I have worked for over forty years on the Roper family history in the United States and England.

My Roper ancestry goes back to my fifth great-grandfather Charles Roper (b c1720 prob England d bef 1793 VA). His twelve children were born in Dinwiddie Co. VA.. My fourth great-grandfather, David (b 1742 Dinwiddie VA d 1892 Edgefield SC), may have moved to Orange/Caswell County, North Carolina c1760 and on to Burke County, North Carolina c1790.

One David's sons who was several places in NC was Meredith Roper. I call him the "Mysterious Meredith Roper" because of the way he disappeared in one place and then appeared in another place so often.

A great-grandson of David was Moses Roper, who is well-known in African-American studies for his account of slavery and his escape from it. I have prepared a chronology of Moses Roper's life. An exhibit about Moses Roper was at Apalachicola Florida in 2021.

There is at least one other Roper family in North Carolina, which "originated" with Richard Roper (b c1700 Fauquier Co. VA d 1782 Greensville VA on the NC border); some of his descendants lived in North Carolina.

Some books that contain information about these Ropers are:

• The Hoffmans of North Carolina, Max Ellis Hoffman, Miller Printing Co., Asheville NC, 1938.
• Burke, The History of a North Carolina County, 1777-1920, Rev. Ed., Edward W. Phifer, Jr., Burke Co. Hist. Soc., 1982.
• The Heritage and Descendants of David Tallant 1784-1856 of Georgia, Winnie Bramblett Tallant (3084 Canton Hwy, Cumming GA 30310) and Nancy Tribble Heard (3067 Bunker Hill Rd, Marietta GA 30062, c1990.

Notes about Roper documents in North Carolina:

• The First Two Centuries of Ropers in North Carolina (1600-1799)
• The Third Century of Ropers in North Carolina (1800-1899)
• The Fourth Century of Ropers in North Carolina (1900-1999)

These documents do not include the documents that specifically refer to Burke County, North Carolina. For those documents see Roper Family of Burke Co. NC.

Timelines for North Carolina data:

• 1600-1799 (81 kbytes)
• 1800-1999 (98 kbytes)

Map of North Carolina counties

I have many data on the Roper family in England. The northern United States Ropers, who descend from John Roper who came from England to Massachusetts c1637, are well connected back to England. (I have many data on this family.) Despite large efforts by me and others, only one of the southern Roper families connection to England is known. I continue to work and hope for finding those connections.

I am providing my computer as the repository of Roper family data. I wish to collect all Roper family data that I can. Please contact me and tell me all you know (names, dates and places of births, marriages and deaths) about your Roper ancestry. (I like to have details about parents of spouses, also; that often helps to make family connections.

L. David Roper genealogy web page.
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