The first Roper to arrive in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia was Henry Roper, a loyalist from Norfolk, Virginia. It appears that most Ropers currently in Cape Breton are his descendants; they also are scattered across Canada. He arrived in Port Hood on the west coast of the island in 1788 in the early days of the 350 or so loyalists that were resettled on the Cape.
John Roper (1772-1832), who owned land in Port Hood and later settled in the Ingonish area in 1823, was apparently a son of Henry. It appears that most Ropers currently in Cape Breton are his descendants.
The only other known child of Henry is Mary (1775-1794), who married Denis Kehoe. I have not yet tried to determine her descendants. If anyone has data for her descendants, please contact me.
One of the descendants of Henry Roper, Carl Stern Roper, has the same 37 Y-chromosome markers as do most Southern USA Ropers. (See http://www.roperld.com/ropergenetics.htm.)
The major locations of Ropers currently in Cape Breton are (The numbers are the number in the phone book.):
The data I have collected so far can be obtained by e-mailing me: roperld@vt.edu