A Brief History of the

Thomas Rogers Family

Compiled by Rae Rogers Hawkes

October 1958

Thomas Rogers was born on April 5, 1830 on East Lake Farm, Pembrokeshire, South Wales.  Thomas was the seventh child of John Rogers and Jennette Reese.  His mother died while he was quite young.  Thomas worked as a miner and a seaman in Wales.  As a youth he went to sea and remained there about four years.  When John Rogers, his father, made arrangements to go to Zion, Thomas was at sea at the time and his father sent for him to come home.  

Annie Evans was born on July 3, 1830 in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorganshire, South Wales.  Her father, William, who was born in 1801, died in 1832 when Ann was two years old.  Her mother married the brother of Ann's father, whose surname was also Evans, but his given name is not known.  They had four children: William,  Grace, who was born in 1825 and died in 1848, Gwenthelyn and Evan.  Annie joined the Church several years before coming to America, the only one in her family to do so.  She sang in the choir over in Wales.  It was with many of her friends from this group that she came to America.  Apparently the courtship of Annie and Thomas Rogers was facilitated by the fact that, since she was a young single girl, Annie was put under the guardianship of Thomas' father, John Rogers, before the group sailed from Liverpool, England.  Ann and Thomas were married three weeks after arriving in America.

Thomas was employed in a coal mine for some time in St. Louis.  He traveled back and forth with an ox team.  Later Thomas worked on a farm for Henry Tooles.  Most of his work was in corn fields.  Thomas and Ann lived in St. Louis about nine years.  Four children were born and buried there: John, William, Thomas and Mary Jane (named for Mrs. Tooles).  One child had its clothing caught on fire and was frightened to death.  The others died of cholera.  Annie was a fearless woman.  She used to go with her husband riding on the hounds of the wagon with her babe on her lap.  One day the team ran away but she stayed with it and no one was hurt.

Thomas and his wife, Annie, and a team of mules, came to Utah with the James Brown Company leaving Florence, Nebraska on June 13 and arriving in Salt Lake, Monday August 29, 1859.  The company consisted of 253 souls, and 59 wagons.  The Rogers family settled in Sessions where their fifth child was born, Elizabeth Ann, November 28, 1859 at Woods Cross.  Thomas was employed by William Muir to clear land. 

The next spring, the Saints were called to settle Cache Valley and the Rogers family was among them.  They came to Hyde Park with families who became very dear friends.  Among some of these early settlers were Bishop William Hyde, Robert Daines, James Thurston, John Mores Beddinfield, Charles Reese, George Thomas, William Hurren, John Balls, Henry Ashcroft, Robert Reeder, James Hancy, Patterson Griffith, Elijah Seamons, George Seamons, Simpson Molen and Ben Roper.  Hyde Park was a little fort consisting of only a few log houses built around a little spring.  Thomas Rogers had the best house in this settlement. 

The family increased.  Henry Tooles, named for the man his father worked for in St. Louis, was the second child born in the settlement.  He was born January 19, 1862 in their new home which faced north about one-half mile from the fort.  The snow was so deep at that time that it came half way up the house.  Henry was blessed when eight days old and baptized when thirteen years old by George Thomas.

Thomas Rogers had thirty acres of farming land given him by the settlement committee, consisting of fifteen acres of farm land and fifteen acres of hay land.  He also raised cattle.  More children were born to the family while they lived in Hyde Park.  Celestia Melissa was born April 5, 1864; Martha Maretta, April 20, 1866; and Marcus Evans, August 20, 1868.  The family lived in Hyde Park twelve years.  Thomas was active in Church duties helping to build the stone meeting house, sweeping his wheat bin to get money to pay his assessment.  He also played an important part in canal building.

When Marcus was about four years old, the Rogers family moved to a new home about four miles west of Hyde Park on the Bear River, known as Benson Ward, where they took up government land; 80 acres of nice grassy meadowland.  George Thomas, Harry Griffiths, Charles Reese and others moved here also.  They built log homes and began farming.  Before long they had a prosperous community.  Another son was born to Thomas and Annie, George Charles, September 11, 1872 but he died in infancy. 

As there were no bridges across the Bear River, Thomas ferried wagons over the river where it bordered his farm on the north and west.  He would swim the horses behind the boat.  There was good fishing on the river and the boys would go down and set lines on the bank at night and catch trout the next morning.  They were plentiful. 

Thomas was a thrifty farmer raising corn, grain and hay for his dairy herd.  It wasn't long before he had a nice five-room frame home which is still standing in good shape.  His success as a farmer was evidenced by the call from the Church for the best farmers to attempt the growth of broom corn.  He was among the number called to this experiment.  Later he was asked to plant maple trees for an experiment in sugar culture.  Neither of these experiments proved successful because the seasons were too short and the winters too hard.  Thomas was the postmaster of Benson for 15 years and he also ran the stray pound for lost animals.  Thomas befriended the polygamists who were on the underground, helping them to evade the officers.

