Rogers, Anthony

From: An Island Refuge- Loyalists and Disbanded Troops on The Island of Saint John, The Abegweit Branch of UELAC, 1983

  • Among the Rogers settlers of the Parish of North Esk, Nor- thumberland County, New Brunswick were descendants of the Loyalist, Anthony Rogers and his wife, Zilpah Holcomb, who came to New Brunswick from Connecticut. Anthony Rogers lived at Simsbury, but was forced by the Rebels to flee with his wife and family to New York, which was the Loyalist stronghold. From there they sailed, in 1785, to Parrtown, now Saint John, New Brunswick where Anthony drew a town lot.
  • He presented a petition dated September 26, 1785 asking for land on the Miramichi for his sons, Anthony and John. He was informed that if the sons were of age and made personal application their request would be considered.
  • The Rogers family did move on to the Miramichi and on January 12, 1787 Anthony petitioned again, from Newcastle, on his own behalf as follows:
  • “THE PETITION OF ANTHONY ROGERS humbly sheweth that your Memorialist hath purchased an improvement on a lot of Crown land which is not surveyed to any man and lies eastward of that lot of Mr. William Davidson’s which is next below the grindstone quarry on the south side of the Northwest branch of the Miramichi River whereon your Memorialist hath made considerable additional im- provements since he has purchased, and being desirous of making still further im- provements, humbly beg your Excellency that he may have a title granted him to said lot.”
  • Ten inhabitants signed as testimony to the truth of his petition, and it was found acceptable, but the land concerned, the later Lots V and W at Cassilis, was granted only in 1810 to John and Anthony Rogers, junior. An- thony Rogers, senior, lived until at least 1794. Further information of him or of Zilpah has eluded researchers. They had five recorded sons, James, Anthony, Anthony II, John and Edward, all believed to have been born at Simsbury, Connecticut, according to the records of the Reverend Roger Viets, Rector of St. Andrew’s Church, Simsbury.