Sir John Rogerson (1648–1724) was an Irish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, wealthy

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

. Very little is known about his family background or his early life, except that he was born in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

in 1648, and that his father was named Francis. The Rogerson family were probably recent arrivals in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and may have been political exiles from the political troubles of the 1640s. He lived in London in the late 1660s. He is recorded as a householder of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

from 1674, by which time he was already in business as a merchant. How precisely he made his money is not clear, but there is no doubt that he became a very rich man, with a reputation for being "hard-nosed" in his business dealings. The wealthy and well-connected Susan, Lady Belasyse, who had lent him substantial sums of money, found that he simply refused to repay them, and a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

over the money dragged on until her death. He was elected

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

in 1693–94 and represented Clogher in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

from 1692 to 1693, then Dublin City from 1695 to 1703. He was a firm supporter of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, and hostile to

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, even protesting against the employment of Catholic labourers. He built his country residence, "The Glen" or "Glasnevin House", outside the village of

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

: critics said that his manner of living suggested a nobleman rather than a merchant. A quay in

was named Sir John Rogerson's Quay owing to his association with its development. In 1713,

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

leased him lands by the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

, on condition that he build a quay there. He married firstly Elizabeth Proby (or Probie), daughter of Emmanuel Proby and Mary Bland, and granddaughter of Sir Peter Probie, Lord Mayor of London and his wife Elizabeth Thoroughgood. He married secondly Elizabeth Ward, daughter of John Ward and Elizabeth Vincent. By his first wife he was the father of John Rogerson (1676-1741), Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland, and two younger sons, Richard, who was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, and William (died 1721), who married Alice Molyneux, daughter of the leading physician Sir Thomas Molyneux, 1st Baronet, and his second wife Catherine Howard. They also had one daughter Susanna. His widow died in 1726.

References

* , - 1648 births 1724 deaths Irish knights Irish merchants Irish MPs 1692–1693 Irish MPs 1695–1699 Lord mayors of Dublin Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Knights Bachelor Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Dublin constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies {{Ireland-pre1801-MP-stub