This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Rosser, Wilson, Willson, Rives, RIEVES, Harris, Quarles, Meade Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1939.16/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There are several published sources which memorialize Brunswick marriages. Though there are only a handful of ROPER and ROSSER marriages of note in the Colonial and early Federal period, I mention each of these as a finding aid for those interested in a further investigation of the allied and related families in Brunswick. The first compilation seems to have been the book Marriage Bonds and Ministers' Returns of Brunswick County, 1750-1810, compiled by Catherine Lindsay KNORR (Pine Bluff, Ark, The Perdue Co., for Catherine Lindsay KNORR, 1953). Mrs. KNORR seems to have taken great pains in researching and comparing alternative primary sources of both bonds and ministers returns both at the Brunswick County Counthouse and at the Virginia State Library and Archives. This compilation gives very specific citations to the source in which Mrs. KNORR found the information abstracted. I found this book at the North Carolina State Library. It had Library of Congress Catalogue No. GR 929.3 V8br K72m. The first ROPER mention is at page 39: "26 October 1809. Henry HARRIS and Mary M. ROPER. Married by the Rev. Peter WYNNE. Ministers' Returns, p. 389." A ROSSER marriage appears at page 81: "-- May 1791. Benjamin RIEVES (or RIVES) and Bethea ROSSER, widow. Sur. John ROSSER. Wit. W. EDWARDS and George LITTLE. 20 W(1) 195 says 'Bathin.' Also Wm. & M. Q. (1) Vol. 28 (1920) p. 168. p. 23." * * * * * A subsequent compilation of Brunswick marriages appeared a couple of decades lates and was more formally published: Marriage Records of Brunswick County, Virginia, 1730-1852, compiled by Augusta B. FOTHERGILL (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1976). Ms. FOTHERGILL seems to have drawn on Mrs. KNORR's previous volume, perhaps with permission. Ms. FOTHERGILL's compilation has the advantage of extending the marriages included by four decades, but she does not take the same care as Mrs. KNORR in identifying her sources. Even so, this is also a helpful source that is meritworthy of further consultation. I also found this book at the North Carolina State Library. It had Library of Congress Call Number GR 929.3 V8br F761m 1730/1852. This Volume is also shown to have Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 75-34969 and ISBN 0-8063-0704-8. This volume is likely to be far more readily available at more libraries than the privately printed KNORR compilation. The first mention I have in my notes from the FOTHERGILL compilation is at apge 28: "25 Feb. 1775 DAVIS m Mary ROSSER, dau. of John (W.B. IV, 471)" Next is this ROSSER mention at page 99: "* May 1791 REIVES, Benajmin Jr. Bathin ROSSER, John ROSSER, sec." No ROPER marriages are shown in this volumen. * * * * * The most academically rigorous and recent compilation is that titled (Brunswick County Marriages, 1750-1853, compiled by John VOGT and T. William KETHLEY, Jr. (Athens, Georgia: Iberian Publishing Co., 1988). I also found this compilation in the North Carolina State Library. It had Library of Congress Call Number 929.3 V8br V886b 1750/1853 and has ISBN 0-935-931-40-6. The VOGT compilation show at page 114 the marriage of Jeremiah ROPER and Patsey WILSON on 22 Dec 1785. The bondsman is shown to be Moses QUARLES, Jr. Patsey WILSON is shown to be a daughter of John WILSON. The witness is shown to be Andrew MEADE and the marriage seems to have been performed by Thoams LUNDIE, Rector of St. Andrews Parish. At page 115, this compilation also shows the marriage of David ROSSER and Betty RIEVES on 03 Nov. 1778. Benjamin RIEVES is shown to be the bondsman and there is an indication that Benjamin also consented to the marriage, suggesting that he might have been the father. Benjamin RIEVES Jr. and Mary RIEVES are shown to be witnesses to this marriage. The aforementioned marriage ot Mary ROPER and Henry HARRIS on 26 Oct 1809 is shown at page 254. Peter WYNNE is again shown as the minister performing this marriage. On page 255, the aforementioned marriage of Bethea ROSSER to Benjamin RIEVES in May 1791 is shown. Again, Bethea ROSSER is shown to be a widow. John ROSSER is identified as a bondsman. Witnesses are shown to be W. EDWARDS and George LITTLE. * * * * * NOTE 1: The most significant of these marriages for ROPER genealogy is probably that of Jeremiah ROPER to Patsey WILSON, daughter of John WILSON. Jeremiah ROPER appears in several other places within the Brunswick records. Jeremiah ROPER is shown to be a witness (along with Moses QUARLES, Jr.) to the deed of Joel and Ann BIGGS for 50 acres of land on Hickory Run dated 07 Dec 1784 [Brunswick Deed Book 14, Page 128]. Similarly, Jeremiah ROPER is shown to be a witness (together with David ROPER) to the deed of John HARVEY of a parcel on Red Oak Creek on 14 Jan 1785 [Brunswick Deed Book 14, Page 114]. NOTE 2: Moses QUARLES is shown to have witnessed the deed of conveyance of a 200 acre parcel on the South side of the Nottoway River joining John DAVIS and Cabbin Branch purchased by Charles ROPER, of Dinwiddie, from Hugh and Elizabeth WILLIAMS on 28 Sep 1767 [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 9, Page 46]. NOTE 3: Moses QUARLES, Jr. appears in a number of records together with the ROPERs. Moses QUARLES was the trustee of a 22 Oct 1790 deed of trust for land on Red Oak Creek granted to him as trustee by Thomas HARVEY. This deed of trust mentions William MOORE and David ROPER acting as securities for Thomas HARVEY, as well as Benjamin ROPER, as witness [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 43]. Moses QUARLES, Jr., is shown as a witness together with David ROPER, Moses QUARLES and William MOORE of a 28 Jan 1788 conveyance of 78 1/2 acres from John QUARLES, Sr., to James QUARLES, Jr. [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 14, page 404]. This property is shown to adjoin the property of both David ROPER and William ROPER. NOTE 4: In William ROPER's deed of 06 Aug 1791 to his brother Joel ROPER, James QUARLES is shown to be an immediate neighbor of William ROPER's near the head of Red Oak Creek. Benjamin ROPER, Benjamin MOORE and David ROPER are shown to be the witnesses to William ROPER's deed [Brunswick Deed Book 15, Page 182]. Joel and Lucy ROPER then conveyed this same parel to James QUARLES, Sr., on 27 Feb, 1792. Moses QUARLES, Jr., Benjamin ROPER, William MOORE and David ROPER were witnesses to this second conveyance [Brunswick, VA, Deed Book 15, Page 231]. James QUARLES then reconveyed this parcel back to William ROPER on 02 Jan 1793, with David ROPER, Charles MOORE, William MOORE and Benjamin MOORE serving as witnesses [Brunswick Deed Book 15, page 439]. William ROPER gave a deed of trust to the Estate of Charles ROPER in respect of this latter transaction [Brunswick Deed Book 15, page 441]. NOTE 5: It seems likely that Jeremiah ROPER was probably age 21 by the date he witnessed the Joel BIGGS conveyance in 1784 (b bef 1764). Jeremiah ROPER's appearance on deeds involving land at or near Red Oak Creek and Hickory Run is suggestive of a close connection to David ROPER and William ROPER, each of whom resided there at the date of these transactions. Jeremiah ROPER could have been a son of David ROPER (b 29 Jun 1742), though if this is the case he seems likely to have been one of David ROPER's eldest children. 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. But the marriage on 22 Dec 1785 would seem to suggest that Jeremiah was probably an adult of about age 20 to 21 at the date of that marriage. 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>