Richard Rogers : Soldier in the War of 1812
The War of 1812 is sometimes known as the forgotten war. Although often attributed to the Revolutionary War era, Francis Scott Key penned his famous poem on the evening of September 13,1814. Some historians say this war was a British victory and others a stalemate. I join with the others who perceive this war as the symbol of finality when America defined herself as a complete entity apart from Brittain.
Richard Rogers, my 4th great grandfather served in the War of 1812. He was born in Lyme ,New London, Connecticut in October of 1775. At the age of 23 he married Connecticut resident Lois Maynard . The Barbor Collection lists their marriage on November 4, 1798. They had one child George in 1805 and then moved to New York where their next son John J. Rogers was born in 1807. In 1812 Richard Rogers enlisted and served in the War of 1812. After returning home he fathered three more children. Lois who later married Sylvanus Bliss, James who married Louisa Stevens, and my 3xgreat grandfather Samuel Griffin Rogers who married Azuba Hill.
This line of the Rogers family were some of the pioneers who "moved west" as a group with people such as the Beebe's, Labories', Sage and Minor familes, having received land through the Connecticut Land Company and settled" New Connecticut". These ancestors settled land in what is now known as Lorain County Ohio. I was able to acquire the will of Richard Rogers and numerous other items such as plat maps,and land grants through the Lorain Co. Genealogical Society and The Hickories Museum. In June of 2006, I traveled from Los Angeles, California, to the bucolic Huntington Twp. in Lorain Co Ohio and visited the graves of my Rogers, Bliss and Maynard ancestors. It was a wonderful experience to drive along the pastoral countryside and see the land which they had owned and the paths which they had cleared.
My current research is on collecting the military records of these ancestors. I am focusing on the War of 1812 records of Richard Rogers. There are several Richard Rogers records listed on Ancestry .com and my big concern is to allocate the correct records to the person whom they belong to. If you have tried this yourself than you know it is not that easy. I am looking for that one item with the names of other family members or exact locations other than just "State of Ct" or "State of New York". Please post a comment if you have a suggestion for me.
Pictured above is The Old Huntington Cemetery in Huntington Twp., Lorain Co. Ohio. The center stone represnts the monument of 2 families, The Bliss Family and the Rogers Family. On either side of that stone lays Richard and Lois (nee Maynard) Rogers and Sylvanus and Lois (nee Rogers) Bliss.Many of my ancestors are in this little cemetery.More of their gravestones can be seen by going to the "main page" of the blog.( click on the drop down menu in the pictures section on the right hand side of the blog.)
Special Thanks to Russell Sage of Ohio who offered a lot of information to me about my ancestors.
War of 1812 Links: http://www.sos.state.il.us/GenealogyMWeb/1812frm.html