Michael Terry is a 12th-generation American, with lineage that goes back to Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact and who was there at the first Thanksgiving

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

From England to Massachusetts to Clark County, Washington.

From 1620 to 2025.

“There are about 30,000 descendants that can be traced to the Mayflower. My house is packed with them,” said Michael Terry, who lives in Brush Prairie..

Through history books, genealogy, and lore, Terry can trace his American heritage back to long before there was an America.

To simplify things, Terry calls Stephen Hopkins his grandfather. Easier than saying great- great, great some dozen times.

Terry is a 12th-generation American, which means he and his wife’s three children are 13th-generation.

Every Thanksgiving meal is special for the Terry family.

“This is more important to me since having children. Our legacy is our children and our grandchildren,” Terry said. “My legacy is found in my children.”

The same can be said about Stephen Hopkins, who sailed to the New World first in 1609 on the way to Jamestown before boarding the Mayflower and becoming one of the authors of the Mayflower Compact. 

Today, Hopkins’ descendants are grateful for Hopkins and all those who braved the ocean, who came to the New World, and were part of the very first Thanksgiving. They were the ones who came up with the “crazy” notion of forming a government structured to serve the people, Terry noted.

“It has everything to do with the sacrifice for the freedoms and liberties people wake up to every day in the United States,” Terry said. “Every single one of us had someone in their family line who made a life-threatening decision to come (here),” Terry said. “Even if someone is not grateful for these liberties, they had someone in their family who was. They figured out a way to come.”

Every Thanksgiving, the Terry family celebrates not only present-day Thanksgiving, but the very first Thanksgiving in the New World. 

“It has become a part of the family tradition. It is my role to share the story,” Terry said. “I certainly love doing that. Our kids know a lot about our history.”

Michael and Alice have two daughters and son: Ella, Emma, and Michael Jr.

Michael Terry graduated from Skyview High School in 2003 and Gonzaga University in 2007 and would become a professional umpire in the minor leagues for a few years.

Today, his passion is family. His current family and those who came before him.

Terry learned so much from his grandmother. He also has taken deep dives into the history books and lineage through record books.

Stephen Hopkins was born into a structure of kings. There was no reward for hard work. One remained in the same class. He was 28 years old, a “dirt-poor struggling merchant,” Terry said, when Hopkins risked it all to figure out a way to get to the New World.

That was in 1609 when he was a psalmist and laborer on the Sea Venture, a ship that was sent to resupply the settlers in Jamestown. The ship hit rough seas, damaged in a storm, and was shipwrecked in Bermuda. (The story of Sea Venture has been reported as one of the sources for Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Another source said that the character Stephano is based on Hopkins.)

In Bermuda for 10 months, crews fixed the ship and would eventually make it to Jamestown. There, Hopkins was key in developing relationships with a local tribe. Hopkins and Rev. Buck, Terry said, were present when Pocahantas and John Rolfe were married.

Hopkins would return to England, only to head back to the New World with the Pilgrims in 1620. Hopkins was the only one on board the Mayflower with any experience in the New World.

Hopkins became the 14th signer of the Mayflower Compact, which was the inspiration for the Declaration of Independence more than 150 years later. It is also believed that Hopkins was a leading author of the compact, due to his experience on board the Sea Venture years before as well as his time in Jamestown.

“In 1621, he was there when we celebrated our very first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag Tribe,” Terry said, noting that the famous Squanto and Hopkins were friends. Squanto lived with the pilgrims for 20 months. 

Squanto would pass in 1622. Hopkins died in 1644.

Today, Terry is a business owner, an entrepreneur, and helps run the conservative group Patriots United Washington.

He is not a fan of revisionist history, those who claim that white settlers took advantage or exploited Native Americans. Through his studies, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people respected one another and defended each other against other aggressors.

Some 400 years later, Terry preaches what Hopkins and the Wampanoag might have said back then.

“There is way more that unites us than divides us,” Terry said.

While the Terry family does not need a reminder, this is a time of thanks.

“When you look at our Declaration of Independence, these rights we have were given to us by God,” Terry said. “Everyone wants to come here for two reasons: This crazy idea that government serves the people, and we can put in the work and trust God for the results.”

The pilgrims knew life could be better for them. Even today, the promise of the New World is instilled in the American spirit.

“It’s a land of opportunity, not a land of entitlements, not a land of guarantees. Someone can put in the work and trust God with the results,” Terry said.