Chesterfield County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Roper, Samuel, 1811 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ Samuel ROPER, will, 6 Nov 1811 (10 Feb 1812) nuncupative codicil, 26 Jan 1812 (8 Jun 1812) S. Roper's} Will } I, Samuel ROPER of Chesterfield county, do make and ordain this to be my last will and testament in the following form and manner, to wit. Item. I lend for the use and benefit of my well beloved wife Ritter Roper in lieu of her dower the tract of Land I now live on, containing by estimation, one hundred and sixty four and half acres; Also all my other estate after my Just debts are paid, which I lend her during her natural life and no longer but provided she should marry, I give unto her only half of the above estate and no more. Item. I give and devise unto my Daughter Salley TAYLOR the sum of six hundred dollars, to be paid unto her by my executors, to her and her heirs forever. Item. I give and devise unto my daughter Eleander JORDAN the sum of seven hundred dollars, to be paid unto her by my executors, to her and her heirs forever. Item. I give and devise unto my son John ROPER the tract of Land I now live on containing by estimation one hundred and sixty four and a half acres, at the death of his mother, to him and his heirs forever. Item. I also desire that after my wife’s death the above legacies be made out and given to my children, Sally and Elender [sic; Eleander], and the balance of my estate to be equally divided amongst all of my children, namely Salley TAYLOR, Joseph ROPER, Elender JORDAN, and John ROPER, to them and their heirs. Also my will and pleasure is that Moses should be near his wife, and not to be sold or carried off, but to live with any one of my Children most Convenient to his wife. And Lastly I appoint & ordane [sic; ordain] [page break] [p.] 504) my son John ROPER and John JORDAN executors of this my last will and testament, revoking and making void all former Wills made by me, declaring this to be my last will. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and eleven. Signed, Sealed and Acknow-} Samuel ROPER (seal) ledged in the presence of } Reuben WINFREE Royall MARTIN Benjamin WATKINS In Chesterfield county court February the 10th 1812 The last will and testament of Samuel ROPER deceased was proven by the oath of Reuben WINFREE and Royall MARTIN subscribing Witnesses and ordered to be recorded. John ROPER and John JORDAN the executors therein named renounced their right to qualify which was ordered to be entered of record. On the motion of Ritter ROPER who took the oath prescribed by law, and entered into bond with security conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted her for obtaining letters of Administration in due form on the estate of the said Samuel ROPER deceased with his Examined - will annexed. teste Parke POINDEXTER C. ___________________ ROPER exectx. Know all men by these presents, that we Ritter ROPER, of } Bond John ROPER and John JORDAN are held and firmly ROPER ŻŻŻŻŻŻ bound unto Daniel BOISSEAU, Edmund LOCKETT, William N. TRAYLOR and William TRABUE, Gentlemen Justices of the court of Chesterfield now sitting, in the Just and full sum of five Thousand dollars to the payment whereof well and truly to be made to the said Justices, and their successors, we bind ourselves, and each of us, our and each of our heirs, executors and Administrators, Jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals and dated this 10th day of February one thousand eight [hundred] and twelve and in the 36th year of the Commonwealth. The condition of the above obligation is such, that if the said Ritter ROPER Administratrix, of Samuel ROPER deceased with his will annexed do make a true and perfect [page break] [p.] (505 Inventory of all and singular the Goods, chattels and credits of the said deceased, which have or shall come to their hands; possession or knowledge of her the said Ritter ROPER or into the hands or possession of any other person or persons for her the said Ritter ROPER and the same so made do exhibit into the said county court, at such time as she shall be thereto required by the said court, & the same goods, chattels and credits, do well and truly administer according to Law, and make a Just and true account of all her Actings and doings therein, when thereunto required by the said Court. And further do well and truly pay and deliver all the legacies contained and specified in the said Will as far as the said goods, chattles and credits will extend, according to the value thereof and as the law shall charge her then this obligation to be void, or else to remain in full force. Ritter ROPER (seal) Signed, sealed and acknow- } John ROPER (seal) ledged and delivered in the } John JORDAN (seal) presince of the court sitting } & ordered to be recorded. } Examined teste P. POINDEXTER C. } ___________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ [document end] ****************************************************************************** ___________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Reuben WINFREE's Certificate I hereby certify that on the 26th day of January 1812 I ______ I was cold [sic; underlined] upon by Samuel ROPER that he gave to his son ŻŻŻŻŻ John ROPER a watch that was hanging up in the house that he had not mentioned in his will_ Witness my hand this date above. Reuben WINFREE - In Chesterfield County Court June 8th 1812. This certificate was acknowledged by Reuben WINFREE and ordered to be recorded - teste, (Examined) Parke POINDEXTER C. ___________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ [document end] ****************************************************************************** Chesterfield Co., VA, Will Book 7 (1808-1813), pp. 503-05, 550 The Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA. Chesterfield Co. Microfilm Reel 28. ****************************************************************************** NOTES: 1: Samuel ROPER's DOB and the identity of his father is presently UNCLEAR. The ascription of this Samuel ROPER as a son of Shadrach ROPER by some secondary sources is almost certainly ERRONEOUS and ought to be given no weight. Those showing Shadrach ROPER as the father would be well counseled to disconnect this Samuel and delete the reference, though Shadrach ROPER clearly did have a son named Samuel. 