William Rodgers (1708-1750)

My Maternal 6th Great Grandfather, married Margaret Caldwell

William Rodgers is the first proven Rodgers in our family line. Although there are many theories as to his antecedents (mostly notably the one put forth and debunked in the blog post for John Caldwell which claimed that William was descended to John the Martyr), there is no concrete evidence to support any of the theories. What we do know is that he married 26 year old Margaret Caldwell in 1738 in Albemarle County Virginia and that she was the only daughter of immigrants John and Margaret Phillip. William’s  marriage certificate reports Margaret’s birthplace as Ireland in 1712, but the family originated in Scotland.  Records show that William was one of the early inhabitants of the Caldwell settlement, which had been founded by Margaret’s father.   He  died in October of 1750, within 14 days of the death of his father-in-law John Caldwell. His three children, Margaret, John and Andrew, were all under the of six when he died. 

[AI Image: Wedding in the Caldwell Settlement in 1738.]

William Rodgers and Margaret Caldwell’s  first child was named Margaret (1744-1808) after her mother. She married a twin, Abraham Irwin, a “respectable man, though in moderate circumstances” at the age of 20.  Abraham enlisted in the Revolutionary War effort in 1777 and marched to Dumfries, Virginia and when they were ordered to receive a smallpox vaccination, he refused his, believing he had already had smallpox as a child.   Soon after he contracted the disease and died.

In the fall of 1782 Margaret moved to “the wilds of Kentucky” with a “number of enterprising Virginians.”  At the close of the Revolutionary War the government gave grants of land as a reward for military service and a  road opened up through Cumberland Gap in the Appalachians which made this move attractive despite the risks.

[AI Image: Abraham Irwin Dying of Smallpox in 1777.]

Three years later Margaret married Col. James Smith.  When James was 18 years old was captured by the Delaware Tribe and was adopted by the Mohawks.   He was initially terribly beaten when forced to run a gauntlet but recovered and subsequently  was well treated.  He managed to escape his captivity four years later. He used the skills he had learned to serve in the military and was commissioned as Colonel in command of the frontiers later in life. He also served in the Kentucky General Assembly. Before dying in 1813, “after an illness of four weeks with an unspecified disease,” he authored a well-received book about his experiences as part of the Tribe called “Remarkable Adventures in the Life and Times of Colonel James Smith.”  According to James’ book, Margaret had a talent for writing children’s poetry  and died in Bourbon County Kentucky in 1800.  This odd portrait from the early 1800s of James shows the unusual combination of cultural mixes that mirrored his life.

[Painting: Col. James Smith (1737-1813)]

William Rodgers and Margaret Caldwell also had a son named John, (1747-1836). John is my 5th great grandfather and his family story is told in a separate blog. A year before William’s untimely death at the age of 42, the couple also had third child, Andrew (1749-1825) of whom not much is known. After his death his wife remarried James Mitchell and had five more children.