Are you a descendant of Thomas Rogers of the Mayflower?

Sometimes I get interesting email I just have to share with everyone.  This is one of those occasions!  Please check the links, because they have some of the best local history and genealogy of a Mayflower family I have ever seen.  There is a great sketch of Thomas Rogers (about 1571 - 1620), who died that first winter in Plymouth but his sons Joseph (1602/3 - 1677/8)  and John (1606 - abt 1691) went on to have descendants in the Plymouth Colony. 

St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Watford, Northamptonshire
Where members of the Rogers family were baptized and married
(photo from the website mentioned below)

Dear Mayflower Society Representative,

I hope you don't mind me contacting you by email. My name is Dee Solomon and I live in the small village of Watford in the County of Northamptonshire in England UK.

As I am certain you are already aware, our village is the birthplace of the Pilgrim Father Thomas Rogers, his wife; Alice Cosford and their children.

My reason for contacting you is to bring to your attention our village's history website - which tells the story of Watford from Roman times to modern day. We do have one webpage which is dedicated to the story (as far as we know it) of the Rogers family.

Please see: http://watfordvillage.weebly.com/pilgrim-fathers.html

Since we started the website we have had a number of descendants of the Rogers family (now living in the United States of America) contact us for information or photos of Watford - of which we have been happy to assist wherever possible. One person even asked us to send them a leaf from a tree in our churchyard!

Whilst few buildings now exist in the village that were around in Thomas Rogers time, our parish church was built in the 1300s and was, with certainty, where the Rogers family once attended services. Indeed, his father; William Rogers, his sister; Elizabeth and his infant brother; John Rogers were all buried in the churchyard here. Likewise, Thomas and Alice's children were all baptised here too. We still have the 15th Century font in the church that was almost certainly used for the baptisms.

Please see: http://watfordvillage.weebly.com/the-church-of-stpeter-and-stpaul.html

One thing we have noticed is that when descendants are tracing their ancestry they often get our village confused with the much larger town of Watford in the county of Hertfordshire, England UK. Watford in Hertfordshire is only about 60 miles to the south of us and has no connection with the Rogers family. However, we understand how easily people can make this mistake and we try to correct this if we ever see it used on genealogy sites.

We just wanted you to be made aware of our existence here and, if we can ever be of assistance to you and your society or to individual members who are descendants of the Rogers family, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kindest and best wishes.

Dee Solomon

http://www.watfordvillage.weebly.com/

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For more information on Thomas Rogers

The Thomas Rogers Society in America http://www.thomasrogerssociety.com/    

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants https://www.themayflowersociety.org/   

The Pilgrim Fathers UK Origins Association and Community Interest Company http://www.pilgrimfathersorigins.org/   

Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts December 1620: Family of Thomas Rogers, by Ann T. Reeves (Plymouth, Massachusetts: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2000) 

"English Ancestry of the Pilgrim Thomas Rogers and his Wife Alice (Cosford) Rogers" by Clifford L. Stott, The Genealogist, No.2 (1989).