Bio of ROGERS, Colonel George D. (b.1830 d.1918), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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Vol III, pg 126-131
COLONEL GEORGE D. ROGERS
There are many reasons why the life history of Colonel George D. Rogers finds
appropriate place in this volume, dedicated to the builders and promoters of
Minneapolis and her greatness. He was for many years engaged in the wholesale
grain and commission business and he was the first man to propose a Chamber of
Commerce here, becoming its first secretary and occupying the position for many
years. All through his life he continued an active factor in the promotion of
those projects which work for the advancement and development of the city and
his labors were far-reaching and effective. Moreover, he was a representative of
one of the old American families, the ancestry being traced back in direct line
through several generations. He was a descendant of William Rogers, said to be a
son of Thomas Rogers, who came to America on the Mayflower. William Rogers was
in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1636 and for a few years previous. In 1644 he
was one of the proprietors of Hempstead, Long Island, and removed from there to
Southampton, Long Island, in 1648 or 1649. He went to Huntington, Long Island,
prior to 1656 and was one of the purchasers of a tract of land five miles
square, bought from the Indians in 1656. He died at Huntington in the decade
between 1660 and 1670, and his widow, Ann, died in 1669. She left a will and
mentions children. Their son Jonathan, born probably as early as 1635, died in
1709. His wife, Rebecca, was living in 1699. Their son Obadiah, who was born in
1678 and died February 7, 1759, married Pheba -, born 1680, died 1754. Their son
Hezekiah married, March 29, 1725, Ruth, daughter of Benjamine Scudder, and they
had a daughter Pheba, who married Philip Rogers, October 9, 1762. From this
ancestry came the branch of the Rogers family of which Colonel George D. Rogers
was a representative. His great-grandfather was Philip Rogers (mentioned above),
who resided at Stillwater, New York, and who on the 9th of October, 1762, at
Huntington, Long Island, married Pheba Rogers. This Philip served as an officer
during the War of the Revolution. Their son, Jacob Rogers, the grandfather of
Colonel Rogers, was born April 6, 1765, and died January 9, 1830. He married
Sarah Dickerson, who was born August 25, 1769, and died in July, 1857. They made
their home in Albany, New York, and their family included a son, Dickerson
Rogers, who was born April 17, 1795, and who died February 6, 1887, at Argyle.
He was married on the 10th of August, 1816, to Sally Presher, a daughter of
William and Anna (Wright) Presher, the latter a member of the Wright family
living near Oswego, New York. Anna Wright was born August 1, 1768, and became
the wife of William Presher, whose birth occurred April 10, 1759. Their
daughter, Sally Presher, was born December 6, 1794, and died December 7, 1861.
As stated, on the 10th of August, 1816, she became the wife of Dickerson Rogers
and they made their home in Bradford county, Pennsylvania.
Their son, Colonel George P. Rogers, was born in Bradford county, September 30,
1830, and was but eight years of age when his parents left the Keystone state
and removed to Oswego, New York, where they remained until 1847 and then
returned to Pennsylvania. Colonel Rogers acquired his early education in the
public schools of Oswego and retained his residence in the east until 1854, when
he removed to Lafayette county, Wisconsin. There he engaged in farming and
milling until 1862 and also at Monroe, Wisconsin, studied law in one of the law
offices of that city. While he never engaged in practice, his knowledge of law
was of much value to him in the conduct of his business affairs in later years.
In 1862 the name of George D. Rogers was placed on the roll of enlisted soldiers
of the Thirty-first Wisconsin Infantry and he was commissioned a captain. After
serving for nine months with that rank he was promoted to major and a month
later was commissioned a lieutenant colonel, while subsequently he was advanced
to the rank of colonel. He remained on active duty until the fall of 1865,
participat­ing in various important contests which led up to the final victory
that crowned the Union arms.
Following the close of the Civil war Colonel Rogers went to Iowa, where he
became actively identified with the grain trade through the operation of several
grain warehouses. He continued in the buying and selling of wheat in that state
until 1874, when he was attracted to Minneapolis, which by reason of the
establish­ment of large flour mills here was becoming one of the grain trade
centers of the country. Accordingly he directed his efforts to this field and
engaged in the whole­sale grain and commission business in this city for a
period of seventeen years. He established the daily Market Record in 1881, and
was publisher of the same until his death. He was one of the prominent figures
in connection with grain trade circles in this city. He was also the first to
make plans for a Chamber of Commerce and directed his efforts in that connection
so effectively that the organiza­tion was perfected and he became the first
secretary, occupying the position for an extended period and placing the Chamber
upon a substantial foundation. Colonel Rogers' own story of the beginning of the
Chamber of Commerce was printed in the pamphlet issued in 1917 called the
Minneapolis Golden Jubilee, in which he said: "When Minneapolis stepped out in
front in 1885 and gained international recogni­tion as the world's greatest
primary wheat market, a new era dawned for the grain and milling trade, greater
avenues were opened for industrial activity and the group of steadfast workers
saw realization of their roseate dreams of results achieved by a well organized
Chamber of Commerce. Down through succeeding years this prestige has been
maintained and the Chamber of Commerce of today with a membership of five
hundred and seventy, with its seats valued at seven thousand five hundred
dollars, its holdings valued in millions and its wholesome influence constantly
being reflected in growth of the grain trade, brings back memories of strenuous
days of the early '80s when this great institution was in its formative stages.
The first grain shipped to Minneapolis came to supply the early flour milling
demand and was consigned from Iowa and Illinois. It was regarded as an important
event in the grain trade when two thousand bushels arrived by steamer in 1855.
Southern Minnesota soon began to make returns and with the increased settlement,
wheat began to pour into the market places, such as they were. The late James J.
