This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: waroper Surnames: Roper, Ainsworth Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1925.1.1.1.1.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There is another rather stark possiblity that must NOT be discounted and which, given the dates and facts, actually seems not simply plausible, but even perhaps LIKELY. This is the possibility that the James ROPER shown in the 1850 Census record of James and Margaret ROPER is the very James AINSWORTH that you seek! * Realize that I have ASSUMED that the Mary ROPER living in James ROPER's household in 1850 is his daughter-in-law. But there is certainly ANOTHER rather stark possibility and that this Mary may be James and Margaret ROPER's DAUGHTER. That is, we KNOW that a Mary ROPER married a William AINSWORTH. We also know that there is a person with the given name Mary living in James and Margaret ROPER's household. Here is the Census data again: United States Census -- 1850 District 12, Monroe, Tennessee [29 Oct 1850] James ROPER, age 64, , Male, Farmer, Born NC Margarett ROPER, age 50, Female, Born VA Mary ROPER, age 28, Female, Born Tn James ROPER, age 8, Male, Born Tn Margarett ROPER, age 1, Female, Born Tn In my post, I stated: "We can surmise from this Census record that James and Margaret ROPER are likely to be married to one another. Mary ROPER, age 28, seems likely to be a widowed daughter-in-law. The two grandchildren seem to be named for their grandparents. James ROPER has probably exaggerated his age, as children sometimes do." * * * Compare the 1860 Census record for Joseph McLEMORE: United States Census -- 1860 District 5, Roane, Tennessee Joseph L. McLEMORE, age 45, Laborer, born Tenneessee Mary McLEMORE, age 35, Female, born Tenneessee Archar A. McLEMORE, age 17, Male, Laborer, born Tenneessee Louesa [sic] McLEMORE, age 7, Female, born Tenneessee Isaabella T. McLEMORE, age 4, Female, born Tenneessee Albert W. Y. McLEMORE, age 1/12, Male, born Tenneessee Margaret ROPER, age 12, Female, born Tenneessee James A. ROPER, age 18, Male, born Tenneessee Margaret ROPER, age 55, Female, born Virginia * * * Suppose that William and Mary Roper AINSWORTH named their first child after his maternal grandfather, thus James R. [possibly ROPER] AINSWORTH. Further suppose that a later child is named for his grandmother, Margaret (McNally) ROPER. Further suppose that William AINSWORTH DIED (or was simply ELSEWHERE) in 1850. It seems quite plausible to me that the Census enumerator simply got the SURNAME of Mary and the children WRONG. He might have simply neglected to ask. Later, Mary (Roper) AINSWORTH remarried Joseph L. McLEMORE. What name to show on the marriage record is always problematic. Should the maiden name be shown or the married name? Of course, Mary's children came along with her. They are again shown to be ROPERs. But they may have simply grown up in their grandparent's hosuehold and never really known their deceased father well. For that matter, the information may have been given to the Census enumerator by one of the children rather than by Mary Roper McLEMORE. Margaret McNally ROPER is also living in this McLEMORE household. Which is MORE natural? Would Margaret ROPER, at age 55, be living with her DAUGHTER or with a DAUGHTER-IN-LAW? While in the 1860 Census record, James is shown AGAIN as a ROPER rather than an AINSWORTH, note that his middle initial is given as an "A". The James ROPER shown in the 1850 Census record is very clearly the SAME James ROPER enumerated in 1860 residing in Joseph L. McLEMORE's household. He is shown as age 8 in 1850 and age 18 in 1860. I found NO TRACE of this James ROPER AFTER 1860. I assumed that he was probably a Civil War casualty. But if he was actually a James R. AINSWORTH, this would explain both the disappearance of James ROPER and the new appearance of James R. AINSWORTH in Missouri, harmonizing the data. * Under this possible construction, Mary Roper AINSWORTH and Francis Yewell ROPER would have been first cousins (ASSUMING that James ROPER and John ROPER are brothers). James R. AINSWORTH would have been John H. ROPER's second cousin. James AINSWORTH IS shown in this 1870 record to be born in Georgia. But he is PRECISELY TEN YEARS older than the James ROPER shown in the 1860 Census data. * * * What else do you know about this James AINSWORTH? Have you found other records for him before or after 1870? Have you found an 1880 or 1900 Census record? Do you know when and where this James AINSWORTH died? 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>