The Death John Rogers & A Move to Indian Territory

In the late 1800’s the Civil War was raging. One of the effects of the war was the guerrilla warfare that ensued during and after. Men like William Quantrill who after leading a Confederate bushwhacker unit along the Missouri-Kansas border in the early 1860s, which included the notorious raid on Lawrence, Kansas ("Quantrill's Raid") in 1863, he eventually ended up in Kentucky, where he was killed in a Union ambush in May 1865 at the age of 27. I know of at least one of Quantrill’s Raiders that is buried with my great-great grandfather William Francis Clark. Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City. Elmwood has many interesting people that are interned there. Clark, who was himself one of Morgan’s Raider’s in Kentucky, is also buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City. Atrocities where committed by both sides during this time. One of those atrocities happened to John Rogers.

Tombstone for William F Clark

             The information I have on John is very light and sketchy. I did however had the fortunate opportunity to talk with a couple of aunts that could tell me some things about him. They told me his name was James. Which could be true, however the 1860 census has him listed as John. So I will use John in this text. First the facts I do know are that he was a farmer from Tennessee. He moved his wife Annie and their six children, Mary, Eli Jackson, Ellen, Levi, Martha and Stephen, somewhere in the area of Mulberry Arkansas sometime around 1856. John and Annie had three more children after they made the move. Jesse B., Rachel Emaline and John W.

            The 1860s in Arkansas poor lands were held by poor white farmers, who generally owned no slaves. The best lands were held by rich plantation owners, were operated primarily with slave labor. They grew their own food, and concentrated on a few crops that could be exported to meet the growing demand in Europe, especially cotton, tobacco, and sugar. John was one of those poor farmers.

            Sometime in 1863 a group of scavenging bushwhackers came through Rogers’ farm. They were looking for food, water and anything else they could find. At first they were greeted as friends. This was after all the south and these “we’re our boys”. During the war, however, the armies did what they had to when it came to survival. John was not home at the time. I can assume he was in the field. Annie sent Levi to find get John. Eli, the oldest boy, was kept at the house. Being the oldest he wasn't going to be let out of their sight. Stealing food and anything that might be of value. The family was very upset understandably. Annie kept them together the best she could. Mary, the oldest and feistiest, took matters into her own hands. Most families kept the stuff they needed for the winter in an attic or a cellar. When the soldiers tried to get in to find those supplies Mary grab him by the jacket and pulled him back. Not sure what made them relent, but Mary had kept them from getting it. John returned home with Levi soon after. Men are an evil bunch for sure. Since they couldn’t find enough supplies to take, the bushwhackers decided to take John. John was made to go with them to the other side of Mulberry River and they hanged him. Mary followed the men. She made sure she wasn’t seen. The soldiers left very quickly. Mary went and cut her father down quickly after the men left. John was loaded into the back of a wagon and Mary took off for Ft. Smith. John didn’t make the journey however. He died on the way. To this day we are not sure where John is buried.

            When Jessie Rogers was about 29. He decided to take his family to Indian Territory. They eventually moved sometime between 1885 and 1886 in the area of modern day Wilburton. They had three children at the time of the move, Ellen Mae, James Terman and John Elzie. Coal mining was starting to be a huge business and Indian Territory had a lot of coal. This drew many men looking for work. Much of the coal explosion can be attributed to a single person.

Coal mine in Wilburton, Oklahoma

            McAlester was instrumental in bring the railroads to the area. The railroads came in through a place known simply as “Crossroads”. This would later be named in honor of J. J. McAlester. In 1889 an east-west railroad, the Choctaw Coal and Railway was built through Crossroads. This would later  become the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. It was built to serve the rich coal fields east of McAlester.

                Jesse and Susan had six children. The youngest three were born in Indian Territory. Ada, Maudie and Jessie Pearl. Jesse died in 1894 in Shady Point, Indian Territory at the age of 37. Susan would go on to remarry a man named Riley Richardson a couple of years later. James and his younger brother John Elzie would work in the mines and farm near Wilburton. The family lived in the town of Lutie. Lutie was eventually incorporated into Wilburton. Many of the Rogers are buried in Lutie cemetery.