I stumbled across this old thread searching for additional information on the William HARGAS / HARGIS / HARGUS who married Sally ROPER and wanted to both seek information, as well as share some thoughts and insights.
First, my interest in this family is general as a ROPER family genealogist, however this is NOT my branch of the ROPER family or line and I have NO SPECIFIC PERSON KNOWLEDGE of this family. On the other hand, I have a rather vast fund of knowledge about the ROPER family, some of which might inform your inquiry.
My interest in the HARGIS - ROPER marriage arises from trying to locate and ascribe two ROPER grandchildren of William LEA, of Wilkes, GA. It is easiest to simply refer you to my recent thread on this topic:
"ROPER Grandchildren of William LEA (d 1794 - GA), of Wilkes County, GA" (10 Apr 2014 6:09PM GMT)
http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.roper/1893/mb.ashxBasically, William LEA died, leaving a Will in 1794 which mentions two grandchildren, William ROPER and Sarah ROPER, seemingly both minors and each seeming to receive a bequest in right of their deceased mother's share. The identity of the deceased LEA daughter or the ROPER son-in-law seems NOT to be given.
I have focused my study on three contemporary ROPERs who resided in Caswell County, North Carolina, adjacent to William LEA's property there along Country Line Creek.
One of these was Revolutionary War Veteran James ROPER (b abt 1756-60?, d 18 Nov 1835 - Simpson, KY), who settled in the part of Logan County which was later separated away as a part of Simpson County.
As you are probably aware, Simpson County is immediately adjacent to Sumner County, TN, to the North, with both counties along the state line.
My current hypothesis (not yet an ascription) is that the unnamed LEA daughter was this James ROPER's first wife whom he may have married about 1788. James ROPER married his second wife, Mary O'NEAL in 1792. This would suggest the possibility that the grandchildren William ROPER and Sarah ROPER might have been born about 1788-91. However the 1800 Census record for James ROPER in Chester, SC, seems to show a male and female child age 10 to 15, so the age range may be even narrower: 1788-90.
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Any information you or other HARGIS researchers have about this William HARGIS is much appreciated!
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Secondly, I want to observe generally, that the name "Shadrach", though rare is a Biblical name from the Book of Daniel. This name also appears in the ROPER family in the generation of Shadrach ROPER, of Powhatan, Virginia.
If you are not already familiar with the Biblical tale involving Shadrach and his two brothers, you might want to review it for additional insight into the significance and meaning of the name.
Also, I have found that appearances of the name Shadrach in America seemed to originate in Maryland during a period of particularly harsh persecution of Catholics in that Colony after Protestants took control of the Government there. This chapter of Maryland's history is mostly overlooked. Catholics were persecuted, NOT allowed to send their children to school or to own property. This resulted in a wholesale flight by those residing in the areas of the greatest persecution. Catholics fled to the Maryland Eastern Shore, to Pennsylvania and to the wilderness. Many of those fleeing to Pennsylvania, later migrated through the Virginia Valley settling in Western North Carolina.
During the Great Awakening, many of these same deeply religious families were amongst the earliest to embrace Methodism as well as the Baptist faith.
The migration paths of these families are littered with occasional "Shadrach"s.
You will find a number of Shadrachs in Caswell, North Carolina, the point of origin of the above mentioned James ROPER.
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Third, there were a number of ROPERs who were early Methodist ministers, deacons or pastors. Discussing ROPERs who were closely connected to the Methodist Church in the Colonial and early Federalist Period is beyond the scope of this post, but to the extent that you can furnish additional information about Methodist ministers in the HARGIS family, this may present some basis for additional connections.
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Fourth, one of the posts mentioned a JORDAN family. The ROPERs were intermarried with the JORDANs in Chesterfield and Powhatan, Virginia, and Powhatan is the point of origin for Shadrach ROPER's family. At least two of Shadrach ROPER's sons -- Judge William P. ROPER and Jesse ROPER -- migrated to Kentucky.
If there are intermarriages of the HARGIS and JORDAN families, we should probably look closely at these relationships.
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It is UNCLEAR whether certain families were naming their sons Shadrach to honor a member of the family, a close friend or neighbor or for religious reasons. There are few enough Shadrachs in the Colonial period that looking for the relative, friend or neighbor isn't all that difficult.
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I have several specific questions for HARGIS researchers.
First, does anyone KNOW a date of birth or death of Sally ROPER?
Second, can anyone identify a Census record or records for the William HARGIS who married Sally ROPER?
Third, has anyone located the LAND of this William HARGIS? Was he in Simpson County or Sumner County or some other place? Is there a neighboring or nearby ROPER family?
Fourth, are there any KNOWN children from this marriage?
Any additional information or insight is appreciated!