James Rogers, a very early immigrant

One of my earliest ancestors to arrive in the New World was James Rogers, my 8^th or 9^th great grandfather depending on the line that you follow.  Manuscripts that are preserved in the Public Record Office in England contain a document noted as a “licens to go beyond the seas” that is dated April 15, 1635 and reads “to be transported to New England imbarqued in the Increase [ship], James Roger, 20 years.”

James Rogers was born in England around 1615.  Within 2 years after his 1635 arrival in New England, James was noted as living near Saybrook (now in Connecticut).  He was a participant in the Pequot war – which was a brief conflict between the Pequot people on one side, and the Narragansett and Mohegan peoples who were allied with the colonists on the other side.   

By 1640, John is recorded as a property owner in Stratford, where he met and married Elizabeth Rowland.   The couple moved to Milford where James Rogers purchased a home lot and also obtained a warehouse. In Milford, James began baking and selling bread and biscuit products.  His business grew considerably and before long he was furnishing biscuit for seamen sailing to Virginia and Barbados, and for Colonial troops.  James had a great deal of business in nearby New London, probably because of the increasing port activity, and sometime between 1656 and 1660 he moved his business and family to New London.  New London by then had over a hundred families on the tax roll.  James was generous with his good fortune and often provided free biscuits for seamen and colonial troops.

In New London, James leased the town mill, built a home and a bakery next to the mill, and was quite successful.  James and his wife became involved in community affairs, the local Congregationalist church and in his later years in the Seventh Day Baptist church.  James Rogers served as deputy to the Court of Elections, and as the Corn Commissioner for New London.  He eventually handed his bakery business over to his eldest son, Samuel, though James stayed active locally serving as the Representative to the General Court seven times between 1662 and 1673.  

As you might expect from his success, James Rogers became a wealthy tradesman and major landowner during his lifetime.  James & Elizabeth had 8 children that lived to adulthood, and we have direct lines of descent through at least 3 of their children!  James Rogers died in 1687 in New London, and Elizabeth lived until around 1709.

 

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Key Individuals:

James Rogers  (1615 – 1687) 8^th or 9^th great grandfather, married

Elizabeth Rowland Rogers  (abt 1620 – 1709) 8^th or 9^th great grandmother, and had the following children:

1)  Samuel Rogers  (1640 – 1713)

2)  Joseph Rogers  (1646 – 1697) 

3)  John Rogers  (1648 – 1721) – founder of the *Rogerenes

4)  Bathsheba Rogers  (1650 – 1711) 

5)  James Rogers  (1652 – 1714)

6)  Jonathan Rogers  (1655 – 1697) 

7)  Elizabeth Rogers  (1658 – 1716)

    

Notes:

1)  English Protestant religion played a significant role in the history of this Rogers family.  James Rogers, the immigrant, claimed that he was the grandson of the clergyman known as John “The Martyr” Rogers (1507-1555) in England.  John “The Martyr” was a well-known Protestant preacher at the time that Queen Mary I (also known as Mary Tudor or Bloody Mary), a Roman Catholic, who came to the throne in England in 1553.  Rogers delivered sermons warning against papist preachings.  It wasn’t long before Rogers and other Protestant preachers in England were brought before the Privy Council and accused of heresy.  He was among a group that was imprisoned for over a year at Newgate as heretics and sentenced to be burned to death at the stake at Smithfield.  Before his sentence was carried out John Rogers was offered a pardon if he were to recant, but he refused.  He was burned at the stake on February 4, 1555 and was thereafter referred to as John The Martyr.

It is recorded in several places that when James Rogers came to New England, he brought with him a bible that was reported to have belonged to his grandfather, John “The Martyr” Rogers.

2) My next blog post will tell you about the *Rogerenes, a religious group that was established by John Rogers, the 3^rd son of our James Rogers of New London. 

3)  If you are working on our family tree, it will be very easy to get confused with all of the John Rogers that you will find who lived in and around New London, Connecticut.  Our line actually goes directly back to James Rogers (1615-1687) at least three different ways – through James & Elizabeth’s 2^nd child, Joseph, and through their 4^th child Bathsheba, and again through their 7^th child, Jonathan.

 

1st path:  James Rogers (1615-1687) m. Elizabeth Rowland (abt 1620-1709)

                     Joseph Rogers (1646-1697) m. Sarah Haughton (1652-1728)

                        John Rogers (1675-1739), Deborah Dayton (1675-1739)

                             John Rogers (1716-1779) m. Martha Colver (1717-1760)

                                  **John Rogers (1760-1796) m. Hannah Smith (1761-1845)

                                        Mary B Rogers (1790-1875) m. David Bill Dickinson (1787-1846)

2nd path:  James Rogers (1615-1687), m. Elizabeth Rowland (abt 1620-1709)

                       Bathsheba Rogers (1650-1711) m. Richard Smith (1640-1682)

                           James Smith (1674-1750) m. Elizabeth Rogers (1681-1760)

                              James Smith “the Barber” (1703-1758) m. Susannah ?

                                 **James Smith (1732-1798) m. Abigail Hempstead (1738-1814)

                                      Hannah Smith (1761-1845) m. **John Rogers (1760-1796)     

                                            Mary B Rogers (1790-1875) m. David Bill Dickinson (1787-1846)

3rd path:  James Rogers (1615-1687), m. Elizabeth Rowland (abt 1620-1709)

          Jonathan Rogers (1655-1697) m. Naomi Burdick (dates unknown)

             Elizabeth Rogers (1681-1760) m. James Smith (1674-1750)

                 James Smith “the Barber” (1703-1758) m. Susannah ?

                       **James Smith (1732-1798) m. Abigail Hempstead (1738-1814)

                                      Hannah Smith (1761-1845) m. **John Rogers (1760-1796)     

                               Mary B Rogers (1790-1875) m. David Bill Dickinson (1787-1846)        

**To learn for more about John Rogers (1760-1796) or James Smith (1732-1798), both noted above, see my earlier blog post titled Ancestors Who Fought in the Revolution – part 2, published earlier this year on April 10, 2022.

Note above that both James Smith & Elizabeth Rogers (who married) were grandchildren of James Rogers (1615-1687) & Elizabeth Rowland (abt 1620-1709) making them first cousins. 

And to add to the confusion, if you track my lineage through James & Elizabeth Rogers’ son Joseph, they will be my 8^th great grandparents.  However, if you follow the line through either of his siblings, Bathsheba or Jonathan, then James & Elizabeth will be my 9^th great grandparents.  

If you are in my family line that comes down through Mary B Rogers Dickinson (1790-1875), the wife of David Bill Dickinson, then all three ways lead to us.   I have to tell you that entering all of this in my ancestry program was a true challenge!

- Jane Scribner McCrary