James Rogers - Early Rhode Island Setter

James & Mary (___) Rogers Of Rhode Island

I only have bits and pieces on our Rogers immigrant ancestor at this point. I do have the following;

From a biography of a descendant, Horatio Rogers, from Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island, J. H. Beers & Co, 1908, I quote:

"He (Horatio) was a descendant in the seventh generation from James Rogers, an inhabitant of Newport (Rhode Island), as early as 1638.... James Rogers held the position of general sergeant for nineteen years and was several times general solicitor."

Note that Rhode Island was started approximately 1636 by Roger Williams, who had been expelled from Massachusetts. The Puritans did ** NOT ** allow for freedom of religious thought. You observed their religion faithfully or you were expelled from the colony. Roger Williams created a haven for religious freedom in Rhode Island. Anne Hutchinson came later. What role, if any, that our ancestor had in these series of events is unknown to me at this time.

James Rogers is involved in the first two deeds (on Page 2) of recorded real estate deeds in Volume 1 of the Rhode Island Evidences in the State archives (Abstract, Rhode Island Historical Society, 1970). Note that "first two deeds" is in terms of chronology of recorded deeds that we have. There surely was already land ownership as the sellers of the early deeds had to have gotten ownership in some way.

Jan 16, 1648: In the first, he sold two parcels of land to his son-in-law, Richard Knight.

June 6, 1650: In the second, he "promise and ingadge my selfe to make the fence that hath been in Controversy betwixt Richard Knight and my selfe betwixt this and March next and to maintaine the same for ever"

Nov 19, 1659: In a later third deed (pg 117), he sold to John Sanford of Portsmouth "a forth part of Cononicatt Island and Dutch Island being one Hundred and Twenty Akers... Bounded... south upon the Town shipp, west upon the sea, North upon the the Land which is Peleg Sanfords, East upon the highway...".

It is interesting to note that in the first deed, the land is referred to as: "... being the proper Inheritance and possession of James Rogers of Newport in Rhode-Isl." Unless they used the term "inheritance" in a different way than we do now, which could be the case, this is an indication that he might possibly be the son of an immigrant parent.

Enos Johnson, Jr. reports in NEGHR, Vol. 23, 1869, Pg. 273:

"I think it not a little singular that Farmer and Savage are both silent regarding this Newport family of Rogers, as I find in the "Rhode Island Colonial Records" that James Rogers was admitted freeman at Newport, Sept 7, 1640; was elected sergeant of the General Assembly March 15, 1643, and continued such until 1664; and was also the solicitor-general in 1657. In 1676, his widow, Mary Rogers (then Mary Peabody), petitions to settle his accounts. And from the same records I find that Thomas and John Rogers were admitted freemen at Newport in 1668."

As for children and further generations:

One can surmise from a deed to which James is referred to in the deed, where Richard Knight refers to his wife as Sarah Rogers, that Sarah was his daughter. Sarah married Richard Knight and they had a family in Rhode Island, but at least one son, David, went on to Connecticut.

The Horatio Rogers biography (See Noteworthy Rogers) indicates he is from a son of James, named (Cpt) John Rogers, who was "several times a representative in the Colonial Assembly. John stayed in Rhode Island, as did many generations of descendants.

At least one line of Thomas Rogers' branch went south, probably there even by the time of the Civil War, and thus may have fought for the South, while Horatio and most of the other Providence Rogers were fighting on the Yankee side.

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