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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C5D34E.07C618E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable A forceful presence in the colony The Order of the Sons of Temperance Society, an organization opposed to = the consumption of alcoholic beverages, was formed in New York City in = 1842. It soon spread throughout North America and, by 1850, a branch had = been established in St. John's. One of its most fervent supporters in = Newfoundland was one of the colony's most prominent leaders of business = and government in the latter half of the 19th century.=20 James Johnstone Rogerson was born in Harbour Grace March 21, 1820, the = oldest of four sons of Amelia Palmer and Peter Richard Rogerson to reach = adulthood. His father, a native of Greenock, Scotland, had settled in = Harbour Grace in 1816, where he purchased the Pynn property.=20 His marriage to Palmer, a resident of the town, took place Dec. 12, = 1818. Their first child, also a son named James, died shortly after = birth.=20 Upon completion of his formal education at the Harbour Grace Grammar = School, Rogerson moved to St. John's where he underwent an = apprenticeship in the mercantile firm of J & W Stewart. In 1841, he left = there to enter into business with his father, who had recently moved to = St. John's himself.=20 Like many of the new businesses established in Newfoundland during the = 19th century, Peter Rogerson and Son was a fishery supply operation, = dealing in imported products, including food stuffs, lumber, salt and = coal. The business owned a number of vessels that were primarily used in = the coastal trade, but they served a useful secondary function by being = sent to the seal hunt each spring.=20 The business grew and prospered. Following Peter's death in 1858, James = became its principal owner and operator. He later joined with several = other local entrepreneurs to establish a number of manufacturing = concerns, including Colonial Cordage and the Boot and Shoe Company = Limited. He was also involved in the promotion of agriculture and in = mineral speculation.=20 Not long after his relocation to St. John's, Rogerson developed an = interest in public affairs. He joined the fledging Newfoundland Natives = Society, established in June 1840 to lobby for the rights of local or = native-born residents in the governance of the colony.=20 He must have made quite an impression over the next decade: in 1850, = Governor LeMarchant appointed the 30-year-old to the Legislative = Council, the upper house under Representative Government.=20 A supporter of Responsible Government for Newfoundland, when it finally = came in 1855, Rogerson was appointed to a newly constituted Legislative = Council by Liberal Prime Minister Philip Little, one of only two members = of the old council to be accorded that distinction. In 1857, Little = named Rogerson to his cabinet (without portfolio), in part to ensure = denominational balance among the members of the executive.=20 Rogerson abandoned the security of Legislative Council - appointment was = for life - in 1859 to seek election to the House of Assembly in the = two-member district of Burin. His running mate was Ambrose Shea, a = prominent St. John's businessman and Roman Catholic adherent. Balancing = the ticket with Rogerson, a devout Methodist, encouraged the Roman = Catholic and Methodist residents of that district to vote in a bloc for = these two candidates.=20 Their opponents were Hugh Hoyles, leader of the Conservative Party and a = member of the Church of England, and Edmund Evans, a resident of Grand = Bank and a Methodist. Rogerson and Shea, despite the fact that neither = of them lived in the district and had no other strong connections with = it, were the successful candidates. It was claimed the Liberals spent = more than =A32000 on the campaign.=20 Rogerson had been included in the cabinet formed by Prime Minister John = Kent, Little's successor, in 1858, relinquishing his seat along with the = other members of that administration following its dismissal by Governor = Bannerman in 1861. He was not a candidate in the ensuing election, and = devoted the rest of the decade to his various business ventures and = community endeavours.=20 Politics remained in his blood, however. On April 5, 1870, he returned = to the House of Assembly, winning the Bay de Verde seat in a by-election = as a supporter of Sir Frederick Carter, former prime minister and leader = of the vanquished pro-confederate forces in the previous year's general = election.=20 Rogerson was re-elected in Bay de Verde in 1873. Even though Carter's = supporters won only 14 of the 31 seats in the House of Assembly in that = election, within a few months they had formed the government, with = Rogerson being named to cabinet as Receiver General (Minister of = Finance).