This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.13/mb.ashx Message Board Post: While I have posted transcriptions of the ROPER mentions within the Brunswick, VA, 1783, 1787, 1788, as well as the ABSENCE of mention in the 1798 Tax List, within this thread, there are several additional Tax Lists that need to be consulted. There seem to also be extant Brunswick Personal Property Tax Lists for 1782, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1789, 1790, 1791-7, as well as for later years. One or more sons of either David ROPER or William ROPER might emerge from their father's households in ANY of these years, identifying the children and, implicitly, their likely year of birth. Scrutiny of each list would also disclose WHEN William ROPER and David ROPER departed Brunswick. This Personal Property Tax data is available for Brunswick, VA, on microfilm at the Virginia State Library: Personal Property Tax Records for Brunswick County Reel 56: 1782-1798 Reel 57: 1799-1815 Reel 58: 1816-1837 Reel 59: 1838-1849 Reel 434: 1851-1857 (Book 1 ) Reel 435: 1857 (Book 1) - 1862 Reel 436: 1863, 1865-1868 (Book 1) Reel 437: 1868 (Book 2) - 1870 See: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/pptax-locality.asp?localityID=VA039 * Those unfamiliar with Virginia Personal Property Tax Lists are also encouraged to read this description of the key resource provided by the Virginia State Library: "Using Personal Property Tax Records in the Archives at the Library of Virginia" See: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/rn3_persprop.pdf * * * If anyone gets a look at the data for one or more additional years, I would appreciate hearing from you as to what is shown by this additioinal data. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.12/mb.ashx Message Board Post: As shown within the Images of the Tax Lists posted at the Binn Genealogy site, there are NO ROPERs shown within the 1798 Personal Property Tax Lists for St. Andrews Parish, Brusnwick County, Virginia. William and David ROPER seem to have departed Brunswick between 1788, when each is shown on the Tax Lists, and 1798, when neither is shown. See: http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Brunswick/1798Personal/33.jpg http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Brunswick/1798Personal/34.jpg http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Brunswick/1798Personal/35.jpg There are Extant Tax Lists for each year between 1788 and 1798 which need to be inspected to see which year David ROPER and William ROPER departed. These Lists may also implicitly identify the AGE of various of David and William ROPER's sons as these young men came of age. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.11/mb.ashx Message Board Post: William ROPER and David ROPER are again shown within the 1788 Personal Property Tax Lists for Brunswick, Virginia: William ROPER: 0 - 3 - 0 - 3 David ROPER:.. 1 - 3 - 1 - 2 The categories shown are White Males age 16 to 20, Negros above 16, Negros above 12 and under 16, Horses, mare and coltes. Other categories for which the ROPER numbers are ZERO includes several variations of Carriages, Ordinary Licenses, and Stud horses. See: http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Brunswick/1788PersonalB/23.jpg http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Brunswick/1788PersonalB/24.jpg David ROPER seems to have one male age 16 to 20 (b abt 1768-72) residing within his household in 1788. Counts of cattle seem to have fallen off the Brunswick list from 1787 to 1788. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.10/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There is a published transcription of the Brunswick Personal Property Tax Lists for 1787 entitled: "The Personal Property Tax Lists for the Year 1787 for Brunswick County, Virginia," transcribed by Netti SCHREINER-YANTIS and Florene LOVE (Springfield, VA: Genealogical Books in Print, 1987), ISBN 0-89157-054-3. The copy of this book in the North Carolina State Library is shown to have Library of Congress Catalogue No. GR 929.3 V8br Y24p 1787. * The following ROPERs appeared on List "A": ROPER, William: 0 - 3 - 0 - 2 - 10 ROPER, David:... 1 - 2 - 0 - 3 - 16 [at page 241] The counts are for White Males above age 16 and under age 21, Blacks above 16, Blacks under 16, Horses, Cattle. Thus, David ROPER is shown to have one White Male age 16 to 20, 2 Black age Sixteen or More, ZERO Blacks under age 16, 3 hourses and 16 head of cattle. This return REQUIRED identification of the NAMES of tithable males age 21 and up, so by implication there were NO males age 21 or more residing in either William ROPER's or David ROPER's household at the date of inclusion on the 1787 List. William and David ROPER are shown to have paid their Tax on May 30, 1787 [at Page 254]. William ROPER is shown to own three (3) blacks age 16 or more, two (2) horses, mares or colts, and ten (10) head of cattle. David ROPER is shown to have one White male age 16 to 20 (b abt 1767-71) residing in his household, two (2) blacks over age 16, three (3) horses and sixteen (16) head of cattle. On List "B": ROSSER, John: 1 - 2 - 5 - 4 - ? I believe that List "A" is for St. Andrews Parish (North of the Meherrin River) and List "B" is for Meherrin Parish (South of the Meherrin River). I have NOT seen the underlying images transcribed in this secondary account. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.9/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The 1783 Brunswick, Virginia, Personal Property Tax Lists show both William ROPER and David ROPER residing in Brunswick, VA, that year: William ROPER: 1 - 1 - 2 - 10 David ROPER:.. 2 - 5 - 5 - 16 The categories seem to be Number of (Adult) Tithes (both White and Black), Number of Taxable Persons, Horses, and Head of Cattle. See: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vabrunsw/taxlist/1783_10.pdf David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - Bristol Parish, VA) is shown to have TWO tithable males in his household that year and a total of 5 taxable persons. One of the two tithables would have been David himself. Another may have been David's eldest son, in which case David might have have a son born before 1763. Perhaps more importantly, David ROPER is shown to own slaves named Tom, Sarah, Charles and Abram. I believe that the number of Taxable persons included ALL slaves plus males age 16 to 20, but I am UNSURE about this. IF I am correct, then in 1783, David ROPER had one male over age 21 residing within his household, PLUS the four named slaves and implicitly then, one additional male age 16 to 20 (b abt 1763-7). Note that David ROPER would have turned age 41 in 1783. Since NO SLAVES are identified by name, William ROPER (b 26 Jun 1753) in turn would seem to have had one male age 16 to 20 (b abt 1763-7). This seems likely to be a nephew or an unrelated farm laborer rather than a son. This young male may very well have been David ROPER's son Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1767, d 23 Oct 1845 - Edgefield, SC), who later married his cousin, William ROPER's daughter. Benjamin would have been about age 16 in 1783. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.8/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The fourth volume of Dr. Stephen BRADLEY's abstracts of Brunswick, Virginia, Deed records is titled: "Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Books, Volume 4, 1755-1770", Abstracted by Dr. Stephen E. BRADLEY, Jr. (Lawrenceville, VA: Stephen E. Bradley, Jr., 1998). At the North Carolina State Library, this book was shown to have Library of Congress call number "GR 929.3 V8br B811bd v.4". This Volume abstracts Brunswick Deed Books 8 and 9. Within this Volume we learn of the appearance of Richard ROPER in Brunswick, as well as the purchase of property in Brunswick by Charles and Ann ROPER, of Dinwiddie: "John HUNT of Brunswick Co to Richard ROPER of same. 28 Jan 1765. £16 VA. 140 acres on the north side of Rocky Run, joining Tarkill Branch, Adam SIMMS. Wit: Stephen SISSON, Thomas SISSON, Nehemiah (x) NOLLY. Proved 25 Feb 1765. N. EDWARD Jr. DCC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 8, Page 6 [BRADLEY's Page 1] * "John HUNT of Brunswick Co. to Henry COCKE of same. 8 Jun 1765. £25. A mortgage for 114 acres on the north side of Mehrrin River joining Stephen SISSON, John JACKSON, Adam SIMS, Richard ROPER, John ROBINSON. Wit: John HAMILTON, John TUELL, Wm. HAMILTON. Proved 28 Oct 1765. N. EDWARDS Jr. DCC" Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 8, Page 286 [BRADLEY's Page 21] * James (B) BENNET of Meherrin Parish in Brunswick Co to William SAUNDERS of Sussex Co. 2 Aug 1766. £10 VA. 100 acres on the east side of Cooks Road, joining James JUDKIN's former line. Wit: Thomas VINSON, John (x) ROSSER, John (mark) SHURLAND. Proved 22 Sep 1766. N EDWARDS Jr. DCC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 8, Page 365 [BRADLEY's Page 27] * "Hugh WILLIAMS & his wife Elizabeth of St. Andrew Parish in Brunswick Co. to Charles ROPER of Bath Parish in Dinwiddie Co. 28 Sep 1767. £150 VA. 200 acres in St. Andrew Parish, on the south side of Nottoway River, joining John DAVIS, Cabbin Branch. Wit: Joseph DAMERON, Moses QUARLES, Richard DOBYNS." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 9, Page 46 [BRADLEY's Page 27] "John GRESHAM & his wife Christian (x) of St. Andrews Parish in Brunswick Co to Wm GWYNNE of sd. parish. 11 Aug 1764. £100 VA. 200 acres which was part of a patent to John ROSSER [sic] who conveyed it to Thomas TWITTY who conveyed it to sd John GRESHAM, joining HAGOOD, the head of Bryery Creek, John JOHNSON, SIMMONS. Wit: John MACLIN Jr., John RUSSELL, Benjamin SEAWALL Jr. Proved 22 Oct. 1764. John Robinson CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 9, Page 293 [BRADLEY's Page 68] * * * * * THE BRUNSWICK POLL LIST OF 02 DEC 1768 Possibly as almost as significant to genealogists as what these records show is what is NOT SHOWN in another sequence of records in this same volume. On pages 61-68 of BRADLEY's transcription are recorded POLL LISTS of the votes taken in an election for Burgess on 02 Dec 1768. These lists show which citizens of Brunswick County voted for each of three candidates for Burgess -- Nathaniel EDWARDS Jr. (pp. 61-3), Frederick MACLIN (pp. 63-5) and Thomas STITH (pp. 65-8).* These lists span pages 279 to 290 within Brunswick Deed Book 9. These Poll Lists give the very best equivalent to a Census (or Personal Property Tax List) of Brunswick, VA, citizens at the 02 Dec 1768 date of this election, though admittedly the list would necessarily be INCOMPLETE since it would NOT reflect the names of those who chose NOT to participate. In this instance, NO ROPER NAMES are shown on any of these three poll lists, despite some other indications of the presence of both David ROPER and Richard ROPER in Brunswick County. We wouldn't have expected Charles ROPER to appear since he is shown to be a non-resident land owner, actually residing in Dinwiddie. Even so, the list gives us some admittedly weak assurance that there were not likely to be other ROPER families resident in Brunswick in 1768 NOT previously shown in the deed records. THIS LIST ALSO GIVES A MEANS TO ASCERTAIN THE PRESENCE OF OTHER FAMILIES IN BRUNSWICK AT THE DATE OF THIS ELECTION. * I seem to have NEGLECTED to copy one page and this seems likely to have the name of a fourth candidate. I DOUBT that I neglected to copy a page containing ROPER voter names. * * I noted the following possibly interesting names on the three Poll Lists: Voting for Nathaniel EDWARDS - Isaac ADAMS James ADAMS James ADAMS Peter ADAMS James ALLEN Joseph BROWDER Joseph CARTER Daniel COLEMAN John COLEMAN John FLETCHER Paul HARTWELL Ismael HARWELL Thomas HARVEY William HOLLOWAY John LAMBERT Charles LEDBETTER Drury LEDBETTER Henry LEDBETTER Isaac LEDBETTER Richard LEDBETTER Drury MOORE Garrett MOORE John MOORE John PETERSON Jr. John PETERSON Sr. Wm. PETERSON John ROSSER Drury STITH Jr. James WALL Jr. James WALL Sr. Benjamin WILLIAMS Daniel WILLIAMS John WILLIAMS Jonathan WILLIAMS Jonathan WILLIAMS Peter WILLIAMS Roland WILLIAMS Thomas WILSON Voting for Frederick MACLIN - John ABERNATHY Wm. ABERnATHY Isaac ADAMS James ADAMS Peter ADAMS James ALLEN John ALLEM Joseph CARTER Mason HARWELL Paul HARTWELL Frederick HARWELL Ishmael HARWELL Henry LEDBETTER Isaac LEDBETTER Richard LEDBETTER Burwell LUCY Drury MOORE John MOORE John PETERSON, Jr. Wm. PETERSON Michael SULLIVANT James WALL Banjamin WILLIAMS Daniel WILLIAMS Geo WILLIAMS Voting for Thoams STITH - John ABERNATHY John ABERNATHY William ABERNATHY Joseph BROWDER John COLEMAN Frekd HARWELL Samuel HARWELL William HOLLOWAY Hugh LAMBERT John LAMBERT Charles LEDBETTER David MEREDITH James MOORE John ROSSER John SISSON Drury STITH, Jr. Charles SULLIVANT Burgess WALL James WALL, Jr. Henry WILLIAMS Jonathan WILLIAMS Jonathan WILLIAMS Rowland WILLIAMS 4th Candidate - John SISSON Burgess WALL George WILLIAMS Henry WILLIAMS John WILLIAMS Peter WILLIAMS Thomas WILSON * * * * * NOTE 1: The grantee of the HUNT deed of 28 Jan 1765 seems likely to be the Richard ROPER who later married Ann LEWIS. It seems most likely that Richard ROPER was at least age 21 by the date of this purchase and therefore was born before 1745. NOTE 2: Once Richard ROPER appears within the Brunswick records by purchase he then again appears the very same year within mention of the boundary of another property also conveyed by HUNT. I mention this solely by way of explanation that mere presence in a county has a tendency to create at least a few random mentions in the records whether or not the person is conveying property as grantor or grantee. NOTE 3: The John ROSSER mentions continue to reflect presence in Meherrin Parish (South of the Meherrin River) rather than St. Andrew Parish (North of the Meherrin River). NOTE 4: In 1767, David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) was age 25. Charles and Ann ROPER seem to have purchased a parcel on the Nottoway River where David ROPER seems to have resided for a short time. David then seems to have moved slightly to the South to a location on Hickory Run adjacent to his brother William ROPER and sister Laura Roper MOORE. NOTE 5: The mention of an adacent John DAVIS is interesting given the intermarriage of the ROPERs with the DAVIS family in Anne Arundel, Maryland. NOTE 6: I included voters of the ABERNATHY surname because a ROPER later intermarried with an ABERNATHY in Giles County, TN. NOTE 7: I included the voters of the ADAMS surname due to the later intermarriage of ROPERs with the family of Drury ADAMS in Edgefield, SC. NOTE 8: I included voters of the ALLEN surname given Charles ROPER's naming of a son "Allen". NOTE 9: I included voters of the BROWDER surname because of the purported marriage of Charles ROPER's daughter Jane to a BROWDER. NOTE 10: I included voters of the CARTER surname because of the intermarriage of the ROPER and CARTER family in Anne Arundel, MD. NOTE 11: I included voters of the COLEMAN name because of the intermarriage of Charles ROPER's daughter Emily with Isham COLEMAN. NOTE 12: I included voters of the FLETCHER surname because of the intermarriage of John ROPER with the FLETCHERs in Mecklenburg, NC. NOTE 13: I included voters of the HARTWELL and HARWELL surname due to the appearance of the given name "Hartwell", a son of Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1767, d 23 Oct 1845 - Edgefield, SC) and grandson of David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA). NOTE 14: I included voters of the HARVEY surname because (a) HARVEYs are shown to be adjacent to the ROPERs at Hickory Run and Red Oak Creek, and (b) this family is intermarried with the ROPERs in Edgefield, SC. NOTE 15: I included voters of the HOLLOWAY surname because HOLLOWAYs are intermarried with ROPERs in several places in the South, including in Lincoln, Tennessee. NOTE 16: I included voters of the LAMBERT surname because ROPERs are shown to be connected to LAMBERTs in Charles County, Maryland (deposition of John ROPER) and Charles City County, VA (John ROPER's Patent of 1714). NOTE 17: I included voters of the LEDBETTER surname because Charles ROPER's daughter married into the LEDBETTER family a generation later. NOTE 18: I included Burwell LUCY because this Burwell LUCY sold land to ROPERs in Northampton County, NC. NOTE 19: I included voters of the MOORE surname because David ROPER's twin sister Laura married William MOORE and lived adjacent to David ROPER and William ROPER near Red Oak Creek in Brunswick County, VA. NOTE 20: I included voters of the PETERSON surname because James ROPER married Mary PETERSON, daughter of John PETERSON. NOTE 21: I included voters of the SISSON surname because of its similarity to the SASSEEN name. Joseph ROPER's daughter married a SASSEEN and moved to Jefferson, TN. NOTE 22: I included voters of the STITH surname because Drury STITH was also a neighbor of the ROPERs in Charles City County, VA. NOTE 23: I included voters of the SULLIVANT surname because SULLIVANT was a servant of Thomas ROPER in Chowan County, NC. NOTE 24: I included voters of the WALL surname because Richard ROPERs descendents intermarried with the WALL family immediately across the North Carolina State line in Norhtampton County in later generations. NOTE 25: I included voters of the WILLIAMS surname because Charles ROPER purchased the first parcel of land in Brunswick County from Hugh WILLIAMS. NOTE 26: I included voters of the WILLSON surname because Jeremiah ROPER married a WILSON in Brunswick County. NOTE 27: The 11 Aug 1764 GRESHAM deed to William GWYNNE erroneously identifies the original patentee as John ROSSER rather than John ROPER. It is UNCLEAR whether this is a transcription error by Dr. BRADLEY or whether by 1764 GRESHAM had become confused about the identity of the original patentee. