Johns Hopkins - Early Life

Early Life

Johns Hopkins was born on May 19, 1795, to Samuel Hopkins (1759–1814) of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and Hannah Janney (1774–1864), of Loudoun County, Virginia. Home was Whitehall, a 500-acre (two km²) tobacco plantation in Anne Arundel County. His first name derives from a maternal great-grandmother, Margaret Johns, who passed it on to her sons.

The Hopkin s family were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). In 1807 they emancipated their slaves in accordance with their local Society decree, which called for freeing the able-bodied and caring for the others, who would remain at the plantation and provide labor as they could. The second eldest of eleven children, 12 year-old Johns was required to work on the farm, interrupting his formal education. From 1806 to 1809, he likely attended The Free School of Anne Arundel County, which was located in today's Davidsonville, Maryland.

In 1812, at the age of 17, Hopkins left the plantation to work in his uncle Gerard Hopkins' Baltimore wholesale grocery business. While living with his uncle's family, Johns and his cousin, Elizabeth, fell in love; however, the Quaker taboo against marriage of first cousins was especially strong, and neither Johns nor Elizabeth ever married.

As he became able, Hopkins provided for his extended family, both during his life and posthumously through his will. He bequeathed a home for Elizabeth, where she lived until her death in 1889.

Whitehall Plantation is located in today's Crofton, Maryland. Its home, since restored and modified, is on Johns Hopkins Road, adjacent to Reidel Road. The heavily landscaped property is surrounded by Walden Golf Course, and bears a historic marker.