Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence, born in Scituate, R. I., March 7, 1707, died in Providence, July 13, 1785. In early life he took up his residence in Providence, and in 1733 was elected a member of the general assembly, and in 1739 chief justice of the court of common pleas. In 1755 he was elected governor of the colony, and held the office, with the exception of four years, till 1768. In 1754 he was appointed a member of the board of commissioners which assembled at Albany, N. Y., to concert and digest a plan of union for the colonies. In 1765 he was elected chairman of a committee appointed at a special town meeting held in Providence to draft instructions to the general assembly on the stamp act. The resolutions reported were the same that Patrick Henry introduced into the house of burgesses of Virginia, with an additional one stating that "we are not bound to yield obedienco to any law or ordinance designed to impose any internal taxation whatever upon us, other than the laws and ordinances of Rhode Island." These resolves passed in the assembly, including the above, which had been rejected in Virginia. In August, 1774, he was, with Samuel Ward, elected to represent the state in the general congress held at Philadelphia, and was also chosen in 1775 and 1776. His signature to the Declaration of Independence trembles owing to a nervous affection.

He was one of the committee that drafted the articles of confederation for the government of the states. John Adams says: "The pleasantest part of my labors for the four years I spent in congress, from 1774 to 1778, was in this naval committee. Mr. Lee and Mr. Gadsden were sensible men and very cheerful, but Gov. Hopkins of Rhode Island, above 70 years of age, kept us all alive. Upon business his experience and judgment were very useful. But when the business of the evening was over, he kept us in conversation till 11, and sometimes till 12 o'clock. His custom was to drink nothing all day, until 8 in the evening, and then his beverage was Jamaica spirits and water. It gave him wit, humor, anecdotes, science, and learning. He had read Greek, Roman, and British history, and was familiar with English poetry, particularly Pope, Thomson, and Milton; and the flow of his soul made all his reading our own, and seemed to bring in recollection in all of us all we had ever read. I could neither eat nor drink in those days; the other gentlemen were very temperate.

Hopkins never drank to excess, but all he drank was immediately not only converted into wit, sense, knowledge, and good humor, but inspired us with similar qualities." In 1765 he commenced a "History of the Planting and Growth of Providence," published in the "Providence Gazette." He also published "The Rights of the Colonies Examined," reprinted in London.