Map of South Carolina counties
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 sixth great-grandfather John Roper, Jr. (b c1660 d bef1759 VA) in New Kent and Charles City Counties, Virginia in the late 1600s. My fourth great-grandfather, David (b bef1727 VA d 1795 NC), moved to Orange/Caswell County, North Carolina c1760 and on to Burke County, North Carolina c1790.
Benjamin Roper, who I believe is David's son, moved to Pickens County SC c1800. I have much data on the descendants of Benjamin, but little data on the most recent generations of Benjamin's descendants.
There are at least two other Roper families in South Carolina. One "originated" in Charleston with William O. Roper (b c1709 England d 1772 SC). He appears to be a descendant of Thomas Roper (b 1673 London, England d after 1717 Middlesex, England) and Elizabeth Botham. I have some data on William's descendants, but am missing much data. An out-of-print book was written about this family. I have copied it and it is available as a PDF file (You must have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader [free download] to read this file.): Memoirs of a Nonagenarian by John William Soady, 1940 (16.6 MBytes).
| Here is a map of where these Charleston Ropers lived, prepared by William Alexander Roper, Jr. |
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Another South Carolina Roper family "originated" from Charles Roper in Charles City County, Virginia. He migrated to Edgefield County, South Carolina c1790. I have much data on his descendants, but am missing much data for the latest generations. A book about part of this family is A History of the Roper, Stockton, Daniel and Lewis Families, Robert Lamb Roper, rl_roper@prodigy.com, 1994.
South Carolina is relatively full of Ropers. There are more people with the Roper surname per area and per total population than for any other state, mostly in the northwest (Pickens, Greenville, Anderson and Oconee counties). Many of the Ropers currently living in South Carolina are descendants of other Roper families than the three mentioned above. Many come from my North Carolina Roper family.
Notes about Roper documents in South Carolina:
Map of South 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.