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Introduction

Ancestral Speculation

My Immediate Ancestors

Paternal Great Grandparents - Rodgers... 5
Paternal Grandparents - Matthew Rodgers & Margaret Henderson... 5
Maternal Grandparents - William Campbell & Elizabeth Johnston... 6
Parents - Thomas Rodgers & Jane Campbell... 8

Childhood (1818->1833)

Birth (February 3, 1818)... 12
First day in school... 12
Mr. John Johnston’s educational contribution... 13
The School, Teachers, and Books (1837)... 13
Blacksmithing with Father... 14
Mrs. Gibbins and her lesson... 15
A Political Conflict Ends Well... 16
Whiskey at school?... 16
A Hard Lot?... 18
Making Clothes from Flax (1826)... 18

As A Young Man (1834->1844)

A Missed Educational Opportunity (1834)... 19
Working for Uncle (Spring 1834)... 19
Working on the Farm (March 1837)... 20
Mowing Clover... 21
Acquiring a Teaching Certificate (1842)... 22
Reasons for Attending Church (December 1842)... 23
Courtship... 25
Travel... 26
An Arduous Journey... 26
Seeking Parental Approval... 28
Marriage (March 1844)... 28
Wedding Presents... 29
Investigating Iowa (Fall 1844)... 30
Teaching School... 31
Spare Rod and Spoil the Child?... 32

Breaking Ground in Iowa (1845 ->1847)

Moving to Iowa (Fall 1845)... 35
A Learning Experience (Spring 1845)... 37
Finding a Preacher... 37
Free Range Pigs & Hauling Water... 38
Labor for Meat... 38
Finding a Milk Cow... 39
Buying More Land... 39
Bedding for the Preacher... 41
A Democrat?... 41
Milling Flour... 42
Breaking the Prairie and Building a House (Fall of 1846)... 43
Sickness & Discouragement (Fall of 1846)... 43
Fortunes looking up (1847)... 44
Procuring Oxen and Driver? to Break the Prairie (Fall of 1848)... 45
Bread... 45

A Settled Iowa (1848 -> 1855)

An Election, Intoxication & Justice of the Peace (1847-> 1848)... 46
Teaching & Driving Hogs... 47
The Burden of Money (Winter of 1849)... 48
Breaking Prairie and a Steer Story (Spring & Summer of 1849)... 50
A Pleasant School & Building a Church (1850 & Winter of 1851)... 50
A Family Migration (Fall 1850 -> Spring 1851)... 52
Elected Office & Railroad Legislation (1851 -1852)... 52
Reflections upon Eternity & Immortality... 53
A Trip, a Dog Story and a near Miss (1853)... 54
Problems with Alcohol as Justice of the Peace... 55
Eye Problems (1855)... 57
How the farmers made the Januarys come together (1840-50)... 57
A Good Man... 58

My Brothers and Sister

Sister Margaret (1819->1851) & Brother Matthew Logan (1821->1857)... 59
Brother Ardivan (1824 -> 1856)... 61
Brothers Biram (1829->1856) & Losado (1831->1851)... 62
John Scott Rodgers (1827 -> ?)... 63

The Mill & Onward (1863 -> 1876)

A Fateful Opportunity (1863 -> 1864)... 65
Unexpected Good Will (1864)... 65
Ownership Conflicts (1864 -> 1865)... 66
Fire! (September 26, 1865)... 67
Rebuilding the Mill (1865 -> 1866)... 68
The Mill in Operation: Carding Wool & A Schoolhouse... 69
Establishing a Mail Route & a Church... 70
Resolving Marital Conflicts... 71
Getting a Bridge Built & Repairing the Dam... 72
Theft: the Price of Whiskey... 72
A Wayward Child... 74
Bankruptcy (March 1876)... 76

Moving West (1877 -> 1878)

Going it Alone... 78
Leaving Old Friends & Heading Out (September 20, 1877)... 79
Some Timely Advice... 80
Arriving in Beloit (October 1877) & a False Start... 81
The Endless Search for a Place to Call Home... 81
Getting Lost & a Wrong Turn?... 82
Sick, nearly Dying... 83
A Home at Last!... 83
Renting a House (November 1877)... 84
Another Family Migration, Building a Home & Moving In (March 12, 1878)... 85
Settling In... 85
The Advantages of Adversity... 86
The Presbyterian Church of Beloit, Kansas (1872->1886)... 87

My Children & Family

Alexander Townsley Rodgers (b. January 1848 -> d. ?)... 89
Letitia Jane Rodgers (b. 1849 -> d. ?)... 91
James Logan Rodgers (b. 1851 -> d. 1863)... 92
Margaret Eleaner Rodgers (b. 1855 -> d. ?)... 93
Mary Ann Rodgers (b. 1859 -> d. ?)... 95
My Wife’s Family... 96
More on Brother John (d. 1905)... 97
My Grandchildren... 98
An unexpected Death... 101
The Ideal Woman... 102
A Tragic Accident... 103
The Royal Path & a Beautiful Book... 104

Parting Words

Added Genealogy... 107

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