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/1898.5.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bill, I feel somewhat like Alfred Russell Wallace, who came up with the theory of evolution and then did not publish it, allowing Charles Darwin to take credit for the theory. Yes, I agree that the most likely candidate for the father of George Washington Roper is John Roper of Halifax, VA. I came to that conclusion yesterday after you wrote me about George Washington Roper being in the Pension application of George Washington of Jefferson, IL. However, I decided to wait until this morning to post my thoughts. So much for history! Nevertheless, just as Wallace did for Darwin, I congratulate you on your theory. The following is what I intended to publish this morning. After posting my article on "George Roper, b. 1762-65, NC; d. aft. 1840, Jefferson County, IL", William Alexander Roper, Jr. replied that I had managed to "gloss over George W. ROPER, of Williamson, who is shown to have supported George ROPER's Pension Application. Actually, I completely missed the reference to George W. Roper. Now that it has been drawn to my attention, I have some thoughts on who the parents of George W. Roper might have been. It is possible that John Roper, b. bef. 1756, of Halifax, VA, who later moved to Caswell, NC in 1797, is the father of George W. Roper of Williamson County, TN. I first want to reexamine the Williamson County, TN census records as found in the images on Ancestry.com that George W. Roper appeared in. 1830 Williamson County, TN census: George W. Roper 0-2-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0 0-0-1-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 George W. Roper is shown age 40-49 and his presumed wife age 30-39. They have two males 5-9, one male 15-19, one female 10-14, and one female 15-19. 1840 Williamson County, TN census: George W. Roper 0-0-0-2-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0 George W. Roper is shown age 40-49, but the female is shown 60-69, and does not appear to be his wife. There are two males age 15-19, and no other female in the house. The reason the wife is not present is because she probably committed suicide, which will be explained below. 1850 Williamson County, TN census: George W. Roper, Sr. Age 58 Born abt. 1792 in Virginia. Cannot read or write. George W. Roper, Jr. Age 26 Born abt. 1824 in Tennessee. Mary Roper Age 22 Born abt. 1828 in Tennessee. Moody J. Roper Age 21 Born abt. 1829 in Tennessee. Lutitia Wilkerson Age 29 Born abt. 1821 in Georgia. The most interesting fact in this 1850 census is that George W. Roper, Sr. was apparently born in Virginia. Another interesting fact in the 1850 census is that there is a column which asks "Value of Real Estate Owned". Although other persons in the census list dollar amounts for the value of their property, neither Georges W. Roper, Sr. nor George W. Roper, Jr. show a value for any property owned, indicating they owned no property. The census records give different age ranges George W. Roper, Sr. He says he was born abt. 1792 in the 1850 census. The 1840 census would give him an age range of 1791-1800. The 1830 census gives him as age range of 1781-1790. Thus, his actual date of birth could be 1790-1792. I can find no census records for either George W. Roper, Sr. or George W. Roper, Jr. after 1850. There is an article titled "ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON ROPER'S KNOB: A FORTIFIED CIVIL WAR SITE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE" published by Tennessee Archaeology, Vol. 2, Fall 2006, Number 2, which can be found on the Internet. George W. Roper is mentioned in the article as follows: "Historian Park Marshall wrote that Roper's knob was named for a man named Roper who "lived a great many years on Roper's Knob, but he does not seem to have owned the land" (Marshall 1970). George W. Roper paid a poll tax in Williamson County in 1833 (Williamson County Tax Records, 1833), and he appears on the 1840 Federal Census in the Eighth District (where Roper's Knob is located) with his wife, two sons, and one daughter (Federal Census, 1840, Williamson County, District 8). Roper's wife, Agnes, hanged herself in May 1840 (Lynch 1977:34). The 1850 Federal Census lists George W. Roper and his sons George Jr. and Moody as farmers without real estate. A daughter, Mary Roper, is also listed (Federal Census, 1850, Williamson County, District 8, No. 831). George and Moody also paid poll taxes in 1846, 1849, and 1850, but the Ropers disappear from the local records after 1850. They do not appear in the 1860 census records for Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, or Texas." Lynch, Louise Gillespie 1977 Miscellaneous Records of Williamson County, Volume 1. Published by the author. Marshall, Park 1970 Collection of Writings by Park Marshall. Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville. As can be seen from this quoted excerpt, George W. Roper's wife's first name appears to be "Agnes". There is a transcription of marriage records from the original records of Davidson County, TN which can be found at "Friends of Metropolitan Archives of Nashville and Davidson County, TN", which has the following record: "Roper George Agness Harris 10/13/1806 Allen Yates 58" Notice that Allen Yates is listed as the bondsman. There appears to be a connection between John Roper, b. bef. 1756, of Halifax County, VA, who later moved to Caswell County, NC in 1797 where he purchased property, and Allen Yates. Allen Yates apparently owned property adjacent to John Roper and sold it to a Josiah Samuel in 1805: "O:119: Allen Yates to Josiah Samuel for 100 lbs 150 acres on Country Line Cr. adj. John Roper, Thomas Boulton, John Rogers, Craften Williams, Lewis Vaughan, William Rainey, Joseph Flipper, William Yates, excepting his interest in the mother's dower during her life and after her death (Caty Yates) his interest included in this sale. 25 Oct 1805 Wit: John Stanfield, Archd Samuel D. Richards." L. David Roper database. William Yates purchased land in Caswell, NC from John Roper in 1798. The appearance of William Yates and Allen Yates suggests a possible family connection between the two of them. After selling his property in Caswell, NC, in 1805, Allen Yates apparently appears in Tennessee in 1806 as the bondsman for George Roper and Agnes Harris. Allen Yates appears in Maury County, TN in the town of Columbia as the purchaser of land in about 1808, according to the "Maury County, Tennessee Wills and Settlements Book A Vol. 1 1807-1824", which can be found on the Internet. Allen Yates can again be seen as a bondsman for Sarah Dobson in the Archives of Nashville and Davidson County mentioned above: "Sarah DODSON, m 14 Aug 1809, Maury Co, TN, Amos CALDWELL, Allen C. YATES". John Roper can be seen residing between a John Caldwell and an Allen Caldwell in the 1782 Halifax, VA Personal Tax List. John Yates is also nearby. John Roper can also be seen residing near John Caldwell and Allen Caldwell in the 1885 Halifax County, VA tax list. (A James McNight is seen residing two properties away from John Roper in the 1782 Halifax County, VA tax list. Kizzie Roper, daughter of David Y. Roper and Dionysia Abernathy of Maury County, TN, married an Augustus J. McKnight.) A marriage date of 1806 is somewhat troubling for both George W. Roper and Agness Harris. The 1830 census shows George's wife to be 30-39, meaning she would have been born at the earliest in 1791, making her 15 years of age. Also, George W. Roper appears to be equally young, being born 1790-92, making him 14-16 years of age. However, it could have happened. But, considering everything, I agree with Bill's analysis that the best candidate for the father of George W. Roper is John Roper, b. bef. 1756, of Halifax County, VA. 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>