Person:John Rodgers (26)

Biography of Rev. John Rodger and Rodgers Family Members

The earliest of the Rodgers family to arrive in America was the Rev. John Rodger. He was born in Scotland in 1735 and came to Virginia, eventually settling in Rockbridge County when he was 35. He was first married to Elizabeth Blackwood (1746-1778) and they had three children: Thomas (1773-1860), Margaret (1776-1823), and Iren (later changed to Irene) (1778-1807). Iren(e) married James McCormick in 1804, uncle to Cyrus, Leander, and William McCormick who founded the McCormick Reaper Works in Chicago. After the death of his first wife, John Rodger married Isabel Ireland (d. 1822) in 1780. Together they had seven children: John (1782-ca. 1860), William (1783-ca. 1820), Aleri (1785-1863), Aniel (1786-1864), Alexander (1788-1866), Andrew [called Andrew Sr.] (1789-1849), and Samuel (1791-ca. 1824). The second generation changed their name from Rodger to Rodgers.

Aleri, Aniel, and Andrew Rodgers moved to Missouri, and later to Illinois where they settled in Warren County in 1836. Aleri married Mary Davidson (1790-1879) who was related to General Sam Houston, and the aunt of Virginia Governor John Letcher (1813-1884). Aleri and Mary had ten children: John (1814-1878), William (1816-1836), Andrew [called Andrew Jr.] (1818-1847), Alexander J. (1821-1864), Mary Thompson (1823-1912), Joseph (1825-1836), Phebe (1828-1840), Isabel Ireland (1830-1912), Samuel W. (1832-1920), Calvin Melancthon (1835-1906), and Eliza A. (died at birth, 1837). Andrew Jr. and Alexander joined a party traveling west to the Oregon Territory in 1845, and Andrew Jr. kept a journal of his travels. Andrew Jr. then joined Dr. and Mrs. Marcus Whitman at their mission at Waiilatpu, Walla Walla, Washington. There he worked as a teacher and studied to be a minister. Andrew Jr. was one of the members of the party that was killed by the Cayuse in the Whitman Massacre, Nov. 29, 1847.

Another of Aleri and Mary's children, Isabel Ireland Rodgers, played a critical role in the development of the Rodgers Family Papers. She wrote to a number of distant relatives and compiled a few family histories relating to the Ireland and Rodgers families. She lived with her brother Calvin and his wife Eliza Paine Rodgers, and was very close to their children. Both Isabel and Calvin attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Calvin was a farmer who held a number of public offices in Warren County, Illinois: he was a school trustee, Commissioner of Highways, and was elected to the State Legislature as a Republican in the twenty-seventh district in 1882 and 1884. Calvin married Eliza Paine (1837-1926) in 1858, and they had nine children: Mary Romaine (called Romaine or Rome, 1861-1952), Charles Henry (Hal, 1863-1925), Alisa Amiel and Aleri (died at birth, 1865), Aleri A. (1866-1943), William D. (1867-1929), Alexander (1870-1960), Emily E. (1872-1961), and Fred Merritt (died at birth, 1874).

http://mms.newberry.org/xml/xml_files/Rodgers.xml#sum

REV. JOHN RODGERS was born in Scotland about the year 1735. He was educated at Andrews University in Scotland, studied theology with Moncrief of Alloa, and after completing his studies took a thorough Scotch course in medicine. In the year 1770, he was sent by the Anti-Burgher (Presbyterian) Church as a missionary to America. In October, before starting, he was married to Miss Elizabeth BLACKWOOD, and soon after set sail for his appointed mission. Soon after coming, he was allied to the pastorate of three congregations, that at Big Spring (PA), taking half of his time, and was the principle congregation. He made his home there and the congregation having no house of worship and having had some occasional preaching for ten years at a place called "the tent" , which was merely a board chanty with boards for roof, but no siding. They thenerected their first church building which was of logs and like all churches of that period in the country undoubtedly was not heated, as there were no stoves in use at that day, much less furnaces or hot water or steam.

"The Tent" had been a mile or so south of Newville, but the church was built on ground owned by Mr. And Mrs. Rodgers, and nearly two acres in the northwest corner was donated and deeded for church and graveyard. And in that graveyard rests the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Blackwood Rodgers, now for more than a century, as she died May, 1778, leaving three children, Thomas, Margaret and Iren, the last about two months old.

Rev. John remarried Isabel IRELAND in about 1778. Isabel was the daughter of John Ireland and Mary Ager. She was born in Ireland about 1750. Isabel and John had seven sons: John, William, Aleri, Aniel, Alexander, Andrew, and Samuel. (a biography for Aleri is posted on this site).

Rev. John Rodgers had some idosyncrasies of character, like many others, one of which was thecoining and making of new names, some of which he gave his children. His second daughter, he named Iren, though she became known as Irene, though her brothers all spoke of her as I-ren. He took the two last letters from Ireland and spelled the remainder of the word backward and thus had a new work, Aleri, which he gave to a son. He also took the first letter from the word Daniel, and thus had Aniel, which he gave to another son. To another son, he gave the name "Anro" but his son change it to Andrew.

He had quite a library for a minister of that time and place. These were not all theological or medical, but embraced standard works of prose, poetry in the best literature of that period, as well as political works. He was broad minded, intelligent and liberal in his views. This cost him his ministerial position, as his children have stated his in personal reminiscence. These asserted he was too liberal in his views to suit a majority of his co-laborers in the ministry. He and his family and his wife's parents and their daughter, Mary, all emigrated to Virginia, it is believed in the year 1783. Their home there was in Rockbridge County, some seven miles from Lexington and midway between two little villages, Brownburg and Fairfield.

Dr. John died in 1812 and in his will, Dr. Rodgers gave quite a number of classicalbooks, as his gift to Washington College, The librarian at the College, who had held that office for fifty years, said that judging from the books, that Dr. Rodgers must have been a learned man in his day. This Washington College at Lexington, Virginia, is now called Washington and Lee University. Many books once belonging to him are still among his descendants. A good many were bound by his as an instance of the versatility of his talents, mention might be made that he was quite a knitter, and long white stockings that he knit for his tall sons are yet in existence. These were knit when men wore long stockings.

Dr. Rodgers sons and families all migrated to Warren County, Illinos in 1822 to settle in Hale Township.

http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/15960915/person/334007649

Scotland's People