Hill often declared that the first wheat shipped out of Minnesota was raised
near LeSueur and went down the Mississippi on a barge in 1857-sixty years ago.
Immediately after the war the fertility of the state attracted settlers, yet as
late as 1871 there were but nine firms in Minneapolis classified as 'grain
dealers.' These men were largely merchants who handled grain 'on the side.'
Among them were such familiar names to present-day Minneapolis as Clark &
Linton, W. H. Dunwoody, Harvey & Bradley, John Osborne, E. & B. Palmer, Pratt &
Foster, John Scheible, J. M. Varney & Company and Wright & Fiske. When I came to
Minneapolis in 1873 from Calmar, Iowa, where I had been buying and shipping
grain, the grain trade was in the grip of the Minneapolis Millers' Association.
The need of an organized Chamber of Commerce was pressing, yet it was almost
impossible to convince the grain men themselves that such an organization would
be successful. Time and again they answered my urgent pleas for a grain exchange
by declarations that only cities located at lake or seaports with water
transportation were entitled to an exchange. * * * During the summer of 1881,
after months of incessant effort in the attempt to interest merchants, millers,
grain men and bankers, in the formation of an exchange eight men finally met in
a little room ten feet square on the second floor of the building now occupied
by the Western Union, at Third and Hennepin, to discuss organization. The
Security Bank occupied the ground floor and I had in the meantime secured the
consent of its president, H. G. Harrison, to act as the nominal president of the
exchange in case organization was effected. After much preliminary struggling
the articles of incorporation were finally drawn up with the following names
appended: H. G. Harrison, A. C. Rand, John Dunham, A. H. Bode, E. V. White, R.
P. Russell, T. J. Buxton, W. F. Meader, C. M. Loring, A. D. Mulford, Samuel P.
Snyder, A. B. Taylor, D. C. Bell, Anthony Kelly, James A. Lovejoy, Frank L.
Morse, D. Syme, S. W. Serl, Robert McMullen, J. R. Coykendall and R. L.
Crockett. The charter provided for the following officers: President, H. G.
Harrison; first vice president, A. D. Mulford; second vice president, A. B.
Taylor; secretary, George D. Rogers; treasurer, T. J. Buxton; directors: H. G.
Harrison, A. D. Mulford, T. J. Buxton, James A. Lovejoy, R. P. Russell, F. L.
Morse, W. F. Meader, John Dunham, S. W. Serl, D. Syme, R. McMullen, A. B. Taylor
and John Coykendall. At the first meeting after organization twenty-one new
members were added at a membership fee of twenty-five dollars. Practically all
grain dealers in the city were included and the lists were open to any business
man. It was later necessary to restrict the membership to resident grain dealers
and to raise the initiation fee. In June of the first year we had a membership
of five hundred and thirty-eight. The fee was raised from twenty-five dollars to
one thousand dollars to check the growth of membership among nonresidents. Then
in 1890 the value of seats had grown beyond the thousand dollar mark and in 1900
it had passed two thousand dollars when we raised the price to three thousand
dollars but still they continued to advance. At the end of 1882 we had fifteen
thousand dollars in cash in the treasury, we owed nothing, owned the two large
lots where the original Chamber of Commerce building stands and the contract was
let for the two hundred thousand dollar structure. By the end of the year the
foundation was ready. In 1890-91 the main building was completed at a cost of
eight hundred thousand dollars,. It was soon, necessary to erect the two hundred
thousand dollar annex and with the continuation of present growth even larger
quarters will soon be required. The wisdom of original organizers has been
vindicated. They builded better than they knew and on the solid foundation laid
during those formative days stands the Chamber of Commerce of 1917. More
troubles came during the first four years of the organization when we were
unable to secure recognition from the New York Produce Exchange. Press
associations refused to send out our quotations in the market reports and in
fact it was not until Minneapolis actually reached first place among primary
wheat markets that New York grudgingly accorded recognition to this growing
market. During the first few months and years it was necessary for commission
dealers to lug their grain samples to the millers for quotations. In a short
time the millers were coming to the commission men, taking a hand in trading on
the floor and facilitating the marketing of wheat. All is harmony now because of
sincere efforts by both millers and commission dealers to perfect trading
methods for the best benefit of all concerned. I well remember the days when I
was secretary when it was necessary to lure the members into the trading room on
some pretext when we desired to hold a committee meeting. Many times have I
locked the door and put the key in my pocket to keep them from leaving before
they had transacted the business in hand. Hard as it was to get and to keep a
quorum, committees were eventually appointed. When it became necessary to revise
rules to fit the case or to round out governing principles we called them
together again, locked the door behind them until they had cast their votes and
then released them. Contrast those situations with the eagerness to act
exhibited by men who are making grain history today in the Chamber of Commerce!"
The efforts of Colonel Rogers were a most substantial factor in the upbuilding
of the Chamber, which is today one of the greatest forces in connection with the
grain trade of Minneapolis, now the center of the grain exchange of the American
continent.
In 1853 Colonel Rogers was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Gillet, a
daughter of Plumleigh and Charlotte Georgia Gillet. They became parents of two
children, Plum A. and Emma. The family circle was broken by the hand of death
when on the llth of February, 1918, Colonel Rogers passed away. He was a member
of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to an Iowa lodge, and in Minneapolis he
held membership in the Minneapolis Club and the Automobile Club. He was also a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Loyal Legion and throughout
his life manifested the same patriotic spirit that prompted him to follow the
Stars and Stripes on the battle fields of the south. He also took great pride in
his city, being first, last and always for Minneapolis and untiring in his
service for her benefit and improvement. By reason of his devoted interest and
the many sterling characteristics he displayed he was one of her most highly
honored citizens.