For The Tribune
CLEBURNE COUNTY — At 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, the Josiah Brunson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will host a ceremony honoring Revolutionary War veteran John Roper.
A memorial marker will be installed at his grave site in the Oak Level United Methodist Church Cemetery at Fruithurst in Cleburne County.
Roper resided in Northampton County, N.C. He assisted in establishing American independence while acting in the capacity of private, North Carolina Troops 1780-1782. According to U.S. Military Pension File Record S39145, Roper fought in the Battle of Camden in South Carolina in August 1780. He fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina on March 15, 1781, where he received a slight head wound. He was also attached to a unit guarding a military magazine in Yorktown, Va., in October 1782 when British Commander Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington.
Fifteen years later, at the age of 32, Roper married his wife, Sarah Fincher. Over the next 16 years they had 10 children. Sarah died in Oak Level in 1849. According to the 1850 U.S. Census, Roper, 87 and blind, was living with his son, Samuel, and his wife and children.
Those children included Asa B., George W., Sarah Jane, and James B. Roper, who migrated to Jefferson County. As a result, some of John and Sarah Roper’s grandchildren settled in Trussville, and they and their families became important parts of its history. George Washington Roper alone owned more than 120 acres in Trussville.
Roper Hill was the site of two Roper sawmills, one of which was active in 1901 and pictured in “Trussville Through the Years” by Carol and Earl Massey. It was located just past the railroad tracks south of Main Street. George Washington Roper is shown in this photograph. The other sawmill was located behind Southside Baptist Church. Robert and B.C. Roper donated the property for that church.
Trussville Country Club now occupies the site of the old Roper Dairy. In the 1940s, W.F. Vaughn and Charles F. Roper owned a general merchandise store on Main Street and the first Trussville City Hall was built on property owned by Matthew F. Roper. Sarah Frances Roper Chandler helped manage her husband’s store in Clay, which is now Roger’s, and Bessie Roper married Bob Mabe of Mabe’s Garage, established in Trussville in 1921.
The area in Trussville known as Roper Hill was and still is home to many John Roper descendants. Roper Road, Old Roper Road, Roper Tunnel Road and Roper Station are well-traveled roads and landmarks. This family established their homes and farms, helped build and support local businesses and churches, and invested their lives and fortunes in the community. John Roper died July 25, 1852.
Oak Level United Methodist Church Cemetery is at the Intersection of Alabama County Road 55 and County Road 49 in Fruithurst. Family, friends and guests are welcome to attend the grave-marking ceremony for Roper. There will be a reception immediately following. For more information, contact Lynne Williams at dlynnew1@gmail.com.