RogersFamily


The Rogers alias Marner Family

Written by Peter Tipton 11 Nov 2007, revised 11 March 2009

 

The Rogers alias Marner family appear to have run several of the main Borderware pottery businesses in the first half of the 17th century.

 

JOHN ROGERS ALIAS MARNER

 John Rogers alias Marner, Senior a potter of Farnborough died in 1648 leaving a will. Since he left bequests to several grandchildren he was certainly older than 40. We shall see that he was probably born about 1565, so about 83 when he died, and therefore could have worked at the Farnborough Hill pottery, as a young man in the crucial period of the last quarter of the 16th century. Not only did he have property in Farnborough and a cottage in Cove, but he also held the mortgage of Streat House in Cove by way of lease from his brother Henry Rogers. John Rogers alias Marner married in Farnborough and his children were baptised in Farnborough

 

John Rogers alias Marner appears to have been a key Borderware figure in that he appears in many of the potters wills on this website.

 

It has been extremely difficult to work out his origins. He may have been related to John Marner alias Rogers the Farnham glover who died in 1580. The possibility of a Farnham birth is discussed on that webpage and at the foot of this page.

 

John Rogers alias Marner had 4 sons: Richard Rogers who inherited his cottage and freehold land in Cove which he had purchased from Edmund Watts; John Rogers, Henry Rogers and William Rogers. He also had three daughters living when he died: Elizabeth unmarried, and Mary Milton and Jane Chandler. John junior did not share in the cash bequest so it is possible that John junior was the eldest son and had already taken control of the Farnborough pottery before the death of his father. John senior's wife when he died was named Agnes but she was the second wife, or possibly the third .

 

FARNBOROUGH REGISTERS 

The earliest record of the Rogers family in the Farnborough parish registers is the baptism of Harmon Rogers, son of Henry Rogers, on 23 Apr 1587. We shall meet Harmon again, but his first name implies there was already some relationship between the Rogers family and Hermon Reinold the Rheinish potter. There followed on 2 Nov 1595 the record of the marriage of John Rogers alias Marner to Anne Finch. The baptisms of three children were recorded: Mary Rogers (27 Jun 1596), John Rogers (6 Aug 1598) and Henry Rogers (25 Jun 1600). In his will John Rogers appointed Richard Finch, his brother(-in-law), as one of his overseers. So probably Richard Finch is the brother of Anne Finch, John Roger's first wife

 

POSSIBLE FAMILY LINKS TO GUNNER FAMILY 

There is a distinct possibility that John Rogers and his children were named in the will of Elizabeth Gunner, 1611. Elizabeth Gunner's bequest to John Roger's children were to John, Harry, Elizabeth, Thomas and Jane. Thomas and Mary may have predeceased their father's will and other children named in his will, Richard, William and Mary II may not yet have been born.  Elizabeth Gunner's will is witnessed by a Henry Rogers, likely to have been Henry, John Roger alias Marner's younger brother. The Rogers family in Elizabeth Gunner's will may not be the family of John Roger alias Marner, but I am currently treating this as a working hypothesis.

 

Following the death of John Rogers alias Marner Senior in 1648 references to the same family, sometimes called Rogers, sometimes Marner and sometimes both surnames together, can be found in the pottery industry for almost another 100 years. It is possible that the family eventually migrated to London potteries but one branch of the family appear to have run the Outsheet Pottery after 1660.

 

ORIGINS OF THE FAMILY

The origins of the Rogers alias Marner family appear to have been in Farnham. The Farnham parish registers in the IGI record the baptisms of 56 members of the Marner family between 1543 and 1731. The Rogers family baptised 26 children.  In his will John Rogers alias Marner mentions he has a brother Henry. In have calculated elsewhere that each brother lived to a good age. There is on the Farnham IGI records a Henry Marner who was baptised 13 Mar 1580 (old or new system?) son of Henry Marner. Ir may prove to be highly significant that Henry Marner also baptised a daughter Margaret on 20 May 1566. There are no Johns baptised with father Henry but there are two Johns (1 Oct 1564 and 16 Apr 1565) for who no father's name is given in the IGI. One of these may well be our John Rogers alias Marner elder brother to Henry and Margaret. It may be the same Henry Rogers, presumed father of John, Margaret and Henry who, having baptised these three in Farnham, then moved to Farnborough and baptised Harmon Rogers in 1587. It was not uncommon for fathers to sire children over 25 years with perhaps 2, 3 or even more wives.

 

If Henry Rogers alias Marner really was the father of John, Margaret, Henry and Harmon, then some really interesting possibilities arise which I shall leave until I have completed more research into later family wills hoping they may throw more light on the Rogers alas Marner family.

 

Back to Borderware index page