Timothy Rogers (1658–1728) was an English

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

minister, known as an author on depression as a sufferer. Timothy Rogers Williams

Life

The son of John Rogers (1610–1680), he was born at

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

on 24 May 1658. He was educated at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he matriculated in 1673, and then studied under Edward Veal at

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

. Rogers began his career in the dissenting ministry as evening lecturer at Crosby Square,

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

. Some time after 1682 he was struck down by a form of

hypochondria Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...

, from which he recovered in 1690, and then became assistant to John Shower. Shower was then minister of the Presbyterian congregation in Jewin Street, and moved in 1701 to the

Old Jewry Meeting-house The Old Jewry Meeting-house was a meeting-house for an English Presbyterian congregation, built around 1701, in the Old Jewry, a small street in the centre of the City of London. Its first minister was John Shower. In 1808 new premises were buil ...

. Rogers's hypochondria returned, and in 1707 he left the ministry.

William Ashhurst Sir William Ashhurst or Ashurst (26 April 1647 – 12 January 1720) was an English banker and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1689 and 1710. He served as Lord Mayor of London for the year 1693 to 1694. ...

and Thomas Lane, two London Whig politicians, helped Rogers in his condition, now identified as a form of

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

, and the Old Jewry congregation gave him a pension. Retiring to

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, Rogers died there in November 1728; he was buried in the churchyard on 29 November.

Works

Rogers published: * ''Practical Discourses on Sickness and Recovery'', 1690. * ''A Discourse concerning ... the Disease of Melancholy; in three parts'', 1691; 2nd ed. 1706; 3rd ed. 1808, (with life by Walter Wilson). * ''The Character of a Good Woman, Both in a Single and Married State'' (1697) Rogers wrote a preface to the ''Works'' of Thomas Gouge the younger (1665?–1700). He gave funeral sermons for Robert Linager (1682), Anthony Dunswell (1692), Edmund Hill (1692), Edward Rede (1694), M. Hasselborn (1696), and Elizabeth Dunton (1697).

''The Character of a Good Woman'' (1697)

Rogers' ''The Character of a Good Woman, Both in a Single and Married State'' (1697) is an example of the

handbook A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Engl ...

genre that was popular in late 17th-century England. Unlike earlier works which identified modesty, humility and honesty as the antidote to women's perceived natural deficiencies, Rogers describes these as inherent qualities in women which can be cultivated in order to mitigate the vanity instilled by social life. Rather than characterising women as more prone to corruption, or in more need of

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

than men, ''The Character of a Good Woman'' describes woman as "generally more serious than men ... ndas far beyond in the lessons Devotion as in the tuneableness and sweetness of your voice."

Family

John Rogers, his grandson, was minister at

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Timothy 1658 births 1728 deaths English Dissenters English writers People from Barnard Castle People with hypochondriasis