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He was descended from John "the Martyr" Rogers, the first protestant martyr executed under the reign of Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary), Queen of England in 1555.
His parents were probably distant cousins to one another, Giles Rogers, Sr. (1642-1730) and Rachel (Eastham) Rogers (1643-1735) who married about 1672 in Worcestershire, England and emigrated to the colonies.
John Rogers was born on 26 Feb 1680, either on at sea aboard the ship "HMS George" or after the vessel came to anchor in the Chesapeake Bay, Rappahannock County, Virginia.
He obtained a fairly good education, and at manhood became an explorer and land surveyor, and took up much land in the "Tide-water" section of Virginia. [1]
John Rogers married about 1716 in Virginia to Mary (Byrd) Rogers [2] [3] (1683-1763), youngest daughter of Mary (Horsmanden) and Col. William Byrd who owned vast lands in Virginia. Mary and John Rogers would probably have inherited a part of that land where they resided.
John Rogers died about 1762 in Dunkirk, King and Queen County, Virginia. [4]
Sources are needed to confirm his correct years ...
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It has been argued that his wife was named Rachel Rogers and his mother was named Mary Rogers.
There are two "Rachel" Easthams in this genealogy, but they are not the same person. They are in two different generations.
The parents of John (b: 1680) were Giles Rogers (b: 1643) and Rachel Eastham (b: 1645).
The parents of Rachel (b: 1695) were George Eastham (b" 1663) and Mary Bird (b: 1673).
Rachel Eastham (b: 1645) and George Eastham (b: 1663) may have shared the same grandparents.
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Mary Bird (b. 1673) is NOT a "WESTOVER" Byrd. This Mary Bird is a "POPLAR GROVE" Bird of the Robert "I" Bird (b. 1637 New Kent Co., VA) family - Family Plantation named "POPLAR GROVE" in King & Queen Co., VA. This Mary Bird's brother is Robert "II" "The Sheriff" Bird (b: 1681). Reference sources are Last Will and Testaments filed in Virginia archives.
It is possible that the WESTOVER Byrds and the POPLAR GROVE Birds share a common ancestor buried many generations back in England but they were not considered close relations in Virginia.
Romantic Speculation: There are those who claim that John Rogers' marriage to Rachel Eastham was his second marriage. At the time of their marriage in 1716 John was 36 years old and Rachel was 21, so he certainly had plenty of time to make a first marriage. These same claimants look to Mary Byrd (b: 1682/83) of WESTOVER to be his first wife. However, there are NO primary sources to substantiate this claim and there are NO children of issue for this couple noted in any primary source material. There is evidence per the "Secret Diaries" of Col. Wm. Byrd II (Mary Byrd's older brother) indicating that the WESTOVER Mary Byrd was married into the Duke family. All the children born to John Rogers (b. 1680) starting in 1617 were certainly the children of his wife, Rachel Eastham (b: 1695). There are no known records of any marriage of John Rogers (b: 1680) to anyone other than Rachel Eastham (b: 1695).
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