John Rogers (17 July 1778 – 12 June 1856) was an English
Anglican priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, mine-owner, botanist, mineralogist, and scholar of Hebrew and Syriac.
Life
He was born at
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
on 17 July 1778, the eldest son of John Rogers, the MP for Penryn and
Helston
Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...
and Margaret, daughter of Francis Basset.
Rogers was educated at
Helston
Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...
grammar school, at
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, and at
Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
. He matriculated on 8 April 1797, graduated B.A. as a passman in 1801, and M.A. in 1810. Having been ordained to the
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...
of
St Blazey
St Blazey () is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
St Blaise is the civil parishes in England, civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of Biscovey and the se ...
, he became rector of
St Mawnan and St Stephen's Church, Mawnan
St Mawnan and St Stephen's Church, Mawnan is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England Diocese of Truro in Mawnan, Cornwall, England, UK.
History
The church dates from the 13th century with the tower dating from the 14th and 15th ...
, the
advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
of which belonged to his family, in 1807. In 1820 he was appointed
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western canon, th ...
Residentiary of
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
.
In February 1832 on the death of his father, he succeeded to the Penrose and
Helston
Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...
estates of about ten thousand acres (40 km2), comprising the manors of Penrose, Helston, Carminow, Winnianton, and various other estates in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, including several mines. The Penrose lands had been acquired in 1770 by his grandfather, Hugh Rogers, and the Helston in 1798 by his father. Rogers resigned his rectory in 1838. He died at Penrose on 12 June 1856, and was buried at
Sithney
Sithney () is a village and civil parish in the West of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sithney is north of Porthleven. The population including Boscadjack and Crowntown at the 2011 census was 841.
It is named after Saint Sithney, the pat ...
, where there is a monument to him.
Marriage and children
Rogers married his first wife, Mary, on 14 June 1814, Mary. She was the only daughter of John Jope, rector of St Ives and vicar of
St Cleer
St Cleer () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the southeast flank of Bodmin Moor approximately two miles (3 km) north of Liskeard. The population ...
; and, secondly, in 1843, Grace, eldest daughter of G S Fursdon of Fursdon, Devonshire; she survived him, and died in 1862.
The Gentleman's Magazine
''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...
1862, i. 239 By his first wife Rogers had issue five sons and a daughter.
#
John Jope Rogers
John Jope Rogers (16 February 1816 – 24 April 1880) was the owner of Penrose, Cornwall, Penrose, a house and estate near the Cornwall, Cornish town of Helston. The estate included The Loe, Loe Pool, the largest lake in Cornwall, now owned by t ...
(16 February 1816 – 24 April 1880), inherited the Penrose Estate pp.52-55.
and was elected M.P. for Helston from 1859 to 1865.
# William (born 13 June 1817), succeeded his father as Rector of Mawnan.
# Reginald (b 31 January 1819), inherited the Carwinion Estate and developed a fine garden there (now open to the public).
# Saltren (b 8 April 1823)
# Henry (b 24 December 1824)
# Mary
Landlord and scientist
Rogers was a popular and energetic landlord, and a good botanist and mineralogist. As lord of the
Tresavean mine
Tresavean is a hamlet in the parish of Lanner, Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The count ...
, he took an active part in forwarding the adoption of the first
man engine
A man engine is a mechanism of reciprocating ladders and stationary platforms installed in Mining, mines to assist the miners' journeys to and from the working levels. It was invented in Germany in the 19th century and was a prominent feature o ...
in the UK (designed by
Michael Loam
Michael Loam (1 November 1797 – 14 July 1871) was an English engineer who introduced the first man engine (a device to carry men up and down the shaft of a mine) into the UK.
In 1834, concerned for the health of miners and for the loss in pr ...
), the introduction of which in the deep mines, in place of the old perpendicular ladders, proved an important reform – reducing the time for miners to reach the working levels from an hour to just twenty-five minutes, and enabling older, more experienced miners to reach the lowest levels. The installation cost was £2500, and it saved £125 per month in time and labour, as well as improving the safety of the mine. He contributed several papers to the ''Transactions of the
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall
The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in ...
.''
Hebrew and Syriac scholar
He was, however, chiefly distinguished as a Hebrew and Syriac scholar. In 1812, when Frey prepared the edition of the
His own works, in addition to sermons and occasional papers, were:
:*''What is the Use of the Prayer Book?'' London, 1819.
:*''Scripture Proofs of the Catechism,'' London, 1832.
:* Remarks on Bishop Lowth's Principles in correcting the Text of the Hebrew Bible '' Oxford, 1832.
:*''The Book of Psalms in Hebrew, with Selections from various Readings and from the ancient Versions,'' Oxford and London, 1833–4.
:*''On the Origin and Regulations of
Queen Anne's Bounty
Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...
,'' London, 1836.
:*''Reasons why a new Edition of the Peschito Version should be published,'' Oxford and London, 1849.
A few days before his death he completed his last article on ‘Variæ Lectiones of the Hebrew Bible’ for the ''Journal of Sacred Literature.''
ODNB
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...