The Rogers Family

of New London, Connecticut

James Rogers, the immigrant ancestor of my line of Rogers, is said to have embarked on the ship Increase in 1635 for New England.  Although his parentage has not been determined, many believe he was the great-grandson of John Rogers the Martyr. He was presumed to be a native of England, born about 1615, so he was about 20 years of age when he emigrated to New England.

In 1637, about two years after his arrival, he was one of six men from the Saybrook colony who fought in the infamous Pequot War under Captain John Underhill.  Shortly thereafter, he was recorded in Stratford, Connecticut, where he married Elizabeth Rowland, daughter of Samuel Rowland.

James and Elizabeth left Stratford and moved across the Housatonic River to Milford, where James was granted a home lot in 1645.  Elizabeth (Rowland) Rogers joined the Congregational Church at Milford in 1645, where some of eldest children were baptized, and James joined in 1652. In Milford, James was employed as a baker, although perhaps not always of great a success, because in 1655 a complaint was made against him to the General Court of the inferior quality of the biscuits he sold to Virginia and the Barbados. His response was the flour provided by the local miller was of inferior quality; the miller acknowledging he didn't understand the proper manner of grinding.

James and Elizabeth moved to New London, Connecticut some time between 1656 and 1660, because he was made a freeman there on 14 March 1660/1.  Here, he joined the New London church and became prominent in church affairs.  He appeared on the ministry tax rate list for 1664, assessed for £548 at the rate of £7, 19s, 10d,  apparently the largest property owner in New London, four years after he moved there.

James Rogers was apparently held in high esteem as he held many important positions early on in New London: Deputy to the Court of Elections, Corn Commissioner, Representative to the General Court, and more.  He was closely associated with Matthew Griswold  and Governor John Winthrop, however a "long and troublesome litigation" developed between James and Waitstill Winthrop, the son of Governor Winthrop, regarding property bounds and trespasses.

James and Elizabeth (Rowland) Rogers had eight known children, born between 1640 and 1658. They all survived to adulthood and married into established families in New London. I descend from their children John and Bathsheba.  James Rogers died in 1687 at his farm, Goshen, located at Great Neck. Elizabeth died about 1709 and is believed to be buried at the Jonathan pasture of this farm.

John Rogers, son of James and Elizabeth (Rowland) Rogers was born 1 December 1648 in Milford, Connecticut, so he was between the ages of 8 and 12 when his family moved to New London.   On 17 October 1670, he married Elizabeth Griswold, daughter of Matthew and Ann (Wolcott) Griswold.

John and Elizabeth (Griswold) Rogers were zealous members of the Congregational Church under the Half-Way Covenant until 1674, when John began to study the bible and concluded that some doctrines and customs of the Congregational Church had no origin in scripture. He publicly claimed it was impossible for him to accept doctrines and customs which were in conflict with scriptural teachings.  Elizabeth, his wife, joined him in publicly avowing this belief, much to the consternation of her Griswold relatives.  So convincing were Elizabeth (Griswold) Rogers' relatives that she ended up returning to her family with her two children.

John Rogers and his brother James were baptized by immersion and received into the Seventh Day Baptist Church of Newport, Rhode Island by prayer and the laying on of hands.  So scandalized were the Griswold family by these actions that they convinced Elizabeth to petition for a divorce from John, which she did. The case went before a grand jury which found "not the bill" in the claim, however the Griswold family persisted and finally succeeded in obtaining the divorce from the General Council.  The court placed the children into  Elizabeth's custody due to James' “ hettridoxy”.  The children later returned to James when they became of age to choose for themselves.

In early 1675, John Rogers became the pastor of a Seventh Day Baptist Church in New London, under the Newport Church. His parents James and Elizabeth (Rowland) Rogers, along with his brothers and sisters became the first members of the church. It was not long before Hon and other members of the New London church came to the conclusion that the Newport Church was not promoting and following all of the teachings of the New Testament. A break with the Newport Church ensued and new pastor from the Newport Church was sent to take over the ministry of the New London Church.  John Roger's church became the Rogerene church and the members were called Rogerenes.

The Rogerenes did not follow ecclesiastical laws, believing that in accordance with scripture, Christians should be answerable only to God and guided by the New Testament. These beliefs were heavily ostracized by the Congregational status quo in New London, and the Rogerenes were heavily fined and imprisoned.  In retaliation, John Rogers' brother James, Jr. and his two sons began to go to the local Congregational Church and protest tthe church's anti-Christian attitude, for which they were fined and otherwise punished.

The Rogerenes were strongly opposed to the union of Church and State that prevailed in New London at the time. They believed that directions for healing of the sick should be afforded to all people, not just believers. They gave up the seventh day sabbath and began to hold their meetings on Sunday, however they also conducted other activities on Sunday that were in violation of the law.

The Rogerenes of New London eventually died out, however a more exclusive group of Rogerenes developed in Groton, an area that became known as Quakertown. 

Line 1

1 James Rogers + Elizabeth Rowland

2 John Rogers + Elizabeth Griswold

3 John Rogers, Jr. + Bathsheba Smith

4 Bathsheba Rogers + Robert Stoddard

5 Elizabeth Stoddard + Levi Chapman

6 John Chapman + Barthena Button

7 Mary Chapman + Amos Heath

8 Sarah Maria Heath + Francis Brigham Clark

 Levi Nelson Clark + Carrie Estelle Larkham

10 Sarah Hannah Clark + Frank Rowland Burdick

11 Bertha Melissa Burdick  

Line 2

1 James Rogers + Elizabeth Rowland

2 Bathsheba Rogers + Richard Smith

3 Bathsheba Smith + John Rogers, Jr.

4 Bathsheba Rogers + Robert Stoddard

5 Elizabeth Stoddard + Levi Chapman

6 John Chapman + Barthena Button

7 Mary Chapman + Amos Heath

8 Sarah Maria Heath + Francis Brigham Clark

9 Levi Nelson Clark + Carrie Estelle Larkham

0 Sarah Hannah Clark + Frank Rowland Burdick

11 Bertha Melissa Burdick