=20 A new election in 1874 gave Carter a clear majority in the House and = returned Rogerson for a third term as MHA for Bay de Verde. He served as = Receiver General for the next eight years, being asked to remain in the = position by William Whiteway, who succeeded Carter as prime minister in = 1878.=20 In that year's general election, Rogerson went back to Burin, the scene = of his first electoral triumph and won handily, defeating Robert = Pinsent, one of the leaders of the opposition party in the process. It = was not long after that election before the prime minister and his = guardian of the treasury were on opposite sides of the political divide. = Whiteway was committed to diversifying the Newfoundland economy, ending = the centuries-old dependence on the fishing industry as the sole = provider for so many of the colony's residents. One of his schemes = involved the construction of a railway line across the island, convinced = that it would allow exploitation of the rich mineral and forestry = resources of the interior of the island.=20 Rogerson was not as convinced as his leader that this was the = long-awaited panacea or the wisest way to spend government revenues. He = was willing to adopt a wait and see attitude,=20 however, keeping a close eye on the financial aspects of the contract = the government signed with New York lawyer A. L. Blackman and his = Newfoundland Railway Company in 1881 to build a railway line from St. = John's to Hall's Bay, at the western end of Notre Dame Bay.=20 Blackman's company went bankrupt after completing only 60 miles of the = proposed 340 miles. Rogerson claimed that $12,000 from the total the = government had budgeted for railway construction was missing and = unaccounted for. Failing to obtain a satisfactory explanation for the = deficit, he resigned as Receiver General.=20 There was virtually no opposition to Whiteway in the House of Assembly, = the small and relatively ineffective rump of the old anti-Confederate = party having thrown in their lot with Whiteway some time previous.=20 Determined to bring an end to what he considered to be Whiteway's = irresponsible and foolhardy railway plans, Rogerson joined forces with = Walter Baine Grieve, another St. John's businessman, to challenge him in = the election scheduled for later that year. Calling themselves the New = Party, they promised increased spending on public works and reduced = taxation, predicting that four more years of Whiteway and his outlandish = spending would bankrupt the colony and result in confederation with = Canada.=20 Whiteway and his supporters carried the day, winning 26 of the 33 seats = in the House of Assembly. Only five members of the New Party were = elected, with Rogerson suffering personal defeat in Bay de Verde at the = hands of independent Levi Garland.=20 Rogerson was one of the great philanthropists of 19th-century = Newfoundland. He was a firm believer in education, going so far as to = establish a school for poor children and providing teachers for = juveniles who had been sentenced to jail terms at the penitentiary in = St. John's. He helped found a home for fishermen and seamen in the = 1880s, created make-work projects for men unemployed during the winter = months and supplied books and magazines to rural areas in an effort to = improve literacy.=20 His involvement with Gower Street Methodist Church, of which he was a = strong and forceful presence, was embodied in his spiritual, = administrative and financial contributions to the work of the church. He = represented the Newfoundland Conference of the church at a number of = international congresses and was the church's delegate to the Ecumenical = Council held in Washington in 1891.=20 Rogerson married twice, first to Emma Garrett Blaikie, on Jan. 21, 1845. = They were the parents of nine children: Jessie, James, Emma Amelia (died = at age 4), Isabella, Sarah, Bertha, Emma Jean, William and Alexander. = Emma Rogerson died in December 1876, and three years later on Dec. 2, = 1879, James married Isabella Whiteford, herself a noted philanthropist = and poet. He died at St. John's on Oct. 17, 1907.=20 Remembered as a man who had lived "a life of unbounded charity and = benevolence," he was universally acclaimed as a true friend, ever ready = to assist any and all who truly needed it.=20 Bert Riggs is an archivist with the Centre for Newfoundland Studies at = Memorial University. Thanks to Bert Riggs, The Telegram, thetelegram.com ------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C5D34E.07C618E0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2722" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG><FONT size=3D5><SPAN = class=3Dnewsstorytitle=20 id=3DColumnists2_StoryTitle>A forceful presence in the=20 colony</SPAN></FONT></STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG><FONT size=3D5><SPAN=20 class=3Dnewsstorytitle></SPAN><BR></FONT></STRONG><SPAN=20 id=3DColumnists2_StoryText><FONT color=3D#336699>The Order of the Sons = of Temperance=20 Society, an organization opposed to the consumption of alcoholic = beverages, was=20 formed in New York City in 1842. It soon spread throughout North America = and, by=20 1850, a branch had been established in St. John=92s. One of its most = fervent=20 supporters in Newfoundland was one of the colony=92s most prominent = leaders of=20 business and government in the latter half of the 19th century. = </FONT></DIV> <P>James Johnstone Rogerson was born in Harbour Grace March 21, 1820, = the oldest=20 of four sons of Amelia Palmer and Peter Richard Rogerson to reach = adulthood. His=20 father, a native of Greenock, Scotland, had settled in Harbour Grace in = 1816,=20 where he purchased the Pynn property.