Euclid Beauclerc Rogers (1852-1931)

Portrait from the 1923-24 Illinois Blue Book. 

  2020 is upon us and the inaugural posting for the new year takes us to Illinois and Euclid Beauclerc Rogers, a longtime minister of the Central Baptist Church of Springfield. Sharing his first name with the famed Greek mathematician and "father of geometry" Euclid, Rogers first entered the political field at age 70 when he won election to the Illinois House of Representatives from Sangamon County. A native of New York, Euclid Beauclerc Rogers was born in Norwich, Chenango County on March 1, 1852, the son of Decalvus (1822-1898) and Diana (Aldrich) Rogers (1825-1854).  

  Rogers' early education was obtained at the Norwich Academy and from 1868-69 was a student at Colgate University. After leaving that institution he focused his attention on law studies, and in the early 1870s read law in Binghamton in the offices of Chapman and Martin. From 1872-74 Rogers briefly pursued a career in publishing, editing the Norwich Sentinel, before being admitted to the state bar in 1876. Euclid B. Rogers married in Norwich on Christmas Eve 1874 to Sarah Jane Bateman, who he later divorced in the early 1890s. Later newspaper reports denote Bateman as being just fourteen years old at the time of her marriage, a fact alluded to when charges of impropriety were leveled at Rogers in 1889.

   For five years (1877-82) Rogers operated a law practice in his native Norwich before being called to the ministry, and after a period of study was licensed to preach in March 1883. Following his ordination in October of that year, he briefly held a pastorate in Norwich before removing to Owasco, Cayuga County, New York, where he ministered from 1883-84. From 1884-85 Rogers studied at the Hamilton Theological Seminary, and after completing the curriculum accepted a pastorate in Weedsport, New York. After a two year residency there he again moved, this time to Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, where he was affiliated with the local Baptist Church.

  Late in Rogers' two-year pastorate in Franklin (which extended from 1887-89), he was hit with divorce proceedings by his wife Sarah, who instigated them after reports surfaced of Rogers' inappropriate relationship with his private secretary, Jennie Ross. In a Rome New York Sentinel write-up concerning his alleged impropriety, Rogers' behavior towards Ross was described as "unbecoming" and behavior towards his wife, "not edifying". However, as weeks progressed, other newspapers picked up on the story, and after further reporting, it was found that after turning his attention to Ms. Ross and neglecting his wife, Rogers himself had been the one to first bring up a consent to divorce. With the aid of an attorney Rogers brought forward evidence that showed that for a period of two years his wife had carried on a romantic correspondence with a butcher that she had met while the couple had resided in Weedsport. This evidence consisted of thirty-two letters written by Sarah Rogers, which contained mention of future romantic trists and "endearing terms." These allegations by Rogers were later confirmed by Sarah Rogers herself, who "acknowledged her husband's charges" in a write-up in the Utica Free Press edition of September 24, 1889.

  In a September 1889 writeup in the New York Press (shown below), it was revealed that Sarah Rogers "so influenced the elders of the church that they threatened to discharge Mr. Rogers if he should bring a suit for divorce", and that Rogers left his pastorate in Franklin to relocate to the midwest. Actual divorce proceedings were later started by mutual agreement between both parties, and that Rogers himself consented to separation "only on his wife signing a paper acknowledging her unfaithfulness and his innocence."

From the New York Press, September 21, 1889.

  Following his resignation from his pastorate in Franklin Rogers removed to Burlington, Iowa, where he ministered at the First Baptist Church from 1890-92. His time here saw the previous allegations that dogged him resurface, which caused division among the parishioners in his congregation. These old allegations were addressed at a meeting by a number of church elders and members on December 13, 1890, and after a two-hour deliberation the congregation's vote saw Rogers "fully and entirely vindicated". With his later ministry in Springfield, his future prominence as an orator on the lecture circuit, and his election to the Illinois legislature in 1922, Rogers appears to have largely weathered the charges of wrongdoing laid against him by his ex-wife and others. 

  Euclid B. Rogers left Burlington in 1892 to accept a pastorate at the Central Baptist Church of Springfield, Illinois. His ministry in Springfield extended seventeen years, and through the late 19th and early 20th century gained further distinction on the lecture circuit, where he received high praise as an "orator in the truest sense." Rogers proved to be a substantial voice in that era's Lyceum and Chautauqua social movements, visiting areas not only in Illinois but also in Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, South Dakota, and Vermont. Speaking on topics covering religion, the educational system, politics, current events, and social welfare, Rogers gained press as a captivating speaker, and following a lecture to the Iowa State Conference of Charities and Corrections, was favorably reviewed by Des Moines newspaper publisher John Hamilton, who stated:

"Dr. Rogers is a born orator, with a personality strongly resembling that of the noted lecturers of the greatest days of the rostrum. His deep moral earnestness; his genuine sympathy with the masses; his love of truth and his hatred of shams, all combined with a keen wit and hearty humor, make him a power on the platform rarely equaled. He ranks with Hillis, Gunsaulus,  and the real princes of the present day forum."

From the Audubon County Journal, July 30, 1914.

  While still an active pastor in Springfield, Rogers made headway into city civic and fraternal life, holding memberships in the local rotary club, Odd Fellows Lodge, the Masonic order, Knights Templar, and the Ansar Temple of Shriners. From 1909-11 he held a pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Champaign, Illinois, and by 1911 was again residing and ministering in Springfield. 

  In the twilight of his life, Rogers entered the political forum for the first time, winning the Republican primary for state representative from Sangamon County in April 1922. Seventy years old at the time of his victory, Rogers went on to win the general election that November, garnering 34,386 votes on election day. He would serve in the session of 1923-25 and was named to the committees on Appropriations, Charities and Corrections, Education, Roads and Bridges, and the committee to Visit Educational Institutions. 

   Following his one term in state government, Rogers continued residence in Springfield and in December 1925 took part in the Illinois Conference on International Good Will, being the chairman of the Springfield World Court Committee. He died at his home in Springfield on July 30, 1931, aged 79 and was later interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the same resting place as that other famous Springfield native, Abraham Lincoln.

Rogers' death notice from the Weedsport Cayuga Chief, August 1931.