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Goodwyn Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1923.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Within my original post on John ROPER (b abt 1756-66), of Pendleton, SC, I showed reasons to expect that this John ROPER was probably born between 1756 and 1766. Within that post, I also inventoried various other John ROPERs shown in the 1810 Census to show that this John ROPER seemed to have disappeared from South Carolina by 1810: "There are these John ROPERs enumerated elsewhere within the United States: John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 0 - 0 [Edgefield, SC 1810] John ROPER: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 -- 1 - 0 - 2 - 0 - 1 -- 0 - 1 [Caswell, NC 1810] John ROPER: 5 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 0 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 -- 0 - 0 [Mecklenburg, NC 1810] John ROPER: 2 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 0 - 0 - 3 - 0 - 0 -- 0 - 1 [Petersburg, Dinwiddie, VA 1810] John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 -- 2 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0 -- 1 - 6 [Henrico, VA 1810] John ROPER: 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 -- 1 - 0 - 5 - 0 - 0 -- 0 - 3 [New Kent, VA 1810] John ROPER: 1 - 1 - 1 - 0 - 1 -- 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 0 -- 0 - 0 [Princeton, Worcester, MA 1810] John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 2 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 0 - 0 [Wilbraham, Hampshire, MA 1810]" However, actually the John ROPER shown in Edgefield, SC, is shown to be age 26-44 (b abt 1766-84), which touches upon the age range estimated for John ROPER (b abt 1756-66), of Pendleton, SC. Edgefield, SC, is rather precisely WHERE David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) seems to have died before 10 Dec 1802. * * * Within the probate records for David ROPER, it is shown that distributions where made to these heirs: "Paid legatees: John Roper $220 " David Roper $110 " Samuel Roper $110 " William Roper $111 " Sarah Roper $42.28 and $60 (later paid her several very small payments) The above sworn to the 18th Jan 1805 " Benjamin Roper $110.26 (paid Jan 18, 1806) Nov 1806 note a payment by rent of the land to the widow Roper for the year 1803 $143.64" "Edgefield, SC, Administration of Estate of David ROPER (d bef 10 Dec 1802)" (10 Mar 2014 8:34AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1859.6/mb.ashx * I have suggested that these might be the children of this David ROPER; Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1766-76) John ROPER (b abt 1766-84) David ROPER Samuel ROPER (b abt 1775-84) William ROPER (d abt 21 Jul 1810) Sarah ROPER (b 1775-84) Daniel ROPER (b abt 1885-90) (youngest minor son, age 10 to 15) See: "Combining the Extant Probate Information for David ROPER (d bef 10 Dec 1802 - SC) and William ROPER (d bef Aug 1810 - SC)" (8 Mar 2014 1:34AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/516.1/mb.ashx * Within another thread, I identified Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1767, d 23 Oct 1845 - Edgefield, SC) as the likely son of David ROPER shown to be the administrator of David ROPER's estate. See: "Distinguishing the Two Benjamin ROPERs Found in Early Edgefield, SC, Records"(27 Mar 2014 7:46PM GMT ) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1883/mb.ashx "Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1767, d 23 Oct 1845 - Edgefield, SC)" (8 Mar 2014 2:38AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/516.1.1/mb.ashx * * * The probate information for David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA, d bef 10 Dec 1802 - Edgefield, SC) shows that David ROPER had a son named John ROPER still living in 1805. IF the children are listed in the probate record in BIRTH ORDER, John ROPER might even be the eldest son (older than Benjamin). Benjamin ROPER may have been named administrator due to his residence in Edgefield, where David ROPER died, and therefore PROXIMITY rather than seniority. If John ROPER was the eldest son, he might have even been born bef 1767, when we believe Benjamin ROPER was probably born. If John ROPER was the second son, he might have been born in 1767 or 1768. Since David ROPER was born in 1742, it is not at all implausible that David might have been married by 1763 and had a child by 1764. Even absent the information from the 1810 Census record for the John ROPER in Edgefield, based solely on the inference that John ROPER was amongst the eldest of David ROPER's children (by the sequence of the legacies paid), we might have expected John ROPER to be born abt 1764-74. * * * The John ROPER enumerated Edgefield is shown to be age 26 to 44 (b abt 1766-84) in 1810: John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 0 [Edgefield, SC - 1810] The demographics of this record seem to be that of a YOUNG COUPLE rather than a man at the older end of the age range. But bear in mind that what we know of the ages of those sons we thought had been born to John ROPER, of Pendleton -- James ROPER (b abt 1786 - NC, d bef 1860), John ROPER (b 08 Jan 1788 - NC, d Oct 1863) and David ROPER (b 08 Jun 1792 - SC, d 17 Apr 1878 - Lawrence, MO) -- the YOUNGEST of these would have been age 18 in 1810 and might very well have left the household to seek his fortune on the Tennessee frontier. If John ROPER's first wife had died after 1800, a second wife and younger children might give John ROPER's 1810 household the look of a younger couple. Alternatively, John ROPER's wife might have died and the others in his household could be a widowed daughter, daughter-in-law, niece or other relative and her young children. This is admittedly a speculative explanation as to the differences in the composition of the household of John ROPER, of Pendleton, as compared to John ROPER, of Edgefield. * In my view, the 1810 Census record is somewhat ambiguous as to whether it reflects a younger or an older John ROPER. But the existence of a son of David ROPER named John ROPER who was living in 1805 seems reasonably assured. Thus, we are presented with the probem of if John ROPER of Pendleton, SC, is NOT David ROPER's son, then WHICH OTHER John ROPER could it be?? This is no small problem. Since the legacy was paid directly to John ROPER in 1805 (in fact a double legacy was paid, probably paying John ROPER for Daniel ROPER's share), David's son John had to have been at least age 21 by 1805 (b bef 1785). But listing John ROPER first amongst the legacies supports at least a weak inference that he was the eldest or one of the eldest children. * * * * * NO OTHER COMPELLING JOHN ROPER's SHOWN IN 1800 CENSUS There were precisely THREE (3) John ROPERs shown in the 1800 Census in the United States: John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 3 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 1 -- 0 - 0 [Princeton, Worcester, MA 1800] John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 0 -- 3 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 0 - 0 [Fayetteville, Richmond, NC 1800] John ROPER: 2 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 0 - 0 [Pendleton, SC 1800] The John ROPER shown in the Census indices as residing in Johnston County, North Carolina, is a ROSSER. John ROPER, of Princeton, Worcester, MA, is of the Massachusetts ROPER family and simply TOO FAR AWAY. I had previously identified John ROPER, of Richmond County, NC, as the Revolutionary War Veteran son of Jesse ROPER. This record is consistent with the known children of this John ROPER and John ROPER's deposition in support of his Revolutionary War pension application. Thus, of the households headed by a John ROPER in 1800, John ROPER, of Pendleton, SC, seems to be the ONLY plausible candidate to be David ROPER's son. * * * * * NO OTHER COMPELLING JOHN ROPER's SHOWN IN 1790 CENSUS Neither is there any other candidate household readily identifiable in the 1790 Census. There are only THREE (3) households headed by a John ROPER in the United States in 1790: John ROPER: 1 - 1 - 3 -- 0 - 0 [Kent, MD 1790] John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 4 -- 0 - 3 [Edgecombe, Halifax, NC] John ROPER: 1 - 3 - 2 -- 0 [Pendleton, SC 1790] * There were also two John ROSSERs: John ROSSER, Sr.: 1 - 0 - 3 -- 0 - 4 [Chatham, NC 1790] John ROSSER, Jr.: 1 - 3 - 6 -- 0 - 10 [Chatham, NC 1790] * John ROPER, of Halifax, DIED leaving a Will before August 1797 and therefore CANNOT be the John ROPER who collected a legacy from David ROPER's estate in 1805. See: "Will of John ROPER or ROAPER (d bef Aug 1797 - Halifax County, NC)" (30 Jan 2013 10:53AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1770/mb.ashx John ROPER, of Kent, Maryland, cannot be completely ruled out, but seems an unlikely candidate based upon location. * * * * * NO COMPELLING VIRGINIA CANDIDATES Since the 1790 and 1800 Virginia Census returns were LOST, the Census results shown and discussed above EXCLUDE Virginia. But the 1790 and 1800 Tax Lists for Virginia show no other promising candidates either. * There was a John ROPER in New Kent in 1791. He owned 269 acres of land, two slaves and a horse. There is no reason to believe that a son of David ROPER would migrate from Brunswick to New Kent where land was more expensive. This SAME John ROPER is shown in EVERY New Kent Tax List from at least 1782 through 1792 and seems to have been the owner of the property where the ROPER Church was located in New Kent near Old Stage Road and the James City County line. This John ROPER is shown still residing in New Kent in the 1810 and 1820 U.S. Census, each year shown to be age 45 or more. This John ROPER therefore seems to have been born before 1766 based upon the 1810 Census data and based upon the Tax Lists seems likely to have been born before 1762. * There was a John ROPER on the Halifax, Virginia, Tax Lists in 1789, but this is believed to be the John ROPER who moved to Caswell, NC. See: "John Roper, b. bef. 1756; d. aft. 1820, Cumberland, KY" (1 Apr 2014 4:05PM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1887/mb.ashx * There was a John ROPER on the Richmond City Tax Lists for 1791, but this John ROPER seems to have died. See: "John ROPER (b abt 1747), of Richmond, VA, Ordinary Keeper" (16 May 2014 1:12AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/804.2/mb.ashx * The John ROPER purported to be shown on the Tax Lists of Prince George, VA, in 1790, as the owner of 112 acres, is actually John ROSSER. * * * In 1800, there is still a John ROPER in New Kent, who is shown to then own 189 acres of land. This John ROPER seems to have one male over 16 years of age (himself) and four (4) horses, mares or colts. While the ROPER Fictionalists are ALWAYS seeking various specious means to connect to New Kent ROPERs, there is simply NO PLAUSIBLE explanation as to WHY we would expect the son of David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA, d bef 10 Dec 1802 - Edgefield, SC), of Brunswick, to have settled in New Kent. Moreover, as explained above, this John ROPER seems to have been born before 1762 when David ROPER was only twenty years old. This John ROPER is TOO OLD to be David ROPER's son and IN THE WRONG PLACE. * There is also a John ROPER shown to be residing in Henrico, VA, in 1800, owner of 12 1/2 acres of land, 2 blacks over age 16 and 1 horse. This is John ROPER, son of David ROPER (b 1744, d 1808), of Charles City. * * * It should also be noted that by 1798 ALL ROPERs seemed to have migrated from Brunswick, VA. When someone actually inspects the ANNUAL Brusnwick Tax Lists YEAR BY YEAR, we will know precisely when each ROPER came of age and departed Brunswick. * * * * * FEW OTHER COMPELLING CANDIDATES TO BE JOHN ROPER's FATHER I have discussed above the dearth of other compelling candidates to be David ROPER's SON John ROPER. There is also another way of view the problem and this is to identify and weigh the other most compelling alternative candidates to be John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father. While there might seem to be quite a few possibilities, MOST of these are completely FICTITIOUS ROPER ancestors fabricated by the Fictionalists to support various fraudulent lineages. When one ELIMINATES the fictional characters and instead focuses on those ROPER ancestors actually KNOWN to have been still living at the date range of John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) birth, the number of candidates shrinks to a handful. * I shall begin with Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN. Since Charles ROPER's children are ALL purportedly identified in the MOORE Family Bible, the ONLY possibility for Charles ROPER to be the father is if one of the two sons about whom little is known was actually named "John". These include Allen ROPER (b 03 Apr 1756) and Josiah ROPER (b 26 Apr 1760). If one of these had a both first and middle name and later went by "John", either might otherwise fit the age range. But NONE of Charles ROPER's other sons is known to have had a middle name, so this seems to be a stretch. * Of Charles ROPER's son, ONLY David ROPER is old enough to have had a son in John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) age range. The next eldest son Jesse ROPER (b 31 May 1751) would have been closer in age to John ROPER rather than old enough to be John's father. We can rule OUT Jesse ROPER (b 31 May 1751), William ROPER (b 26 Jun 1753), Charles ROPER (b 19 Apr 1758) and Joel ROPER (b 26 Jun 1766) as John's father. We can rule out Allen ROPER (b 03 Apr 1756) and Josiah ROPER (b 26 Apr 1760) as a FATHER, as well. Allen and Josiah are ONLY possibilities if they were actualy John ROPER themselves. See: "Charles ROPER (d abt 1791) and Ann GOODWYN, of Dinwiddie, Virginia" (13 Aug 2014 10:22PM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1937/mb.ashx * James ROPER (b bef 1730, d aft 17 Aug 1781 - Anson, NC), of Northampton, NC and later Anson, NC, was old enough to be John ROPER's father. But this James ROPER died leaving a Will identifying his only two sons Green ROPER and William ROPER. See: "James ROPER's Will (d aft 17 Aug 1781 - Anson, NC)" (27 Dec 2012 6:58PM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1754/mb.ashx * Revolutionary War Veteran James ROPER (b abt 1756-60 - Caswell, NC, d 18 Nov 1835 - Simpson, KY) wasn't old enough to be John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father. See: "When Was James ROPER (b abt 1756-60, d 18 Nov 1835 - Simpson, KY) Really Born??" (28 Nov 2012 1:51AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1721.4/mb.ashx * James ROPER (b abt 1761-2, d 1833 - Richmond County, NC), of Richmond wasn't old enough to be John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father and this James ROPER's children are KNOWN. See: "James ROPER (b abt 1761-2, d 1833 - Richmond County, NC)" (24 Nov 2012 2:31PM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1718/mb.ashx * Neither William ROPER, of Caswell, NC, nor John ROPER, of Caswell, NC, were old enough to have been John ROPER's father and there is no evidence that their children migrated to South Carolina. * John ROPER, of Halifax, NC, died leaving a Will and NO MALE HEIRS. See: "Will of John ROPER or ROAPER (d bef Aug 1797 - Halifax County, NC)" (30 Jan 2013 10:53AM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1770/mb.ashx * There remain a handful of candidates I have NOT mentioned, largely because I haven't yet made expository posts explaining their history. I will leave it to the Fictionalists to rationalize how they believe John ROPER is related. No doubt, they can INVENT some new fictional ancestor to explain his presence in Pendleton, SC, as they have fabricated missing evidence as to other relationships. * * * * * THE CASE FOR DAVID ROPER SUMMARIZED I would summarize the case that David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) is John ROPER's father as: 1. David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) is KNOWN to have a son probably close to John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) age range. 2. David ROPER's (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) son is KNOWN to have been living in 1805, but cannot be otherwise readily explained by extant 1790 and 1800 Census data or Tax Lists. 3. There are only a handful of ROPER ancestors known to have been living in the American South who were old enough to have been John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father and who cannot be definitively excluded. 