THE HISTORY OF THE ROGERS FAMILY ¹ The first record we have of the Rogers family is a marriage that took place at the Hanham Abbots Chapel of Grace in the Parish of Bitton, near Bristol in Gloucestershire on the 6th August 1635, this was the marriage between Dennis Rogers and Katherine Lyddiate. They would have been about 25 years of age and have been born circa 1610. The records continue and show a christening of a Dennis Rogers in the same church on the 20th April 1647, the parents were Dennis & Katherine. Other children of the marriage were, James 1636, Thomas 1640, then Dennis 1647, Ann 1649, followed quickly by another Ann 1649 and finally Katherine 1649. The use of the name Ann twice would indicate the first child Ann had died. There seems to be a long gap between this and the next generation, from 1647 to 1699, it seems unusual to be fathering offspring at the age of 45 years. There were 10 children named to Dennis Rogers in the Hanham & Oldland Parish Register during this period and he may have married twice. In two cases the children had the same Christian name, this usually indicates that children have died young and another is given the same name. A common occurrence. The children were Ann 1692, Mary 1695, Dennis 1699, Thomas 1700, Rachel 1701, another Thomas 1703, Henry 1704, James 1706, another James 1707 and finally Shana 1708. The name of the mother is unknown but could have been Susannah. This period needs more investigation, the normal spacing of generations is between 25 and 30 years and it would be possible that another Dennis Rogers generation could come to light in this period of time. The records show that there was a christening of a child Dennis Rogers the son of Dennis Rogers on the 30th April 1699 in the Hanham & Oldland Parish Church. This generation Dennis reached maturity and at the age of 26 years married Ann Brayne in St Mary’s, the Bitton Parish Church on the 19th November 1725. Bitton was the Parish that covered the chapel at Hanham Abbots a distance of two or three miles. There were children of this marriage and one of these was a Dennis born in 1730 and he married a Sarah Gough on the 6th January 1754.This partnership produced six children and the apprenticeship records show that one child another Dennis Rogers was indentured by his late father Dennis on the 18th July 1771, this is recorded in the Apprentice Registers of the City of Bristol. The entry reads: -
St George’s Parish was formed in 1756 when it was split off from the Parish of St Phillip& St Jacob’s, a search of the baptism records of these two churches traced the marriage and the baptisms of the six children that Dennis Rogers and his wife Sarah produced . 6th
January 1754 Dennis Rogers married Sarah Gough. St Phillip & St Jacob. Dennis was a miner, at this time there were many small coal mines to the east and south east of Bristol worked by independent miners and mine companies. This coal industry supplied the needs of the city and the industry is well documented. The village of Bitton lies at the southern end of the coal field and that Parish adjoined the Parish of St Phillips & St Jacobs. The Dennis Rogers of this generation died in 1766, he would have been 36 years of age and left a wife with six children under eleven years of age. This information comes from a copy of Dennis’s Last Will & Testament. This states: - In the Name of God Amen. I Dennis Rogers---------- of the parish of Saint George in the County of Gloucester, Yeoman, being indisposed in body but of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding. Thanks be to God for the same. Do make this my Last Will and Testament in the manner following, that is to say first and principally to commend my Soul into the hands of the Almighty God and my body I commit to the earth to be decently interred at the discretion of my Executrix hereinafter Named and for such worldly Estate which it has pleased God to bestow upon me I give and Dispose thereof as followeth: - Imprimis I give devise and bequeath unto my Dearly Beloved Wife Sarah Rogers all my three leasehold tenements and Appertinences therein to belonging insituate lying and being in the Parish of Saint George, in the County of Gloucester and also all my goods and chattels both within Doors and without and all my wearing apparrell both linen and woolling. Presently after my decease and during her natural lifetime and after her decease to fall to my void children, Thomas Rogers, Dennis Rogers, George Rogers and Benjamin Rogers, Sarah Rogers , Anne Rogers my sons and daughters to be equally divided up amongst them share and share alike. And do make my Dearly Beloved Wife Sarah my whole and sole Executrix of this my Last Will and Testament in witness thereof I have to this my Last Will and Testament set my hand---- on this twenty third day of December 1765. Signed
sealed published and declared of the void
From various sources of information it is possible that Thomas became a tradesman like Dennis, one son, possibly George or Benjamin went to the West Indies where he died. The sister Anne was probably known as Nancy and is the person referred to in the letter below. Dennis Rogers married Hannah Iles at Bitton Parish Church in the County of Gloucestershire on the 26th May 1784 , six children have been traced who were all baptised in St Michael’s Church, Bristol, they are as follows. 3rd
August 1788, John son of Dennis and Hannah Rogers.
