A sketch of Samuel Rogers, Part 1 of 4

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

   Published in 1888 and written by cousins, George S. L. Ward, U.S.A. and Louis Richards of Reading, Pa. They cite C. R. Hutchinson as source for some primary material.

   
The first settlers in New Jersey by the name of Rogers appear to have come into the province at about the date of its division into East and West Jersey, in 1676. Whilst they were all, without doubt, of either of English or Irish origin, a few of them were probably from some of the older colonies of New England, where they are traceable at a still more ancient period. The oldest family records of the State indicate that the name was by no means a common one in the earlier part of the provincial history. One John Rogers came with the Quaker colony from London and Yorkshire by whom West Jersey was originally settled, and located near Burlington in 1678. He died about 1697, leaving both male and female descendants, and was probably the ancestor of the Rogers’ of Burlington County, who adhered to the Friends’ denomination. This stock had no known connection with that of Samuel Rogers of Monmouth, some of whose descendants are noticed in the present sketch.
   According to tradition, Samuel Rogers was from Ireland, of highly respectable connections, and possessed of considerable estate. With his family, it is said, he brought over his servants and household effects, and settled at or near the village of Allentown, Monmouth County. The period of his immigration cannot be precisely determined, but there is evidence that it was as early as 1731. The date of the first conveyance to him to be found of record, is 1734. The purchase was of 323 acres on Crosswicks Creek, for L500 sterling. Allentown, which became his place of residence, is an ancient settlement dating back to 1706, and was laid out upon lands belonging to Nathan Allen, son-in-law of Robert Burnet, the original patentee. It is situated in what is now the township of Upper Freehold, in the extreme western part of the county, on a branch of Crosswicks Creek, and is eight miles from Bordentown, and eleven miles from Trenton.
   Mr. Rogers became an extensive land-owner, carried on a prosperous mercantile employment, and lived in a style corresponding with his abundant means. He was a staunch member of the Church of England, and the Protestant Episcopal organization in Allentown is said to have been founded by his family, who donated the lot upon which th first church was erected about 1750, and also the burial-place adjoining, which is of still earlier date. The original church building was demolished in 1810, and the present edifice erected thirty-five years later. (These statements in relation to the origin of Christ Church of Allentown, as the parish is called, were obtained from a memorandum in the Bible formerly used in the church, bearing the imprint of 1762, and in the possession of Miss Mary Gill, residing near the village. Unfortunately all the early parish records are lost, and more definite information upon this point is unattainable, from any other source.)
   Samuel Rogers, as appears from the inscription upon his tombstone, died September 17, 1756, aged 64, and consequently was born in 1692. His wife, Mary Rogers, died April 14, 1738, at the age of 48. Their remains rest in the ancient church ground, now abandoned, beside those of some of their descendants, the inclosure being separated by a lane from the rear of what was formerly the old family residence. In his will, which is dated August 6, 1756, and was proven September 22, following, he describes himself as a resident of Upper Freehold, County of Monmouth, Eastern division of New Jersey, "shopkeeper," and names his children in the order of their ages. His family Bible, printed in 1736, in the possession of Mrs. Anna Rogers Harlow, of Philadelphia, one of his descendants, contains numerous records of births, marriages and deaths, beginning with the five children of Samuel and Mary Rogers. These were:
   I. JAMES, born June 8, 1723; died January 2, 1743, unmarried; buried in the Episcopal ground at [Lakeview Dr.] Allentown.
   II. ELIZABETH, born July 10, 1725. She married Colonel Joseph Borden, son of Joseph Borden, Esq., the founder of Bordentown, Burlington County. (The Bordens are said to have settled at Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1685, and in New Jersey in 1675, first acquiring land in Bordentown in 1717, after the death of Thomas Farnsworth, and English Quaker, by whom the first settlement was made there in 1681. In a deed from Joseph Borden, Sr., bearing the date of 1730, for the conveyance of a lot now in the ownership of Mr. A. D. Carmen, the place is called "Bordenstown." Joseph Borden, in 1750, established a line of public communication between New York and Philadelphia, by boats and stages. He died September 22,1765, in his 79th year, and, with his wife, Ann (Conover) Borden, who died March 11, 1745, aged 57, lies interred in a small inclosure which he established as a family burying-ground, situated upon the brink of the hill overlooking the Delaware, at the end of a lane called Church Street. From its subsequent use as a burial place by members of the Hopkinson family, it obtained the name of the Hopkinson burying-ground, by which it is still designated.)
   Colonel Borden was an ardent Whig in the Revolutionary struggle, and "a steadfast friend to the liberties of his country in the most trying times." He was a deputy from Burlington County to the Provincial Convention of New Jersey in 1775, was Colonel of the first regiment raised from that county for the Continental service, and subsequently Commissioner of Loans of the United States for the State of New Jersey. In May, 1778, his house and stores were burned by a British force sent up the Delaware from Philadelphia for the purpose of destroying several vessels which had been brought for safety to the neighborhood of Bordentown. A guard was placed about his dwelling to insure its destruction, and it is related that, during the progress of the flames, a British officer having expressed to Mrs. Borden his sympathy for her private misfortune, she replied, "I thank you, sir, but this is the happiest day of my life. I know you have given up all hope of reconquering my country, or you would not thus wantonly devastate it."
   Colonel Borden died April 8, 1791, and his wife November 2, 1807, and both are buried in the Hopkinson ground at Bordentown. The had three children: 1. Mary, who married July 21, 1763, Thomas McKean, then member of the General Assembly of Delaware, and subsequently Chief Justice and Governor of Pennsylvania. She died at New Castle March 12, 1773, in her 29th year, leaving two sons and four daughters. An obituary notice of Mrs. McKean, published in the Pennsylvania Gazette of March 17, 1773, refers in highly eulogistic terms to her exemplary and affectionate character in the several relations of daughter, wife and mother, her domestic and benevolent qualities, and the serenity and Christian resignation with which she met the final summons. Her virtues were also commemorated by her brother-in-law, Francis Hopkinson, in some verses which are contained in a volume of his literary productions published posthumously. Mary Borden was the first wife of Governor McKean; he subsequently married, 1774 Sarah Armitage, of New Castle.
   2. Ann, who married at Christ Church, Philadelphia, September 1, 1768, Francis Hopkinson, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania. He resided during the Revolution at Bordentown, the venerable and historic mansion which he occupied, at the corner of Farnsworth Avenue and Park Street, built by his father-in-law, Joseph Borden, in 1750, being still in the possession of some of his descendants. It was here that he produced many of his popular political effusions, including the celebrated satire of "The Battle of the Kegs." [Written in response to a failed attempt by Borden and Joseph Kirkbride to blow-up the British fleet at Philadelphia.] Mrs. Hopkinson survived her husband, and died at Bordentown August 31, 1827. They had five children, the eldest of whom was Joseph Hopkinson, the successor, in 1828, of Richard Peters as United States Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and author of the words of the national air, "Hail Columbia." He married, 1794, Emily, daughter of Governor Thomas Mifflin; died in 1842, and, with his wife, is buried in the Hopkinson ground.
   3. Joseph, born 1755; married Mary, daughter of Langhorn Biles, of Bucks County, and niece of Colonel Joseph Kirkbride; served with credit in the Revolutionary army; died October 16, 1788, leaving a daughter Elizabeth, who married Azariah Hunt. Joseph was the last of the male line of the Borden family.
Historically Speaking is a regular column presented by John Fabiano, president of the Allentown-Upper Freehold Historical Society. For information about the historical society, send e-mail to [email protected].