4. David ROPER and William ROPER are KNOWN to have migrated from Brunswick, NC, to Edgefield, SC. David ROPER's brother Jesse ROPER is KNOWN to have migrated from Northampton, NC, to South Carolina. Other of David's, William's and Jesse's sons are KNOWN to have migrated to SC and this was an ESTABLISHED MIGRATION PATH for this branch of the family. Other branches of the ROPER family most followed DIFFERENT migration paths into Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. For example, Shadrach ROPER's sons migrated from Powhatan through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. Joseph ROPER's children migrated from Chesterfield, VA, into the upper Tennessee Valley. ROPER of the York Pennensula migrated lated mostly into Alabama. 5. There is some evidence that John ROPER (b abt 1756-66) may have named three of his sons James ROPER, John ROPER and David ROPER. Ewel ROPER may have been another son of John ROPER. 6. John ROPER (b 08 Jan 1788 - NC, d Oct 1863), of Greene and Pulaski Counties, Missouri, named two of his sons William and John. David ROPER (b 08 Jun 1792 - SC, d 17 Apr 1878 - Lawrence, MO), of Greene County, MO, named sons William and David. David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) and William ROPER (b 26 Jun 1753) lived adjacent to one another in Brunswick, NC, near Hickory Run, and later migrated to Edgefield, SC, and again resided near one another in there prior to their death. David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) named three of his six sons John, David and William, names appearing two generations later amongst John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) grandchildren. * * * * * MOST COMPELLING CANDIDATES TO BE JOHN ROPER's FATHER For the reasons set forth above, it seems to me that David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742 - VA) is HANDS DOWN the most compelling candidate to be John ROPER's father. I would rate the probability that David is John's father at about 95%. The NEXT most promising candidate would probably be Meredith ROPER, who may be the ONLY other NEARBY candidate KNOWN to possibly be old enough. Several arguments can be made in favor of Meredith ROPER, the single most compelling of which is that Meredith ROPER also settled in Pendleton, SC. I would rate the probability of Meredith as John's father at about 3%. A distant third would be Richard ROPER, of Northampton, NC, but this requires us to ASSUME a marriage prior to the marriage with Ann LEWIS for which there is simply NO EVIDENCE. I would rate the possibility of Richard ROPER as John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father at about 0.5% A fourth remote possiblity is that Charles and Ann Goodwyn ROPER's son Allen ROPER (b 03 Apr 1756) was also named John. I mention this as a possibility SOLELY because in several subsequent generations there occasionally appeared a "John Allen ROPER" in the Charles ROPER family. Besides there being NO OTHER evidence of such an ascription, in my view, John ROPER is more likely to be at the LOWER end of the indicated age range (born closer to 1766 than to 1756), making Allen a much more unlikely prospect. I would rate the probability of Allen ROPER being John ROPER at about 0.1%. I would assess that there is about a 1.4% chance that John ROPER's (b abt 1756-66) father is some other ROPER ancestor, perhaps dead well before the records began to show greater clarity, not identified or discussed above. These probabilities are simply my best estimates of the various likelihoods based upon my review of the evidence and admittedly cannot be readily calculated with great precision. They are intended simply to impart relative probabilities of the various possibilities based upon evidence known to me. * * * * * A CLOSING COMMENT ABOUT JOHN ROPER, OF EDGEFIELD, SC In my view, the case for John ROPER (b abt 1756-66) being David ROPER's son is far stronger than the case that the John ROPER found in Edgefield, SC, in 1820 is one and the same John ROPER. John ROPER, of Edgefield, is shown to be age 26 to 44 (b abt 1766-84) in 1810 and his Census record gives the appearance of a young man just starting a family: John ROPER: 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1 - 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 -- 0 [Edgefield, SC - 1810] John ROPER (b abt 1756-66) may have migrated to Tennessee by the date of the 1810 Census and the John ROPER shown in Edgefield that year may have been another different (younger) John ROPER. In my view, the case for John ROPER, of Pendleton, being David ROPER's son does NOT heavily depend upon John ROPER being resident in Edgefield in 1810. One valid argument AGAINST John ROPER's residence in Edgefield, SC, in 1810 is the presence of the woman shown to be age 70 to 79 (1751-60) in the 1830 Census record of John ROAPER, of Monroe, TN. If John ROPER's wife had died before 1810 and he remarried a younger woman, it is difficult to explain the appearance of a woman in this age range in the 1830 Census record. My suspicion is that she is at the younger end of this age range and that the young man in the household may have even erroneously ascribed her age to the Census enumerator. But there seems little doubt that there is a very old woman residing in the John ROAPER household in Monroe and this seems somewhat inconsistent with a second, younger wife. * * * * * Comments, critique, corrections, elaborations and other feedback is solicited and appreciated! If someone knows a better candidate to be the father of John ROPER (b abt 1756-66), I would be most interested in learning of him and the evidence supporting such an ascription! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: kellietho Surnames: Ainsworth, Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1925.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.2.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I have not yet looked at the Margaret Roper living in Joshua Roper's household in 1870. I have, however, looked at the descriptions of some of the court records involving William Ainsworth that I mentioned in my previous post. I have found that this William Ainsworth in Monroe County, TN (whether he is James' father or grandfather I still don't know) seems very likely to be the same William Ainsworth that you have previously found in Cass County, Georgia. The William Ainsworth in Georgia is listed as a horse racer, and one of the court records for William Ainsworth in TN talks about how he had horses wrongfully taken from him in a horse race. Another court record is a partner dispute between William Ainsworth, Lewis Stephens, John McGhee, Geo. C. Harris, Squire S. Glenn, and T S Caldwell over shares in a stallion named, Traveller. Hopefully, we will be able to determine soon if this William is James' father or his grandfather. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: dskeith1950 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1936.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Your summary and detail are precisely aligned with mine. Sine Martin Keith named his first son Ruebin Roper Keith has always led me to believe the connection. As for Joel M. Keith, I believe his middle name was " Mackey " since his mothers father was " Joel Mackey ". Many of the Keiths left Pickens Co and moved to Hall Co. Ga area (Forsyth Co borders it). This is where I live. There was Martin Keith, Asa Keith, George Keith (my line), James Keithm. Cynthia Looper, and a William Keith m. Rachel Elrod, who all moved to the area in the early 1800's. I can document all the George Keith line. He married Margaret Mackey, another d. of Joel Mackey. I can't document Asa, William, Martin or James Keith parents. I know they all resided in the Surry Co.NC area in the late 1700's before moving to Pickens Co. SC, along with many of the same families we have mentioned. I hope we can eventually put them in the right place. Martin Keith, Asa Keith, and William Keith and James Keith Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: batchelorw Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1936.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: It is very difficult to separate all of the relationships between the Roper family and the Keith family in Pendleton District, South Carolina in the 1800s. There appear to be a number of intermarriages between these two families. Based on circumstantial evidence,it is likely that Jane Roper, b abt 1796, SC, who married Martin Keith, b. 1792, was the daughter of Charles Roper b. bef 1764, NC, who was residing in Pendleton District, SC in 1800. I say based on circumstantial evidence because I have found neither a document giving Jane Keith's maiden name as Roper nor a document such as a probate record that lists her as a daughter of Charles. I believe the "Joel Keith, b. 1797, m. Jane Roper, moved to Jefferson Co., AL, via Ga", is actually Joel M. Keith, b. abt 1799, who married Mary Roper. If you are in fact referring to Joel M. Keith and Mary Roper, then I am not sure who Mary Roper's father was. I'm inclined to think her father was Charles Roper also. There is a marriage record showing that Joel Keith married a Mary Roper. The research on this matter is made difficult by the tendency of secondary sources to confuse Martin Roper with Joel M. Roper. Some consider these two people to be the same person, and name him Joel Martin Roper, and then state that his wife was Mary Jane Roper. Before discussing these two possible Roper daughters, Jane and Mary, I'm going to list some of the pertinent Pendleton District census records showing the close connection between the Roper families and the Keith families. Charles Roper first appears in 1800 Pendleton District, SC census on page 16 of the records of Ancestry.com: Charles Roper 2-1-0-0-1*****4-2-0-1-0*****0-0 Charles Roper is shown as age 45 . His presumed wife is 26-44. There are two males <10 and one male 10-15. There are four females <10 and two females 10-15, a total of 6 daughters. There are no slaves. Benjamin Roper appears in the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census on the following page 17: Benjamin Roper 1-0-0-1-0*****0-0-1-0-0 Benjamin is shown as age 26-44, with a wife age 16-25, and one son <10. Charles Roper next appears in the 1810 Pendleton District, SC, census, a few properties away from Abs Roper, on page 20: Chas Roper 1-1-0-0-1*****2-2-1-0-1*****0-0 Abs Roper 2-0-0-1-0*****0-0-1-0-0*****0-0 Charles again is shown as age 45 , with a wife 45 . There is one male <10, and one male10-15. There are still five daughters left in the household, two <10, two between 10-15, and one 16-25. Abs Roper is considered by some secondary sources to be one of the sons of Charles Roper. Abs, who most secondary sources identify as Absalom, is shown as age 26-45. His age is fairly consistent with being the male age 10-15 in Charles Roper's 1810 census, although he does miss by one year. Abs wife is shown as 16-25, so Abs is probably closer to being in the same age range. Benjamin Roper appears on page 16 of the 1810 Pendleton District, SC census: Benjamin Roper 4-0-0-1-0*****3-0-0-1-0 Benjamin Roper is shown as age 26-44, and his wife is shown as age 26-44. There are four males <10 and three females <10. On the same page of the 1810 Pendleton census, clustered around Charles Roper and Abs Roper, you will find John Keith, Duncan Keith, John Keith, George Keith, and Cornelius Keith. Charles Roper next appears in the 1820 Pendleton District, SC census on page 41, a few houses from Aaron Roper: Charles Roper 0-0-0-2-0-1*****0-0-0-1-1-1 Aaron Roper 2-2-0-0-1-0*****3-0-0-1-0-3 Charles and his wife are again shown as age 45 . There are 2 males age 16-25 and one female age 26-44. Notice that there is only one daughter left in the household of Charles Roper. The other five have either married or died. Also, a Cornelius Keith can be seen on the previous page of the 1820 census of Charles Roper. However, the other Keith family members are not to be seen. Aaron Roper, who is usually identified by secondary sources as one of the sons of Charles, is shown in the 1820 census as age 16-44, with a wife age 26-45, and seven children. Benjamin Roper can be seen on page 19 of the 1820 Pendleton District, SC census: Benjamin Roper 2-0-1-3-0-1*****2-2-1-0-1 Benjamin is 45 , with a wife 45 . There are 2 males <10, one male 16-18, and three males 16-25. There are two females <10, two females 10-15, and one female 16-25. Charles Roper and his wife may appear in the 1830 Pickens County, SC census in the family of Reuben Roper: Reuben Roper 1-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0*****0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0 Reuben Roper is shown as age 20-29, with a wife 15-19. There is one male <5. There is a male age 70-79 and a female age 70-79. The older male and female could be Charles Roper and his wife. Reuben Roper is considered by secondary sources to be a son of Charles Roper. Also, secondary sources state that he married Cynthia Keith. On the same census page as Reuben Roper, you will find the following: Joel Keith 1-0-0-0-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0*****0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Lemuel Keith 2-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0*****1-0-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 James Keith 2-2-0-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0*****0-1-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 On the following page, you will find Cornelius Keith, age 40-49, living next to Benjamin Roper, age 40-49; Meredith Roper, age 30-39; John H. Roper, age 20-29: William Keith, age 60-69; and Jacob Roper, age 20-29. Now that we have shown a close family connection between the Roper and Keith families, let's move on to discuss Martin Keith and Joel Keith. A Martin Keith is first seen by name only in an abstract of the 1830 Murray County, GA census records. A Martin Keith can be found next in the 1840 District 824, Murray County, GA census: Martin Keith 1-2-0-2-2-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0*****1-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0 Martin is shown as age 40-39, and his wife is age 40-49. There are a number of male children and one female <5. Martin Keith can next be found an abstract of the 1850 Murray County, GA census on usgenweb archives on sheet number 267B(I could not find the census records on Ancestry.com): Martin Keith 58M Virginia Jane Keith 54F South Carolina John B. Keith 21M Georgia Oliver D. Keith 17M Georgia Martha Keith 16F Georgia Martin L. Keith 14M Georgia We learn from this that Martin and his family were in Georgia by at least 1829, since they had a son John B. Keith born in that year. There are a number of other Keith householders in the1850 Murray County, GA census: R. R. Keith, age 27; Charles N. Keith, age 22; Samuel Keith, age 25; and John B. Keith. These are all sons of Martin Keith, as are seen in the abstract of the Division of Martin Keith's estate (I have not seen the original): "Georgia Murray County By virtue of an order of this Court of Ordinary of said county to us directed and hereto approved to make a fair division of the real estate of Martin Keith late of said County in the hand of Samuel A. Keith his administrator among his lawful distributors we proceeded in the following manner to execute said order after first being duly sworn. The distributors being eight in number we have divided the land in eight equal parts as follows, First to Samuel A. Keith fifty four acres and one half off the east end of lot land No. One hundred and twenty six (126) and twenty five acres on the North Side of lot No. ninety two (92) in the Ninth District and 3 Section of said County valued at Eight Hundred and Seventy five dollars. Second, to O.D. Keith forty eight and one fourth acres on the west side of that part set off to Samuel A. Keith on lot of land No. one hundred and twenty six and thirty nine acres on the South Side that part of Samuel A. Keith of l! ot of land No. Ninety two all in the Ninth District and 3 Section of said county. Third, To Charles W. Keith thirty three and one fourth acres on the west side of that part set off to O.D. Keith of lot of land No. one hundred and twenty six (126) and also forty nine (49) acres on the north side of that O.D. Keith was lot of land No. ninety two all in ninth (9) District and 3rd Section of said county. Fourth, to Snora Keith as the guardian of the heirs of John B. Keith deceased thirty three and one fourth acres in the west side of that part set off to C.W. Keith of lot of land No. one hundred and twenty six (126) and also thirty nine acres on the south side of lot of land No. Ninety two (92) all in the ninth district and third section of said county it being the balance of the observed normal lots. Fifth to Mary A. Keith as the guardian of the heirs of Reuben R. Keith deceased for the benefit of all the heirs of Reuben R. Keith deceased that twenty five acres on the North ! Side of lot of land No. eighty seven and thirty five acres on the Nort h Side of lot of land No. eight eight all in the ninth district and 3rd section of said county. Sixth, to William Bates, George W. McClure and Martin L. Keith we have set apart all the balance of lots of land No.s 87 & 88 in the ninth (9th) District 13 Section of said county not set apart to Mary A. Keith as the guardian of the heirs of R.R. Keith deceased each heirs part so set apart valued at eight hundred and seventy five dollars. Given under our hands and seals this 5th day of May 1868.Commissioners John AdairM.W. HarrisJ.D.W. McDonaldT.R. Bates". As