Re: Thomas F. ROPER (b abt 1844 - AL, d 14 May 1864), of Bibb County, AL
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In reply to:
Thomas F. Roper b.ca. 1843 living in Bibb Co, AL in 1860s
ron griffin 12/17/03
The most readily apparent candidates would seem to me to be these Thomas ROPERs from the 1860 United States Census:
Thomas ROPER, age 14 (b abt 1846 - AL), of Autuagaville, Autauga County, AL
Thomas J. ROPER, age 17 (b abt 1843 - AL), of Calhoun County, AL
Thomas E. ROPER, age 15 (b abt 1845 - TN), of Sugar Creek, Lawrence County, TN
Thomas ROPER, age 18 (b abt 1842 - KY), of Obion County, TN
Thomas ROPER, age 17 (b abt 1843 - VA), of Alleghany, VA
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There are also two Thomas ROPERs, of age 17, in Clinton, IL, as well as a Thomas ROPER, of age 17, in Raisin, Lenawee, MI.These seem to be both sufficiently geographically distant AND away from primary migration paths to AL that they may be ruled out.
Thomas ROPER, of Autauga, AL, was the son of J. T. ROPER, age 50, and Elizabeth ROPER, age 45, both born in SC.J. T. ROPER was a Minister (M.E.).
Thomas J. ROPER, of Calhoun, AL, was the son of Samuel H. ROPER, age 45 and Sarah ROPER, age 41.
Thomas E. ROPER, Lawrence County, TN, was the son of James ROPER, age 60, and Edney ROPER, age 49, each born in NC.
Thomas ROPER, of Obion County, TN, was residing inthe household of Willis and Amanda WARDEN in 1860.
Thomas ROPER, of Alleghany, VA, was the son of Thomas ROPER, age 51, and Arianna ROPER, age 45, each of whom was born in VA.
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Thomas J. ROPER and Thomas E. ROPER would appear to be disqualified based upon their identified middle initials (if the middle initial "F." you show is reliable).
Today, Bibb County and Autauga County are separated by Chilton County, but are still only about ten miles apart from their closest points.But Chilton County was created from from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby counties by act of the AL legislature on 30 Dec 1868, so we may reasonably surmise that these were ADJACENT at the outbreak of the Civil War.
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Thomas ROPER, age 14 (b abt 1846 - AL), of Autuagaville, Autauga County, AL, would appear to me to be your BEST candidate based upon both geography and age.He probably padded his age a bit to enlist and the age reported in teh Census is NOT particularly reliable anyway.
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I also took a look at the Thomas ROPERs in AL at the date of the 1850 Census for additional confirmation:
Ths ROPER, age 8, of Benton County, AL, son of S. H. ROPER, age 35, and S. ROPER, age 28, would appear to be the same child as Thomas J. ROPER, of Calhoun, AL, was the son of Samuel H. ROPER, age 45 and Sarah ROPER, age 41.
Thomas ROPER, age 6, son of John R. ROPER, age 41, and Elizabeth ROPER, age 31, of Macon COunty, AL, IS very clearly the SAME Thomas who is later found in Autuagaville, Autauga County, AL.Though there is a slight discrepancy in HIS AGE and the age (6 vd 14) of his parents ages (41 vs 50 and 31 vs 45, the NAMES of the parents, their places of birth (SC), the names sequence and ages of the other children in the household AND the mention that John ROPER is a Minister (M.E.) make this unmistakenly the SAME household.
Moreover, we now have two differing estimates of this Thomas ROPER's age and implicitly his year of birth: age 6 in 1850 = 1844 or age 14 in 1860 = 1846.And you are looking for a Thomas F. ROPER, born in 1843.This Thomas ROPER seems most likely to be your man:Thomas F. ROPER (babt 1844 - AL,d 14 May 1864), of Bibb County, AL.
More Replies:
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Re: Thomas F. ROPER (b abt 1844 - AL, d 14 May 1864), of Bibb County, AL
Cindy Kirschke 11/16/05