Joseph Roper (1791-1868), Plasterer of Chesterfield

Joseph Roper was born at Brampton, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire in 1791, son of Joseph Roper senior and his wife Sarah. In 1814, he married Anne Heath at St Peter's Church, Old Brampton, and when a son George was baptised there on 1 March 1815, Joseph described himself as a plasterer, living at Ashgate (a hamlet near Brampton). Anne presumably died shortly afterwards because Joseph was remarried at Chesterfield on 4 January 1820 to Anne Heald (1796-); again he described himself as plasterer. Joseph & Anne went on to have another three daughters (Anne, Emma, Elizabeth) and three sons (Wlliam, Charles, Henry/Harry) between then and 1839. The family are shown living at White Horse Yard, West Bars, Chesterfield in the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses, and Joseph continued working as a plasterer. He died at the age of 77 at Chesterfield (Regn. Dist.) in the June quarter of 1868.

More detailed biographical and professional notes for photographer Samuel Whiting have been provided elsewhere, but he operated a studio in Chesterfield from at least 1868 until the 1880s. The earliest premises recorded were in Vicar Lane, and it seems likely that Whiting took this portrait of Joseph Roper shortly before the latter's death, possibly between 1866 and 1868.

I purchased this carte de visite on eBay, my interest having been aroused by the fact that it was the only example I had then seen by the itinerant photographer and travelling fairground showman Samuel Whiting, and because the subject was identified on the reverse. However, I subsequently discovered that fellow DerbysGen lister Liz Newbery is descended from Joseph Roper's sister Anne Roper (1796-1872), who married Richard Kirk (1795-1867), Chesterfield's crier. I'm grateful to Liz for sharing her research material, and know that she's enjoying the detailed image of this photo that I sent her. I'd be happy to do the same for any other family members who'd like to get in touch.

Photo History Research

Welcome to Photo-Sleuth, devoted to investigating the stories behind old photographs.

I've set this up as a sister site to my Derbyshire Photographers & Photographic Studios. What I hope to include here is a series of images of old photographs, mainly portraits - both from contributors and from my own collection - that have interested me, and I hope will interest you too. They won't necessarily from Derbyshire or even England, but many will inevitably be. I would like to invite readers to participate - contributions of interesting images and your thoughts on any photos already on the site are most welcome. Most of the images will be accompanied by the results of my own research into either the photographer or the subject - if you have any questions or something to add, please don't hesitate to get in touch, either by posting a comment or emailing me.

At the moment, I'm particularly interested in the following categories:

• Old portrait photos by studios and photographers based in Derbyshire, England
• A series of photographs to illustrate the development of portrait photography in the Victorian & Edwardian periods, from the 1850s until the First World War
• Victorian portrait cartes de visite and cabinet photos with the subject(s) identified and dated on the reverse, the earlier the better.
• Victorian photos showing aspects of ordinary daily life e.g. dairy maid carrying milk buckets, men making hay, cobbler with tools, young man on old penny farthing bicycle
• Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes with either or both of the photographer and subject(s) identified
• Any other oddities with a family or local history bias, from anywhere in the world.

... but the list may change from time to time, and if you have something that doesn't fit into any of these categories, don't let that deter you from getting in touch. Most of the photos will have a family history or genealogical bias, as that is where I'm coming from, my interest originally having been stimulated by research into my own family. My postings may be irregular, but the best way to stimulate me into posting more photos is to provide some feedback. It's always nice to hear from like-minded folk.

Regards and best wishes, Brett