you will see, there are a number of sons listed as heirs of Martin Keith. Of particular interest are the sons Reuben R. Keith and Charles W. Keith. Reuben Keith appears in the 1850 Murray County, GA census as follows: R. R. Keith 27M South Carolina Mary Keith 22F Georgia Lucinda J Keith 2F Georgia Clinton C. Keith 2/12 M Georgia In later census records, he will appear as Reuben R. Keith. Secondary sources identify him also as Reuben Roper Keith, although I can find no extant document showing the middle name to be Roper. His headstone shows R. R. Keith. As seen above, Reuben Roper of Pendenton District, SC was mentioned by me as a probable son of Charles Roper. It would have been natural for Jane Keith, wife of Martin Keith, if she was Jane Roper, to name a son after a brother named Reuben Roper. Martin Keith and Jane also name a son Charles. Again, it would have been natural for Jane Keith, if she was Jane Roper, to name a son after her father. Jane Keith is last seen in the 1870 Murray County, GA census residing in the household of her son Martin L. Keith. She is shown as age 73, which would give her a birth in 1897. Now let's discuss Joel M. Keith and his wife Mary Roper. There is an abstract of a marriage record on Ancestry.com which shows that a Joel M. Keith, born 1799, married a Mary Roper. Joel M. Keith first appears in the 1830 Pickens County, SC census: Joel Keith 1-0-0-0-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0*****0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Joel is shown as age 30-39, and his wife is age 20-29. There is another male age 20-29. On the same page of the census, one can see Reuben Roper, age 20-29, and John Roper, age 20-29. Joel M. Keith next appears in the 1840 Pickens County, SC census: Joel M. Keith 3-0-1-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0*****0-1-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Joel M. Keith is shown as age 40-49 and his wife is shown as age 30-39. There are three males <5, and one male 10-14. There is one female age 10-14. Joel M. Keith next appears in the 1850 Forsyth County, GA census: Joel M. Keith 51M SC Mary Keith 45F SC Absolem B. Keith 13M SC Nancy A. Keith 8F GA Sarah C. Keith 6F GA Joel M. Keith 3M GA\ Now, the reason I think that your "Joel Keith, b. 1797, m. Jane Roper, moved to Jefferson Co., Al, via GA" is the same person as this Joel M. Keith, who married Mary Roper, is because both of his sons, Joel M. Keith, shown here as age 3, and Absolem B. Keith, shown here as age 13, did in fact move to Jefferson County, Alabama. Joel M. Keith, the father, apparently died in Forsyth, GA. Absolem Keith appears in the 1870 Cleburne, AL census as Solomon Keith, age 33, born in SC. Absolem Keith next appears in the 1880 Jefferson County, Al census as A. B. Keith. He is shown in a census abstract of Alabama confederate soldiers as Absolem Bly Keith, residing in Jefferson County, AL in 1907, born on May 18, 1833, in Pumkintown, Pickens, SC. Joel M. Keith, born 1847 in Forsyth County, GA first appears in the 1870 Jefferson County, AL census as J.M. Keith, age 23, born in GA, married to A. Keith. He will also appear in the 1900 Woodlawn, Jefferson County, Al census as Joel Keith, age 52, born in Georgia, with both parents born in South Carolina. His wife is Amanda Keith, age 53. I am still not sure of the parentage of Mary Roper. The name of her son Absolem Bly Keith should give us a clue. Abs Roper shown in the 1810 Pendleton District census had only one female in the household who was age 16-25, who couldn't be Mary Keith born in about 1805. Perhaps Abs was her brother, in which case Charles Roper might be the likely father. But then perhaps Benjamin Roper was her father. Both Charles and Benjamin appear to have daughters in the 1810 and 1820 Pendleton census records of an age that could be Mary. The following abstract of the Probate of Benjamin Roper, which was included in the article dated June 11, 2014 by William Alexander Roper, Jr. titled "Benjamin ROPER (b abt 1766-74) of Pendleton and Pickens, SC" has some interest:: "Benjamin Roper, estate of, Box 3, #26. Probate Judge Office. Est. admr. 8 Aug 1831 by Wm. Sutherland, Wm. L. Keith who are bound unto James H. Hendy, Ord. in the sum of $400. Left a widow and 12 children. Heirs mentioned on 21 Nov 1831: John H., Jacob, Aaron, Sarah Roper, Rachel Ward, J. M. Keith, Keziah Roper, widow Nancy, Benjamin Roper decd, Susana Roper who married Moses Hendrick. On 18 Oct 1836 Wm. Sutherland wanted Mr. Dendy Ord. to pay Benj. Roper the part due John Byrus the husband of Cazzy Roper." First, I and William Alexander Roper, Jr. have never seen the original of this abstract. So we don't know how accurate it is. The fact that J. M. Keith is mentioned as one of the heirs would indicate that his wife, presumably Benjamin's daughter, was already dead. Both Jane Keith and Mary Keith were both still living into the 1850s. Thus, the J. M. Keith is probably not the husband of Mary Keith However, if this abstract is accurate, there does not appear to be a daughter listed as an heir who is named Jane Keith or Mary Keith. This would then rule out Benjamin as the father, leaving Charles Roper as the likely candidate to be the father of both Jane Keith and Mary Keith. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Kilpatrick, Anderson Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1923.1.1.4.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Thank you so very much for sharing this insight! I DO from endeavor to look at the LAST Census page in each district to verify the certification information, but very frequently find that the way that Ancestry parses the data often results in the certification being difficult to find. I checked the Ancestry images for Pendleton in 1790 and Image 15 of 15 bears out what you explain. The information therein shows that the substance of what you report is correct. However, not to quibble, but there are a couple of very small deviation which bear mention. First, the date of the certification seems to appear in two places. Neither seems to say the 17th of May, at least for this particular list. Instead, in one place there is an ambiguous number which might be "20" and might be "28." The second mention unequivocally says "20". I read this list to have been certified on 20 May 1791. Secondly, I read the certification of this page to show that John C. Kilpatrick was commissioned as an Assistant Marshal by Robert ANDERSON, who states that he commissioned KILPATRICK "on the first day of March last." Thus, these particular Census returns seem likely to have been taken between 01 Mar 1791 and 20 May 1791. It is very helpful to have this additional elaboration! Thank you very much for sharing!! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Raper, Ainsworth Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1925.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Kellie: TERRIFIC job! Given the dearth of divorces in those days, the disappearance of a husband most often reflected death and widowhood. I am very pleased to learn that there is an actual record which clears up the matter. I think it is most likely that Margaret ROPER is the daughter of Mary ROPER's brother, whose identity we haven't yet identified, but who is suggested by the counts in the Census records. As you have found, a concerted search of the records can yield some terrific clues. Have you taken a look at the Margaret ROPER shown in Joshua ROPER's 1870 Census record? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser, Roser, Robertson, Harvey, Read, Lambert, Lamberth, Williams, Marshall, Cooke, Cook, Dancey Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.7/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The third volume of Dr. Stephen BRADLEY's abstracts of Brunswick, Virginia, Deed records is titled: "Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Books, Volume 3, 1755-1764", Abstracted by Dr. Stephen E. BRADLEY, Jr. (Lawrenceville, VA: Stephen E. Bradley, Jr., 1998). At the North Carolina State Library, this book was shown to have Library of Congress call number "GR 929.3 V8br B811bd v.3". This Volume covers Brunswick Deed Books 6 and 7. While Volume 2 showed several ROPER mentions, all pertaining to the disposition of John ROPER's Patent of 1745, there is only a single mention of a ROPER within Volume 3. This is the mention of David ROPER on page 100 as a witness to a Deed: "Athanasius (x) ROBERTSON & his wife Cordilly (x) of St. Andrews Parish in Brunswick Co. to Thomas HARVEY of sd Parish. 22 Aug 1764. £60 VA. 100 acres in the fork of Red Oak Creek, joining READ, LAMBERTH. Wit: Hugh WILLIAMS, David ROPER, George MARSHALL." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 7, Page 512 [BRADLEY Abstract Vol. 3, Page 100] * * * There are also several additional mentions of ROSSERs within this Volume on pages 7(Brunswick Deed Book 6, Page 82), 12 (Brunswick Deed Book 6, Page 132 & 135) and 71 (Brunswick Deed Book 7, Page 152). In my view, only the first and last of these bears further mention and elaboration: "Nicholas (x) BREWER of Brunswick Co to John HILL of Southampton Co. 27 Sep 1756. £8 VA. 100 acres which was part of a patent to Nicholas BREWER 5 Jul 1750, on the south side of Pine Log Road, poining John ROSSER, George BREWER, sd Nicholas BREWER. Wit: John PETERSON, Henry MORRIS, Joseph PARKS. Proved 28 Sep 1756. Sary (x) the wife of sd Nicholas BREWER relinquished her right of dower. Litt. TAZEWELL CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 6, Page 82 [BRADLEY Abstract Vol. 3, Page 7] "Drury COOKE of Meherrin Parish in Brunswick Co. to John ROSSER of sd parish. 9 Jun 1762. £55 VA. Negro girl Jeny. Wit: Xpher MASON, William DANCY, Burwell BASS. Proved 26 Jul 1762. John ROBINSON CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 7, Page 152 [BRADLEY Abstract Vol. 3, Page 71] * * * * * NOTE 1: In 1754, Brunswick County, which had been wholly within St. Andrews Parish from its founding, was divided into two parishes. The area North of the Meherrin River retained the name St. Andrews Parish. The area to the South of the Meherrin River to the North Carolina Provencial line became Meherrin Parish. NOTE 2: David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742), son of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN, would have been age 22 at the date of the ROBERTSON deed and had probably just set out on his own. When I took these notes at the North Carolina State Library, I failed to take the time to fully appreciate the adjacency of William and Laura Roper MOORE which is shown in some of the later notes to be posted. Laura was David ROPER's twin sister. Someone with a keen interest in the family of Charles and Ann Goodwin ROPER should probably try to run down the various MOORE records in Brunswick to identify the date of first appearance of William MOORE. It is unclear whether William and Laura Roper MOORE first settled in Brunswick and David ROPER followed, whether David ROPER first settled in Brunswick and the MOORE couple followed or whether David settled near William MOORE and Laura later married William, possibly after David and William became acquainted. Since it was more common for young women to m! arry by about age 16 it seems likely that Laura was probably already married by 1764. NOTE 3: The appearance of David ROPER as witness to the ROBERTSON deed is the first appearance by ANY ROPER suggesting an actual residence within Brunswick County. As is further shown within both abstracts and previously posted Brunswick deed transcriptions, David ROPERseems to have settled in the Northernmost area of Brunswick County near Red Oak Creek and Hickory Run, two tributaries of the Nottoway River flowing into the Nottoway from the South. This area is in or near the Southeastern corner of the modern Fort Pickett Military Reservation. NOTE 4: That David ROPER would appear as a witness to a deed from Athanasius ROBERTSON to Thomas HARVEY is interesting on two counts, though it may simply reflect proximity. ROPERs were found in close prximity to ROBERTSONs in North Carolina. ROBERTSONs were leading pioneers in the formation of Tennessee. David ROPER's nephew David W. ROPER, son of Joel ROPER, named a daughter "Cordelia". The HARVEYs are shown to be subsequent neighbors of David ROPER and William ROPER in the vicinity of Red Oak Creek and are shown together on a number of records. NOTE 5: The appearance of the surname LAMBERT as an adjacent neighbor is also interesting. A LAMBERT hosted a John ROPER in Charles County, Maryland, a century earlier. John ROPER, of Charles City County, transported a LAMBERT to Virginia (possibly from Maryland) as shown in the 1714 Charles City County Patent. NOTE 6: As will be further shown in subsequent Brunswick abstracts and as already shown in some Brunswick deed transcriptions, Hugh WILLIAMS sold land in Brunswick near or adjacent to this parcel to Charles and Ann Goodwyn ROPER in 1767. NOTE 7: George ROPER, son of David ROPER (b 1744, d 1808), of Charles City County, VA, married the Maria O. MARSHALL, widow of Chief Justice John MARSHALL, a generation later. NOTE 8: The Nicholas BREWER deed further shows the location of John ROSSER in the Southern part of Brunswick County. John PETERSON is shown to be a witness to the BREWER deed. James ROPER married Mary PETERSON, daughter of John PETERSON. While I am inclined to believe that this is actually a ROSSER rather than ROPER record, the family of John ROSSER was living in very close proximity to the PETERSONs in the Southern part of the County near the North Carolina Provencial line and this record exemplifies the confusion attendant to sorting out the various records. While I suspect that Dr. BRADLEY's transcription is trustworthy, someone with a keen interest in the Brunswick ROPERs needs to carefully visually inspect EVERY ROPER and ROSSER record in respect of the original underlying images, because some transcription errors have undoubtedly been made, as further shown in other posts. NOTE 9: John ROSSER is shown as a witness to two deeds dated 7 Jan 1757 involving Joseph HATHCOCK and Daniel CATO. On of these parcels is shown to abut Falling Run. The other is shown to be South of Fountains Creek. Both of these seem to be near the North Carolina Provencial line and I believe that these are ROSSER records. A John COOK and a Henry COOK are shown to be neighbors. ROPERs and COOKEs are shown to be intermarried on the South bank of the James River a century earlier, but I think that the coinciding appearance of ROSSER and COOK is porobably merely a coincidence. NOTE 10: The deed from Drury COOKE to John ROPER dated 09 Jun 1762 similarly shows at least some commercial activity between the ROSSER and COOKE family, which I suspect is incidental to the proximity. The appearance of William DANCY as a witness is also interesting, but also probably merely a coincidence. DANCE or DANCEY was the brother-in-law of the Sir William ROPER, of Well Hall, Kent, who married Margaret ROPER five centuries ago. DANCEY also appeared very early in Virginia, which I think is NOT a coincidence, but rather reflects a general flight of persecuted Catholics to the American Colonies. DANCEYs are found near ROPERs in several places during the preceeding century, but the appearance of DANCEY in Southern Brunswick is probably simply a reflection of a general migration pattern of new generations to the frontier and places where land was more readily available. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: kellietho Surnames: Ainsworth Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1925.1.1.1.1.2.2.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: While searching on the TNGenWeb page, I decided to search through the divorce records, just to see if there happened to be a divorce between William Ainsworth and Mary Roper. To my complete surprise, there was one! The index for the Circuit Court Minute Book, 1843-1847, lists a divorce between a William Ainsworth and Mary RAPER (which is most likely ROPER). The case # is 316 and is dated May 1844. This divorce could help explain why she went back to using her maiden name of Roper, and why her son James is also using the surname of Roper. This also raises the question then of who is the father of Margaret Roper. Since I found this, I was curious if there were any other records involving William Ainsworth. I found a William Ainsworth in the index for the Chancery Court Loose Records, 1843-1852, case numbers 254 and 490. There is another entry in this index for him in the Chancery Court Loose Records, 1832-1842, case number 103. In the Chancery Court Minutes Book, 1832-1842 index, a James Ainsworth, Samuel Ainsworth, William Ainsworth Sr. and William Ainsworth Jr. are found. William is also found in other Chancery court records. I will continue to look further into these documents and this family. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: fscangie Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1923.1.1.4.