Jeremiah Rogers profile notes

The following quotation is an excerpt from an address by Rev. George M. Bodge, delivered at the 150th anniversary of the First Congregational Society of Leominster, Mass, as printed in the Leominster Enterprise, September 30, 1893. [about John Rogers of Leominster's ancestors]

Beginning in the middle of a paragraph.."I will tell you briefly the facts without the long details of the hunt. I found from the published records of Lancaster, compiled by a careful and eminent antiquarian--Mr. Henry S. Nourse,--that Jeremiah Rogers, with Abia, his wife, settled in Lancaster among the early settlers. In correspondence with him [Nourse] I learned that he [Jeremiah Rogers] came from Dorchester, and sometime before the destruction of Lancaster, went back to Dorchester with his family, and died there in 1676, and his wife Abia and two daughters died there two years later, 1678, of the small-pox scourge which raged that year. This last from Dorchester records. A gentleman from Salem sent me some manuscript notes which showed that Jeremiah of Salem and his wife Abigail Trescot came from Dorchester. Finally I found the key to the relationship, in the record of a deed from this Jeremiah of Salem of the land in Lancaster which had belonged to the settler Jeremiah. This carried the genealogy back a whole generation and we have the descent of our Leominster first minister from the probable emigrant of this name. And it stands, Jeremiah and Abia Rogers of Dorchester about 1650, when, or near that, their oldest son Jeremiah was born. (The family were settled in Lancaster from 1658 to about 1674, the father taking up his claim in 1654). Jeremiah Jr., a wheelwright, and his wife Abigail lived in Salem in 1693. Their son John was born in Salem March 22, 1684. Graduated from Harvard in the class of 1705. He was settled as the second minister of Boxford in 1709 and married that same year Susanne Marston of Salem. They had children of whom John the oldest son was born September 24th, 1712, so in a way we are celebrating his birthday (leaving out the matter of "old style" and "new style") John graduated at Harvard College in 1732. Probably taught school and preached in various places until he settled in Leominster at the age of thirty-one years."

(Source: url:http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26554827/person/1890624636/media/2?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum)

"Jeremiah Rogers and Abigail of Salem for 15 pounds sell to Ebenezer Maudsley, weaver, Dorchester, all right and interest or share in the land within the limits of Dorchester new grant that in right descended to me from our grandfather, George Dyer, and our honored father, William Trescott, both since deceased.

____Wit Daniel Webb__________________________________26 Oct. 1726

________Nathaniel Rogers_____________________________Jeremiah Rogers

_____________________________________________________Abigail Rogers

(Vol 40, Page 292, Essex County Reg. of Deeds.)

So far, in my 30 years of research I have not found proof of the birth of this Jeremiah nor of his parents. He died in 1676 at Dorchester, Massauchusetts but the death was recorded in Lancaster where he had been a resident.

Ada Williams Rogers, a Jeremiah Rogers researcher wrote in 1950, "Came to Dorchester, MA about 1631, but it is not known what ship he came on nor where he came from, although he may have come from North Benfleet, Essex County, Eng. as Jeremy Rogers witnessed the will of Elizabeth, wife of John Lake of Great Franton Hall, N. Benfleet, Essex Co., Eng. on 5-1-1616. His oldest son, Jeremiah, was born in Dorchester [MA] about 1650. Jeremiah was one of the earliest settlers of Lancaster, MA., where on 9-4-1654 he subscribed to the laws of the church. His estate as one of the first settlers was given as £310. In the laying out of the second division of "medows" 2-5-1659 Jeremiah received lot 30 and "Goodman Rogers" was also given a corner of the common. His house lot "lying on the neck of the east side near the brook, 10 acres near Quasponkin Hill" bounded by the common and the swamp, and 10 more south of Pine Hill. The Rogers house lot is cut in twain by the old turnpike and included in the upper brick yard of Samuel R. Damon, the Anthony Lane homestead, and the lands of Emory White. He also had other land as in 1663 Jeremiah sold 100 acres of his outlying land to Henry Kimball, a blacksmith of Boston. On 3-12-1710 his sons, Jeremiah of Salem, wheelright, and Jehosophat of Topsfield, tailor, sold their father's Lancaster lands to Edward Phelps, a weaver from Andover. Jeremiah returned to Dorchester at the time of the massacre at Lancaster and died 9-26-1676. It is too bad that we know so little of the flight from Lancaster which was attacked by the Indians on 2-10-1675 as this must have been a terrific experience in the dead of winter with seven children under 16 to get to the safety of Dorchester. This was during King Phillip's War. Mary Rowlandson, who was captured at Lancaster, wrote of her experiences (see Willard's "Naratives of Indian Wars").

One interesting item about Jeremiah is found in his petition to the court 8-4-1670 that he be "granted freedom for training as a common soldier" as he had been an officer. He states that he was a "sergant in the military company and was dismissed for reasons best known to the major and not for any neglect or misdemeanor in my place that I know of." He was called to arms as a common soldier which he contended was illegal as he had been an officer. A petition by an officer throws some light on the story as they apparently felt that it was very unjust of him to have recourse to the court rather than to settle the matter amicably among themselves. He stated that Jeremiah had been put in place of another who could not serve but the company did not like him so they chose another in his place. We are left up in the air as only the two petitions survive and the decision of the court is unknown. Jeremiah's name is spelled variously, Rodgers, Rogers."

The following quotation is an excerpt from an address by Rev. George M. Bodge, delivered at the 150th anniversary of the First Congregational Society of Leominster, Mass, as printed in the Leominster Enterprise, September 30, 1893. [about John Rogers of Leominster's ancestors]

Beginning in the middle of a paragraph.."I will tell you briefly the facts without the long details of the hunt. I found from the published records of Lancaster, compiled by a careful and eminent antiquarian--Mr. Henry S. Nourse,--that Jeremiah Rogers, with Abia, his wife, settled in Lancaster among the early settlers. In correspondence with him [Nourse] I learned that he [Jeremiah Rogers] came from Dorchester, and sometime before the destruction of Lancaster, went back to Dorchester with his family, and died there in 1676, and his wife Abia and two daughters died there two years later, 1678, of the small-pox scourge which raged that year. This last from Dorchester records. A gentleman from Salem sent me some manuscript notes which showed that Jeremiah of Salem and his wife Abigail Trescot came from Dorchester. Finally I found the key to the relationship, in the record of a deed from this Jeremiah of Salem of the land in Lancaster which had belonged to the settler Jeremiah. This carried the genealogy back a whole generation and we have the descent of our Leominster first minister from the probable emigrant of this name. And it stands, Jeremiah and Abia Rogers of Dorchester about 1650, when, or near that, their oldest son Jeremiah was born. (The family were settled in Lancaster from 1658 to about 1674, the father taking up his claim in 1654). Jeremiah Jr., a wheelwright, and his wife Abigail lived in Salem in 1693. Their son John was born in Salem March 22, 1684. Graduated from Harvard in the class of 1705. He was settled as the second minister of Boxford in 1709 and married that same year Susanne Marston of Salem. They had children of whom John the oldest son was born September 24th, 1712, so in a way we are celebrating his birthday (leaving out the matter of "old style" and "new style") John graduated at Harvard College in 1732. Probably taught school and preached in various places until he settled in Leominster at the age of thirty-one years."

(Source: url:http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26554827/person/1890624636/media/2?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum)