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The Founding of Hopkins Grammar School (1637-1668)
USINFO | 2013-12-06 16:51
“It is difficult for us to appreciate the condition of New England when the Hopkins Grammar School was established. 1660 was very near the beginning of New England history. It was only forty years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, and Manhattan Island was still in the possession of the Dutch. The greater part of the territory now included in the Atlantic States was then occupied by Indians . . .”
Henry Parks Wright, “The Early Grammar Schools of New England,” 1910
The founding of Hopkins was largely the work of the Reverend John Davenport, an Oxford educated Puritan minister, who emigrated from London to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637. With Davenport, on board the Hector, were several of his devout Puritan parishioners, including Edward Hopkins and his wife, and Theophilus Eaton.
In the spring of 1638, Hopkins left Boston for Hartford, where he immediately became established as a leading citizen, and where he would soon be elected the second Governor of the Connecticut Colony. At the same time, Davenport, Eaton and others sailed down Long Island Sound to Quinnipiac, and soon founded the New Haven Colony. Eaton was chosen Governor, and Davenport as minister of what is today the Center Church on-the-Green.
Davenport and Eaton envisioned New Haven as a Puritan utopia and, in time, they wanted something like the grammar schools of their youth in England to prepare students for college and to educate future ministers and teachers. Admission to Harvard, then the only American college, required knowledge of Latin and Greek. In 1655, Davenport turned for help to his old friend and former congregant, Edward Hopkins, who had been elected Governor of the Connecticut Colony seven times:
It was given to [Edward Hopkins] to be one of those who, in 1639, on the banks of the Connecticut, were to lay the cornerstone of government for the world, and of those who also, four years later, organized the Confederation of the United Colonies in New England, which was the prototype of the United States.
Henry Wright Parks, “Early Grammar Schools of New England” 1910
Although he had returned to London to serve in Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan government, Hopkins’ response to Davenport’s request was prompt and generous, writing “That which the Lord hath given mee in those parts I ever designed the greatest part of it for the furtherance of the worke of Christ in those ends of the earth. . .” Hopkins later committed his estate in North America “for the breeding up of hopeful Youths Both at the Grammar Schoole and Colledge for the public service of the Country in future tymes.” Hopkins died in early 1657, having appointed Davenport as one of four trustees of his North American estate.
On June 14, 1660, Davenport appeared before the New Haven General Court, and opened his remarks with the Latin phrase “Quod Felix Faustumque Sit” (“May it be happy and blessed”). He advised the Court of the impending settlement of the Hopkins estate in Hartford. Inspired by the prospect of the Hopkins bequest, and the clarity of Davenport’s plans, the grammar school was approved. Thus, Hopkins Grammar School was founded.
Jeremiah Peck, a Harvard trained teacher then at work in Guilford, was hired as the first schoolmaster. The School opened on the New Haven Green in October, 1660, with about thirty boys. In April, 1668, Davenport transferred his rights and responsibilities to a new Committee of Trustees via a deed of trust. Davenport’s grant provided that the Trustees would be self-perpetuating and free of any outside control – by the town of New Haven, the Connecticut Colony or the Congregational Church. This provision about self-perpetuation has been essential to the independence, longevity and continuity of Hopkins.
Henry Parks Wright, “The Early Grammar Schools of New England,” 1910
The founding of Hopkins was largely the work of the Reverend John Davenport, an Oxford educated Puritan minister, who emigrated from London to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637. With Davenport, on board the Hector, were several of his devout Puritan parishioners, including Edward Hopkins and his wife, and Theophilus Eaton.
In the spring of 1638, Hopkins left Boston for Hartford, where he immediately became established as a leading citizen, and where he would soon be elected the second Governor of the Connecticut Colony. At the same time, Davenport, Eaton and others sailed down Long Island Sound to Quinnipiac, and soon founded the New Haven Colony. Eaton was chosen Governor, and Davenport as minister of what is today the Center Church on-the-Green.
Davenport and Eaton envisioned New Haven as a Puritan utopia and, in time, they wanted something like the grammar schools of their youth in England to prepare students for college and to educate future ministers and teachers. Admission to Harvard, then the only American college, required knowledge of Latin and Greek. In 1655, Davenport turned for help to his old friend and former congregant, Edward Hopkins, who had been elected Governor of the Connecticut Colony seven times:
It was given to [Edward Hopkins] to be one of those who, in 1639, on the banks of the Connecticut, were to lay the cornerstone of government for the world, and of those who also, four years later, organized the Confederation of the United Colonies in New England, which was the prototype of the United States.
Henry Wright Parks, “Early Grammar Schools of New England” 1910
Although he had returned to London to serve in Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan government, Hopkins’ response to Davenport’s request was prompt and generous, writing “That which the Lord hath given mee in those parts I ever designed the greatest part of it for the furtherance of the worke of Christ in those ends of the earth. . .” Hopkins later committed his estate in North America “for the breeding up of hopeful Youths Both at the Grammar Schoole and Colledge for the public service of the Country in future tymes.” Hopkins died in early 1657, having appointed Davenport as one of four trustees of his North American estate.
On June 14, 1660, Davenport appeared before the New Haven General Court, and opened his remarks with the Latin phrase “Quod Felix Faustumque Sit” (“May it be happy and blessed”). He advised the Court of the impending settlement of the Hopkins estate in Hartford. Inspired by the prospect of the Hopkins bequest, and the clarity of Davenport’s plans, the grammar school was approved. Thus, Hopkins Grammar School was founded.
Jeremiah Peck, a Harvard trained teacher then at work in Guilford, was hired as the first schoolmaster. The School opened on the New Haven Green in October, 1660, with about thirty boys. In April, 1668, Davenport transferred his rights and responsibilities to a new Committee of Trustees via a deed of trust. Davenport’s grant provided that the Trustees would be self-perpetuating and free of any outside control – by the town of New Haven, the Connecticut Colony or the Congregational Church. This provision about self-perpetuation has been essential to the independence, longevity and continuity of Hopkins.
