Nancy Gardner Roop

Wife of provisional governor tutored him in literacy

Although Nancy Gardner Roop never lived in Nevada, she played an instrumental role in the success of her husband, Isaac Newton Roop, by teaching him to read and write after they were married. Nancy lived only 27 years, but she left a loving husband and three healthy, educated children.

Nancy Gardner was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on December 22, 1822. Her parents were John V. Gardner and Jane Montgomery Gardner. John Gardner immigrated from Germany to the United States and engaged in a carriage manufacturing business.

Gardner was a graduate of Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky. When she and Isaac were married, she began to tutor him. According to Judge Bruce, “Under her tutorage he received a thorough English education and laid the foundation work for that period of usefulness that succeeded to him in his later years.” The Roops had three children: Susan, John, and Isaiah.

Nancy Gardner Roop died at the age of 27 on June 20, 1850, of typhoid fever.

Three months after Nancy’s death, in September of 1850, Isaac left Ohio and joined his brother Josiah Roop in Shasta, California. According to Fariss and Smith, Isaac was “leaving John in charge of his Grandfather Roop, and left Isaiah and Susan with their Grandfather Gardner.”

Their two sons both served in the Union Army during the Civil War and participated in the Northwestern campaign under General William Rosecrans. According to Guinn, “Their eldest son John was a member of the Seventh Iowa Infantry and served as an aid to General Grant; and Isaiah, who enlisted in the Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, was wounded at South Mountain, and died of smallpox while still in the service.” After the war, John became a physician and moved to Oklahoma.

Susan Roop came to California in 1862 on a ship with her father, after he had staked a large land claim near Honey Lake Valley and established the town of Susanville, California. He named the town of Susanville and the Susan River for his daughter.

Susan did not have a part of her father’s political career, as he had already been the Provisional Governor of the Proposed Territory of Nevada prior to her coming to California. However, she was a large part of his remaining years of life in Honey Lake Valley.

Susan married Alexander Thrall Arnold in Susanville on December 27, 1864. Arnold had arrived there in 1857 and was a pioneer of that area. Susan and Alexander had eight children: Susan M. Roop Goodfellow Allison; Isaac N.; Dora Mary Roop Robertson Haley; Alexander T. and Thomas, who died respectively at four and three months; Carl Victor; Mark Eugene, who died at seventeen years; and Medford.

Susan was a member of the Eastern Star. The Arnold family took over Isaac Roop’s business interests following his death in 1869. There are

descendants of Isaac and Nancy Roop, through their daughter Susan, still living in the Susanville area.

For the story of Isaac Roop’s life and political career, see James Thomas Butler’s book Isaac Roop: Pioneer & Political Leader of Northeastern California, published by the Lassen County Historical Society. This book is the history of both northeastern California and Nevada, along the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Governor Isaac Newton Roop and his daughter Susan Roop Arnold are buried in Susanville, California.

Researched and written by Mona Reno, 2025. Posted December 11, 2025.