Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers (c. 1571–1621)

Alice Cosford (bp. 1573)

English Ancestry of Thomas Rogers (from [1])

William Rogers of Watford, Northamptonshire was born say 1510 and died in April/May 1553. He had a wife Joan and seven children; only three are known: i. Edward; ii. William (b.c. 1540); iii. Elizabeth (b. say 1550, bu. 6 February 1626/7 Watford, m. John Cole)

William Rogers, husbandman of Watford, was born about 1540 and buried on 4 or 14 August 1585 in Watford. He had a wife Eleanor. She probably married second William Lynn on 4 July 1586 in Watford. This Eleanor was buried on 23 May 1607 in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire. They had children: i. Mary (possibly, bp. 1570, bu. 27 August 1572 Watford); ii. Thomas (b.c. 1571); iii. Elizabeth (bp. 7 Janruary 1575/6); iv. William (bp. 20 April 1581); v. John (bp. May 1586, bu. 20 May 1656 Watford)

Thomas Rogers, the son of William and Eleanor Rogers of Watford, Northamptonshire, was born about 1571. [1] He died in the first sickness, probably in January or February 1620/1. [2][3, 446] He married Alice, the daughter of George Cosford, on 24 October 1597 in Watford. [1][2]

Alice Cosford was baptized on 10 May 1573 in Watford. [1]

Thomas was a camlet [a fine woolen fabric] merchant in Leiden. He became a citizen there in 1618. He sold his house there in 1620.

Governor Bradford said that Thomas Rogers and Joseph, his son, came on the Mayflower. His other children came later. [3, 442] Stott says that in 1650 Bradford wrote: [1]

Thomas Rogers Rogers dyed in the first sickness, but his sone Joseph is still living, and is married, and hath 6 children. The rest of Thomas Rogers [children] came over, & are maried, & have many children.

Only one of these other children—John—can be identified in the New England records. [1]

A Leiden poll tax record reveals that when Thomas left for New England, his wife Alice and their children Elizabeth, Magaret and John remained in Leiden in the household of Anthoy Clement. [1]

The Watford church registers revealed a family matching that of Thomas. [1]

English Family of Alice Cosford (from [1])

George Cosford, husbandman of Watford, was born say 1545. He was buried on 13 November 1608 in Watford. He married Margaret ___. She was buried on 18 November 1615 in Watford. Children of George Cosford, baptisms in Watford: i. Henry (b.c. 1568, bu. 7 Apr. 1607 Watford); ii. John (bp. 9 June 1571); iii. Alice (bp. 10 May 1573); iv. William (bp. 4 February 1574/5); v. Clemence (bp. 3 June 1576); vi. Gifford (bp. 10 June 1581); vii. Elizabeth; viii. Mary (m. John Asbby/Ashby 25 November 1609 Watford).

Children of Thomas Rogers and Alice Cosford: Baptisms in Watford from Stott [1]

i. Thomas Rogers was baptized on 24 March 1598/9. He was buried on 27 May 1599 in Watford. [1]

ii. Richard Rogers (possibly, no parents named) was baptized on 12 March 1599/1600. He was buried on 4 April 1600. [2]

iii. Lieutenant Joseph Rogers was baptized on 23 January 1602/3. He married Hannah Unknown.

iv. John Rogers was baptized on 6 April 1606. He married Anna Churchman on 16 April 1639. He was buried on 4 April 1600. [2]

John probably arrived in Plymouth about 1630 with the last of the Leiden separatists. [1]

John and his brother Joseph were each granted 50 acres at the North River on 6 April 1640. [2] This identifies John as a son of Thomas.

v. Elizabeth Rogers was baptized on 26 December 1609. She may have married Samuel Eddy.

Samuel Eddy had a wife Elizabeth and he was granted land in Plymouth reserved for the "firstborn" chldren of the colony or their parents. As Samuel did not qualify, it is surmized that Elizabeth did; hence, she may have been Elizabeth Rogers. [1]

The Watford registers say that an Elizabeth Rogers married Richard Rodway in July 1635. [1] It is possible that the Elizabeth here returned to Watford and is not the Elizabeth who married Samuel Eddy. Or, the record may refer to a different Elizabeth, possibly a widow.

vi. Margaret Rogers was baptized on 30 May 1613.

Elizabeth and Margaret were living in Leiden in 1622 and may have come to New England later. [2]

Endnotes:

1. Clifford L. Stott, "The English Ancestry of the Pilgrim Thomas Rogers and His Wife Alice (Cosford) Rogers," The Genealogist 10 (1989): 138–49.

2. "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620–1633, Volumes I-III," digitized book, AmericanAncestors.org, originally published as: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1597–8.

3. William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647, edited with and introduction and notes by Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001).

Last revised: 05-Aug-2023