{"id":103464,"date":"2025-07-17T06:56:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T10:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=103464"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:46:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:46:37","slug":"mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-48-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mayflower-descendants-whos-who-part-48-part-4.html","title":{"rendered":"Mayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who, Part 48 (part 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, again featuring the Hopkins family line with court drama over a contested will. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today I continue my series on \u201cMayflower Descendants: Who\u2019s Who,\u201d again featuring a group of California pioneer families.<\/p>\n

To recap: In Part 2<\/a> and Part 3<\/a> I referred to \u201cDiary of Young Girl Recalls Gilded Age<\/a>,\u201d describing life in Menlo Park, California, at the palatial mansion \u201cSherwood Hall\u201d owned by Mrs. Mary Frances (Sherwood) Hopkins, aka \u201cAmerica\u2019s Richest Widow,\u201d who received millions from California railroad magnet Mark Hopkins\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n

Both Mark and Mary were direct descendants of Mayflower<\/em> passengers William Bradford, Thomas Rogers, John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins.<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s adopted son Timothy Hopkins married her niece Mary \u201cMay\u201d Kellogg (Crittenden) Hopkins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Photos:
Photos: Mary \u201cMay\u201d Kellogg (Crittendon) Hopkins and her husband Timothy Hopkins. Credit: Helen Harrison Kincaide.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May was the daughter of Hiram and Lydia (Sherwood) Crittenden, a direct descendant of Mayflower<\/em> passengers William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, Thomas Rogers, John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins. Below is a photo of her mother Lydia, a direct descendant of Mayflower<\/em> passengers William Bradford, Thomas Rogers, John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Lydia (Sherwood) Crittenden, 1848. Credit: UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Widow Hopkins Marries Decorator & Castle Builder<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Mary hired the New York firm Herter Brothers to remodel her California estates and other homes including Kellogg Terrace<\/a> in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, she was introduced to Edward Searles, an interior and architectural designer from Methuen, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

The great dowager, 23 years his senior, shared a love for luxury and expensive furnishings. As Searles transformed her estates he became intimate with Mary, and they married on 8 November 1887 at Trinity Chapel in New York City.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Kenosha Telegraph (Kenosha, Wisconsin), 18 November 1887, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reports:<\/p>\n

Mrs. Mary Hopkins, the millionaire widow, was married to [Edward Francis] Searle[s] in New York the other day. Mr. Searle[s] is a retired country gentleman. The ceremony was simple, and devoid of any pomp. Mrs. Hopkins is one of the richest women in America. She is the widow of Mark Hopkins, one of the five men who built the Central Pacific railroad. When Mr. Hopkins died in 1878, he left an estate that was inventoried at $21,700,000 [$697,655,000 today]. Mrs. Searle[s] got the whole of it, except about $4,000.000, and she is now worth at least $15,000,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The newlyweds took a six-month bridal tour around Europe and spent a fortune on furniture and art to bring back to the states.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, California), 25 October 1891, page 18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Edward returned, he was dubbed \u201cLord Methuen.\u201d Apparently, while in England he purchased a tortoise shell, mother-of-pearl inlaid chest from a direct descendant of Lord Methuen, the namesake of his hometown.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Edward Searles, \u201cLord Methuen.\u201d Credit: Bowdoin College Collection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With all the wealth bestowed upon him Edward became more eccentric and reclusive. He acquired a legion of servants and insisted he be addressed as \u201cMy Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s friends and family grew more suspicious of the relationship and Edward kept them at bay. Several of Mary\u2019s relations, who were spread throughout the country, had been receiving generous monthly allowances from her \u2013 and communication with them ceased. She even cut off Timothy and May.<\/p>\n

When Mary died in 1891 at their Methuen estate \u201cPine Lodge,\u201d Searles was named as the sole heir of her massive fortune and all kin, including adopted son Timothy Hopkins, were left out in the cold.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
New York Herald (New York, New York), 31 July 1891, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her death occurred just a few years after their marriage, which was a hot topic of gossip because Mary was nearly a quarter-century his senior and many speculated that he only married her for the money. No one was allowed to attend the funeral.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration:
Illustration: Edward Searles heads funeral procession as staff carry Mary\u2019s coffin, from New York Journal and Advertiser, (New York, New York), 2 July 1899. Credit: Library of Congress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contested Will \u2013 Millions at Stake<\/strong><\/p>\n

Searles would not get his millions without a legal battle and a clothesline of dirty linen. Timothy Hopkins filed a suit to contest the will, which opened a Pandora\u2019s box exposing Searles\u2019s use of occultism to win the hand of Mary and control her coffers.<\/p>\n

Hopkins and \u201cLord\u201d Searles both lawyered up to commence battle. Edward\u2019s council was top drawer: Col. Solomon Lincoln, William Allen, and three barristers from the Dodge dynasty \u2013 Fredrick, Butler, and Richard.<\/p>\n

Timothy hired a string of powerful attorneys including Elbridge T. Burley and William Crowninshield Endicott.<\/p>\n

Judge Rollin E. Harmon presided over the hearings which began on 22 September 1891 in Essex County Court in Salem, Massachusetts. There were 21 other claimants who joined forces with Hopkins. Most of them were first and second cousins to the late dowager.<\/p>\n

The press covered Timothy and his entourage of Mayflower<\/em> scions traveling to Salem for the trial.<\/p>\n

There were just a few who made the journey. The illustration on the left below shows Timothy Hopkins, Moses Hopkins (brother of Mark Hopkins), James Oscar Loomis, Mrs. Timothy Hopkins, her sister Anne Crittenden Severance with her husband Mark Sibley Severance, Captain William H. Kohl \u2013 co-founder of the Alaska Commercial Company \u2013 and his wife Sarah Hunter Kohl. The illustration on the right shows Timothy and May Hopkins with daughter Lydia Kellogg Hopkins.<\/p>\n

\"An
San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California), 11 November 1891, page 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many came forward collaborating with the claim that Edward\u2019s hold over Mary came from the spirit world.<\/p>\n

Before Mary hooked up with Searles she was dabbling in the occult and kept a private medium on staff at all her palaces. Timothy\u2019s wife May also was known to seek out sorcerers and the like.<\/p>\n

An entry in the diary referenced above, which was written by Isabella Cass, reads:<\/p>\n

Friday Dec. 26, 1884<\/p>\n

I went with May [and Mrs. Rathbone] to the occultist and then different stores.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stay tuned\u2026<\/p>\n

Create a free account<\/a> at GenealogyBank for 7 days to start your journey and discover the stories your ancestors left behind.<\/p>\n

Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cMayflower in Plymouth Harbor,\u201d by William Halsall, 1882. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n

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