Col. Matthew Rogers: Lincoln's Forgotten Benefactor

Historian James T. Hickey wrote, "The name of

Rogers is not unknown to Lincoln scholars..." but to the general public Rogers is almost entirely unknown. It is a disservice to a family that played a large role in Abraham Lincoln's early life that their connection is largely forgotten.
Matthew Rogers was born March 28, 1770 in New London, CT and was a descendant of John Rogers, burned at the stake in England in 1555 for his radical Protestant teachings. As a youth Rogers apprenticed as a ship builder but gave that up for a life of farming near Cooperstown, NY. During the War of 1812 Rogers served in the rank of colonel in the 54th Regiment, New York Militia.

In the summer of 1818 he resigned his commission and took his large family to the new state of Illinois, settling in Troy about 18 miles northeast of St. Louis. In 1820 the family moved to Sangamon County. Here Col. Rogers established a farm and tree nursery a mile north of the present day town of Athens.

On January 2, 1828 a post office, called Rogers, was established in his home and Matthew Rogers was named postmaster. This was the first post office in the area and as such became a focal point for the surrounding communities.
In 1831 the Colonel's son-in-law, Harry Riggin and partner, Abner Hall, established the town of Athens. Col. Rogers constructed a large, two-story building in the new town and opened a general store. On November 4, 1831 the Rogers Post Office was moved to this new building and the name changed to Athens Post Office.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in New Salem in the spring of 1831. Almost immediately he began a program of self-education that has become legendary in the Lincoln lore. New Salem schoolmaster, Mentor Graham, sent Lincoln to the Rogers home to borrow books from the well-educated clan. The Rogers had an extensive library with volumes ranging in subject from surveying to medicine. There was certainly enough to fuel the inquisitive mind of the young Lincoln! Thus began an association that would endure for many years.

The Colonel's daughter, Arminda, was a teacher. It to her that Lincoln's legendary "lost love", Ann Rutledge, was sent for study prior to attending the Female Academy in Jacksonville, IL. Arminda would later recall Rutledge, often accompanied by Lincoln, sitting before the cabin's hearth and studying. The copy of Kirkham's Grammar used by the pair during this period is now housed in the Library of Congress.

Lincoln's association with the Rogers family continued to the day he left Springfield for Washington D.C. and the presidency. In the case of Rogers v. Francis in Sangamon Circuit Court, January 29, 1841, Lincoln represented the Colonel against Josiah Francis and another man who had failed to make payment on their notes to buy the Rogers store. Lincoln won the case and the building's ownership reverted back to Rogers. Later Lincoln was Henry Roger's attorney during settlement of an estate in which Rogers served as executor. Henry B. Rankin, Arminda's son, worked in the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office in some capacity (there is a hint of exaggeration in his writings) until Lincoln left Springfield.

By the 1840's the Rogers family had split politically with some members remaining staunch Whigs (and Lincoln supporters) while others became Democrats. Although their politics differed a clear picture of their personal feelings toward their old friend, Lincoln, may be ascertained from a letter written by Harry Riggin (in the Democrat's camp) to his son in 1842, "I wish I could raise a son as big a Lincoln is bound to be if he lives. I have heard all these men at the bar and on the stump for some years and Lincoln is the greatest of them all. I say this to you my son, though I am a Democrat."

Two of the Colonel's sons became doctors and later moved south where both established large plantations. Three of his grandsons were killed while serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. At the same time, Col. Rogers' son, Henry, became known as a strong abolitionist.
Col. Matthew Rogers died on August 14, 1847 leaving behind him a large, diverse family. The influence of the family on Lincoln during his formative years is impossible to measure but it is an area that should not be overlooked by history.
Today the Rogers store stands as a tribute, not only to Lincoln, but to his forgotten benefactor, Col. Matthew Rogers.

Photos: Top: The Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum in Athens, Illinois. Housed in the Rogers store built in 1831/32. As of this writing the museum is closed.

Bottom: The Rogers cabin just north of Athens. The cabin is no longer standing, the remains are in the basement of the Long Nine Museum.

Sources:

Eden, John R., Abe Lincoln's Athens, Illinois Connection, A. Lincoln Long Nine Museum, Athens, IL, 1992

Hickey, James T., Three R's in Lincoln's Education: Rogers, Riggin and Rankin, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. LII, No. 1, Spring, 1959

Kowalski, Ethel Lee Rogers, These Are the Rogers and There Are More, Burlingame, CA, 1979