he was born in harwinton, connecticut, one of the eight children of hezekiah and eunice hopkins. in 1800, when he was eleven, the family moved to clinton, new york, but by 1807 he was back in connecticut, where he married abigail pollard of guilford, with whom he had a son. she died in 1817. he then married almira adkins (1794-1861) and moved to evans mills, new york.they eventually had nine children, of whom five survived to maturity. during this time, it appears that he was primarily occupied in farming.