=20 <P>His marriage to Palmer, a resident of the town, took place Dec. 12, = 1818.=20 Their first child, also a son named James, died shortly after birth.=20 <P>Upon completion of his formal education at the Harbour Grace Grammar = School,=20 Rogerson moved to St. John=92s where he underwent an apprenticeship in = the=20 mercantile firm of J & W Stewart. In 1841, he left there to enter = into=20 business with his father, who had recently moved to St. John=92s = himself.=20 <P>Like many of the new businesses established in Newfoundland during = the 19th=20 century, Peter Rogerson and Son was a fishery supply operation, dealing = in=20 imported products, including food stuffs, lumber, salt and coal. The = business=20 owned a number of vessels that were primarily used in the coastal trade, = but=20 they served a useful secondary function by being sent to the seal hunt = each=20 spring.=20 <P>The business grew and prospered. Following Peter=92s death in 1858, = James=20 became its principal owner and operator. He later joined with several = other=20 local entrepreneurs to establish a number of manufacturing concerns, = including=20 Colonial Cordage and the Boot and Shoe Company Limited. He was also = involved in=20 the promotion of agriculture and in mineral speculation.=20 <P>Not long after his relocation to St. John=92s, Rogerson developed an = interest=20 in public affairs. He joined the fledging Newfoundland Natives Society,=20 established in June 1840 to lobby for the rights of local or native-born = residents in the governance of the colony.=20 <P>He must have made quite an impression over the next decade: in 1850, = Governor=20 LeMarchant appointed the 30-year-old to the Legislative Council, the = upper house=20 under Representative Government.=20 <P>A supporter of Responsible Government for Newfoundland, when it = finally came=20 in 1855, Rogerson was appointed to a newly constituted Legislative = Council by=20 Liberal Prime Minister Philip Little, one of only two members of the old = council=20 to be accorded that distinction. In 1857, Little named Rogerson to his = cabinet=20 (without portfolio), in part to ensure denominational balance among the = members=20 of the executive.=20 <P>Rogerson abandoned the security of Legislative Council =97 = appointment was for=20 life =97 in 1859 to seek election to the House of Assembly in the = two-member=20 district of Burin. His running mate was Ambrose Shea, a prominent St. = John=92s=20 businessman and Roman Catholic adherent. Balancing the ticket with = Rogerson, a=20 devout Methodist, encouraged the Roman Catholic and Methodist residents = of that=20 district to vote in a bloc for these two candidates.=20 <P>Their opponents were Hugh Hoyles, leader of the Conservative Party = and a=20 member of the Church of England, and Edmund Evans, a resident of Grand = Bank and=20 a Methodist. Rogerson and Shea, despite the fact that neither of them = lived in=20 the district and had no other strong connections with it, were the = successful=20 candidates. It was claimed the Liberals spent more than =A32000 on the = campaign.=20 <P>Rogerson had been included in the cabinet formed by Prime Minister = John Kent,=20 Little=92s successor, in 1858, relinquishing his seat along with the = other members=20 of that administration following its dismissal by Governor Bannerman in = 1861. He=20 was not a candidate in the ensuing election, and devoted the rest of the = decade=20 to his various business ventures and community endeavours.=20 <P>Politics remained in his blood, however. On April 5, 1870, he = returned to the=20 House of Assembly, winning the Bay de Verde seat in a by-election as a = supporter=20 of Sir Frederick Carter, former prime minister and leader of the = vanquished=20 pro-confederate forces in the previous year=92s general election.=20 <P>Rogerson was re-elected in Bay de Verde in 1873. Even though = Carter=92s=20 supporters won only 14 of the 31 seats in the House of Assembly in that=20 election, within a few months they had formed the government, with = Rogerson=20 being named to cabinet as Receiver General (Minister of Finance).=20 <P>A new election in 1874 gave Carter a clear majority in the House and = returned=20 Rogerson for a third term as MHA for Bay de Verde. He served as Receiver = General=20 for the next eight years, being asked to remain in the position by = William=20 Whiteway, who succeeded Carter as prime minister in 1878.