From an early age, Sylvester Roper, born in Francestown, showed remarkable mechanical ability, building a working model steam engine when he was just 12 years old. Roper held many patents, some on sewing machines, machine tools, furnaces, slide-action shotguns and fire escapes. Some of these inventions may have changed the world or at least made it safer and more interesting. He was always interested in steam power, having built as many as 10 road vehicles between the years 1860 to 1894.
In the gun world, Roper is listed in the top 100 contributors by way of his innovations in shotgun design. During the Civil War, he was at the Springfield Armory, Springfield, Mass.
The circa 1867 steam velocipede, which means “speedy feet,” was advanced for its day, perhaps 30 years ahead of its time, having a double twist-grip throttle. A backward twist of the grip activated an iron bead chain that operated the front wheel’s spoon brake and a forward twist advanced the throttle. The machine had foot pegs and no pedals. Roper called it a self-propeller. The term motocycle/motorcycle did not exist at that time and the Smithsonian now owns the original machine.
The twist-grip throttle was reinvented by Glenn Curtis many years later and also was put into production by the Hendee Mfg. Co. on the 1904 and later Indian motorcycles.
It must have been very difficult to test any of these vehicles, as the road conditions can only be described as pitiful.
As we all know, there have been many evolutions in how we use/make power. Roper used steam, then came the gasoline combustion engine, and now some are promoting electric powered motorcycles. Who knows what the future will bring?
Roper was arrested several times. Family lore has it that his niece Rosa Frances Colburn from Francestown was once arrested with him. People were annoyed and horses were scared by these machines, but the police always had to let him go as no laws were broken.
Roper’s 1894 Columbia bicycle fitted with a steam engine could go 40 mph. Several of his lightweight cars and velocipedes were exhibited and raced against horses at fairs and Roper’s machines always won.
For many years, Roper lived and worked at 299 Eustis St., Roxbury, Mass. His son Charles was also an inventor, and the two sometimes worked together. Sylvester and Charles had two steam launches, named Pickerel and Toothpick on the Charles River, in Boston.
As a past president of the Francestown Improvement & Historical Society (FIHS), I am always interested in promoting historical and genealogical interests. My research on the life of Sylvester Roper has been exciting. During this time I had the opportunity to meet David Roper of Team Obsolete who is the only American to have won the Isle of Man TT, and who has shared his genealogy with me. He is a second cousin four times removed from Sylvester Roper.
Many are researching Roper. David D. Brodeur of Manchester, Mass., has done a significant amount of archival research and has spoken on Roper to audiences in Francestown, as well as the Larz Anderson Transportation Museum in Brookline, Mass.
The FIHS’s annual Labor Day Parade theme in 2012 was “Inventions and Discoveries.” The extended family of Harry and Ellen Putnam went to work to honor their descendants as well as Sylvester Roper, who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002.
Andrew Droubat of Amherst, New Hampshire, made up the “velocipede” for the parade float. The machine now resides as a garden ornament that can be seen while traveling on Bennington Road, Route 47 in Francestown. Some recognize Roper’s influence while others just want to learn more about it.
This article is being reprinted with permission of the author. It first appeared in Motorcyclist’s Magazine in June 2015.