2: This is almost certainly the Samuel ROPER who is found in the Personal Property Tax List for Charles City County in 1782 with one slave named "Moses". 3: Secondary sources show Samuel ROPER's wife as Henrietta CLARKE. The primary sources supporting this ascription are unknown to me, but "Ritter" seems to very possibly be a nickname for Henrietta. The date of the marriage is unknown, however it seems likely to be abt 1778. 4: Some secondary sources show this Samuel ROPER as having a son named Samuel ROPER [Jr.]. This is most likely based upon the wording of the will of Susannah ROPER, who included bequests to her brother Samuel ROPER, as well as to Samuel ROPER Jr. But Susannah ROPER died in Powhatan, probably near the residence of the late Shadrach ROPER, who also had a son named Samuel. The Samuel ROPER Jr. of her will may very well refer to Shadrach ROPER's son. I have found no other record suggesting that this Samuel ROPER had a son named Samuel. IF there was a son of this name, it seems that he died young. 5: A marriage bond exists for the marriage of Littleberry TAYLOR and Sarah ("Sally") ROPER. The bond is dated 23 Feb 1797. Samuel ROPER consented to the marriage, suggesting that Sarah was under age 21 at this time. Secondary sources show Sarah ROPER as born 11 Nov 1779, which seems likely to be correct, though I am unfamiliar with the authority for this assertion. Secondary sources are showing the date of the marriage as 25 Feb 1796. The date, two days after the marriage bond, seems likely to be correct. If the year shown in the abstract of the marriage bonds is correct, then the secondary sources have the YEAR wrong. I have not yet seen the underlying marriage bond, but find the published date on 1797 more credible than the unsourced information given by secondary sources. 6: Secondary sources show Eleander ROPER married to John JORDAN with a date of marriage of 10 Feb 1801. John JORDAN is named as a co-executor in Samuel's will. This information seems likely to be correct. This John JORDAN may very well be the son of Robert JORDAN and Elizabeth ROPER, Samuel ROPER's sister. If so, Eleander ROPER has married her first cousin. Robert and Elizabeth ROPER JORDAN also had a daughter named Eleander. This Eleander JORDAN is mentioned in Susannah ROPER's will a decade before John and Eleander married. 7: Secondary sources show this Samuel ROPER as b abt 1756. I am aware of no authority for this date, other than a possible misascription of the implicit date of Samuel PAYNE's birth (see Note #8). It seems likely that Samuel ROPER was at least age 16 when Sarah ROPER (11 Nov 1779) was born, putting his year of birth bef 1763. I do not believe that a more specific date can be imputed given currently available data. 8: Within the book "Death Notices from Richmond, Virginia Newspapers, 1821- 1840", published by the Virginia Genealogical Society (1987), there appears at page 262 the following entry: "Died yesterday at his res. in this city, Mr. Samuel ROPER, age 63. Served in Revolution. RC [Richmond Compiler], May 5, 1821, p.3." I have checked the pages of the Richmond Compiler for the indicated date. The obituary appearing on that page is for a Samuel PAYNE (b abt 1758, d 04 May 1821 - Richmond, VA), NOT a Samuel ROPER. I posted a transcription of the Samuel PAYNE obituary at the RootsWeb PAYNE Message Board at: "Death Notice of Samuel PAYNE (b abt 1758, d 04 May 1821 - Richmond, VA)" [19 Sep 2010 3:19PM] http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.payne/6307/mb.ashx IT IS UNCLEAR TO ME WHETHER THERE EXISTS ANOTHER DEATH NOTICE FOR A SAMUEL ROPER AT OR NEAR THIS DATE, BUT I AM NOT AWARE OF ANOTHER SUCH DEATH NOTICE. Samuel ROPER (d bef 10 Feb 1812 - Chesterfield), of Chesterfield, died leaving a will dated 06 Nov 1811, which was proved & ordered recorded on 10 Feb 1812. Some secondary sources show this Samuel ROPER's date of birth as abt 1756-8. I am aware of no specific evidence supporting the ascription of the date of birth of Samuel ROPER as abt 1756-8, UNLESS someone has both ascribed the DOB from this apparently erroneous death notice abstract for Samuel PAYNE and then COMBINED the erroneous ascribed DOB (which would seem to apply to Samuel PAYNE) to the record of Samuel ROPER who died abt 1811-2. Secondary sources, including Dr. L. David ROPER's ROPER family history database, are also (at the date of this post) showing Samuel ROPER of Chesterfield as having DIED on 06 Nov 1811. Perhaps this is correct* IF Samuel died the same day he executed his Will (06 Nov 1811). I am unfamiliar with any primary evidence supporting this asserted date of death. [*date incorrect; see Note #9] Based upon known primary evidence, I would more conservatively show Samuel ROPER (d bef 10 Feb 1812 - Chesterfield). I would REMOVE any ascription of b abt 1756-8, UNLESS and until someone can come forward with a primary record which would support this assertion. Also, some are showing Samuel ROPER (d bef 10 Feb 1812 - Chesterfield) as being the son of Shadrach ROPER. Although Shadrach ROPER had a son named Samuel, I believe that this is an ERRONEOUS ascription. I do NOT believe that this Samuel ROPER was Shadrach ROPER's son. I will elaborate in subsequent topical posts relating additional primary information. [see Notes #1 & 4, above] 9: While the practical effect of the additional specific bequest [nuncupative codicil] of the watch is generally minimal, it is of some significance from a genealogical consequence, as this certificate seems to show that Samuel ROPER was still alive on 26 Jan 1812. Since Samuel's will was dated 06 Nov 1811 and proved on 10 Feb 1812, this codicil significantly narrows the window during which Samuel must have died (between 26 Jan 1812 and 10 Feb 1812). It might be worth checking the individual issues of Richmond area newspapers during this two week interval to see whether an obituary can be located. These documents & notes were originally posted to the ROPER family message board (2010): http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.roper/1670/mb.ashx Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by William A. Roper, Jr. (waroper@pobox.com), and re-formatted by File Manager Matt Harris. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/cheserfield/wills/r160s1wl.txt