John Rogers (17 July 1778 – 12 June 1856) was an English

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, mine-owner, botanist, mineralogist, and scholar of Hebrew and Syriac.

Life

He was born at Plymouth on 17 July 1778, the eldest son of John Rogers, the MP for Penryn and

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map she ...

and Margaret, daughter of Francis Basset. Rogers was educated at

grammar school, at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. He matriculated on 8 April 1797, graduated B.A. as a passman in 1801, and M.A. in 1810. Having been ordained to the

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of St Blazey, he became rector of St Mawnan and St Stephen's Church, Mawnan, the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living ...

of which belonged to his family, in 1807. In 1820 he was appointed

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Residentiary of Exeter. In February 1832 on the death of his father, he succeeded to the Penrose and

estates of about ten thousand acres (40 km²), comprising the manors of Penrose, Helston, Carminow, Winnianton, and various other estates in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, including several mines. The Penrose lands had been acquired in 1770 by his grandfather, Hugh Rogers, and the Helston in 1798 by his father. Rogers resigned his rectory in 1838. He died at Penrose on 12 June 1856, and was buried at

Sithney Sithney ( kw, Merthersydhni) is a village and civil parish in West Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sithney is north of Porthleven. The population including Boscadjack and Crowntown at the 2011 census was 841. It is named after Saint Sithne ...

, where there is a monument to him.

Marriage and children

Rogers married his first wife, Mary, on 14 June 1814, Mary. She was the only daughter of John Jope, rector of St Ives and vicar of

St Cleer St Cleer ( kw, Ryskarasek) is a civil parish and village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the southeast flank of Bodmin Moor approximately two miles (3 km) north of Liskeard. The population of the par ...

; and, secondly, in 1843, Grace, eldest daughter of G S Fursdon of Fursdon, Devonshire; she survived him, and died in 1862.

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine ...

1862, i. 239 By his first wife Rogers had issue five sons and a daughter. #

John Jope Rogers John Jope Rogers (16 February 1816 – 24 April 1880) was the owner of Penrose, a house and estate near the Cornish town of Helston. The estate included Loe Pool, the largest lake in Cornwall, now owned by the National Trust. He was also an aut ...

(16 February 1816 – 24 April 1880), inherited the Penrose Estate pp.52-55. and was elected M.P. for Helston from 1859 to 1865. # William (born 13 June 1817), succeeded his father as Rector of Mawnan. # Reginald (b 31 January 1819), inherited the Carwinion Estate and developed a fine garden there (now open to the public). # Saltren (b 8 April 1823) # Henry (b 24 December 1824) # Mary

Landlord and scientist

Rogers was a popular and energetic landlord, and a good botanist and mineralogist. As lord of the

Tresavean mine Tresavean is a hamlet in the parish of Lanner, Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. ...

, he took an active part in forwarding the adoption of the first

man engine A man engine is a mechanism of reciprocating ladders and stationary platforms installed in mines to assist the miners' journeys to and from the working levels. It was invented in Germany in the 19th century and was a prominent feature of tin an ...

in the UK (designed by

Michael Loam Michael Loam (1 November 1797 – 14 July 1871) was an English engineer who introduced the first man engine (a device to carry men up and down the shaft of a mine) into the UK. In 1834, concerned for the health of miners and for the loss in pr ...

), the introduction of which in the deep mines, in place of the old perpendicular ladders, proved an important reform – reducing the time for miners to reach the working levels from an hour to just twenty-five minutes, and enabling older, more experienced miners to reach the lowest levels. The installation cost was £2500, and it saved £125 per month in time and labour, as well as improving the safety of the mine. He contributed several papers to the ''Transactions of the

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world ...

.''

Hebrew and Syriac scholar

He was, however, chiefly distinguished as a Hebrew and Syriac scholar. In 1812, when Frey prepared the edition of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Society for Promoting the Conversion of the Jews, the general supervision of the work was entrusted to Rogers.

Published works

His own works, in addition to sermons and occasional papers, were: :*''What is the Use of the Prayer Book?'' London, 1819. :*''Scripture Proofs of the Catechism,'' London, 1832. :*
Remarks on Bishop Lowth's Principles in correcting the Text of the Hebrew Bible
'' Oxford, 1832. :*''The Book of Psalms in Hebrew, with Selections from various Readings and from the ancient Versions,'' Oxford and London, 1833–4. :*''On the Origin and Regulations of

Queen Anne's Bounty Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England, and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...

,'' London, 1836. :*''Reasons why a new Edition of the Peschito Version should be published,'' Oxford and London, 1849. A few days before his death he completed his last article on ‘Variæ Lectiones of the Hebrew Bible’ for the ''Journal of Sacred Literature.''

References

External links

Obituary in the ''Journal of Sacred Literature''
* Revised DNB article in

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

: E. C. Marchant, ‘Rogers, John (1778–1856)’, rev. Robert Brown, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200

accessed 15 Dec 2007, seems little different from the original article. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, John 1778 births 1856 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Anglican biblical scholars British biblical scholars Burials in Cornwall English botanists People educated at Eton College People from Helston Clergy from Plymouth, Devon Businesspeople from Plymouth, Devon