Fairmount Cemetery, Forksville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania
From Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33173800
The fun of digging around in genealogical records and histories is when the stories are uncovered. Sometimes I am busy following my relatives back in time and find myself gone somewhat astray. That's what happened when I came across the Rogers family of Pennsylvania.
Rebecca Rogers (1813-1878) was the mother-in-law of my first cousin 3 x removed, but let's not worry about that--I'll spell out the connection at the bottom of this post. Rebecca's grandparents are the ones with the interesting stories about their journey from Yorkshire, England to America, and their subsequent adventures. And they sure did have a lot of children...
Samuel Rogers (1761-1828) was married in 1783 in Yorkshire, England to Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), when they were both 21 years old. They started their family in Yorkshire with the birth of Samuel, Jr. in 1782 (before they were married?--the records are a little unclear); followed by:
Joseph 1784
Jonathan 1785
John 1787
William 1788
Hannah 1790
Richard 1791
David 1793
Abram 1794
Elizabeth 1795
Martha 1796
Benjamin 1797
Reuben 1798
Jacob 1801
That's 11 boys and 3 girls (so far. Stay tuned). Abram, Elizabeth, and Martha died young and were buried in England.
With their remaining 11 children, Samuel and Ann and Samuel's brother George sailed for America in 1801. I calculate that their oldest son was 19; then the ages were 17, 16, 14, 13, 11, 10, 8, 4, 3, and baby Jacob.
The trip couldn't have been easy in any way.
"The calamities of the voyage as told by Ann Gaunt Rogers:
Ann related that when her little ones cried for water, she gave them bits of hard, dry toasted bread to chew and abate their thirst. She told of the death of baby Jacob, 5 months old, who died from the dreaded smallpox outbreak and was buried at sea.
After the ship had anchored about three miles from shore, some drunken sailors accidentally set a fire and nearly burned down the ship... Uncle George had his leg badly scalded during the fracas.
Four-year old Benjamin was missing when the family was ready to disembark. Joseph, 17, rushed back to the berths and found his brother asleep. Finally, the family arrived on American soil with 10 of their 14 children. Besides the child who died at sea, they had buried Abram, Elizabeth and Martha in England. Four more children would be born in their new homeland." (3)
The four children born after the family arrived in Pennsylvania were:
George born 1802
Isaac b. 1804
Moses b. 1806
Mary Ann b.1808 when her mother Ann was 46.
Next post: More adventures for the Rogers family
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Sources
2. Now and Then: A Quarterly Magazine of History, Biography & Genealogy, Volumes 2-3. 1888.
https://books.google.com/books?id=y5YyAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22the+now+and+then%22+a+quarterly&source=gbs_navlinks_s
3. Weavers of a Legacy: Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Rogers (1760-1828), Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), Yorkshire, England; and Allied Families (Gaunt, Roger, Molyneaux), by Jean Peterson Rosencranz. 2006. Downloadable PDF Document, available at http://grimshaworigin.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WeaversOfLegacyByJeanLand.pdf
3. Weavers of a Legacy: Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel Rogers (1760-1828), Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), Yorkshire, England; and Allied Families (Gaunt, Roger, Molyneaux), by Jean Peterson Rosencranz. 2006. Downloadable PDF Document, available at http://grimshaworigin.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WeaversOfLegacyByJeanLand.pdf
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Samuel Rogers (1761 - 1828)
great-grandfather of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed
John Rogers (1787 - 1858)
son of Samuel Rogers
Rebecca A Rogers (1813 - 1878)
daughter of John Rogers
Emma Little (1846 - 1933)
daughter of Rebecca A Rogers
Eldorous H Whitehouse (1852 - 1938)
husband of Emma Little
Mary Carroll Rankins (1827 - 1909)
mother of Eldorous H Whitehouse
Joseph P Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)
father of Mary Carroll Rankins
Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins (1822 - 1914)--my great great grandmother
daughter of Joseph P Rankins Sr.
Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)--my great grandfather
son of Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins
Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)--my grandmother
daughter of Oscar J Ellis
Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)--my father
son of Eva Josephine Ellis
Clair Marie Harris--that's me, the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris
By my calculations, they had 18 children? Is that even possible?
ReplyDeleteI was so curious about this couple when I saw that some family researchers on Ancestry.com had them down as having 22 children! I picked my way through the records and could only find proof for 18. If a woman continues to have a child every year or two for all of her childbearing years, its possible. I can't imagine how strong their constitutions must have been.
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