No records for either man. No records that list the parents of William of Shelter Island (W of S.I.)
or when he was born,
nor records that show the death date of William of Eastham (W of E).
We can't assume they are the same person if we don't have dates just because they have the same name. That's not genealogy research. Unless we can prove it we have to leave them separate.
There is no real conflicting information because the information isn't documented or even logical.
There's a good clue though that they are not the same person. Giles' will was signed on 19 Jan 1682, and it sure sounded like William was living in Eastham with his mother. They are mentioned in the same sentence two times.
Since the (W of S.I.) was living there by 1680 (with account books), and appears to have been there continually until his death, it doesn't seem likely that Giles would have left things to his mother and William in the same sentences and to also instruct older brother Stephen in his will to "take ye care and oversight and maintaine my son William Hopkins during his natural Life in a comfortable decent manner."
There are no known records in Massachusetts of a marriage, wife, children or death for William No military service, land ownership or tax records..
The posts here by Dale Cook are excellent.
http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=1057&a......
One poster at that thread said, " [I found]. . . Mayflower Births and Deaths as a primary source to the parents of Abijah Hopkins. It showed Gyles Hopkins son William (b. 1660) as the father, and Rebecca Havens as the mother . . ." Except "Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol 1 and 2," (the one on Ancestry) doesn't say that.
Same poster posted on a different thread that he'd received a reply from GSMD that they received his "Preliminary Review Form and have attempted to determine the best previously approved lineage paper in our files that follows your proposed lineage . . . We also checked our lineage files. Our lineage files are consistent with the Mayflower Families book and no one has ever applied for membership in the Mayflower Society through a William Hopkins m. Rebecca Havens."
You can bet that if there were any data that if the Southold, Shelter Island, Long Island, NY group were eligible that someone would have applied by now.
At the link you provided:
http://www.wikitree.com/g2g/292270/trying-prove-william-hopkins-gra...
The "several geneology books written in the 1800's" that the poster is referring to are the same type as other books from the 1890's saying that Nicholas Hopkins & Mary Poole were parents of S.Hopkins and that Constance Dudley was his wife. None of them offer any documentation or records of where Wm of Shelter Island was born, when or who his parents are. That Wm really did exist but like so many came out of nowhere.
My GUESS at the books they are referring to would include (but the "source" of the info is really just #1. #2 is just a rehash of #1 and #3 is totally bogus).
#1
http://tinyurl.com/ShelterIslandMellman1899
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church by the Rev. Jacob E. Mallman, published 1899 (279 years after the arrival of the Mayflower. A lot of stories can be invented, retold and embellished in 279 years, especially if one reeeeealllllllly wants to believe they were down from the Mayflower!). No documentation provided.
Page 44 HAS ONE (1) LINE.
"16. SAMUEL HOPKINS was the son of William and Rebecca Hopkins, of this place, a direct and close descendant of Stephen Hopkins and Giles Hopkins, two of the immortal Mayflower pilgrims, being the great-grandson of the former and grandson of the latter. . . " (no documentation).
#2
https://archive.org/details/kingfamilyofsout00aker
The King family of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, 1595-1901, Rufus King, published 1901 (281 years after the arrival of the Mayflower.). HAS ONE LINE.
Mr. King apparently didn't clearly read what Rev. Mallman had written because he invented the lineage of William's being the son of Stephen who was the son of Giles. (he missed the great-grandfather's being listed first). No documentation provided because it looks like he tried to copy from Mallman but couldn't even do that correctly.
#3
Signers of the Mayflower Compact
Annie Arnoux Haxtun, 1897 (?) (originally printed in 3 parts 1897-1899, reprinted 1968). Off the wall.
Regarding the headstone of Wm (died 26 June 1718, husband of Rebecca Havens and son John)
"The above from the old graveyard in Orient, Suffolk County, L. I., New York, and being Stephen Hopkins's descenants, have the Coventry names. Without doubt this is the William, son of Stephen Hopkins., of the Mayflower."
BRILLIANT. SHE IS SAYING THAT "WITHOUT A DOUBT" SOMEONE WHO DIED IN 1718 IS THE SON OF STEPHEN HOPKINS OF THE MAYFLOWER (who was prob born in April 1581). BRILLIANT.
Don't get me started on this book. You can already tell by the ALL CAPS ABOVE how I feel about it. This is the book where Nicholas Hopkins and Mary Poole were invented as parents of Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower. This is where "Stephen Hopkins (1518) was invented as father of Nicholas. This is the woman who did everything she could to declare that John Hopkins of Hartford CT (died 1654, married to Jane UNK) was son of Stephen. Read my take on this book a little below middle of the page at
http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.hopkins/5435/mb.ashx
A researched, documented source:
Mayflower Families in Progress: Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower and his descendants for four generations Abbreviation: Hopkins, 4 gen Author: John D. Austin Publication: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth MA, 1988 . . , "no proof has been found and it appears most unlikely that this man was identical with William Hopkins (1660-1718) of Shelter Island NY, who m. Rebecca Havens, x ELIZABETH . . . . "
If the "Historical HAVENS Family" and the KING family researchers can't find a clue about their William Hopkins (who married their Rebecca Havens) and if The General Society of Mayflower Descendants can't find any information about their William Hopkins (son of Giles) then it's probably not available (yet?).
We can't say they're same person. That would be irresponsible.
