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/1923.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bill, First, I want to compliment you on the excellent job you have done in documenting this line of Ropers, starting with John Roper, b. abt. 1756-66, of Pendleton, SC.. I wanted to comment on Joseph Roper, b. abt 1775-82, a possible son of John Roper, b. abt. 1756-66. Joseph Roper may have moved from Pendleton District, SC to Lincoln County, TN sometime after 1800, and may have died sometime before 1830 in Lincoln County, leaving a wife named Martha and at least three sons, Bracken Roper, Joseph Roper, and Joshua Roper. It would not be unexpected that Joseph Roper moved to Tennessee, since it appears that two of John Roper's possible brothers were also in Tennessee at about the same time. David Roper, b. 08 June 1792-SC, d. 17 Apr 1878, apparently had a son named William F. Roper, b. abt. 1819 in Tennessee according to the census records of William F. Roper. Also, John Roper, b. 08 Jan 1788 had a son named John H. Roper, b. abt. 1819 in Tennessee, according to John H. Roper's census records. Joseph Roper makes his only appearance in the Pendleton District, SC census in 1800. He is shown as age 16-25, a presumed wife of 16-25, and one female under 10. A Joseph Roper then appears in an 1820 Lincoln County, Tennessee census according to Ancestry.com images: Joseph Roper 3-2-0-0-0-1*******1-0-0-0-1-0-0-1 Joseph is shown as age 45 , with 3 males <10 and two males 10-15, and one female 45 and another female <10. Three of the individuals are in agriculture. (Bill, I know you have commented on this census record in a post dated March 1, 2014 titled "Roper Households in the 1820 Census of Tennessee" and indicated that the record appears to be for Jefferson County, TN as shown in Ancestry.com. However, Ancestry.com is now showing the record to be for Lincoln County. Correct me if I am wrong.) The age of Joseph Roper in the1820 Lincoln County, TN census is consistent with being the same Joseph Roper in the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census. Joseph Roper does not appear in the 1830 Lincoln County, TN census. However, a Martha Roper is shown as the head of a household in the 1830 Lincoln County census: Martha Roper 0-0-1-1-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0******0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0 Martha is shown as age 60-69. There are two males 20-29, one male 15-19, and one male 10-14. There is one female age 10-14. A John C. Craig can be seen on the same census page. John C. Craig can also be seen on the same page with Joseph Roper in the 1820 Lincoln County census. Martha's age is not consistent with the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census, and is off by 5 years. A document image identified as an 1836 Lincoln County, TN Tax list by Ancestry.com appears to show a Martha Roper owning 75 acres of land worth $200 and also owning 210 acres valued at $250. A Bracken Roper and Joseph Roper are listed below the name of Martha Roper. Neither Bracken Roper nor Joseph Roper is shown to have taxable land. Martha Roper next appears in the 1840 Lincoln County, TN census on page 173 of the Ancestry.com image. She is shown as age 60-69, with one male age 20-29 in the household. Martha Roper's age is now consistent with the 1800 Pendleton District census wherein the wife of Joseph Roper is shown as age 16-25. A Bracken Roper can be found on page 175 of the1840 Lincoln County, TN census: Bracken Roper 0-0-0-0-1-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0******0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Bracken Roper is shown as age 30-39, with a female age 20-29. There is another male in the household who is 30-39, and a male who is 20-29. These two males may be his brothers, Joseph Roper and Joshua Roper, who I will discuss later. I have no opinion on who the female is. Martha Roper is not seen after the 1850 census. Bracken Roper (indexed as Raper) appears in the 1850 Lincoln County, TN census on page 141 as follows; Bracken Roper 44 Place of Birth: NC Rosa 21 ALA Mary 6 TN James 4 TN Martha 2 TN Rosa has been identified by secondary sources as being Rosa Emaline Williams. Bracken Roper next appears in the 1860 Lincoln County, TN census in the image on page 17 of Ancestry.com: Bracken Roper 50 Place of Birth: NC Emiline 32 ALA Mary 15 TN James 13 TN Martha 11 TN Eliza 10 TN Emaline 8 TN William 6 TN Sarah 4 TN Winney 1 TN John Williams 18 ALA Epp Sellery 16 ALA Caroline Williams 49 SC Caroline Williams may be a sister of Bracken Roper, since secondary sources state that Bracken Roper married a William's daughter. To my knowledge, this Bracken Roper does not appear after the 1860 census. I was immediately perplexed by the fact that Bracken Roper states in both the 1850 and 1860 census records that he was born in North Carolina. I would have expected that, if he were the son of Joseph Roper, he would have been born in either South Carolina, where Joseph is seen in 1800, or in Tennessee, where Joseph is seen in 1820. But perhaps this is not an inconsistency. Bracken Roper appears to have been born between1806-1810. The 1850 census states that he was 44, therefore born about 1806, and the 1850 census states he was 50, and therefore born in 1810. Before 1809, Lincoln County, TN did not exist. In 1809, Lincoln County was carved from the southern portion of Bedford County, and bordered Alabama to its south. The southeast