This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Cowley Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/804.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: In the post above from 2006, I noted that the Jesse ROPER mentioned in the indicated advertisement might have been either Jesse ROPER (b 31 May 1751), son of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN, or Jesse ROPER, son of Shadrach ROPER: > This Jesse ROPER seems most likely to be either Jesse ROPER (b 31 May 1751), son > of Charles ROPER and Anne GOODWYN, or Jesse ROPER, son of Shadrach ROPER. A > careful study of the personal property tax records for Chesterfield, Henrico, Powhaton and > Richmond may distinguish which Jesse ROPER lived in Richmond and once ran the Ordinary. I subsequently studied the family of Shadrach ROPER and have conclusively established that Shadrach ROPER's son was Jesse ROPER (b 26 Aug 1781 - Powhatan, VA, d 03 Sep 1861 - Howard, MO). Clearly, Shadrach ROPER's son was NOT EVEN BORN at the date of this advertisement. While at first blush, this might seem to conclusively establish that the Jesse ROPER identified in the advertisement was Jesse ROPER (b 31 May 1751), son of Charles ROPER and Ann GOODWYN, this may NOT be correct either. Since NO ONE seems to want to be related to this Jesse ROPER, NO THOROUGH STUDY of the Henrico records has EVER BEEN UNDERTAKEN. If the Jesse ROPER mentioned in the ad is Charles ROPER's son, he is only age 19 at the date of the advertisement. Thus, to ascribe this record to Charles ROPER's son, we must necessarily conclude that not only had Jesse ROPER already married Theodocia COWLEY by 1770, but that Theodocia's mother Mary had died and that Charles, at age nineteen, was already running the ordinary following her death. I should probably further QUALIFY this assertion in that I have NEVER SEEN ANY PRIMARY RECORD which supports the assertion that Jesse ROPER's wife was named Theodocia COWLEY, NOR that Theodocia was a daughter of Mary COWLEY. I HAVE seen records, such as the advertisement, showing that there is some close family connection between the ROPERs and the COWLEYs, however someone may have either GUESSED or MADE UP the missing details. We almost certainly need to obtain and transcribe the COWLEY probate records to be more certain of the relationships. * It seems to me that there is a non-trivial possibility that there was another different and OLDER Jesse ROPER who may have intermarried with the COWLEYs. While it is POSSIBLE that Jesse ROPER, of Henrico, was Charles ROPER's son, this seems to me to be far from certain because members of this ROPER family have simply REFUSED TO DO any basic research and instead have fabricated other evidence and created false lineages to New Kent. This is unfortunate, since getting this family's history right would probably clear up a LOT of jumbled ROPER lineages! 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>