Hello Shelly
I may be able to help you with your question. CARPER is an allied line of
mine so I have a little on the Roane Co. Carpers.
Virginia D. Carper b. ca 1880 m. 15 Sep 1895 Henry Clay Lesher. Virginia was
the oldest of three daughters of William Benton Carper b. 3 May 1857 Giles
Co., VA d. 17 Nov 1938 Roane Co., WV and his first wife Mary Ellen Naylor
whom he married 10 Oct 1879.
William Benton Carper was the second of three children born to Fleming L
Carper b. 1828 Botetourt Co., VA d. 16 Jul 1862 Roane Co., VA and his second
wife Virginia Barbara Martin b. Apr 1835 Giles Co., VA d. 11 Feb 1884 Roane
Co., VA whom he married 1 Mar 1853 Giles Co., VA
Fleming Carper was the son of Nicholas Carper b. 16 Jan 1799 Botetourt Co.,
VA d. 15 Jan 1886 Roane Co., WV and his first wife Lydia Smith b ca 1805 d.
1828 whom he married 20 Apr 1826 Botetourt Co., VA.
Nicholas Carper was the son of Jacob Carper and Sarah Raymer, etc etc
Fleming Carper -In 1849, Fleming paid $1.10 to Giles County, VA in taxes. He
is listed as living with his wife, Nancy A. at the home of his father in law,
David Martin in the Giles County census of 1850. He came to Roane County VA
in 1858 with his father, Nicholas Carper. Fleming served the Union in the
Civil War in Co B 9th W.Va. Volunteer Infantry. He contracted a fever and
was sent home sick and died at home in 1862. In a statement signed by Sarah
Carper, second wife of Nicholas Carper, she states that she was present at
the time of Fleming's death. He is said to have come home soon after the war
began and was sick with a fever. He died shortly thereafter. Fleming's
middle initial is listed as "L" in some records including the birth records
of his two sons.
Virginia Barbara Martin- She was known as Jenny, Barbara V., Virginia B., and
Barbary in the records. In the pension statement by Jenny, she states that
there is no record of her marriage to Fleming because "Rebels took possession
of the Court House and she knew of no records now." Nicholas Carper and his
wife, Sarah, also signed a statement to that effect. After the death of her
husband, Fleming, she had a son, Oscar L. Carper, by an unknown person in
Roane County. His birth date is given as 03-12-1865. Jenny married a
widower, Alexander G. Taylor, on May 19, 1868.
Some of my references for this family are:
1-Peggy A. Grubbs' "The Carpers of Roane County."
2-From the Peck Family, Descendants of Jacob and Lydia (Borden) Peck,
published by Jesse William Peck Sr
3-From "Early Marriages, Wills and Some Revolutionary War Records of
Botetourt County, Virginia" by Anne Worrell
4-OVER THE MOUNTAIN MEN, by Anne Lowry Worrell in 1934
5-"Smith-Riffe Collection of the New River Genealogy and History. A
monumental work began in the mid 1930's by Aubrey O. Smith and Judge Winton
A. Riffe
I hope this has given you a start.
Karen Kessler Cottrill
WV Kessler/Kesler Family Historian
I am making no claims that the above information is correct. This is being
given as personal information and not all has been documented.
In a message dated 11/23/01 6:00:46 PM, CARPER-D-request(a)rootsweb.com writes:
<< X-Message: #2
Date: 23 Nov 2001 08:58:47 -0700
From: HARLEYD(a)TCTC.COM
To: CARPER-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: ALL ROANE COUNTY CARPERS: PLEASE HELP
I AM A DESCENDANT OF VIRGINIA DARE CARPER WHO MARRIED HENRY CLAY LESHER. THEY
ARE MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS. I BELIEVE THAT VIRGINIA IS THE DAUGHTER OF
WILLIAM, WHO IS THE SON OF FLEMING, WHO IS THE SON OF NOCHOLAS, BUT CAN'T BE
SURE. PLEASE HELP!!! THESE CARPERS ARE HARD TO TRACE.
I CAN BE EMAILED DIRECT AT HARLEYD(a)TCTC.COM
THANX, SHELLY
>