Sylvester Howard Roper, American Inventor

(www.roperld.com)

Sylvester/Silvester Howard/Hayward Roper (b 1823 Francestown, Hillsborough, NH d Jun 1896 Cambridge, Middlesex, MA), builder of steam motorcycles and automobiles. He lived in Roxbury MA and died in 1896 in Cambridge MA while demonstrating his steam motorcycle. The motorcyle is in the Smithsonian Institution.
Does anyone know who his ancestors are? There was a Roper Caloric Machine in New York City. Was it Sylvester Roper's?

All that is known about Sylvester Hayward Roper's ancestry is that his parents are Merrick Roper bc1792 Sterling, Worcester, MA c 19 Feb 1861 and Susan Fairbanks b Francestown, Hillsborough, NH. Descendants of Merrick Roper and Susan Fairbanks.

Sylvester Roper steam motorcycle on display at the Smithsonian. From a Smithsonian Institute web page.

Here are some web pages about his steam motorcycle. (One is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.):

• http://www.lindsaybks.com/gallery/Jorg/cycle/index.html
• http://www.lindsaybks.com/bks2/moto/index.html
• http://www.freckleface.com/oldlocomotiveandenginebooks.html
• http://silverstone.fortunecity.com/porsche/651/history.html
• http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_54_1.html
• Induction into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame 2002
• http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/motorcycle.htm
• http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/collection/object_271.html
• http://www.cvmg.on.ca/virtualmuseum1.php
• http://home.ama-cycle.org/forms/museum/classic/bike.asp?id=3
• http://home.ama-cycle.org/membersonly/museum/images/b3/classic_600.jpg
• http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/steambike/steambike.htm
• http://stroked.virtualave.net/page1.shtml
• http://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=159

The first cartridge repeater shotgun was invented by Roper in 1866. This was Sylvester Howard Roper. Here are some articles about the gun:

• http://www.ducks.org/media/Magazine/stories/Great_moments_Waterfowling.asp
• http://www.gunbooksales.com/rifles.htm
• http://armscollectors.com/gunhistorydates.htm
• http://oldguns.net/cgi-bin/f2f/f2f.pl?http://oldguns.net/newsletter/nl5.shtml
• http://www.19thcenturyweapons.com/gallerypages/roperpouch.html (Pictures of old leather shell pouches for the Roper repeating shotgun.)
• http://www.ducks.org/media/Magazine/stories/Great_moments_Waterfowling.asp ("In 1868, another Englishman, Sylvester Roper, patented the first removable choke tube as part of his design for a revolving-action shotgun. Roper’s cumbersome repeater failed to attract a following, and, consequently, his ingenious choke system faded into obscurity as well.)
• http://www.fineantiquearms.com/CatALG1.htm (has a partial picture of the gun; price $1950)
• http://www.trafalgar-mlc.fsnet.co.uk/journal/autumn-2002.htm ("The system patented by Sylvester Roper in America in 1866 which employed a very short screw-on choke might just be tolerated but the improvement in performance is so slight that it may not be considered worth the trouble. Also the Roper system is really only seriously practicable on single barrel guns.")
• http://www.westc.co.za/chokes.htm ("The first patent for choke boring was for a detachable muzzle device by Sylvester Roper on April 10, 1866.")
• http://www.gunbooksales.com/webspec2.htm
• http://www.angelfire.com/tx/ShotGun/INFO/AllOutdoors/choke_tubes_r.html ("S.H. Roper actually patented a screw-in choke in 1866...but it took many decades for the idea to catch on.")

Sylvester Howard Roper's ancestry: RoperSylvesterHoward.pdf