Like
his father Benjamin was placed into an apprenticeship. This information is
confirmed
It would appear that it was normal practice for friends to find apparel and do the washing for the apprentice and that a payment was made to the Master when the indenture was signed, on this occasion the payment was made by a local charitable bequest. Dennis Rogers. The family was in the building trade and were listed in the Bristol Trade Directories of thatperiod. It is known as the result of the letter written by Benjamin’s sister and signed W. Lewis that Dennis also had a brother who died in the West Indies and a sister Nancy. The signatory to the letter was most likely the daughter Mary Ann who is believed to have married a coachbuilder and wheelwright named William Lewis in 1819. The connection with Bristol is logical as Bristol was the main port for trading with the Americas and the West Indies, the importance of the link declined throughout the nineteenth century as Liverpool grew in importance. The following extracts from the Mathew’s Trade Directory show :-
After 1821 there were no more entries for this address, other entries that could be relevant that were found between the years 1793 and 1809 were as follows:-
There is an entry in a Poll Book that shows a Thomas Rogers at No 16 St James’s Churchyard, Bristol who cast a vote in an election in the year 1812.This information points to a connection with Benjamin who could have been in partnership with Thomas his uncle. Other evidence to support this comes from an old tradesman’s business card in the name of T & B Rogers, Tilers, Plasterers & Painters, of 16 St James’s Churchyard adjoining Maudlin Lane, Bristol, there is no date on the card but by the style and layout it would appear to be early 19th century. Benjamin Rogers, Senior. We now move to Marylebone, London, the letter referred to above was addressed to Benjamin , at 22 John Street North, London. I think this was an error by the sender and the address would more likely to have been 22 John Street, North London. This address existed in London at the time and is the most likely explanation. You will see that there was a family connection with Marylebone and this connection continued for the next eighty - ninety years. Being a skilled tradesman, Benjamin would have had to move as would many others to where work was available. The 1820’s were years in which the port of Bristol declined with the growth of a rival in Liverpool and Marylebone together with London as a city was rapidly expanding. He would have moved to where there was work available for the building trade. Benjamin was married in the St Marylebone Parish Church on the 15th June 1823. His bride was Ruth Chidsey who was from Charlings or Charlinch in Somerset where she was born in the year 1799. There, were four children of the marriage, Sarah Jacobs, born 1823, Benjamin, born 1826, William born 1830 and George born 1834.This information is recorded in the Parish Registers which are now located in the London Records Centre. The Parish registers show the following information:-
Census Returns have been a useful source of information .The return for the year taken on the 31st March 1851 shows that the family lived at No 31 George Street, Portman Square, London.
The name Charlinch in Somerset does not exist, the nearest sounding name is Charlings in the same county. The spelling could have been an error by the enumerator. You will see that the family name Jacobs appears where was the name used in Sarah’s christening. Benjamin Rogers. The Census Return taken on the 7th April 1861 for No 31 George Street, Portman Square shows:-
After this date and sometime before the next Census which was taken on the 7th April 1871 the George Street area was redeveloped and we next find the family at No 20 Northumberland Street. Marylebone.
The family remained at Northumberland Street and the Census taken on the 7th April 1881 shows the following entry:
The Post Office Directory shows continuous occupation of the 31 George Street address from 1846 to 1863, together with the information taken from the Census Returns this would indicate that the business was passed from father to son of the same name. The parish church for the family was St Mary’s, Bryanston Square, a search of the baptism register for this church shows the following entry.
No other baptisms have been traced, when the younger children were born the family had moved and have not been traced. Benjamin Rogers and his wife Ruth disappeared from the 1861 Census, this does not necessarily mean that they had died, they may have returned to the West Country. There is little to add about the other family members of this generation no firm information was found on Sarah, George or William. The letter addressed to Benjamin Rogers at 22 John Street, North London and undated reads as follows:-
There are places where the writing is indecipherable and you will have to put your own interpretation on the contents. I have no information as to who or what relationship uncle Hemmings was to the family. I would imagine the £20,000 has long gone and if it ever existed would have a similar status to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The name Hemmings does occur in that an apprenticeship record shows that a Thomas Rogers was apprenticed to a cordwainer named Richard Hemmings, at Bristol in the year 1742. A search of the probate records for the period 1820 to 1835 did not throw any light on the above mentioned information. The Diocese of Canterbury who handled probate for all wills where the deceased person died overseas shows only one possible name Thomas Rogers. This was the will of a landowner on the island of Antigua, he died in 1828, reading this Will gave no information that would link to this Rogers family. I also believe the evidence shows that Thomas stayed in the Bristol area and is the T. Rogers shown on the trade card. Therefore the brother in the West Indies could have been Benjamin or George and I have been unable to find a Probate reference for either of these names. Benjamin Rogers. Benjamin Rogers carried on his father’s business and was continuously shown in the Post Office Directory for London as a Builder, at No 31 George Street, Portman Square, Marylebone. Benjamin married Jane Bick, on the 3rd January 1854 in the church of St George the Martyr, Holborn. At the time of the marriage the address of both parties was given as 56 Great Ormond Street, London. Jane’s father was Thomas Bick of Nymphsfield in Gloucestershire, occupation clothier. Benjamin died in October 1878 and was buried at the Marylebone Cemetery, East Finchley on the 21st October 1878 in Plot C15, No 27. The Census returns show that there were four children, Charles, William, Daniel and George. There is reason to believe that one more child was born after George who was called Nellie, she died at an early age and of whom nothing more is known. She has not appeared on any of the Census returns up to 1881. It is known that Daniel died at the age of sixteen on the 11th March 1877 and is buried in Marylebone Cemetery, Plot F5 No 25. With the exception of George there is nothing known of the other children, it is thought that William who was a boot and shoe maker moved to Brighton where he had his own business. Charles lived in the St John’s Wood area where he followed his trade as a plumber. George Rogers. The direct line of descent continues with George Rogers who married Agnes Minnie McGowran or McGowern and they had seven children, they were as follows:- Leslie George Born 1890 Died
1974 The research for the History of the Rogers Family was carried out entirely by Clifford Rogers, and I am most indebted to him for allowing me to include it on my website.
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