THE ROPERS OF ENGLAND

James Roper was born February 3, 1822 in Bilston, Staffordshire, England. He married Mary Ann and they had seven children: four sons and three daughters. They were married in 1841 in Wolverhampton. They were listed there in the 1841 census. Thomas was born in 1842, Mary Jane in 1846*, George (1846), William (1850), Ann (1854), Peter (1856), and Emma (1858). James and his wife both lived into their late 70's and died in West Bromwich, a neighboring town.

As the Roper children were growing up there were eight places of worship in the area. The Roman Catholic Church was a handsome Gothic structure erected in 1833. The Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1800 and enlarged in 1840. The New Connexion Methodists had small places of worship here, and in Pipe's Meadow was a small Welch Chapel, built in 1845, for the accommodation of the Welch families employed in the coal and iron works. The Independents had a large chapel in Oxford Street, and the Baptists had one in Wood Street. There were also many Anglican churches. Christian worship began in the area in 1090. The Ropers were Protestant but some of the children attended other of the churches.

Many of the men and boys worked in the coal mines and in the factories. Bilston Steelworks opened to the west of the town center in the 1800's and was the most prominent factory in the town. James was a blacksmith but some of his sons worked in the mines.