mary Hopkins
Jno. B. Newson Justice
of peace. Crt. of N. Jury
Post-Revolutionary Service as Missionary Reverend
Ordination. According to a Sons of the American Revolution application, of Oscar Wallace Park, PhD, he shares that Rev. Caleb Hopkins
was ordained by The Most Reverend William White, the 1st Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania and
 |
| Most Reverend William White https://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wwhite/ |
then served in a variety of Susquehanna Valley churches.
First post?
The following comes from a Facebook posting by David R. Kline on September 14, 2016 and appears to be the earliest mention of his preaching:
"The Rev. Caleb Hopkins, who lived in Bloomsburg on "East Street below Third" in an area known as
"Hopkinsville," organized the parish of St. Gabriel's church, a few miles north of Benton, in 1793, along
with ones in Milton, Saint Paul's Protestant Episcopal church in Bloomsburg, also dating from 1793, and
Christ's Protestant Episcopal and Lutheran Church on the road from Jerseytown to Millville.
Rev. Hopkins went to Muncy in 1797 and later founded an Episcopal church there. From the Muncy church,
I learned that during the Revolutionary War, Hopkins was a lieutenant in the Continental army. His
missionary work which had first begun in Milton, eventually extended to Muncy and Jersey Shore.
Rev. Hopkins went to Sunbury occasionally around 1812 and conducted Episcopal services in the
Lutheran church, St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church.Rev. Hopkins officiated in the Bloomsburg church at irregular intervals until 1805. The records of the
Bloomsburg church show he was offered an annual salary of $100 and the use of a glebe to be erected by
the "Saint Paul and Saint Gabriel congregations." He accepted the contract, and "entered upon the duties of
the rectorship, October 1, 1806" concentrating on the churches at Bloomsburg, Jerseytown and St. Gabriel's.
Saint Paul's records indicate that the congregation "enjoyed greater frequency and regularity of religious
services" following the appointment of Rev. Hopkins. He resided in Hopkinsville until 1819.
Rev. Hopkins became rector of the Muncy church, and served until January, 1824, when he moved to
Angelica, New York, where be passed away. The Muncy church notes that he "was the first resident minister
in this vicinity who preached in the English tongue."”
In an article by Carol Woolridge from the Columbia County Historical Society entitled,
“Blast from the Past, Part 2, she describes a variety of the businesses, homes, and churches along Main St, Bloomsburg, PA. The image provides the location but not the exact buildings from Reverend Caleb Hopkins’ time.
Later Post. In the History of Lycoming County, PA, p 480 shares the church history. In it is the following excerpt:
P. 480 of History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (1892) Edited by Meginness, John F.. (https://archive.org/details/historyoflycomin00edit/page/480/mode/2up)
Further corroboration comes from An Historical Sketch of the Parish of St. James, St. Mary’s:
His Legacy
There is no doubt that Reverend Caleb Hopkins must have been an important person in the Columbia County
area, because although he had left the area in 1819 and passed away in 1824, in his granddaughter’s,
Rebecca Hampton, marriage announcement to George Pealer (note misspelling) in 1840, both Rebecca’s
father and grandfather, Rev. Caleb Hopkins were remembered. I found it fascinating that no other
wedding announcement included grandparents’ names, let alone parents’ names!
We honor Lt. Caleb Hopkins not only for his service in the Revolutionary War but also his missionary work in helping to establish so many churches in the central Susquehanna Valley.
References:
Official Register of the Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolutionary War, compiled under orders of his excellency Theodore F. Randolph, Governor. (1872) Stryker, William S. Adjutant General. Trenton, NJ: Wm. T. Nicholson & Co., Printers. (Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Register_of_the_Officers_and_Me/4Yg-5sOYFxwC?kptab=editions&gbpv=1)
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (1892) Edited by Meginness, John F. Chicago, ILL: Brown, Runk & Co. Publishers. P.480. (https://archive.org/details/historyoflycomin00edit/page/480/mode/2up)
You’re Probably from Columbia County, PA. If.. Facebook Group. Article written by Kline, David R (14 Sept. 2016) (https://www.facebook.com/groups/686934898020149/posts/1144325225614445/)
William White (April 4, 1748-July 17, 1836) Image. As part of Park, Lawrence. Gilbert Stuart An Illustrated List of His Works. https://archive.org/details/gilbertst04park. Found June 2026 at (https://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wwhite/)
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