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/1932.11.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Bill, Before giving you my thoughts on Charles Roper of Pendleton District, SC, I want to say how much I have been enjoying your most recent posts; very thorough and well-reasoned arguments. I think it is highly likely that the Charles Roper who appears in the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census is a son of Meredith Roper, and that James Roper of Burke County, NC, and David Roper, first of Burke County, NC and then of Pickens, SC, were his brothers. Benjamin Roper of Pendleton District, SC is also probably his brothers. I also think that John Roper of Pendleton District, SC could be a son of Meredith and a brother of Charles Roper. I also think it is highly unlikely that the Charles Roper of Pendleton District, SC is the same person as Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie County, VA. For the purposes of this article, I will limit my discussion to the Pendleton District, SC records on Charles Roper, in an effort to distinguish this Charles Roper from the Charles Roper, Jr. in Dinwiddie, VA. I think the Pendleton District records make a compelling case for my argument. There is also circumstantial evidence that Charles Roper of Pendleton, SC came from Rutherford County, NC, and that his brother David came at a later date. However, that argument is based primarily on circumstantial evidence, which is never as strong as direct evidence. So presently I will stick with Pendleton records in support of my argument. Charles Roper first appears in 1800 Pendleton District, SC census on page 16 of the records of Ancestry.com: Charles Roper 2-1-0-0-1*****4-2-0-1-0*****0-0 Charles Roper is shown as age 45 . His presumed wife is 26-44. There are two males <10 and one male 10-15. There are four females <10 and two females 10-15. There are no slaves. Charles Roper would have been born in 1755 or earlier. Unfortunately, there is no extant population 1800 census record for the Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie County, VA. We do know from the Moore Family Bible that Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie was born on April 19, 1758. Thus, he would only be 42 years of age in 1800, which is inconsistent with the age of 45 for the Charles Roper in the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census. Also, the Charles Roper seen in the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census has three male children in the household, while Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie had only two sons, Goodwyn and Joseph. On page 17 of the Pendleton District, SC census, we find Benjamin Roper: Benj Roper 1-0-0-1-0*****0-0-1-0-0*****0-0 Benjamin is age 26-45. There is one male <10 and a female 16-25. On page 18 of the 1800 Pendleton District, SC census, we find the Merriday Roper and Joshua Roper living four houses apart: Merriday Roper 0-0-0-0-1*****0-0-1-0-1*****0-0 Joshua Roper 1-0-1-0-0*****1-0-1-0-0*****0-0 Merriday and his wife are 45 . There is one other female age 16-25 living in the household. Joshua Roper is shown as age 16-25, with a wife age 16-25, and one male <10 and one female <10. Going the opposite direction in the census records, on page 13, we find Joseph Roper, age 16-25, and the Bracken family, who I have discussed in the post dated June 27, 2014 under the title of "Children of John Roper (b abt 1756-66), of Pendleton, SC". On page 12 of the same census, we find John Roper: John Roper 2-2-0-1-0*****0-0-1-0-0*****0-0 John Roper is shown as age 26-44. There is one female age 16-25 and two males <10 and two males 10-15. There are four more Ropers who appear in the 1800 Pendleton District census, i.e. Gilham Roper, age 16-25; John Roper, age 16-25; Thomas Roper, 45 ; and William Roper, 16-25, which I will not discuss in detail. Charles Roper next appears in the 1810 Pendleton District, SC, census, a few properties away from Abs Roper, on page 20: Chas Roper 1-1-0-0-1*****2-2-1-0-1*****0-0 Abs Roper 2-0-0-1-0*****0-0-1-0-0*****0-0 Charles again is shown as age 45 , with a wife 45 . There are a number of younger family members. Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie appears in the 1810 Dinwiddie County, VA census: Charles Roper 1-1-0-0-1*****0-0-0-0-1 Charles Roper, Jr. is shown as age 45 , with a presumed wife age 45 . They have one male<1-, and one male 10-15 residing in the home. The age of Charles is consistent with his being born in 1758. If Charles Roper of Pendleton, SC and Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie, VA were the same people, they should not be appearing in two different census records at the same time. Charles Roper also appears in the 1820 Pendleton District, SC census on page 41, a few houses from Aaron Roper: Charles Roper 0-0-0-2-0-1*****0-0-0-1-1-1 Aaron Roper 2-2-0-0-1-0*****3-0-0-1-0-3 Charles and his wife are again shown as age 45 . There are 2 males age 16-25 and one female age 26-44. (The last digit is a one, which Ancestry.com identifies as a "foreigner not naturalized". Bill, perhaps you know what this means?) Aaron, who is usually identified by secondary sources as one of the sons of Charles, is shown as age 16-44, with a wife age 26-45, and seven children. In the 1850 Pickens County, SC census, he will be shown as age 66, born in North Carolina. Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie appears in the 1820 Dinwiddie County, VA census: Charles Roper 1-0-1-1-0-1*****1-2-0-1-1 Charles Roper, Jr. is again shown at age 45 , with a presumed wife age 45 . There appears to be a younger family residing with them consisting of a female age 26-44, a female <10, and two females 10-15. Also residing with them are a male 16-25, a male 16-18, and a male <10. If Charles Roper of Pendleton, SC and Charles Roper, Jr. of Dinwiddie, VA were the same person, they should not be appearing in two separate census records. There is one more entry in the 1830 Pickens County, SC district that might show Charles Roper still living in the household of Reuben Roper, who is also considered by secondary sources as a son of Charles Roper: Reuben Roper 1-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0*****0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0 Reuben Roper is shown as age 20-29, with a wife 15-19. There is one male <5. There is a male age 70-79 and a female age 70-79. The older male and female could be Charles Roper and his wife who would have been born 1750-1760, consistent with Charles estimated birth in the 1800 Pendleton census of 1755 or before. His wife's dates are also consistent. Of course, it is possible that the two older people Reuben's census record were the parents of Rueben's wife. I have not done enough research to definitely know whose parents they were. 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>