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: [I came to this message thread only because I was doing a search for recent posts including the name Goodwin, so have no skin in this game of identifying Ropers.] This analysis has been enjoyable to read - I appreciate the open-minded analysis and willingness to reconsider. And because of that, I want to point out that the 1790 Pendleton District SC census was actually conducted in 1791. South Carolina hadn't got its act together in time to do the census in 1790, and besides, the upper north western area was exploding with newly arrived families, so doing the census later meant larger numbers [and greater representation] for SC. At one time, the USGENWEB archives at Rootsweb had images of the "1790" manuscript version of the census. I do not have a current link, but a decade ago I downloaded the gif of the page which began "The Number of Persons within my Division, consisting of Nine Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty Eight appears in a Schedule hereto Annexed Subscribed by me this Seventeenth Day of May One Thousand Seven hundred & Ninety One "John Clark Kilpatrick, Asst to the Marshal of So Carolina...." I have studied a number of families who can be shown by other records [mostly deeds and grants] to have reached Pendleton in the first 3-4 months of 1791 - these new arrivals are listed on the "1790" census. In a couple of families, where I have solid birth dates of children, I can show that a child born between November 1790 and March of 1791 was included in the "1790" household numbers. Thus, as you continue to do your analysis, consider that the marshal probably was reporting numbers as of early 1791 rather than for late 1790. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.6.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: More than a decade ago, I created a thread to discuss the John ROPER Brunswick Patent of 01 Aug 1745: "Brunswick County VA Land Patent of 1 August 1745 to John ROPER" (22 Jun 2002 2:27PM GMT) http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/489/mb.ashx Briery Creek, now known as Briery Branch, is a tributary of the Meherrin River with headwaters just South of Meredithville, VA, flowing into the Meherrin River to the West of Fort Christanna. This is in what is now the Western part of modern Brunswick County very near the Mecklenburg and Lunenburg County lines. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.6/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The second volume of Dr. Stephen BRADLEY's abstracts of Brunswick, Virginia, Deed records is titled: "Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Books, Volume 2, 1744-1755, 1764", Abstracted by Dr. Stephen E. BRADLEY, Jr. (Lawrenceville, VA: Stephen E. Bradley, Jr., 1997). At the North Carolina State Library, this book was shown to have Library of Congress call number "GR 929.3 V8br B811bd v.2". While Volume 1 showed only ROSSER records, there were several ROPER records within Volume 2, ALL pertaining to a property patented by John ROPER, of Charles City County, VA. Here are the five abstracted references to that property: "John ROPER of Charles City Co to John JOHNSON of Brunswick Co 9 Nov 1746. £20 VA. 200 acres which was part of a 1601 acre patent to sd ROPER dated 1 Aug 1745, on the north side of Bryery Creek, joining Richard HAGOOD, Thomas TWITTY. Wit: Richard HAGOOD, William JOHNSON, Thos. TWITTY. Proved 5 Feb 1746. St. Clack CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 254 [at BRADLEY Page 16] * "John ROPER of Charles City [Co] to Thomas TWITTY of Brunswick Co. 2 Jun 1748. £5 VA. 1200 acres which was part of a 1601 acre patent to sd John ROPER dated 2 Aug 1745, on the South side of Mill Creek. Wit: William LINSEY, Richard RUSSELL, George HAGOOD. Proved 2 Jun 1746. St. Clack CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 440 [at BRADLEY Page 28] * "John ROPER of Charles City Co. to George HAGOOD of Brunswick Co. 2 Jun 1748. £5s5 VA. 100 acres which was part of a 1601 acre patent to sd ROPER dated 2 Aug 1745, on both sides of Bryrie Creek. Wit: Thomas TWITTY, William LINSEY, John ROBERTS. Proved 2 Jun 1748. St. Clack CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 442 [at BRADLEY Page 28] * "John ROPER of Charles City Co. to Edward GOING of Brunswick Co. 2 Jun 1748. £5 VA. 100 acres which was part of a 1601 acre patent to sd John ROPER dated 2 Aug 1745, on the south side of Mill Creek, joining SIMMONS. Wit: Thomas TWITTY, William LINSEY, John (x) ROBERTS. Proved 2 Jun 1748. St. Clack CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 444 [at BRADLEY Page 28] * "George HAGOOD of Brunswick Co. to Thomas TWITTY of same. 3 May 1749. £6s5 VA. 100 acres which was part of a patent to John ROPER dated 1 Aug 1745, on both sides of Bryery Creek, joining John JOHNSON, Richard HAGOOD, Richard RUSSELL, Benjamin LANIER, George HAGOOD, Thomas TWITTY. Witnesses omitted. Proved 1 Jun 1749. St. Clack CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 560 [at BRADLEY Page 39] It should probably be noted that a David RUSSELL is shown on deeds of trust regarding land near Red Oak Creek a generation later. Whether David RUSSELL is related to Richard RUSSELL bears further investigation. * * * * * These are the ONLY ROPER references identified by Dr. BRADLEY within Brunswick Deed Books 3, 4 and 5. However, there is also a possibly very significant additional mention also on Page 39, which I had NOT noticed while visiting the North Carolina State Library. This is a conveyance by George HARPER of St. Andrews Parish in Brunswick Co to Micajah PERRY of same dated 14 Apr 1749. The significance of this entry is that William ROPER, of Anne Arundel, was shown within Maryland deed records to be mortgaging his Maryland land to a Micajah PERRY, of London, four decades earlier. Micajah is hardly a common name and the appearance of a Micajah PERRY a generation later in Brunswick certainly bears further investigation! A Nathaniel HARPER is shown a generation later to be residing nearby David ROPER and William ROPER adjacent to Red Oak Creek very near the Nottoway River. * * * * * In addition to the ROPER entries, there are also additional mentions of John ROSSE, John ROSSER and John ROSER on pages 40, 52, 65 and 93 of BRADLEY's Abstracts. The first of these is a conveyance of 290 acres of land south of the Meherrin River by Thomas COOK of St. Andrews Parish to John ROSSE, of Albemarle Parish, Surry County, dated 14 Dec 1748. The land is described as joining near the head of Oconechie Swamp, the head of Hall's Branch [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 3, Page 575]. My suspicion is that this conveyance, of land probably later situated within the boundaries of Greensville County, VA, marks the first actual appearance of John ROSSER as a resident of Brunswick County. Two additional mentions of John ROSSER on 27 Mar 1750 reflect John ROSSER witnessing two conveyances to John VINCENT of parcels on the South side of Fountains Creek [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 4, Page 129-30]. This is an area later in Greensville County, VA, very near the North Carolina Colonial line. Immediately opposite is Northampton County, North Carolina. * Another reference, showing John ROSER (signing a MARK), involves an admittedly ambiguous John ROSER witnessing a deed from Robert HINES or HYNDS to Thomas MORRIS. The parcel is shown to be on the North side of Great Swamp, joining Francis STEED, Hall's Branch, Simon LANE, and Robert HYNDS. George WYCHE, James LANIER and Joshua CLARK were the other witnesses to the deed dated 12 Nov 1751 [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 5, Page 138]. The mention of Hall's Branch suggests this is the John ROSSER in the Southern part of Brunswick County near the North Carolina Provencial Line. The final ROSSER mention seems to show John ROSSER adding to his holdings by the purchase of a 75 acre parcel from Simon and Mary LANE on 12 Jul 1754. The land is shown to be on the north side of Great Swamp and bounded by LANE, ROSSER, Hall's Branch, and Thomas MORRIS [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 5, Page 585]. The ROSSER mentions are important to ROPER genealogy ONLY in avoiding confusion about ROPER and ROSSER records. It is helpful to know that there WAS a very early John ROSSER who settled in Brunswick, WHERE he settled and how this location differs from the location where the ROPERs were found. * * * * * Finally, it is appropriate to mention some of the surnames shown in the Index which might be worthy of further examination in respect of an inquiry about Charles and Ann Goodwyn ROPER's family. This is NOT intended to be a comprehensive list, but rather simply reflects the surname mentions on the several Index pages I copied for future reference: BROWDER, BUTLER, CANNON, KANNON, LEDBETTER, LUCY, PETERSON, QUARLES. Further study of the CARTER, CLARK and LAMBERT famliy in Brunswick might also yield some insight into prior connections to the ROPER family. The presence of a JORDAN family in Brunswick reminds us of the unexplored murky relationship between the ROPERs and JORDANs in Chesterfield and Powhatan. Similarly, the appearance of a SCISCON/SCIZON family in Brunswick might inform a further inquiry into the SASSEEN family into which the Chesterfield ROPERs intermarried. * * * * * Overall, an examination of these early Brunswick records reflects the COMPLETE LAZINESS and INCOMPETENCE of ROPER family history research regarding the important Charles ROPER family. This branch of the family has remained almost completely UNEXAMINED for decades while dishonest researchers continue to elaborate various fraudulent lineages purporting to connect various branches of the ROPER family to New Kent. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser, Roser, Goodwyn, Goodwin, Butler, Moore, Hall, Carter, Fletcher Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.5/mb.ashx Message Board Post: While at the North Carolina State Library in September 2010, one of the secondary sources I consulted was the abtract of Brunswick, Virginia, Deeds compiled by Dr. Stephen E. BRADLEY, Jr.. Dr. BRADLEY compiled a number of Brunswick Abstracts, the study and analysis of several which will form the basis for additional posts. In respect of this post, I am concerned solely with Dr. BRADLEY's compilation of the anstracts of Brunswick Deed Books 1 and 2, appeaing in a book titled: "Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Books, Volume 1, 1732-1745", Abstracted by Dr. Stephen E. BRADLEY, Jr. (Lawrenceville, VA: Stephen E. Bradley, Jr., 1997). * I some cases, consulting a source produces some windfall of useful genealogical information. Other times, it is useful to note a source consulted solely for the purposes of keeping tract of one's effort and to note the ABSENCE of mention, which absence supports a weak inference that the person(s) under study seemed NOT to appear in the place examined. In the case of BRADLEY's Volume 1, the primary purpose of this post is the LATTER, as there are NO MENTIONS of ANY ROPER records within this particular abstract. Even so, there are several other impressions and takeaways from reviewing the Abstracts of Deed Books 1 and 2. First, there are TWO very early ROSSER mentions on Page 5 of the book. These say: "John ROOK of North Carolina to John ROSER of Southward Parish in Surry Co. 6 Jun 1733. 5 shillings sterling. A 1-year lease for 285 acres which had been a patent to sd John ROOK (date blank), on both sides of Beaverpond Creek, joining a meadow, Reedy Branch. [witness & probate torn.]" Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 1, Page 49 "John ROOK of North Carolina to John ROSSER of Southwark Parish in Surry Co. 7 Jun 1733. £10. ROSSER's release from ROOK for 285 acres. [Witnesses torn.] Proved Jun 1733. Drury Stith CC." Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 1, Page 50 * I am inclined to believe that this record means precisely what it says. There is much other evidence that a ROSSER family as well as a ROPER family resided in Brunswick County. This record seems to show a John ROSER or ROSSER was resident in Sothward Parish, Surry County, in June 1733. * * * Separately, in examining the Indices of this particular Volume, I also noted the presence of a number of members of the GOODWYN family in Brunswick during this very early period. The Index shows the presence of GOODWYNs (various spellings of the surname) with these given names: Charles Elizabeth Hodges John Thomas William Hodges and Thomas GOODWYN have the most entries. The early presence of GOODWYNs within Brunswick County seems to me to present the bare possibility that Ann GOODWYN's family might have come from Brunswick or at least been early investors in land there. This also presents the possibility that the later appearance of Charles and Ann (Goodwyn) ROPER's sons and daughter Laura Roper MOORE in Brunswick might have reflected a settlement near one or more GOODWYN aunt or uncle. I present this simply as an additional avenue of possible study. I can hardly emphasize enough that NO ONE seems to have EVER undertaken a thorough study of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN. Study of Ann GOODWYN's family might very well yield enormous insights into the origins of this couple. But instead of studying this couple, most family historians have simply republished completely DISHONEST ascriptions asserting descent from purely fictional ancestors and then simply PRETENDED that Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN never existed. * There is also a HALL family shown to be resident in Brunswick from a very early period. Often unnoticed by researchers are a number of HALL entries in the MOORE family Bible. These entries are hard to read, but since everyone dismisses Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN anyway, there is hardly any reason to study the HALLs. * Similarly, there are several entries in this Volume for the BUTLER family. This could be the family from which Charles ROPER, Jr.'s wife, Elizabeth BUTLER descends. Again, no study seems to have ever been made of the BUTLER family connections. * Several members of the CARTER family also appear in the early Brunswick records. CARTER records might connect Charles ROPER's famliy to the Charles City County, NC, Chowan, NC, and/or Anne Arundel ROPERs. No study of this CARTER family seems to have been done. * There also seems to have been an early presence of the FLETCHER family in Brunswick, VA. Jesse ROPER's family is intermarried with the FLETCHERs in Mecklenburg County, NC, eight decades later. * This is NOT intended as a thorough and comprehensive study of possible leads that might be found within this Volume. Instead, I merely copied several Index pages which seemed most useful for the most obvious avenues of study and several pages of those records which arguably might be relevant, such as the ROSSER records. The primary takeaway is that there is NO EVIDENCE in the Brunswick Deed records (Deed Books 1 & 2) that any ROPERs were land owners or resident in the County before about 1745. I will show in further posts when ROPERs first appear. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Moore, Biggs, Lyell, Latimer, Dameron, Miskell, Morris, Quarles, Birchett, Brown, Hicks, Harvey, Howerton, Bass, Rosser, Harris, Andrews, , Stith, Matins, Martains, Turnbull, Lanier, Williams, Read, Russell, Ball, Lambert, Harper, Coleman, Holloway Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.4/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Transcriptions of several Brunswick, Virginia, Deed Books have been posted at the U.S. Genweb Archives. Shown below are transcriptions of several Brunswick deeds from Deed Book 15 which bear on ROPERs and ROSSERs: 30 Sep 1788 [Samuel and Sarah DAMERON conveys 103 acres, bounded by David ROPER, Joel BIGGS, and EMBROURS, to John LATIMORE ] This Indenture made this 30th Day of September 1788 BETWEEN Samuel Dameron of the County of Brunswick of the one part & John Latimore of the said County of the other part . . . that the said Samuel Dameron & Sarah his wife for and in consideration of the sum of fifty pounds . . . doth bargain sell alien & confirm unto the said John Latimore . . . one certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the said County on the North side Hicory Run containing one hundred & three acres by estimation and bounded as followeth (to wit) by David Ropers Joel Biggs and the land of Embrours with the appurtenances thereunto belonging . . . Signed by Saml. Dameron and Sarah Dameron, and witnessed by Jos. Lyell, William Latimer, and Robert Latimer. Brunswick County Court August 22nd 1791. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale was proved by the oaths of Joseph Lyell a witness thereto and having been proved on the 27th Day of October 1788 by the oaths of Wm. and Robert Latimer also witnesses thereto the same is ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, page 131. