TENTH GENERATION

916. Ephraim Roper ⁽¹¹⁷⁾ was born on Dec 23 1644 in Dedham, Massachusetts. He died on Sep 11 1697 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Ephraim Roper moved to Lancaster, Massachusetts, as a young man. In early 1676 the town was attacked by the Indian leader known as King Philip and perhaps as many as 1500 warriors. Forty-two or more settlers, including Ephraim, his wife and infant daughter sought refuge in the partially fortified house of the Reverend Rowlandson. The house was attacked shortly after dawn and as Mrs. Rowlandson wrote in her "Removes," 'quickly it was the dolefullest day that ever mine eyes saw." Of all the people in the Rowlandson house, only Ephraim Roper managed to escape while the rest were killed or captured. His wife and daughter perished and the town was burned.

Roper joined the command of Captain Turner sent to attack King Philip and they did so at the falls of the Connecticut River on May 18 1676, killing many in what a contemporary called "a great and noble slaughter." But Philip counterattacked as Turner and his men retired and Turner was killed. The falls near where he was found are named for him.

Ephraim Roper lived in Cambridge for some time after the massacre but returned to Lancaster early in 1684.

Twenty-one years later the Indians, this time stirred up by the French, attacked the rebuilt town once more and this time twenty-one were killed, among them Ephraim, his second wife, and one of their daughters. Their son Ephraim was captured and lived with the Indians for two years. He was married to Hannah ---------- on Nov 20 1677 in Concord, Massachusetts.

917. Hannah ---------- ⁽¹¹⁷⁾ died on Sep 11 1697 in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Hannah, although not present in Lancaster when the massacre took place, suffered from it in a curious way. On Aug 7 1676 three Indian women and three children were murdered near Huckleberry Hill outside of Lancaster in an act of cold-blooded revenge for the massacre. Four soldiers confessed to the crime or to having been present. The two perpetrators, Daniel Goble and his brother Stephen, Hannah's husband, were hanged on Sep 26 1676 as was an Indian named One-eyed John, who had played a major part in the massacre. The other two soldiers, who had merely been present, had their sentences commuted. Children were:

i. Priscilla Roper was born on Feb 5 1679.
ii. Ruth Roper was born on Jan 7 1681.
iii. Elizabeth Roper was born on Jan 17 1683. She died on Sep 11 1697.
iv. Bathsheba Roper.
458 v. Ephraim Roper.

Return to Table of Contents