corner of the new Lincoln County remained Indian lands until it was incorporated into Lincoln County in 1817. If history serves me right, and correct me if I am wrong, Indian Lands mostly remained a part of North Carolina until that land was all ceded to Tennessee for the formation of additional counties. It is possible that Bracken Roper was born on Indian Land while it was still a part of North Carolina. Many settlers moved into what would become Lincoln County years before its actual formation. Thus, if Joseph and his wife conceived Bracken Roper between 1806 and 1809, he may have in fact been born in North Carolina. I admit that this is an important possible discrepancy. But let's compare that one issue with other circumstantial evidence. Joseph Roper is the only Roper in the 1820 Lincoln County, TN census. He has a wife whose age is 45 , and whose age is consistent with the later census records for Martha Roper, widowed. Joseph Roper is living near John C. Craig in 1820 and Martha Roper, widow, is living next to John C. Craig in 1830. Both Bracken Roper and a Joseph Roper (who I will discuss later) are seen listed next to Martha Roper in the 1836 Tax List. There is also a connection between the Bracken family and Joseph Roper of Pendleton District, SC. On the same census page in the 1800 Pendleton District census, three properties away from Joseph Roper, we will find the following individuals: John Bracken, Jun 0-0-0-1-0*****1-0-0-1-0 John Bracken, Sen 0-0-0-0-1*****0-0-0-0-1 James Bracken 1-0-1-0-0*****1-0-1-0-0 >From circumstantial evidence, I think it is possible that Joseph Roper of Pendleton District, SC married a Martha Bracken, which would explain the name Bracken Roper. Bracken is not your run-of-mill given name. However, there is no extant record showing Martha's surname that I can find. Next, I will discuss the Joseph Roper, who is seen in the 1836 Tax List for Lincoln County, TN. Secondary sources list this person as Joseph Lincoln Roper, b. abt. 1812, Lincoln County, TN. I can find no extant document showing his actual middle name or that he was born in Lincoln County. The Joseph Roper in the 1836 Tax List is obviously not the husband of Martha, since he is shown as owning no land that is taxable, while Martha is shown owning taxable land. However, his name could indicate that he was named after his father. I cannot find a census record for Joseph Roper before 1860. Lack of an 1840 census could be explained because he may be the male age 20-29 living in the home of Bracken Roper in the 1840 census. Why I cannot find him in the 1850 census is unknown to me. I tried "Raper" and could not find it. The 1860 Lincoln County census has this on a Joseph Roper: Joseph Roper 47 Place of Birth: TN Petitha 28 ALA James 14 TN Olla 12 TN Mary 11 TN Emely 9 TN Eliza 7 TN Mary 6 TN Edley 3 TN Sarah 11/12 TN >From this, we notice that Joseph apparently married late in life to a younger woman. Thus, he may have been residing in his brother's home before his marriage. He also named children James, Emely, Mary, and Sarah, similar to the names of Bracken Roper's children. Emely may be the most significant of those names because Bracken Roper's wife was also apparently named Emiline. There is a marriage record which can be found on Ancestry.com which shows the marriage of a Joseph Roper on October 18, 1853 to P Gatlin in Limestone, Al, which is across the border from Lincoln County, TN. Joseph Roper may have had a prior marriage as secondary sources are showing his first marriage to Nancy Giles Merrill, who is shown to have died in 1850 or 1852. If true, this would explain the 14 year old James above in the 1860 census, who is shown by secondary sources as the son of Joseph Roper and Nancy Giles Merrill. Joseph Roper's tombstone shows that he died in 1862 in Lincoln County. Then there is Joshua Roper, another possible son of Joseph Roper and Martha. He first appears by name in the 1850 Lincoln County, TN census, on the same page as Bracken Roper: Joshua Roper 42 Place of birth: TN Dusana 30 TN George 9 TN Martha 6 TN Mills 6 TN James 4 TN Joseph 3 TN Eliza 1 TN Joshua Roper is shown to have married Sophia Jane Haygood in February, 1840, in Lauderdale, AL in a record on Ancestry.com. Joshua Roper appears in the 1860 and 1880 Lincoln County, TN census records, but I will stop here, except to mention one of his sons. In the 1860 census, he has a son named Bracken Roper, age 14. This appears to be the same son named James who is shown as age 4 in the 1850 census. James Bracken "Brack" Roper, as secondary sources call him, is evidenced in his death certificate, which is on Ancestry.com, as J. B. Roper. He was born on August 18, 1847 in Lincoln County, TN to Joshua Roper and to his mother whose maiden name was Haygood, and he died on February 13, 1919 in Lincoln County. Finally, there is a land grant to Joshua Roper dated April 15, 1846 in Lincoln County, TN, the image of which is on Ancestry.com. I will not transcribe that record here, but will indicate that the land is described as lying on the waters of Kelly's Creek at the branch of Elk River in Lincoln County. A portion of the left hand side of the deed is cut off, but it mentions that the granted land abuts Roper's northwest corner. The Elk River meanders through Lincoln County and crosses into Limestone County, AL, where it meets the Tennessee River. Recall that Joseph Roper and P. Gatlin married in Limestone, AL. 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>