James Guinness Rogers (29 December 1822 – 20 August 1911), was a British Nonconformist clergyman.

Education

Rogers was born at

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1822, where his Cornish-born father Thomas Rogers (1796–1854) was an Irish Evangelical Society preacher. He was educated at

Silcoates School Silcoates School is a co-educational independent school in the village of Wrenthorpe near Wakefield, England. The school was founded in 1820 as the Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House, for the board and education of the sons of Non ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was friendly with

William Digby Seymour William Digby Seymour (1822–1895) was a British lawyer and poet, and MP for Sunderland and Somerset. Biography Seymour, third son of Charles Seymour, vicar of Kilronan, County Roscommon, by Beata, daughter of Fergus Langley of Lich Finn, County ...

Ministry

After graduating B.A. in 1843 he entered the Lancashire Independent College,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where he had as contemporaries Robert Alfred Vaughan and Enoch Mellor; the latter appears to have influenced him most. Leaving in 1845, he was ordained on 15 April 1846, and became minister of St. James's chapel,

Newcastle-on-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, where he had to combat the rationalistic spirit engendered by Joseph Barker and came under the spell of

Edward Miall Edward Miall (8 May 1809 – 30 April 1881) was an English journalist, apostle of disestablishment, founder of the Liberation Society, and Liberal Party politician. Life Miall was born at Portsmouth. He was Congregational minister at Ware, Her ...

. In 1851 he became pastor of Albion Chapel,

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

, outside Manchester, where he arranged the building of new school premises. In 1857 charges of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

were brought against Samuel Davidson, who as one of his tutors had taken part in the

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

of Rogers. The main point was an alleged impugning of the

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

authorship of the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

. Nothing contributed more to the expulsion of Davidson from his chair in the Lancashire Independent College than a bitter anonymous pamphlet, "''Dr. Davidson: His Heresies, Contradictions, and Plagiarisms. By Two Graduates''" noch Mellor and Rogers Long after, Rogers wrote of Davidson: ''The controversies of later years separated us, but they never led me to forget or underrate the benefit I derived from his patient, painstaking, and most valuable labours''; this contradicts the tone of the, pamphlet, but Rogers was a man who mellowed in many respects as time went on. In 1865 he was chairman of the Lancashire Congregational Union; in the same year he moved to the pastorate of

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

(Gratton Square) congregational church. Here he ministered till 1900. Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement; Rogers, James Guinness (by Alexander Gordon)

Political influence

His denomination honoured him by making him chairman of the Surrey Congregational Union (1868); of the London Congregational Union; and of the Congregational Union of England and Wales (1874; now the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

). His influence extended, and he came to be regarded as the representative of sober yet convinced nonconformity, and was trusted as such by leading authorities in church and state. He is best remembered for his close association with Dr.

Robert William Dale Robert William Dale (1 December 1829 – 13 March 1895) was an English Congregational church leader based in Birmingham. Life Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry. In 1853 ...

in the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and Nonconformist education and disestablishment campaigns of 1865–75, that resulted in the

Irish Church Act 1869 The Irish Church Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 42) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England and disestablished the former, a body that commanded the adherence of a small min ...

; and for his friendship with Gladstone and

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

, who consulted him as the foremost representative of Nonconformist political opinion.

Retirement

He retired in 1900, wrote his autobiography in 1903 and died at Clapham in 1911. One of his grandsons was the war poet E. A. Mackintosh (1893-1917); see also High Wood).

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, James Guinness 1822 births 1911 deaths People educated at Silcoates School Guinness family 19th-century Irish businesspeople