The following request for information has been received by the Patrick County Genealogy Society.
I am researching my ancestors that supposedly were born in Patrick County.William David Hopkins was born in 1882 in Patrick County and died January 11, 1942 in Spray, Rockingham County, N.C. His wife was Nancy Sue “Nannie” Kendrick born June 19, 1889, daughter of William Edward Kendrick born in 1860 and died November 7, 1936 in Spray, Rockingham County, and Fannie Earles born October 20, 1859 and died September 14, 1939 in Leaksville, Rockingham County, N.C. All of them were born in Patrick County (?).William David Hopkins was my great-grandfather who died at age 66 leaving a wife and 10 children of which two daughters and five sons, including my grandfather, Reuben, were still living at home.On my great-grandfather (W.D. Hopkins, born March 18, 1882), I am having trouble determining who his parents were. I am thinking it is possible that “Elizabeth Betsy Hopkins” may be the mother but the father is unknown to me. This has been a mystery since my grandfather, Reuben Hopkins, passed away.
The Hopkins line has been very difficult to prove and research. I will very much appreciate any information on the Kendrick, Earles and Hopkins families. Please contact Zachary H. Hopkins, P.O. Box 1108, Walnut Cove, N.C. 27052. David Sheley comments: The following from: familysearch.org: “W.D. Hopkins married N.E. Kendrick in Henry County on May 22, 1907. He was born in Patrick County in 1882, with a father (missing first name) Hopkins and mother B.A.E. Hopkins. She was born in Henry County in 1889, with father W.E. Kindrick and mother F.S. Kindrick.” Even with these variations in spelling this seems a match. The obituary of William David Hopkins states that he was 66 and if born in 1882 would make the year of his death 1948. A check of my chart “calendars-1800-2050” shows that W.D Hopkins died on Friday January 9 and funeral and burial on Sunday January 11; the calendars for January 1942 and January 1948 are the same. I hope someone of our readers can help Zachary solve the mystery and provide his great,-great-grandfather’s first name. This genealogy notice is a free service of the Patrick County Genealogy Society in cooperation with The Enterprise since August 2000—now beginning our 18th year. We really need queries and offer limited research charging only for copies and postage. Give us a try—other groups charge up to $30 an hour for research plus for copies and postage. Be specific about what you are seeking, and send queries to David A. Sheley, 4522 Dobyns Road, Stuart, Va., 24171-3535 David A. Sheley President
Patrick County
Genealogy Society