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-200.txt * * * 12 Nov 1788 [John MISKELL's Security Deed To Henry MORRIS TO Secure Payment of Debts and an Injunction Bond of Joseph LYELL (for Which John MISKELL Stands as Security, Secured by eight slaves, a sorrel horse, a sorrel mare, three head of cattle and assorted household furniture] This Indenture of three parts made this twelfth Day of November 1788 BETWEEN John Miskell of the County of Lunenburg of the first part Joseph Lyell of Brunswick of the second part and Henry Morris of the said County of the third part whereas the said Joseph Lyell at the time of sealing and delivery of this presents is and stands bound to John Ingram to the amount of twenty pounds to Drury Stith the sum of thirteen pounds to John Edmunds the sum of thirty three pounds and should he the said Lyell become security to an injunction bond in Lunenburg to the amount of one hundred and fifty pounds which said sums the said Joseph Lyell is and will be subject to pay as security for the said Miskell and the said Miskell being willing to secure the payment of the same and thereby save harmless the said Lyell Now This Indenture Witnesseth that the said John Miskell for and in consideration of the premises and farther consideration of five shillings to him in hand paid by Henry Morris . ! . . doth grant bargain sell and confirm unto the said Henry Morris . . . eight Negroes King, Lucy, Ephraim, David, Peter, Esther, John, Moses, also one sorrel horse and sorrel mare three head of cattle three feather beds and furniture, household and kitchin [sic] furniture with the right title interest claim property and demand to the said premises and every part and parcel thereof . . . but to and for the uses trust intent and purpose following and to and for no other trust intent or purpose whatsoever (that is to say) for the use and benefit of the said John Miskell . . . until his interest thereon shall be determined by the contingency hereafter set forth and from thence farther upon this special trust that in case the said several sums of money for which the said Joseph Lyell is or may stand bound or any part thereof is not paid by the twenty fifth Day of December . . . one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight and the said Joseph Lyell should be called upon to be the! same or any part thereof and he the said Lyell by writing under his h and shall so desire then in that or eight of the cases aforesaid it shall and may be lawful and the said John Miskell doth hereby consent hereto for the said Henry Morris . . . to apose to sail for ready money all or any part of the aforesaid Negroes and property giving unto the said John Miskell ten days previous notice of the time and place of making such sale and also advertising the same in one of the Virginia Gazettes and out of the money arising to pay and satisfie, the aforesaid sums of money or any part thereof that may be then unpaid and for which the said Joseph Lyell is liable to the different persons to whom the same may be due . . . that the said Joseph Lyell shall not be obliged to prosecute any suit at law or in equity for the recovery of the amount of the said sum of money and the said John Miskell . . . covenant and agree to and with the said Henry Morris . . . that upon making sale of all or my part of the aforesaid Negroes or property before mentioned that! he the said Henry Morris . . . hath and shall have full power and lawful authority to make seal and execute to the purchaser or purchasers of the above or any my part thereof good full and sufficient deed or deeds of conveyance . . . Signed by John Miskell, Joseph Lyell and Henry Morris, Senior, and witnessed by James Quarles, Sarah Roper (her mark), Grief Birchett, Aaron Brown, Isaac Hicks and Thomas Sadler. Brunswick County Court 22d Day of June 1789. This Indenture was proved by the oaths of Aaron Brown and Isaac Hicks witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, page 507. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-550.txt SPECIAL NOTE: This Deed is actually in Deed Book 14 but fits chronologically here because the first relevant Book 15 deed (above) was held for almost three years before it was recorded. * * * * * 22 Oct 1790 [Thomas HARVEY's Deed of Trust of a 50 acre parcel at the fork of Red Oak Creek, bounded by Nathaniel HARPER, William MOORE and PURDIE, to Moses QUARLES, Jr., in respect of William MOORE, Sr., and David ROPER, Sr.'s agreement to act as securities in probate] This Indenture of three parts made this 22nd Day of October 1790 BETWEEN Thomas Harvey of the County of Brunswick of the first part William Moore and David Roper of the same County of the second part and Moses Quarles, Junior, of the third part whereas the said William Moore & David Roper . . . stands bound for the said Thomas Harvey as securities for the said Thomas Harvey as an executor for Thomas Harvey deceased his father which the said Moore & Roper are subject to pay sundry bequest legacies & debts both foreign & domestic as securities for the said Harvey for the performance of his said father's Last Will & Testament and the said Harvey being willing to secure the payment of the same & thereby save harmless the said Moore and Roper now this indenture . . . for and in consideration of the promises and further consideration of five shillings to him in hand paid by Moses Quarles Junior party hereto . . . doth grant bargain sell & confirm unto the said Moses Quarles . . . but to and for the uses intents & purposes following thereafter mentioned one certain piece or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County of Brunswick on the fork of Read Oak Creek & bounded by the lines Nathaniel Harpers land William Moores land & Purdies land containing by estimation fifty acres . . . that is to say for the use and benefit of the Thomas Harvey . . . until his interest therein shall be determined contingency hereafter set forth . . . in case the several sums of money bequest and legacies for which the said William Moore Senior & David Roper S! enior is and stands bound or any part thereof is not paid either the said Moore & Roper should be called upon to pay the same or any part thereof and they the said Moore & Roper by writing under their hands shall so desire then and that or either of the cases aforesaid that it shall and may be lawful and the said Thomas Harvey doth hereby consent thereto for the said Moses Quarles Junior to expose to sell for ready money all or any part of the aforesaid land and property giving to the said Thomas Harvey ten days previous notice of the time and place of making such sale and also advertising in some one of the Virginia Gazette and out of the money arising to pay & satisfy the aforesaid sums of debts due legacies & bequests not discharged pursuant to the Last Will and Testament of Thomas Harvey deceased . . . Signed by Thomas Harvey, William Moore (his mark), and Moses Quarles, Junior, and witnessed by Jno. Miskell, Benjamim Roper, James Howerton, and William Moore, Junior. Notwithstanding the within deed of trust entitles William Moore to sell the whole or any part of the within said land when called upon to pay the whole or any part of the within mentioned debts due legacies or bequests of Thomas Harvey deceased he has since agreed not to sell the whole or any part of the said land for a legacy & bequest of Thomas Harvey deceased to his son Rawleigh Harvey until the expiration of six years from the within date as witness my hand & seal this 29th Day of October 1790. Signed by William Moore (his mark) and witnessed by Jno. Miskell, Benjamin Roper, James Howerton, and William Moore, Junior. Brunswick County Court the 28th Day of February 1791. This Deed of Trust and Memorandum endorsed was proved by the oaths of Benjamin Roper Junior, Jas. Howerton, & Wm. Moore, Junior, three of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 43. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-100.txt * * * 10 Dec 1790 [Allen BASS' receipt from David ROSSER of a cash and tobacco bond as guardian of Elizabeth DAVIS, orphan of William DAVIS] 1790 December 10th. Received of Mr. David Rosser who was guardian of Elizabeth Davis orphan of William Davis decd. cash Bond to amount thirty three pounds six shillings & eight pence and a tobacco Bond for fifteen hundred & thirty one pounds Petersburg tobacco it being in full of all demands on Accont. his being guardian for the said orphan. Signed by Allen Bass and witnessed by William Andrews, Absalem Harris and Samuel Andrews. Brunswick County Court October 22nd 1792. This receipt was acknowledged by Allen Bass party thereto to be his act & deed and ordered to be recorded. Bunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, page 332. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-400.txt * * * 06 Aug 1791 This Indenture made this six day of August 1791 BETWEEN William Roper of the county of Brunswick of the one part and Joel Roper of the county of Dinwitty of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of sixty pounds . . . do grant bargain sell and confirm unto the said Joel Roper . . . a certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the county of Brunswick and Parrish of St. Andrews on the head of Red Oak Creek and bounded as followeth vizt., BEGINNING on Drury Stith's line thence along the said Stith's line to William Martains line thence along his line to James Quarles's line thence along the said Quarles line to the BEGINNING containing by estimation one hundred acres . . . signed by Wilham [William] Roper witnessed by Benjamin Roper, James Howerton, Benjamin Moore, Robert Latimer, and David Roper. Brunswick County Court February 27th 1792. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale was proved by the oaths of Benjamin Roper, Benjamin Moore & David Roper three of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Deed Book 15, Page 182. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-200.txt * * * 27 Feb 1792 [Joel and Lucy ROPER convey 100 acres bounded by Drury STITH, Wm. MARTINS and Wm. ROPER to James QUARLES, Jr.] This Indenture made this 27th of February, 1792, in this Commonwealth between Joel Roper & Lucy Roper his wife of the one part & County of Dinwiddie and James Quarles, Sr. of the County of Brunswick of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of Sixty Pounds . . . doth freely fully & absolutely give grant bargain & alien convey & confirm unto the said James Quarles . . . one certain tract or parcel of land situate lying and being in the Parish of Saint Andrews and County of Brunswick containing One Hundred Acres . . . and bounded as followeth to wit Beginning at a corner on Drury Stiths line thence along the said Stiths line to Wm. Martins line thence along the said Martains his line to William Ropers that the said William Roper sold unto the said James Quarles thence along the said line to the beginning the same being granted unto the said Joel Roper and wife . . . Signed by Joel Roper and witnessed by Moses Quarles, Jr., Benjamin Roper, Jos. Lyell, William Moore (by his mark), and David Roper. Brunswick County Court April 23rd, 1792. This Indenture of Bargain & Sale was proved by the oaths of Moses Quarles, Jr., William Moore & David Roper, three of the witnesses thereto & ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 231. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-300.txt * * * 02 Jan 1793 [James QUARLES coveyance of 100 acres, bounded by Drury STITH, William MARTAINS, and James QUARLES, to William ROPER] This Indenture made this 2nd day of January 1793 between James Quarles of the County of Brunswick Virginia of the one part and William Roper of the County aforesaid of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of seventy pounds . . . doth grant bargain sell and confirm unto the said William Roper . . . a certain tract or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County of Brunswick on the head of Red Oak Creek in St. Andrews Parish and bounded as followeth, vizt., BEGINNING on Drury Stiths line thence along Stiths line to William Martains line thence along his line to James Quarles thence along his line to the Beginning containing by estimation one hundred acres . . . Signed by James Quarles and witnessed by David Roper, Charles Moore, Wm. Moore, and Benjamin Moore. Brunswick County Court September 23rd 1793. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale between James Quarles of the one part and William Roper of the other part was proved by the oaths of William Moore, David Roper and Benjamin Moore, three of the witnesses thereto & ordered to be recorded. Deed Book 15, page 439. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-500.txt * * * 02 Jan 1793 [William ROPER's Deed of trust secured by 100 acres at Hickory Run to secure the reciprocal debt of the Charles ROPER Estate to William BEATIA] This Indenture made this 2nd day of January 1793 between William Roper of the County of Brunswick of the one part and Dennes Stell & Joel Roper of the County of Dinwiddie Executors of Charles Roper Senr. decd. of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of sixty pounds . . . which the said William Roper is justly indebted to the estate of the above decd. and honestly desires to secure and pay whenever William Beatia formerly a merchant of the Town of Petersburg in the County of Dinwiddie or his legal representatives heirs or successors shall have a right to demand the same of the estate of the said decd. with Interest and costs (in any) and for and in consideration of the sum of five shillings . . . do grant bargain and sell and confirm unto the said Dennes Stell & Joel Roper Exors. of the sd. decd. and to their heirs and assigns forever a certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Brunswick containing by estimation one hundred acres . .! . BEGINNING on Drury Stiths line thence along his line to James Martains line thence along his line to James Quarles thence along his line to the Beginning . . . UPON TRUST nevertheless that the said Dennes Stell and Joel Roper Exors. of the sd. decd. . . . shall have full power (whenever the above sd. William Beatie or any personal legally for him shall have a rite to demand the above sum of sixty pounds) and Interests and costs (if any) should arise of the estate of the estate of the said Charles Roper Senr. decd. They are to give ten days public notice and sell the said land and premises to the highest bidder and of the money arising from such sale satisfy the above debt if not otherwise discharged . . . Signed by William Roper and witnessed by Charles Moore, David Roper and James Quarles. Brunswick County Court September 23rd 1793. This Indenture of Deed and Trust was acknowledged by William Roper party thereto to be his act and deed and ordered to be recorded. Deed Book 15, page 441. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-500.txt * * * 21 Jan 1793 [Robert TURNBULL as Attorney for David RUSSELL conveying two parcels totalling 80 3/4 acres purchased from Richard LANIER, bounded by Hugh WILLIAMS corner, READ, Red Oak Creek, School House Branch, BALL, to Richard COLEMAN, Sr.] This Indenture made this 21st day of January 1793 between Robert Turnbull of Prince George County Attorney for David Russell of the City of Glasgow Merchant of the one part and Richard Coleman Sr. of the County of Dinwiddie of the other part Witnesseth that whereas Richard Lanier did by Deed bearing date the 11th day of March in the year of Christ 1774 sell and convey to the said David Russell two certain tracts of land lying in the County of Brunswick one being that tract of land given to the said Lanier by his father in law Hubbard Quarles by deed bearing date the 21st day of February in the year 1771 and also one other tract purchased by the said Richard Lanier of a certain Thomas Ball both of which are bounded as is expressed in the deeds of the same duly recorded in the County Court of Brunswick and will fully appear reference being thereunto had and containing in all two hundred acres . . . and whereas the said David Russell being now beyond sea hath constituted and ap! pointed the said Robert Turnbull his true and lawful attorney to sell and dispose of the said land and grant conveyances for the same in as full and ample manner as the David Russell could have done had he himself been personally present . . . for and in consideration of the full and just quantity of eight thousand & seventy five pounds of merchantible crop tobacco passed at the Appomattox Inspections . . . doth bargain sell alien enfeoff and confirm to the said Richard Coleman Senr. . . . the tract of land above mentioned which was granted to the said Richard Lanier by Hubbard Quarles as will appear by the deed above referred to bounded as followeth BEGINNING at Hugh Williams corner red oak thence along Reads line to Red Oak Creek thence up the said Creek to the mouth of the School House Branch thence up the said branch to the head thereof at the School House Spring thence by a straight line of marked trees to Balls line at a red oak where it crosses the road thence along ! Balls line to the Beginning and containing by measurement eighty & thr ee quarter acres . . . Signed by Robert Turnbull Attorney for David Russell and witnessed by David Roper, William Roper, and David Roper Junr. Brunswick County Court September 23rd 1793. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale from Robert Turnbull Attorney for David Russell of the one part and Richard Coleman of the other part was proved by the oaths of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 433. