Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)

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This white person has 1 related event in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
Identifier
NJS-PER-04809
Given Name
Francis
Family Name
Hopkinson
Birth Date
1737
Death Date
1791
Sex
Male
Occupation
Legal
Government
Biographical Description
Francis Hopkinson (1737–1791) was a lawyer and a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He was an enslaver. Hopkinson was born and educated in Philadelphia, where he was a member of the first graduating class of the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania) in 1757. He spent much of his career in Philadelphia, but also had ties to New Jersey since the 1760s. He served as the customs collector in the port of Salem, New Jersey, in 1763.

In 1768, he married Ann Borden, the daughter of Colonel Joseph Borden (1719–1791) and Elizabeth Rogers of Bordentown, New Jersey. In 1774, Francis Hopkinson relocated to Bordentown, where he practiced law for three years before returning to Philadelphia. During his time in Bordentown, he served as a member of the Provincial Council of New Jersey. In 1776, he was elected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence with the New Jersey delegation. After his return to professional life in Philadelphia in 1777, Hopkinson and his wife continued to maintain a residence and small farm in Bordentown. The house is now on the National Register of Historic Places, known as Francis Hopkinson House, located at 101 Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown.

Archival documents show that Francis Hopkinson held at least two people in slavery in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Tax and Exoneration Records for 1785 and 1786 enumerate two enslaved people among Hopkinson's taxable property, and the 1790 federal census lists 2 slaves for Hopkinson's household. These two people, Dan and Violet, are mentioned in his will, where Hopkinson stipulated they should serve his wife until her death.
Keywords
white person
enslaver
government official
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
Places
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bordentown
Enslaver of
Dan (b. ca. 1771) {Hopkinson household}
Violet (b. ca. 1750) {Hopkinson household}
Spouse of
Ann Borden Hopkinson (1747-1827)
References

"HOPKINSON, Francis, 1737-1791," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000783.

See the 1785 and 1786 Pennsylvania Tax & Exoneration Records for Francis Hopkinson listing "2 Negroes," pictured in this digital presentation: VanJessica Gladney, “Quadrangle Dormitories,” Penn & Slavery Project, accessed July 28, 2026, https://pennandslaveryproject.archives.upenn.edu/2025/07/11/quad-dorms/.

1790 U.S. Census record for the Hon. Francis Hopkinson, Esqr, in Philadelphia (Water Street East Side), Pennsylvania,
https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/64834773?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22364a3575742f3752667632676a434a616973714c62676837772f4d30616f4f326655556446756959594a303d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.

See Background Note in the finding aid for Hopkinson Family Papers (Collection 1978), the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1978hopkinson.pdf.

See nomination form for Francis Hopkinson House, National Register of Historic Places, ID 71000496, NPGallery, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/2e795b87-8c8a-45c5-b41a-3cb38227a157.

This person is represented on the following page(s):
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Hopkinson
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hopkinson-218
Record Contributor
Jesse Bayker
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