Walter Roper

Abt 1614 - 1680  (66 years)

• Name	Walter Roper
  	to New England
  Birth	Abt 1614	New Buckenham, Norfolk, England   [2, 3, 6, 9, 10]
  Immigration	1637 (23 years)  [10]
  He along with his parents, sailed in the summer of 1637 on board the Rose of Yarmouth, John Andrews Master.
  Freeman	18 May 1642 (28 years)	Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire   [2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  On 18 May 1642 he was admitted as a freeman and took the oath in Boston, though living in Hampton.
  Occupation	say 1644 (30 years)  [8, 9, 10]
  He was a carpenter.
  Offices Held	1644 (30 years)	Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire   [2, 3]
  In 1644 he was elected a Selectman of Hampton, New Hampshire.
  Legal	1645 (31 years)  [2]
  He served on an Essex County grand jury in 1645. He served again in 1649, 1671, and 1676.
  Land/House	1646 (32 years)	Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire   [2, 3]
  In 1646 he had three shares in the commons of Hampton, New Hampshire.
  Moved To	by 1647 (33 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2]
  By 1647 he had sold his Hampton home and land to Robert Sayers, and moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts.
  Legal	1649 (35 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2]
  He was on a trial jury in 1649. He served again in 1663, 1666, 1669, 1670, 1673, and 1675.
  Land/House	3 Sep 1652 (38 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2, 13]
  On 3 September 1652 Allen Perley, the original grantee, sold his house and land in Ipswich, Massachusetts to Walter Roper.
  Miscellaneous	1653 (39 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [8]
  In 1653 he was an agent for William Payne.
  Legal	1661 (47 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [8]
  He deposed in 1661 giving his age as about 48 years old.
  Military	1664 (50 years)  [2]
  In 1664 he accused Samuel Hunt of mutiny when the officers ordered the men to clear the Wolfpen plain for the exercise of the regiment.
  Military	1677 (63 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2]
  He was released from training in 1677, paying the Ipswich Militia Company a bushel of Indian corn each year.
  Land/House	18 Feb 1678 (64 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [1]
  He was listed as having commonage rights on 18 February 1678 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
  Miscellaneous	2 Dec 1679 (65 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [10, 13]
  On 2 December 1679 he was listed as being allowed to have a vote in Ipswich town affairs.
  Military	Mar 1680 (66 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [10]
  He was released from training without payment in March 1680.
  Will	15 Jul 1680 (66 years)	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [10]
  He made his will.
  Death	15 Jul 1680	Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11]
  Burial	Aft 15 Jul 1680	Highland Cemetery, Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Highland Cemetery, Ipswich, Massachusetts   [6]
  Probate/Proved	28 Sep 1680 (66 years)  [2, 3, 7, 8, 9]
  On 28 September 1680 his will was proved. He left bequests to his wife, Susan; sons John and Nathaniel; daughters Mary, Elizabeth and Sarah; grand children Elizabeth Roper, Susan, Margaret, Rose and Sarah Sparkes, and Elizabeth and Susan Dutch. The inventory of his estate amounted to £191.
  	Probate Record of Walter Roper
  Siblings	1 brother
  + 1. John Roper,   b. 1611, New Buckenham, Norfolk, England d. 26 Mar 1676, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 65 years) ▻ Alice Reynolds,  m. 3 Oct 1633 > 2. Walter Roper,   b. Abt 1614, New Buckenham, Norfolk, England d. 15 Jul 1680, Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony  (Age 66 years) ▻ Susan,  m. say 1638
  Patriarch & Matriarch	John Roper,   b. Abt 1588, New Buckenham, Norfolk, England d. After 16 Jul 1664, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  (Age 76 years)  (Father)  Alice   d. 26 Mar 1676, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.   (Mother)
  Person ID, Branch	I20440
  Last Modified	26 Jul 2025

  
  

• Notes

  Birth: Farmer (1829) gives his birth as about 1612. [5]

  
  

Father	John Roper,   b. Abt 1588, New Buckenham, Norfolk, England d. After 16 Jul 1664, Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Age 76 years)
Mother	Alice   d. 26 Mar 1676, Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Family ID	F519	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart




Spouse / Partner	Susan,   b. Abt 1616
Marriage	say 1638  [2, 3, 9, 10]
They married soon after Walter arrived in New England. [10]
Age at Marriage	He : ~ 24 years - She : ~ 22 years.
Children	From 1639 to 1649  [2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12]
1. Mary Roper (1639-____) 2. Sarah Roper (c1645-____) 3. Elizabeth Roper (c1648-____) 4. Nathaniel Roper (c1641-1685) 5. Benjamin Roper (c1643-1675) 6. John Roper (1649-1721)
Family ID	F8116	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
Last Modified	12 Jul 2021




• Pedigree

  ← Click to display 1Walter Roper(Abt 1614 – 1680) 2John Roper(Abt 1588 – 1664) 3Alice( – 1676)

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - Abt 1614 - New Buckenham, Norfolk, England Freeman - 18 May 1642 - Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire Offices Held - 1644 - Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire Land/House - 1646 - Hampton, Rockingham County, Colony of New Hampshire Moved To - by 1647 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Legal - 1649 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Land/House - 3 Sep 1652 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Miscellaneous - 1653 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Legal - 1661 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Military - 1677 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Land/House - 18 Feb 1678 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Miscellaneous - 2 Dec 1679 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Military - Mar 1680 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Will - 15 Jul 1680 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Death - 15 Jul 1680 - Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony Burial - Aft 15 Jul 1680 - Highland Cemetery, Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources 🟢 Primary Evidence 🟡 Secondary Evidence 🟠 Tertiary Evidence 🔴 Unreliable Evidence

  [S1718] anonymous. "Materials for the History of Ipswich", (Boston: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume VII, 1853). [S653] Davis, Walter Goodwin. Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis volume III, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1996). [S642] Dow, Joseph. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire from its Settlement in 1638, to the Autumn of 1892 , (Salem, Massachusetts: Salem Press and Publishing Company, 1894). [S1721] Essex Institute. Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 Volume II Marriages and Deaths, (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1910). [S1571] Farmer, John, Genealogical Register of First Settlers of New England, (Lancaster, Massachusetts: Carter, Andrews, & Company, 1829). [S14] Ancestry.com, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current® http://findagrave.com, (Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Memorial ID 113987386 Walter Roper. [S914] Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), Probate Record of Walter Roper. [S72] Pope, Charles Henry, The Pioneers of Massachusetts , (Boston: Charles H. Pope, 1900). [S1719] Roper, Ella E. Ropers of Sterling and Rutland, (East Orange, New Jersey: Fred H. Covin, 1904). [S479] Roper, Kenneth L. The Ropers A Biographical Record from Circa 1300 to 1982, (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1982). [S808] Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692 on the Basis of Farmer's Register, volume III, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1861). [S1674] Tibbetts, Charles W. "Hampton Town Records", (Dover, New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Genealogical Record, Volume II, July 1904 - April 1905). [S1720] Waters, Thomas Franklin. Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, (Ipswich, Massachusetts: The Ipswich Historical Society, 1905).