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-500.txt * * * 25 Jan 1793 [Confirming deed of Robert TURNBULL attorney in fact for David RUSSELL for 200 acres in favor of Nathaniel HARPER in Respect of Deed of Trust by Robert READ] This Indenture made this 25th day of January 1793 betwixt Robert Turnbull of the County of Prince George attorney for David Russell of the City of Glasgow Merchant for the express purpose of the one part and Nathaniel Harper of the County of Brunswick of the other part witnesseth that whereas Robert Read late of the said County decd. was indebted to the said David Russell in a considerable sum of money as will appear by reference to the sundry papers hereinafter mentioned and which said sum of money the said Read being desirous to secure and pay did by instrument of writing conveyed to the said David Russell . . . sundry tracts of land in the said County of Brunswick viz. a certain tract of land whereon the said Robert Read formerly did live another tract of land commonly known by the name of Lamberts another tract of land which he the said Read purchased from Richard Lanier and another tract which he purchased from Charles Roper lying on Nottoway River all of which were by ! virtue of the said instrument of writing sold to the highest bidder for the purposes therein mentioned and purchased by George Purdie of the County of Isle of Wight to whom a conveyance for the same has never been made and by whom the last mentioned tract known by the name of Ropers has been sold to the said Nathaniel Harper abovementioned for a valuable consideration . . . that for and in consideration of the sum of forty thousand pounds of merchantable crop tobacco past at Petersburg warehouse in hand paid to the said Robert Turnbull attorney for the said David Russell . . . doth bargain sell alien enfeoff release and confirm unto the said Nathaniel Harper . . . one certain tract or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County of Brunswick on Nottoway River containing by estimation two hundred acres . . . and bounded by the lands following Hugh Williams's lands, Robert Reads lands, Nathaniel Harpers lands & Nottoway River agreeable to the courses mentioned in the ! deeds for the forementioned lands all of which will more fully appear reference being thereto had it being that tract of land whereon David Roper formerly lived which had been purchased by Charles Roper from Hugh Williams and by said Roper sold to Robert Read which will also fully appear by reference to the deeds for the same duly recorded in the County Court of Brunswick . . . Signed by Robert Turnbull attorney in fact for David Russell and witnessed by Sterling Quarles, William Quarles, and Moses Quarles, Sr. Brunswick County Court January 28th 1793. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale was acknowledged by Robert Turnbull attorney for David Russell party thereto to be his act and deed and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, page 346. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-400.txt * * * 14 Feb 1793 [Trustee's Deed by Robert TURNBULL of Prince George County Attorney for David RUSSELL for 384 acres on the waters of Red Oak Creek to Richard COLEMAN, Sr.] This Indenture made this 14th day of February 1793 betwixt Robert Turnbull of Prince George County Attorney for David Russell of the City of Glasgow Merchant of the one part and Richard Coleman of Dinwiddie County of the other part Witnesseth that whereas Robert Read late of Brunswick County being indebted to David Russell aforesaid in a large sum of money and being desirous to secure and pay the same did convey by a certain instrument of writing recorded in the County Court of Brunswick sundry tracts of land as is therein specified which said tracts of land were fairly sold to the highest bidder and purchased by George Purdie but to which the said George Purdie hath never yet had a title and whereas all the said lands have been since sold by the said Robert Turnbull for the behoof and by virtue of powers from the said George Purdie amongst which lands are those hereafter mentioned and which have been sold for behoof of the said George Purdie and by his missive now in the po! ssession of the said Robert Turnbull directed to be conveyed by him as Attorney for David Russell to the said Richard Coleman Senr. instead of him the said George Purdie now this Indenture Witnesseth that the said Robert Turnbull Attorney for David Russell as aforesaid for and in consideration of the sum of twenty thousand pounds of Merchantible Petersburg tobacco . . . doth bargain sell alien enfeoff and confirm to the said Richard Coleman Sr. . . . one certain tract or parcel of land lying in the County of Brunswick on the waters of Red Oak Creek containing by estimation three hundred and eighty four acres . . . being the lands formerly belonging to William Read and Robert Read and whereon they both lived and bounded by the lands of Nathaniel Harper (formerly those of Hugh Williams), Hubbard Quarles, William Martains, John Lambert, Thomas Harvey, and Nathaniel Harper . . . signed by Richard Turnbull Attorney for David Russell and witnessed by David Roper, William Roper and David Roper, Jr. Brunswick County Court September 23rd 1793. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale between Robert Turnbull Attorney for David Russell of the one part and Richard Coleman of the other part was proved by the oaths of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 436. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-500.txt * * * 12 Jul 1793 [Richard COLEMAN's conveyance of 61 1/4 acres, bounded by Elizabeth HOWERTON, David ROPER and Little Red Oak Creek.] This Indenture made this 12th day of July 1793 between Richard Coleman of the County of Brunswick of the one part and David Roper Senr. of the aforesaid County of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of sixty one pounds five shillings . . . doth grant bargain sell alien infeoff [sic] absolutely confirm unto the said David Roper . . . one certain tract or parcell [sic] of land in the County of Brunswick containing by survey sixty one and one quarter of acres and lying on the East side of Little Red Oak and bounded as followeth BEGINNING at the said creek thence up Elizabeth Howertons line to a corner of the said David Ropers line thence on the said Ropers line to the creek thence up the said to the Beginning . . . Signed by Richard Coleman and witnessed by Lewis Holloway, Bartholomew Ingram, and Jno. Miskell. Brunswick County Court September 23rd 1793. This Indenture of Bargain and Sale was acknowledged by Richard Coleman party thereto to be his act and deed and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, page 438. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db15-500.txt * * * * * NOTE 1: The DAMERON deed of 30 Sep 1788 establishes that David ROPER, Joel BIGGS and an EMBROURS own the property adjacent to a 103 acre parcel conveyed by Samuel and Sarah DAMERON to John LATIMORE. The appearance of the names Joseph LYELL, William LATIMORE and Robert LATIMORE suggests that these, too, may have been neighbors of David ROPER. NOTE 2: The complex deed of trust dated 12 Nov 1788 by John MISKELL in favor of Henry MORRIS, Sr., in respect of the debts of Joseph LYELL is interesting mostly in showing the presence of a Sarah ROPER in Brunswick County at 12 Nov 1788 who is unable to sign her name. William ROPER is known to have been married to a Sarah. NOTE 3: It is UNCLEAR whether William MOORE and David ROPER, Sr., are acting as security for Thomas HARVEY, executor of the Estate of Thomas HARVEY, as mentioned in the deed of trust dated 22 Oct 1790 because HARVEY is related or merely as an accomodation for a neighbor. In any case MOORE and ROPER no doubt obtained the deed of trust to minimize their exposure. NOTE 4: The HARVEY deed of trust seems to clarify that it is the elder William MOORE who is illiterate and the son William MOORE, Jr., seems to sign his own name. Benjamin ROPER, Jr., appears on this instrument as a witness and Benjamin seems to sign his own name. He is probably at least age 16 by the date of this instrument and likely to be at least age 21 (b bef 1769). NOTE 5: The HARVEY deed of trust further implicitly identifies the location of William MOORE's land by showing that the Thomas HARVEY tract pledged as security for the subject deed of trust is a 50 acre parcel at the fork of Red Oak Creek bounded by Nathaniel HARPER, William MOORE and PURDIE. NOTE 6: Without examining the underlying primary document dated 10 Dec 1790 and shown to be a receipt for a cash and tobacco bond, it is difficult to speculate about whether this is correctly shown as a ROSSER rather than a ROPER record, however, the names shown on the instrument are NOT those frequently seen on ROPER related records. I think we should probably assume that the transcriber got it right unless and until some contrary evidence emerges. The record seems to show the presence of a David ROSSER in or near Brunswick by December 1790. NOTE 7: Joel ROPER (b 26 Jun 1766), son of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN is shown to be residing within the household of Rev. Devereux JARRATT (b 06 Jan 1732/3 - New Kent, d 29 Jan 1801) in 1790. On 06 Aug 1791, Joel ROPER purchased a 100 acre parcel from William ROPER. This transaction gives the appearance that Joel ROPER may have had in mind to settle in Brunswick adjacent to his much older brother David ROPER and may have actually done so. NOTE 8: William ROPER seems to have executed the deed himself. Benjamin ROPER, Benjamin MOORE and David ROPER are shown to be amongst the witnesses and each seems to have signed as a witness himself, if the transcription is correct. The Benjamin ROPER signing seems likely to be the elder Benjamin ROPER. The Benjamin MOORE signing would seem to be Benjamin MOORE, William, David and Joel ROPER's first cousin, son of William and Laura Roper MOORE, who later marries his own first cousin and the first cousin of William David and Joel -- Nancy ROPER, daughter of Charles ROPER and Elizabeth BUTLER. NOTE 9: The mention of Drury STITH as an immediate neighbor of William ROPER within this deed is particularly fascinating. Drury STITH was also an immediate neighbor of the John ROPER plantation in Charles City County on the Chickahominy. This adjacency seems to suggest the possibility of some intermarriage between the ROPER and the STITH family and also is the strongest indication I have seen suggesting a connection between Charles ROPER's family and the Charles City County ROPER family. NOTE 10: Joel and Lucy ROPER conveyed a 100 acre parcel in St. Andrew's Parish bounded by Drury STITH, William MARTINs and William ROPER to James QUARLES, Sr. This seems likely to be a property adjacent to Hickory Run, just South of the Nottoway River. Benjamin ROPER, William MOORE and David ROPER are shown to be witnesses to this instrument, each signing his own name. This seems to be the very same property which Joel ROPER purchased from his brother William ROPER only six months earlier (see the deed of 06 Aug 1791 immediately previous). NOTE 11: Charles ROPER's Estate is shown in the 1791 Land Tax List for Dinwiddie as the owner of a 200 acre parcel at Dinwiddie (at Adobe Page 16): http://va-dinwiddiecounty.civicplus.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/135 It seems possible that Joel ROPER purchased land in Dinwiddie BEFORE his father Charles ROPER died and then found himself the co-executor of Charles ROPER's estate and decided to remain in Dinwiddie. NOTE 12: James QUARLES reconveys the land purcahsed from Joel ROPER (who had purchased from William ROPER), completing this circular transaction. However the Charles ROPER Estate seems to have financed this purchase (see below)! NOTE 13: NO ONE seems to have ever bothered to check the Dinwiddie probate records to obtain Charles ROPER's Will. Instead, we learn obliquely from the transription of the Dinwiddie Deed reocrds by a U.S. GenWeb volunteer that Joel ROPER and his brother-in-law Dennis STELL are serving as co-executors of Charles ROPER's Estate. William ROPER seems to have owed his father's estate money. The Charles ROPER Estate, in turn, may have owed William BEATIA, some money at his death. William ROPER seems to have pledged the 100 acre parcel by deed of trust to secure the debt to BEATIA. NOTE 14: This record further identifies neighbors of David and William ROPER near Red Oak Creek. More importantly, this record was witnessed by David ROPER, William ROPER and David ROPER, Jr., each of whom seems to have signed his own name. NOTE 15: The 25 Jan 1793 deed by Robert TURNBULL attorney in fact for David RUSSELL in favor of Nathaniel HARPER is significant in confirming that which might have been inferred from the abstracted Brunswick deed records from 1767 (Book 9, Page 67) and 1771 (Book 10, Page 402). Charles and Ann ROPER seem to have purcahsed a 200 acre parcel from Hugh WILLIAMS when David ROPER was about age 25. This parcel was sold four years later to Robert READ. David ROPER is identified as the occupant of the property at its sale. This parcel seems to have subsequent been conveyed by Robert READ by deed of trust to David RUSSELL as security for several debts, together with several other parcels. It seems that RUSSELL then sold the former Charles ROPER parcel to George PURDIE of the County of Isle of Wight and PURDIE, in turn sold this parcel to Nathaniel HARPER. HARPER seems to have purchased the other parcels and this seems to be a confirming deed of sorts. The description seems to! suggest that the original ROPER parcel was directly on teh South bank of the Nottoway River. NOTE 16: Richard TURNBULL seems to have sold 384 acres pledged to Richard RUSSELL first be Robert READ and later by George PURDIE. TURNBULL may have first sold this land by trustee's deed to PURDIE on credit, but then PURDIE may have failed to pay. This parcel seems to have been adjacent to the former Charles ROPER parcel purchased from Hugh WILLIAMS, occupied by David ROPER and later sold to Robert READ and ultimately, seemingly after non-judicial sale under another deed of trust, to Nathaniel HARPER. * * * * * Everything shown on this page (twelve deeds with significant ROPER mentions) with complete transcriptions of these select deeds from Brunswick Deed Book 15 is summarized within Dave's abstracts for these five deeds as follows: "William Roper to Joel Roper of Dinwiddie Co. deed 100 acres 1792 Wit: Benjamin Roper, David Roper 15-182 Joel Roper & wife Lucy of Dinwiddie Co. to James Quarles deed 1792 Wit: Benjamin Roper, David Roper 15-231 David Roper Senr from Richard Coleman deed 61.5 acres 1793 15-438 William Roper from James Quarles deed 1793 Wit: David Roper 15-439 William Roper to Charles Roper's Exors D.T. Joel Roper of Dinwiddie Co. deed 100 acres 1793 15-441" Once again, Dave has summarized the records he was able to find no doubt relying upon the Grantor - Grantee Index for Brunswick Deeds, Volume 15. Once more, the PURPOSE OF ABSTRACTS is as a FINDING AID for the priamry records. If you are basing your family history on ABSTRACTS you may be assured that any difficulties you are having are self-inflicted. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser, Moore Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.3/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Transcriptions of several Brunswick Deed Books have been posted at the U.S. Genweb Archives. Shown below are transcriptions of several Brunswick deeds from Deed Book 14 which bear on ROPERs and ROSSERs: 07 Dec 1784 This Indenture made this seventh day of December 1784 BETWEEN Joel Biggs and his wife Ann Biggs of the County of Brunswick and David Roper of the said County . . . for and in consideration of the sum of fifty pounds . . . by these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeoff, and absolutely confirm unto the said David Roper . . . a Certain tract or parcel of Land in the County of Brunswick containing by estimation fifty acres . . . BEGINNING at corner gum, thence down the Branch to Hickory run, thence down the run to a corner poplar, thence North by a line of marked Trees between Biggs and the entry to a corner hickory on Benjamin Jones's line, thence along the said Jones's line to the BEGINNING . . . Signed by Joel Biggs and Ann Biggs (her mark), and witnessed by Jeremiah Roper, Moses Quarles, Junr., Thomas Williams, and Christoper Dameron. Brunswick County Court the 22d Augt. 1785 This Indenture was acknowledged by Joel Biggs & Ann his wife parties thereto and Ordered to be Recorded previous to which the said Ann being privately examined as Law directs did Voluntarily assent thereto. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, Page 128. http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-150.txt * * * 1783 to 1786 A List of all surveys of land made in the County of Brunswick from July 22d, 1783 to July 22d, 1786 three years inclusive by Commission by Thos. Stith, Surveyor, B.C. ---For whom Surveyed ----------------------------Number Acres John Rosser . . . . . . . . . . . old 275). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 -- included with 15) John Brewer . . . . . . . . . . . old 539). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 -- included with new 61) Nathaniel Woodroof . . . . . old 155). