John Augustus Rodgers was born in Jamaica in 1864 and died in Devon, England in 1915. He was the son of freed slaves and his father, John Rogers, was a seaman. This was the information I had when I started my search in 1990. I soon discovered that the historical facts do actually coincide with the information I started out with; the slaves in Jamaica were freed in 1834 but were forced to work for their slave owners until 1838, so John Augustus’s parents would have gained their freedom at that time. Journey of discovery
 | | Liz's grandfather, John Augustus Rogers |
The following year I was given the additional information that in the 1880s, when John Augustus was about twenty years old, he sailed to England. There is a record of a J. Rogers arriving or living in Liverpool in the 1880s, so John Augustus may have sailed from Jamaica to Liverpool. However, I know that he lived much of his life around the coastal villages of south Devon, where many of his descendants still live. So he may have travelled to Salcombe on a spice boat. There are references to the Rodgers family in the boating archives in Salcombe and I have a brother who is searching for them. I know what John Augustus looked like as I have a copy of a photograph. He was a well-built man with dark skin, a broad African nose, a high forehead and tightly curled hair. The finer details | "John Augustus changed his surname from Rogers to Rodgers. This was important to know when I searched for J. A. Rogers on the internet." | |
During my research, I also discovered that John Augustus changed his surname from Rogers to Rodgers. This was important to know when I searched for J. A. Rogers on the internet. I came across The Global African Community website and found the name Joel Augustus Rogers. He was an African historian, born in Negril, Jamaica in 1883, who immigrated to the United States in 1906 and died 1966. It seems likely that John Augustus and Joel Augustus were related so I shall continue to search the internet for more information along these lines. However, searching the internet is a long process and I’ve discovered that some of the most promising references are on websites that are not open to the casual browser; I will have to sign up as a user with a password. Following leads...
 | | Liz's father, Constantine Rogers |
The name Rogers cropped up in another internet reference to the slave trade. A Mrs Henry Rogers brought 20 slaves into Kansas, USA. Perhaps there is a connection between her and the Rogers of Jamaica? To find out the answer to that, I may have to wait until I can search the local parish records when I visit Jamaica in 2008. The reference to Liverpool (see above) has also given me a good lead. I will be visiting the city soon and I shall search the records there. There are many books on the slave trade in the Caribbean and it’s been difficult to know which to choose. So far I’ve read The Strong Brown God by Sanche de Gramont which tells the story of the Niger River and the beginnings of the African slave trade and I have started to read The Trader, The Owner, The Slave by local York historian James Walvin. I still have a long way to go in my search for John Augustus Rogers and his family, but I’m determined to continue because John Rogers was my great-grandfather. Liz Sibthorpe, February 2007 | 
