My Rodgers Ancestors

Sometimes there are ancestral lines in your family that you can find very little about. From the time my grandmother told me, as a teenager, nearly fifty years ago, that her mother's name was Henrietta Rodgers, I have wanted to know more about this family. Despite my best efforts over the years and having my DNA done all I could come up with was Henrietta's father's name and his possible parents. After a concentrated effort in the last couple of months, I haven't been able to add anymore names, but I have at least been able to add more "meat to the bones" and confirm the names I had.

Edward John Rodgers was Henrietta's father and he had married her mother, Ellen, about six months after her first husband had died, suddenly, leaving her with five young children to bring up alone. Henrietta was born twelve months later in Jan 1877 in Nairne, South Australia. A marriage of necessity perhaps, but Edward turns out to be a poor choice of husband. Within two months of the marriage, whilst he was running a lodging house in Hindley St, Adelaide, an altercation occurred with one of the lodgers, Mary Ann Nutt, who was charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Edward after he rather too forcefully chastised her screaming child. She had attempted to empty a basin over his head and in the process hit him in the eye, resulting in him losing the sight in that eye. Evidence was given that Ellen had told him he should not have chastised the child and that he had pushed her away as well. Mary Ann Nutt was found not guilty.

The further back on a family tree you research, the harder it becomes to find some ancestors, and even rarer to know what they looked like. However sometimes you can be lucky and find a description. This happened when, unfortunately, a warrant was issued for Edward's arrest, six months after Henrietta's birth, for deserting his wife, Ellen and his description appeared in the South Australian Police Gazette, Aug 1877:-

Edward was arrested five months later in Jan 1878 at Caltowie, South Australia. It is unlikely that he ever provided for or saw much of Henrietta, as by May the following year he was admitted to Adelaide Hospital where he remained for 163 days before he died on 29 Oct 1879. He died of exhaustion and suppuration of the knee joint and was only 43 years old. The details on his death certificate were provided by George Witcombe, a cabinetmaker who knew nothing of his marital status, place of birth or time in South Australia as these are all blank. When Ellen died she was buried with her first husband's surname. Hospital admission records, however, show Edward was born in Hampshire and had only been in South Australia for 5 years. The ship he supposedly came on the Earl Craig has proved to be elusive and no record has been found of his arrival. Equally his first wife which he alluded to on his marriage to Ellen, saying  he was a widower, has also yet to be found, but I have had more success with his named father, Patrick George Rodgers.

The baptism of Edward John Rogers (above) in Alverstoke, Hampshire in Apr 1835 show his parents as Patrick and Mary and that his father was a soldier. Patrick Rodgers and Mary Slevin had married in the Gosport Roman Catholic Chapel on 23 May 1834.

Lewis's Topograhical Index 1837

From Regiment Discharge Papers and Chelsea Pensioner Records for Patrick Rodgers, I have been able to learn more about him. He was born in the Parish of Blaris, County Antrim in 1815. Blaris Parish is also referred to as Lisburn Parish as it encompasses the town of Lisburn. Lisburn is on the River Lagan which divides the Counties of Down and Antrim and is only 6 miles(9.6Kms) from Belfast. The parish includes parts of both counties. Patrick enlisted in 86th Regiment of Foot under the leadership of Lieut. General Sir Arthur Brooke KCB at Belfast on 3 Jan 1833 as Private No. 814. Records at the National Army Museum show the regiment in 1827 had its first posting to the West Indies and other British possessions, a posting which lasted ten years. The regiment were also at Haslar Barracks in Hampshire in 1834/35, according to a Conservation Area Appraisal in 2018, at the time when Patrick married and Edward was baptised.

Model of Officer of 86th Regiment

c.1858

The 86th Regiment had the nickname, The Irish Giants. Legend has it, when they first began recruiting for the regiment in Ireland, many of its earliest recruits were very tall. This made me wonder was Patrick tall for an Irishman? On his discharge papers, I found a description (below) that showed he was 5ft 6ins(168cms) tall. Was this tall at the time? The Irish Times (13 Nov 2021) reported the average Irish male born in 1980 is 5ft 9ins(175cms) tall, 3 and half inches(9cms) taller than a hundred years ago. On that premise, considering Patrick's birth was 65 years earlier again, he was probably tall for the time, but definitely not a giant! Both he and his son had dark hair.

Patrick was discharged from the regiment on 22 Aug 1837 after 4years and 232 days of service. A board had granted him a discharge and pension of 6/- per day for 3 months due to him being medically unfit for duty. The surgeon's report said Patrick had an enlarged testicle and obscure thoracic disease. He most likely had trouble breathing when he exerted himself, with the cause unexplained. His conduct report stated he was "a good soldier, much in hospital". What happened to the family after his discharge is unknown.

Sometimes you can find lots of details about an ancestor's life, but have no idea what they look like, but in this instance it has been the reverse, with descriptions of both Edward and his father. It made me wonder if the the mop of brown hair, hazel eyes and olive complexion my youngest brother was born with was inherited from Patrick!

#Blaris

#Rodgers