Thomas Rogers was a ward teacher and although he never held a prominent Church office, was a strict tithe payer.  After using tobacco for 45 years, he gave it up and was a strict observer of the Word of Wisdom.  He was a member of the Seventy's quorum and after he was ordained a High Priest,  he and his wife, Ann, did temple work for their ancestors.

Annie was a thrifty homemaker and utilized everything in the way of foods.  She dried vegetables and cured meat, made sausage - even cleaning the intestine skins to put the meat in, and rendered the fat for lard.  In fact, nothing was wasted:  the head was made into head cheese, the feet were pickled, the liver and heart were choice, the bladder was inflated and a fine football was the result.   Nothing was wasted but the squeal.  She was an excellent cook and manager.  When the General Authorities visited the wards, Annie headed the committees for the dinners.  Once when President Young visited, a table filled with every kind of food was spread for the visitors, and the President asked for a bowl of bread and milk and proceeded to eat.  I just bet the women were indignant.

Annie was the midwife for Benson and Newton and was ready to go at a moment's call.  Thomas kept the horses harnessed when they were expecting a call in order to get her there on time, rain or shine, summer or winter.  She had received 88 babies before Christmas of 1884.  Annie was the first counselor in the Relief Society to Rebecca Williams Thomas from 1882-1892.  She sang in many choirs in Utah and in Wales.  She sang in Alex Lewis' choir in Wales with William Davis and wife, Ben Williams and Sarah Farr of Ogden, Mrs. Phillips and husband of Perry, Utah.  Thomas was Ward choir conductor for a number of years in the Benson Ward, and he led the singing for meetings.  They loved to sing.

Much of Anna Rebecca Rogers' early life was spent in her grandparents Rogers' home.  Her mother died when she was ten months of age. Her father, Henry Tooles Rogers, remarried but his  second wife died just a few years later.  So 'Rae' was cared for by her grandparents Rogers and lived in their home when her father was single.  Rae never remembered anything unpleasant about her grandparents.  They were wonderful.  Grandfather Thomas Rogers used to take her on his knee and sing.  She remembered him singing "Rock of My Refuge, So Sweet", and "Ere You Left Your Room This Morning."   He had been a sailor in Wales and he sang a sailor song which went as follows:

Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold

Tis of an old nobleman's daughter

So bravely and comely you hear.

Her father possessed a great fortune

Full $35,000 a year.

He had but one only daughter;

Caroline was her name, we are told.

One day from her drawing room window

She admired a young sailor bold.

His cheeks were as red as the roses,

His hair was as black as the jet.

Young Caroline watched his departure,

Walked 'round and young William she met.

Says she, "I'm a nobleman's daughter,

Possessed of $10,000 in gold.

I'd leave both my father and mother

To wed with a young sailor bold."

He said, "Young lady, remember,

Your parents you're bound for to mind.

For there is no dependence on sailors

When their lovers are left far behind."

She said, "There's none can persuade me

One moment to alter my mind.

I'll ship and proceed with my true love;

He never shall leave me behind."

Then she dressed like a gay young sailor,

Forsook both her parents and gold.

Two years and a half on the ocean,

She plowed with the young sailor bold.

Three times with her love she was shipwrecked,

And always proved constant and true.

Her duties she did like a sailor,

Went aloft with her jacket so blue.

Then her father long wept and lamented,

Tears from his eyes in torrents long rolled,

Till at length they arrived safe in England,

Caroline and her young sailor bold.

Caroline went straight way to her father

In her trousers and jacket so blue.

Her father momentarily fainted

When first she appeared in her hue.

She said, "Dearest father, forgive me.

Deprive me forever of gold,

For it's now that I am contented

To wed with the young sailor bold."

Then her father admired young William

And vowed as they sat down to tea,

If life they were spared till the morning,

Together their marriage would be.

They were married on Caroline's portion

Which was $200,000 in gold,

And now they live happy and cheerful,

Caroline and her young sailor bold.

Annie Evans Rogers was strong and carried heavy loads on her head which was a Welsh custom.  When she lived in Hyde Park, she carried coal, water or cream on her head, plus two buckets of milk in her hands.  She was short and heavy set and suffered the last few years of her life with severe headaches, probably due to high blood pressure.  She passed away three months after her husband, February 28, 1892, at their home in Benson, Utah.

Thomas Rogers' life was cut short by pneumonia, which took him very quickly.   He had been working in his corn, getting it gathered and stacked the day before.  He passed away November 5, 1891.