Children of Giles Rogers

Giles Rogers (Giles Fitz Roger) married Lucy and/or Rachael Eastham in England. They had their first 3 children there, and John was born on the way to Virginia, where their last 2 children were born.

 

• Giles (1673–1760)
• Lucy (1675–1760)
• Peter Iverson (1677–1724)
• John (1680–1762)
• Rachael (1683–1715)
• Mary Ann (1687–1742)

Unfortunately, some historians have tried to link the Rogers family to the Byrds. None of these Rogers men married Mary Byrd, who married someone named Duke. 

Mary Byrd was married circa 1700-1704 to James Duke, of James City County and Charles City County, Virginia. James Duke served as sheriff of James City County in 1719 (see The Letterbook of John Custis IV 1717-1742, edited by Josephine Little Zuppan, page 50).  

She is mentioned by her brother, William Byrd II, in his diary in an entry dated, May 4, 1711: “My sister Duke and Colonel Epes came and stayed to dinner. I ate pork and peas for dinner. In the afternoon my sister went home….” (The Great American Gentleman: William Byrd of Westover in Virginia His Secret Diary for the Years 1709-1712, Edited by Louis B. Wright and Marion Tinling, page 148).

"The London Diary, 1717-1721, and Other Writings” makes several references to James Duke and his wife, Mary (Byrd) Duke. They were the guests of William Byrd at Westover on September 17th and 19th in 1720 (pages 451-452). Byrd mentions seeing James Duke on November 14, 1720 at which time Duke told him (page 474), “…my sister and her fireside were well.” He references his sister, Mary Duke, on April 6, 1721 (page 515). 

The destruction of Charles City County and James City County records resulted in many researchers in the past mistakenly attributing Mary (Byrd) Duke as being part of their family, but the publication of William Byrd II’s diaries showed that she was, in fact, the wife of James Duke, of James City County and Charles City County. She was in no way connected to the family of John Rogers (1680-1762), of King and Queen County, Virginia. She was never his wife and she was not the mother of Ann Rogers, the mother of George Rogers Clark. Aside from the fact that Mary’s husband, James Duke, is identified in her brother’s diaries, the wife of John Rogers, of King and Queen County is identified as having children as late as 1737, when Mary Byrd (born 1683) would have been in her mid-fifties. Furthermore, James Duke, who is known to be the husband of Mary Byrd, was alive at a time when John Rogers’ children were being born. The family of John Rogers is an entirely different family and unconnected to the family of William Byrd and Mary (Horsmanden) Byrd. In a similar vein, the attempt to link Mary (Byrd) Duke to the William Duke whose family settled in North Carolina and who was an ancestor of the Duke tobacco family has been disproven by DNA testing."

So since many of the referrals on my ancestry tree go to other people's trees which have linked to the Byrds, I don't have as much information about the early Rogers as I would hope. Not to mention the above mentioned problem of so many records having burned at one time or another. 

Giles Rogers came to Virginia in 1670 with his own ships. His motto on his coat of arms was “Act Justly and Fear Not.” He patented 400 acres in New Kent County, April 18, 1670. He had brought 8 persons with him. He returned to England and married Rachael Eastham in 1672. In 1680 he returned to Virginia with his wife and his first three children (Giles Jr., Lucy, and Peter) and servants and materials for building. John, Rachael and Mary Anne were born in America.

Another source says:

1. Giles Rogers, Sr., b. 1643, d. 1730; m. Rachel Eastham.  

Giles Rogers Sr., was named after the patron Saint "Giles" of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was born. He was well educated and after maturity moved to and settled in Worcestershire, England; where he married Rachel Eastham (pronounced "Esam"). Giles Sr. and Rachel had six children - three born in England, one born on-board ship, and two born in America. Giles Sr.'s motto being "Act Justly and Fear Not." Giles was the nephew of Thomas Rogers, who had emigrated to America on the Mayflower.  Giles made a preliminary trip to America, and then in 1680, immigrated in his own ship, bringing with him his wife, three children, artisans, and servants, laborers, and materials for constructing buildings, etc. He settled in King and Queen County, Virginia, near the present town of Dunkirk...

Source: History of the Rogers Family, Lineage furnished by Nola Eichelzer, compiled by Mamie Williamson, Grant, KY Copied by Wm & Ann Fitzgerald, Florence KY 1958. Copied from Boone Public Library holding.

I will try to find some information on these 6 children of Giles Rogers (aka Fitz Roger). I am most interested in the son from whom I descended, namely John and Mary Molly (not a Byrd) Rogers.**

There are about 10 other people listed in various Ancestry trees who are supposedly children of Giles Sr.  I am afraid a lot of people believe they are descended from him, and probably are not.

I'll give you what information I've found that seems to be fact to the best of my knowledge.

** From comments that have been made by my cousin Patricia Rogers, I have to consider our line is from Peter not John Rogers. It hasn't come together yet on my Ancestry tree...but I believe the DAR made few mistakes (with the exception of the Mary Byrd marriage.)