THE HISTORY OF FAMILY should be preserved and updated. This site is meant to bring that history to current date of ALL ancestors and descendants in the Dopkins/Dopking families. The last known  printed record of the Dopkins family genealogy was done in 1969 by my grandfather, Marvin Dopkins,  and cousin Sheldon Hilden.  It is now 2024 and there have been many life events since that time.  My intention 15 years ago was to produce a printed record of the history of this large family by the end of 2012 however, that did not happen due to health and financial constraints.

Please do check back often as I will try to update this site as information is received. If you  have sent an email and I have not responded it is probably because you have an old address. If you  are able to submit family updates, photos, etc. please contact me thru link above that you wish to  do so.  I will then send you my personal email address for such submissions. THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO  HAVE SHARED YOUR FAMILY KNOWLEDGE.  WITHOUT YOUR HELP, THE INTEGRITY OF THIS RESEARCH AND THIS SITE  WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.

PLEASE SIGN THE 'GUESTBOOK'. IT'S NICE FOR ME AND OTHERS TO SEE WHO HAS STOPPED BY TO VIEW OUR LARGE FAMILY. THE FEEDBACK ON THIS PROJECT IS WELCOMED.  
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You will note that there may be many members (descendants) of this family not listed, this is (in large part) by request of those who do not wish to be a part of the family history. Others are not listed as I simply do not have the information. That's where your help comes in.

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MEDICAL NOTES:  There are 2 particular medical conditions that I find generation after generation in the Dopkins/Dopking family descendants:  1) Diabetes (both Type 1 and 2); and 2) Kidney problems--especially kidney stones.

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 TO SEE THE BEGINNING OF THIS FAMILY, SIMPLY CLICK THE TAB ABOVE TITLED "FAMILY".  It will then take  you to the beginning of our family tree.  OR  Click "TREE" and you'll see a different view.

My research became somewhat confusing as the surname of DOPKINS is also DOPKING; some of the early  family members changed the surname and then in some cases, changed it back again. It would appear that the name spelling changes occurred due to some problems/issues within the family, however, I have found no one who can either confirm or deny that. Census recordings are also confusing as several variations of the surname spelling was recorded. Whether someone didn't speak clearly or someone didn't hear the name clearly may be reasons for the spelling variations. I am attempting to prove actual surname used by checking legal documents as well as grave stones that have not been worn or broken thru time. I am inclined to believe that the original surname in the U.S. was DOPKING, as legal documents and grave stones would prove that to be true. You will note that some people are listed with surname of Dopkins and others are listed as surname of Dopking.  The thing to remember is that everyone is still related as we all descended from the same Heinrich Dobking, a.k.a Henry Dopking, a.k.a. Henry Dopkins. One of my favorite sayings throughout this research when it comes to the surname was and still is, "are you confused yet?". Some of us may be separated by one single letter of the surname, but we are all definitely related.

Another hard part of this research is that the early 1800's census reports do not include the  names of the children in the family....only the number of males and females are indicated in  broken down age brackets. If that wasn't enough, only the head of the household is listed,  therefore we have no clue as to who the wife is if the head of household is male. Therefore, one  must connect the dots and use some detective work. It would be easier to connect a child with the  parents if that information had been kept within the family and that knowledge handed down from  generation to generation. Unfortunately, that is not the case in this very large family. Further,  the birth, death and marriage information in America was not mandatory to be recorded with the county until around 1880 making it also difficult to place children with the correct parents. Some  people kept this information in the family bible and some families have kept those bibles over  time which helps tremendously; sometimes this information was kept with their church -- but then  we need to find that church. A fire at the federal archives destroyed all of the 1890 census reports. There are also times in the early years when children were put into orphanages and adopted out due to financial struggles; consequently these children were "lost". Canadian information is also difficult to trace. Genealogy is not an easy thing, but when the detective work gets results that fit it is very rewarding.

The Dopkins/Dopking families are full of much history such as marrying into families who came to  Colonial America on the Mayflower, fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World  War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iraq War (some ultimately losing their life fighting  for America), having ties with famous Salem, Massachusetts during the witch craft frenzy, their  history of working the land, and their profound support of politics.

I have been asked by many who have viewed this site, where I fit in.  My line goes this way:  Heinrich Dobking (b.1737) then his son Frederick Dopkins (b.1760) then his son Lewis Dopkins  (b.1818) then his son Charles L. Dopkins (b. 1844) then his son Lewis Lyman Dopkins (b. 1879) then  his son Marvin R. Dopkins (b.1916) then his daughter Anne Louise Dopkins (b. 1937) then me (b.  1955). This particular branch of the family is signified by, and can be followed by, the little  pink box next to each name in this tree. Each family line stemming from Henry Dopkins is indicated  by it's own color coded box next to the names in this "tree".

Each person listed on this website has his/her own page; on that page is space for a short  biography of that person.  Once you have visited each person's page, especially of those in the  early years, you will get a much better glimpse into their lives and history. There is also  a "STORIES" section on this site where more in-depth stories are located.