Early Abolitionist Who Escaped Slavery to be Honored in Semora
Born around 1815 in Caswell County, Roper was son of a mixed-race house servant (African-Indian) and her enslaver, Henry Roper, a planter. As an adolescent, Roper led a nomadic existence, repeatedly being sold or traded throughout the South before he was returned to Caswell County in 1832.
A Caswell man who escaped slavery and toured Great Britain as an abolitionist and author soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker. The N.C. Historical Marker Program is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The marker commemorating the life and accomplishments of Moses Roper will be unveiled Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m., at the intersection of NC Hwy 119 and 57 in the Semora Community of Caswell County, N.C.
Born around 1815 in Caswell County, Roper was son of a mixed-race house servant (African-Indian) and her enslaver, Henry Roper, a planter. As an adolescent, Roper led a nomadic existence, repeatedly being sold or traded throughout the South before he was returned to Caswell County in 1832.
Roper attempted multiple escapes only to be captured and punished before being sold or exchanged to another plantation owner in the county. At the end of 1833, Roper was purchased by a north Florida trader, whose bankruptcy led to the 18-year-old Roper's employment as a steward on a New York-bound ship. Once anchored in New York, Roper finally escaped. Now free, Roper worked as a steward on a Hudson River canal boat, and later as a farmhand in Vermont.
Roper then briefly settled in New Hampshire before moving to Boston. There he began his affiliation with the abolitionist movement by signing the constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society. But by late 1835, Roper, fearful of arrest and return to slavery, signed up as a steward on the vessel Napoleon and sailed to England.
Several prominent British abolitionists assisted Roper once he arrived, including Dr. John Morrison, John Scoble and George Thompson, who helped him secure an education and to serve the African missions. With the help of these British patrons and the assistance of Dr. Francis Cox, who bore a significant part of the expense, Roper successfully attended boarding schools in Hackney and Wallingford and later spent some time at University College in London during 1836.
Throughout this period, Roper also attended many antislavery meetings and gave speeches on his slave experiences — an account that was one of the first given by a former slave to British reform audiences. In the summer of 1837, Roper published a narrative of his life and used a lecture tour to promote it. The book was also printed in Philadelphia and sold in America.
In 1839 Roper married an Englishwoman from Bristol; and five years later, claiming to have given "upwards of two thousand" antislavery lectures during his British stay, he moved his family to Canada. He returned to England at least two more times, arriving in 1846 "to settle some private matters" (probably to negotiate a new printing of his Narrative) and, again in 1854, to lecture.
You can learn more about Roper and access his A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery HERE.
For more information about the historical marker, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2026/01/23/moses-roper-g-146, or call (919) 814-6625.
The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.
About the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. At more than 100 sites across the state, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.
