Biography - Theodore Rogers
THEODORE ROGERS, JR., is a native of the county and State in which he has found a permanent home. In Pitman Township, Montgomery County, he owns one hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land on section 15. Upon this place he resides, devoting his attention to the cultivation of the soil and the proper improvement of the farm.
Mr. Rogers was born in Montgomery County, Ill., December 13, 1848. He is a son of Hardin and Martha (Hamilton) Rogers, both of whom were natives of the State of Kentucky. Hardin Rogers came to Montgomery County, and at an early day settled in what is now known as Pitman Township. His judgment told him that the best place on which to locate would be upon the edge of some timber land, for in such a location there would always be water, and the scarcity of that article was one of the most distressing features in pioneer life in the Prairie State. The family home was in the wilderness in a cabin made of logs, and there the children were reared, meanwhile enduring all the privations incident to life in a newly settled country.
The surviving children of this family are as follows: Anthony; Lafayette; Lucinda, the widow of Millard Wood; and Theodore. In spite of the difficulties of their early lives, these children became honored members of society and performed the duties required of them in as efficient a manner as do many of those who have had more advantages and fewer obstacles to struggle against. The beloved father of this family, Hardin Rogers, was removed by death when our subject was only five years old. He was one of the most respected of the early settlers of the township and his death was deeply lamented by his family and neighbors. The mother of our subject is now in her seventy-eighth year and is living on the same farm to which she came with her husband in those early days. Although deprived of his assistance and companionship, she has managed the estate with good judgment and has reared her family in comfort. She is one of the venerable pioneer women of the State and her reminiscences of those early days are both interesting and instructive. She is a faithful member of the Christian Church.
Theodore Rogers, our subject, is a young and enterprising man, one of the foremost in his section of country. He keeps himself well posted on all public affairs and votes with the great Republican party, which he regards as the friend of the manufacturer, the consumer and the laborer alike. His early educational advantages were very limited, although he embraced every opportunity that came in his way to acquire knowledge. Montgomery County has become noted throughout the State for its fine farms and solid, successful business men, and among the latter the majority have made themselves what they are, and Mr. Rogers is no exception to the rule, as he can regard with pardonable pride the success which has attended his efforts. His one hundred and twenty acres show the result of intelligent cultivation, and his large barnyard, filled with sleek, well-fed cattle, testifies to his prosperity, while fences and neat outbuildings, which are kept in good repair, indicate that he is a man who believes that nothing adds to the prosperous look of a farm like a proper regard for appearance.
Extracted 10 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 320-321.