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 -- included with new 67) Peter Wynne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 David Roper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Herod Clary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145 Daniel Huff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Matthew Myrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Joshua Hightower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Weatherington Preston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Lewis Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 James Singleton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Matthew Bishop & William Bishop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Returned into Brunswick County Court the 24th July 1786 and ordered to be Recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, Page 212. http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-250.txt * * * 14 Jan 1785 This Indenture made this 14th of January, 1785 BETWEEN John Harvey of the County of Brunswick of the one part and William Moore of the said County of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred pounds . . . doth grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeoff and absolutely confirm unto the said William Moore . . . a certain tract or parcel of Land in the County of Brunswick containing by estimation fifty acres . . . BEGINNING on Great red oak Creek at a white oak, thence South to a corner pole, thence West to a corner hickory on Purdie's line, thence South East by a line of marked trees to little Red oak, thence down the said Creek to the mouth, thence up the great Red oak Creek to the BEGINNING . . . Signed by John Harvey and witnessed by David Roper, James Howerton, Jeremiah Roper, and Roger Moore. Brunswick County Court the 25th July 1785. This Indenture was proved by the oaths of James Howerton, Jeremiah Roper & Roger Moore witnesses thereto & Ordered to be Recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, Page 114. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-150.txt * * * 04 Jan 1786 This Indenture made this twenty fourth Day of January 1786 BETWEEN John Brewer of the County of Brunswick and Bethia his wife and Nickolas Brewer of the one part and Ethreldred Taylor of the County of Southampton of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of five hundred and seventy nine pounds . . . do grant bargain and sell alien and confirm unto the said Ethreldred Taylor . . . all those two several tracts or parcels of land lying in and being in the County of Brunswick aforesaid on the east side of Beaver pond Creek now in the tenure and occupation of the said John Brewer one of them containing by actual survey made the sixteenth day of March one thousand seven hundred and eighty five by Thomas Stith Surveyor and bounded as follows BEGINNING at John Rosser's corner elm on the said Creek, thence along his line North seventy degrees East one hundred and thirty seven poles to a red oak, North seveteen degrees East twenty eight poles to his corner poplar, th! ence along Hill's line the same course continued one hundred and fifty four poles to a red oak, thence along Robinson's line North fifty seven West eighty poles to a corner on Avent's line at his fence, thence along Avent's line South fifty seven and one half degrees West thirty poles to a small red oak, North eighty two degrees West one hundred and forty six poles to a black Jack, North twelve degrees West two hundred and sixty six poles to his corner pine, thence along Dillehay's line North fifty degrees West thirteen poles to red oak, thence off South nineteen degrees West three hundred and ninety two poles to George Collier's corner maple on the said Creek, at the mouth of Reedy Branch, thence down the said Creek as it meanders to the BEGINNING the other tract containing by estimation forty acres BEGINNING at Hill's corner black Jack on the main road, thence along the said road to a corner Shrub oak in Samuel Garner's line, thence along Garner's line to the line dividin! g Brunswick County from Greensville, thence along that line to William Robinson's and along his line to the BEGINNING . . . Signed by John Brewer, Bathia Brewer (her mark), Nicholas Brewer (his mark), and witnessed by John Rosser, Henry Mangum, Presly Garner, and William Clark. Brunswick County Court 27th Day of February 1787. This Deed was proved by the oaths of John Rosser and Henry Mangum two of the witnesses thereto and on the 23d Day of April 1787 the same was acknowledged by John Brewer and Bathia his wife to be their act and Deed and ordered to be recorded. Previous to which the said Bathia being privily examined as the Law directs did Voluntarily assent thereto. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, Page 270. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-300.txt * * * 13 Jun 1786 This Indenture made this thirteenth day of June 1786 BETWEEN Robert Hancock of the County of Brunswick and State of Virginia of the one part and Sterling Harris of the aforesaid County of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of ninety pounds . . . do grant bargain sell alien enfeoff release and confirm unto the said Sterling Harris . . . a Certain Tract or parcel of Land situate lying and being in the County of Brunswick and on the North side of the Beaver pond Creek containing by estimation one hundred Acres . . . reference thereto had may more fully appear bounded as follows BEGINNING at a red oak on John Rosser's line thence along the said Rosser's line to the Beaver pond Creek, thence down the Creek to the road, thence along the road to a hickory on Robert Hancock line, thence along the said Hancock's line to a hickory his corner, and from thence to the First Station . . . Signed by Robert Hancock and witnessed by John Rosser, Littleberry Robinson, Henry Mangum, Benjamin Brewer and George Brewer. Brunswick County Court 26th Day of February 1787. This Indenture was proved by the oaths of John Rosser, one of the witnesses thereto and on the 23d Day of April following the same was acknowledged in Court by Robert Hancock, one of the parties and ordered to be Recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, page 272. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-300.txt * * * 28 Jan 1788 This Indenture made this twenty eighth Day of January 1788 BETWEEN John Quarles Senior of the County of Brunswick of the one part and James Quarles Junior of the said County of the other part . . . for and in consideration of the sum of forty seven pounds ten shillings . . . doth grant bargain sell alien and confirm unto the said James Quarles Junior . . . one certain tract or parcel of Land in the County aforesaid containing seventy eight and a half acres and bounded as followeth (to wit) BEGINNING at David Roper's corner white oak, thence Southwardly to William Roper's corner pine, thence Westwardly along the said Roper's line to Martin's corner, thence Northwardly along the said Martin's line to John Quarles' line, thence along his line to the BEGINNING . . . Signed by John Quarles and witnessed by David Roper, Moses Quarles, Moses Quarles, Junior, and William Moor (his mark). Brunswick County Court 22d September 1788. This Indenture was proved by the oaths of David Roper, Moses Quarles, and Moses Quarles, Junior witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, page 404. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-450.txt * * * 20 Mar 1788 This Indenture made this twentieth Day of March 1788 BETWEEN David Roper and Mary Roper his wife of the County of Brunswick of the one part and John Lattimore of the said County . . . for and in consideration of the sum of forty pounds . . . doth grant, bargain, alien, enfeoff and absolutely confirm unto the said John Lattimore . . . a certain tract or parcel of Land in the County aforesaid containing by Estimation fifty six acres BEGINNING at a corner gum on Benjamin Jones's line at the head of the Poplar Branch, thence down the branch as it meanderith to hickory run, thence down the said run to a corner poplar on the North side of the said run, thence North by a line of marked trees to a corner oak adjoining Benjamin Jones's line, thence West along the said Jones's line to the BEGINNING . . . Signed by David Roper and witnessed by Peter Wynne, Thomas Howerton, and William Moor (his mark). Brunswick County Court 24th March 1788. This Indenture was acknowledged by David Roper a partie thereto to be his Act & Deed and ordered to be recorded. Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, Page 345. See: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/brunswick/deeds/db14-350.txt * * * * * NOTE 1: The appearance of a transaction between Joel BIGGS and David ROPER is interesting in possibly affording some insight into the appearance of the name "Joel" in the ROPER family. Joel ROPER was the youngest of the sons of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN. The GOODWYN family seemed to be settled in significant numbers in Brunswick County well before the ROPERs were resident there. Joel BIGGS would be an uncle or a cousin of David ROPER's possibly intermarried with the GOODWYNs. This is a SPECULATIVE ascription and should therefore be treated solely as an avenue for investigation and inquiry. NOTE 2: It is UNCLEAR whether the David ROPER -- Joel BIGGS transaction is between the elder or younger David ROPER. The elder David ROPER was born on 29 Jun 1742 and would have been age 42 at the date of this transaction. He might have been purchasing this proerty to add to his existing holdings or as an accomodation to Joel BIGGS and his wife who may have been migrating elsewhere. Alternatively, the younger David ROPER was probably an adult by the date of this transaction and it may have reflected a purchase of land to begin a household. NOTE 3: The boundaries of this parcel expressly mention a stream called Hickory Run. Hickory Run is a stream in Northern Brunswick County which is a tributary of the Nottoway River. It flows West to East and is to the immediate South of VA State Highway 616. It is located just to the Southeast of the Fort Picket Military Reservation, to the West of the town of McKinney and to the Northwest of the town of Rawlings. The headwaters of Hickory Run are near Rawlings Road just to the East of the town of Ordsburg. A populated place called "Hickory Run" is also shown on the 1:24,000 U.S.G.S. topo map very near the headwaters of this stream. The Concord-Brunswick Church is on VA Highway 629 at the junction of VA Highway 612 near the headwaters of this stream. The Lebanon Church is even closer to the headwaters of Hickory Run, on VA State Highway 616 (Lew Jones Road) near the junction of VA State Highway 628. The U.S.G.S. maps show SEVERAL ancient unnamed family cemeteries OF! F the roads (probably in the woods) near the headwaters of Hickory Run. The graves in most of these cemeteries have probably never been catalogued. These cemeteries might contain some ROPER graves and almost certainly contain the graves of ROPER neighbors. NOTE 4: The appearance of Jeremiah ROPER as a witness to this deed is particularly interesting. Very little is known about Jeremiah ROPER. It seems likely that Jeremiah was at least old enough to be a credible witness in Court in the proof of the deed, though it would probably NOT have been essential for him to have reached majority (age 21), though more likely than not he WAS an adult by 07 Dec 1784 (b bef 1763). There is some speculation that this might have been the son of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN shown in the MOORE family Bible as Josiah ROPER (b 26 Apr 1760), however I know of NO EVIDENCE that this is the case. Jeremiah ROPER could have also been a son of David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742). It is less likely that Jeremiah would have been a son of William ROPER (b 26 Jun 1753) unless he was still a child when he witnessed the conveyance. NOTE 5: The surveys between 1783 and 1786 seem to reflect the presence of both a David ROPER and a John ROSSER in Brunswick during this period. David ROPER and William ROPER are both shown in the 1783 Personal Property Tax Lists for Brunswick County, VA. NOTE 6: The conveyance of land from John HARVEY to William MOORE dated 14 Jan 1785 seems likely to be a purchase of land by David ROPER's brother-in-law or cousin. William MOORE married David ROPER's twin sister Laura ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742). The second child of William and Laura Roper MOORE was Roger MOORE (b 04 Sep 1765). The third child of William and Laura Roper MOORE was William MOORE (b 18 Aug 1767). This birth information appears within the MOORE Family Bible. NOTE 7: The appearance of Jeremiah ROPER's name on a second deed on 14 Jan 1785 would seem to increase the likelihood that Jeremiah ROPER was already then an adult. NOTE 8: Red Oak Creek is another tributary of the Nottoway River, flowing from Southwest to Northeast. Much of this stream is now within the boundaries of the Ft. Pickett Military Reservation. Red Oak Creek is mostly to the North of VA State Highway 628. There are definitely several extant ancient famliy cemeteries in the woods in the vicinity of Red Oak Creek. I actually stumbled upon one such cemetery immediately to the South of the Nottoway River while assigned to Fort Pickett for a mortar live fire training exercise about two decades ago. I distinctly recall that there were readable grave markers for at least several graves. I am SURE that these were NOT ROPER surnamed graves or I would have taken note of it. But because I did NOT have any reason to then suspect that these were related to Charles ROPER's family or might be ROPER neighbors, I did NOT record the information on the grave markers. Someone with an interest in this ROPER or MOORE family should probably obtain permission from the military authorities at Ft. Pickett to survey the graves within the Southern boundary of the military installation. NOTE 9: I believe that the references to John ROSSER are probably in fact ROSSER rather than ROPER records. John ROSSER was probably in the Northeastern portion of Brunswick County or in adjacent Greensville County. NOTE 10: The QUARLES deed would seem to reflect a close physical proximity between the ROPER and QUARLES properties, as well as a proximity to the family of William MOORE. BOTH David ROPER and William ROPER are shown to be immediate adjacent to this QUARLES property and also adjacent to one another. They also seem to be adjacent to a MARTIN family. The indication that William MOOR signed by a mark may indicate that this was a different William MOORE than the earlier witness. Perhaps in the wilderness the son William did not get a proper education, or, perhaps the son learned to read and write while the father did not. Further study of the MOORE records might distinguish one from the other. NOTE 11: The 20 Mar 1788 deed from David and Mary ROPER to John Lattimore is very significant. It shows that one of the David ROPERs was married to a Mary as late as 20 Mar 1788. The appearance together of the names David and Mary ROPER on another (untranscribed) Brunswick deed as early as 1775 suggests that this may be the elder rather than the younger David ROPER. The appearance of a wife named Mary may also be significant in respect of the later appearance of a David and Mary ROPER in Pulaski, KY, though Mary is such a common name that one can form at best a very weak inference. Moreover, I have elsewhere speculated that the elder ROPER died in Edgefield, SC. It is possibly significant that this David ROPER is shown to have signed his own name rather than making a mark. NOTE 12: I perceive that there was a cluster of Charles ROPER's children, including David ROPER, Laura Roper MOORE and William ROPER living in very close proximity/adjacency to one another in Brunswick County just to the South of the Nottoway River which forms the boundary between Dinwiddie and Brunswick County. This location is close enough to the Charles and Ann Goodwyn ROPER's plantation near Five Forks to remain close contact with the family. It is a long walk, but a reasonably short ride on horseback or by carriage or wagon. * * * One thing very vividly shown by a full transcription of the records is just how much essential DETAIL is lost in ABSTRACTING. Anyone relying on ABSTRACTS to resolve difficult genealogical issues needs to understand that the purpose of these abstracts is to serve as FINDING AIDS for discovery and examination of the underlying records. THE ONLY REASON THAT MANY BRANCHES OF THE ROPER FAMILY CONTINUE TO SUFFER SERIOUS DOUBTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR FAMILY HISTORY IS THEIR FAILURE TO USE THE ABSTRACTS TO OBTAIN THE ORIGINAL RECORDS. Also, note that Dave ROPER was able to find and abstract only THREE of these SIX records. Dave was no doubt relying upon the Indices within the Volume which put him onto the records where a ROPER was a Grantor or a Grantee, but which failed to reflect when a ROPER was merely a neighbor or a witness. Dave was also no doubt subject to time contraints and working quickly. Compare the detail of the full transcription with what Dave abstracted in respect of these three records: "David Roper from Joel Biggs & wife deed 50 acres 1785 14-128 David Roper & wife Mary to James Quarles deed 61.5 acres 1786 Wit: William Roper 14-188 David Roper & wife Mary to John Lattimore deed 56 acres 1788 14-345" IF YOU THINK YOU CAN CONSTRUCT A VALID FAMILY HISTORY FOR YOUR FAMILY MERELY COPYING DATA FROM DAVE'S SITE, YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN! YOU NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AT THE PRIMARY RECORDS! Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. <br>