This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Abbott, Walker, Fowler, Harris, Rogers, Ingram, Hough Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1898.5.1.4/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Frank: I did a quick survey of the use of "Moody" as a given name in the United States prior to the birth of Moody ROPER, of Roper's Knob, and thought you might find the results to be interesting. "Moody" is an exceptionally unusual given name. It seemed to be slightly more common in the Northeast than the South, but there are still only a handful of "Moody"s before 1810. Of the handful of "Moody"s with Virginia roots, two stood out, BOTH from Halifax County, Virginia: Moody ABBOTT (b abt 1780 - VA) and Moody OWEN (b abt 1802 - VA). Another, William Moody WALKER (b abt 1809 - VA) migrated from Virginia to Henry County, TN. Of the North Carolinians with the given name "Moody", Moody FOWLER (b abt 1793 - NC), of Granville, NC, stands out. In the 1850 Census, he had a William HARRIS living in his household, raising the possibility that the FOWLER and HARRIS family might have been intermarried in generations prior to the marriage of George W. ROPER and Agnes HARRIS. There was also a Moody ROGERS (b abt 1772 - NC) in Wake County, NC, a Moody INGRAM (b abt 1786 - NC), of Richmond County, NC, and a Moody HOUGH (b abt 1800 - NC), of Anson County. * * * It occurred to me that the two "Moody"s from Halifax might suggest the possibility that John ROPER's wife might have been from a family where "Moody" was a given name. This might be a particularly compelling possibility if John ROPER's widow was residing at Roper's Knob after John ROPER's death. She might have suggested "Moody," a name of a father or brother. 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>