=20 <P>In that year=92s general election, Rogerson went back to Burin, the = scene of=20 his first electoral triumph and won handily, defeating Robert Pinsent, = one of=20 the leaders of the opposition party in the process. It was not long = after that=20 election before the prime minister and his guardian of the treasury were = on=20 opposite sides of the political divide.=20 <P>Whiteway was committed to diversifying the Newfoundland economy, = ending the=20 centuries-old dependence on the fishing industry as the sole provider = for so=20 many of the colony=92s residents. One of his schemes involved the = construction of=20 a railway line across the island, convinced that it would allow = exploitation of=20 the rich mineral and forestry resources of the interior of the island.=20 <P>Rogerson was not as convinced as his leader that this was the = long-awaited=20 panacea or the wisest way to spend government revenues. He was willing = to adopt=20 a wait and see attitude,=20 <P>however, keeping a close eye on the financial aspects of the contract = the=20 government signed with New York lawyer A. L. Blackman and his = Newfoundland=20 Railway Company in 1881 to build a railway line from St. John=92s to = Hall=92s Bay,=20 at the western end of Notre Dame Bay.=20 <P>Blackman=92s company went bankrupt after completing only 60 miles of = the=20 proposed 340 miles. Rogerson claimed that $12,000 from the total the = government=20 had budgeted for railway construction was missing and unaccounted for. = Failing=20 to obtain a satisfactory explanation for the deficit, he resigned as = Receiver=20 General.=20 <P>There was virtually no opposition to Whiteway in the House of = Assembly, the=20 small and relatively ineffective rump of the old anti-Confederate party = having=20 thrown in their lot with Whiteway some time previous.=20 <P>Determined to bring an end to what he considered to be Whiteway=92s=20 irresponsible and foolhardy railway plans, Rogerson joined forces with = Walter=20 Baine Grieve, another St. John=92s businessman, to challenge him in the = election=20 scheduled for later that year. Calling themselves the New Party, they = promised=20 increased spending on public works and reduced taxation, predicting that = four=20 more years of Whiteway and his outlandish spending would bankrupt the = colony and=20 result in confederation with Canada.=20 <P>Whiteway and his supporters carried the day, winning 26 of the 33 = seats in=20 the House of Assembly. Only five members of the New Party were elected, = with=20 Rogerson suffering personal defeat in Bay de Verde at the hands of = independent=20 Levi Garland.=20 <P>Rogerson was one of the great philanthropists of 19th-century = Newfoundland.=20 He was a firm believer in education, going so far as to establish a = school for=20 poor children and providing teachers for juveniles who had been = sentenced to=20 jail terms at the penitentiary in St. John=92s. He helped found a home = for=20 fishermen and seamen in the 1880s, created make-work projects for men = unemployed=20 during the winter months and supplied books and magazines to rural areas = in an=20 effort to improve literacy.=20 <P>His involvement with Gower Street Methodist Church, of which he was a = strong=20 and forceful presence, was embodied in his spiritual, administrative and = financial contributions to the work of the church. He represented the=20 Newfoundland Conference of the church at a number of international = congresses=20 and was the church=92s delegate to the Ecumenical Council held in = Washington in=20 1891.=20 <P>Rogerson married twice, first to Emma Garrett Blaikie, on Jan. 21, = 1845. They=20 were the parents of nine children: Jessie, James, Emma Amelia (died at = age 4),=20 Isabella, Sarah, Bertha, Emma Jean, William and Alexander. Emma Rogerson = died in=20 December 1876, and three years later on Dec. 2, 1879, James married = Isabella=20 Whiteford, herself a noted philanthropist and poet. He died at St. = John=92s on=20 Oct. 17, 1907.=20 <P>Remembered as a man who had lived =93a life of unbounded charity and=20 benevolence,=94 he was universally acclaimed as a true friend, ever = ready to=20 assist any and all who truly needed it.=20 <P>Bert Riggs is an archivist with the Centre for Newfoundland Studies = at=20 Memorial University.</P> <P>Thanks to Bert Riggs, The Telegram,=20 thetelegram.com</SPAN></P></FONT></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C5D34E.07C618E0-- SPOTLIGHT ON: When was the last time you visited http://ngb.chebucto.org/Cemetery/1dist-cem-idx.shtml Nearly 800 cemeteries posted and available for use. ************************************************************** Please be sure your messages are sent in Plain Text format. Messages not in plain text may bounce. Going on vacation? 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Index of Subjects