Thousands boarded cramped, disease-ridden ships to travel to the frontiers of America full of hope and promise; however, they often arrived sick, poor, and hungry. If they survived the journey, they were most often welcomed to a land with far greater opportunity than their home. “One of the first documented Roper immigrants is Philip Roper. He was known to have been transported to Virginia as a servant to John Bayley aboard the ship William & Thomas on August 24th, 1618” (www.archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com). Another early immigrant was Clement Roper, age 25, and was amongst the passengers aboard the “Southampton” sailing from London to Virginia in 1623 (www.boards.ancestry.com). Along with Clement, John Roper, Sr., also decided to travel to the New World to find a better life. He, his wife, and sons traveled aboard the Rose for New England, in 1637, and assisted in founding a community in Dedham, Massachusetts. He also was among those who committed to finish building a church and established a “fre schoole” (www.roperid.com ). The school’s purpose was to “…teach to read English and the Accidence (Grammar) and to write and the knowledge and art of Arithmetic and the rules and practice thereof” …show more content…
The average life expectancy was unusually short, the Roper’s lived to mid-30’s. This might indicate that the Roper ancestors lived in harsh conditions or indicate health problems that were once prevalent. Farming was the main occupation held by the Roper family. In addition to farming, members of this lineage were also laborers, house servants, and carpenters. Today, the majority of the Roper population live in the northern part of the United States. “Caucasian makes up 75.77% and African-American makes up 19.5% of the ethnic breakdown of the surname. The most common first name of the Roper family is John, with James being second” (www.names.mooseroots.com). Interestingly enough, there are six towns named Roper in the United States: Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and