Rogers, Jabez (1742-1816)

Merchant and Baptist deacon.


When Burke met1788
Where Burke metColchester, CT
OccupationCommerce
Interaction with Burke
Identity StatusProbable
GenealogyWikitree
Memoir Pages33

Notes

Jabez Rogers (1742–1816) was a merchant and Baptist deacon who resided in Colchester, Connecticut, before becoming the first settler of Middlebury, Vermont. Born in Montville, Connecticut, to Samuel and Lucy (Denison) Rogers, he married Sarah Gorton of Norwich in 1766, and their children included Joseph, Jabez, Lebbeus, Russell, Nathaniel, and Sarah. During his Colchester residence, Rogers was an active Baptist leader, serving as a church messenger in 1787. In 1793, he relocated his family to Middlebury, Vermont, where he built the settlement’s first house, opened its first mercantile store, and spent his remaining years in trade. Although he is stated in local histories to have served as a commissary officer during the Revolutionary War, corroborating official military records for this service have not been found.


Sources

Burke, William. Memoir of William Burke: A Soldier of the Revolution, Reformed from Intemperance, and for Many Years a Consistent and Devoted Christian; Carefully Prepared from a Journal Kept by Himself; to Which Is Added, an Extract from a Sermon Preached at His Funeral, by Rev. Nathaniel Miner. Hartford, CT: Case, Tiffany, 1837.

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