Waldrope, aka Waldrep men who fought in the American Revolution

 

 

Waldrope, aka Waldrep men who fought in the American Revolution against the British.

Some of the first settlers to America of this family name or some of its variants were: James Wardrope, who settled in New Jersey in 1685 and Joseph Wardrope, who first came to Georgia in 1734 with his wife and daughter. Some research has led us to believe that this Joseph Wardrope referenced above might be the forebearer of the Waldrep surname in America that my family is linked to. This has been hard to document with any degree of certainty because there is a huge gap of reliable data missing between the time of this Joseph Wardrope and my 3rd great grandfather Joseph Waldroup of Habersham County, GA. However, a Joseph Wardrope, Age 35, carpenter, arrived in Georgia, 21 August 1734, and is listed in the "List of Georgia Settlers" by Ellis Mertin Coulter and Albert B. Saye. They show that Joseph Wardrope, age 35; came to Georgia, 1734, with wife Jean Foster and daughter Elenor, age 13. They had married 6 July 1720 in North Kirk, Edinburgh, Scotland. (William & Mary Quarterly Historical Mag. Vol. 8, Series 1, 1899, Pg. 193) 

 

Jean was born 1692 in Scotland; died in Charleston, SC. I believe at some point Joseph and family may have moved to Charleston from Savannah GA, where they originally arrived by ship. There were five Waldrope men who served with the South Carolina Militia during the British siege of Charleston. The original Joseph Waldrope would have been too old at the time so if this is our Joseph it is likely the son of Joseph Waldrope. This is difficult to document to be sure but chances are the five Waldrope men who served together were likely related to each other.

Joseph and Jean Waldroupe had the following children:

child 1. Elenor Anne Wardrope, b. 25 Sept 1721 Scotland
child 2, Helen Wardrope, b. 26 Feb 1723 Scotland
child 3. Joseph Wardrope, b. 22 March 1726 Scotland