Rogers Tartan

[arrScott]

Ever since I started visiting Scotland regularly, I've kind of wished for a "clan" tartan of my own. A tough sell, since the Rogers side of my family, from which I get my name, never went anywhere near the Scottish highlands, and don't show up on even the most fanciful lists of "septs" and "associated families" I've ever seen.

Which makes this a design project, not a research project. Hooray! Something to do while I wait for my Hawaiian SK to be made.

Thanks to my family's long record in soldiering and ministering, the genealogists in my family can trace the Rogers line back to 1680s Massachusetts. Earlier than that, there is a slight chance that our line goes back to a pair of Rogers who came over on the Mayflower, but I'm told that it's much more likely that our Rogers came over in the later 1600s; a coincidence of names matches up with but cannot be definitively linked to some Rogers who were last seen in one of Cromwell's settlements in Ireland. That line traces back to military and clergy service to the English crown in the English-Scottish borders in Elizabeth's time, and that's as far as my cousins have taken their research on that side of the family.

So between some kind of English origin, my branch of Rogers did some soldiering in the Borders, then did some oppressin-of-the-locals in Ireland (someone had to keep my mother's people in line!), then came to America to do even more oppressin-of-the-locals and soldiering. And everywhere along the way, the Rogers seemed to have spit out a protestant minister or two just about every generation.

My most famous ancestor, for whom I'm named, as was my grandfather, and his grandfather, and so forth, was Robert Rogers, who organized Rogers Rangers in the French and Indian Wars. No reflected glory, there: Later, Robert was a Loyalist during the Revolution, where he was involved in exposing and executing the patriot spy Nathan Hale. The state legislature then outlawed Rogers and also passed a bill divorcing him from his wife and children, who therefore got to stay in the new United States while Robert was exiled and died drunk and penniless in London. I also have an ancestor who died in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812; one of only 27 or so American casualties, and Rogerses appear as volunteers in just about every war from the French and Indian to WWII.

So I turned for inspiration to the many American national, military, and state tartans for inspiration as to patterns and balance. For colors, I opted for shades of blue, for the wanderlust that led earlier Rogers to decide to go cross to the other side of every body of water they found. A hint of green, for the time in Ireland as well as to honor the green uniforms of Rogers Rangers. Black for the long line of Rev. Rogerses in my branch of the family. The dominant design is a triple stripe of yellow against sky blue, which to me symbolizes the origins of the Rogers name as something like "sun-glinting spear". It's like a rank of spear shafts against the sky. Inside the narrower bands of navy is a red stripe centered within white, to echo both the Union flag as well as the American flag, for service to crown and Constitution.

Also, I'm partial to the larger-sett tartans, such as you often see for American states.

So, without further ado, is my latest version of my proposed Rogers tartan. I'd be grateful to hear what the much more knowledgeable critics here have to say, and any suggestions for improving it.

[A Hay]

That is a very handsome shade of blue. Nice tartan.

Good story of the Rogers line also.

Tom

[Woodsheal]

As a French & Indian War reenactor who used to be in a ranger unit, when I see the name Rogers, I of course instantly think of Rob't Rogers and his Rangers, along with the earthy greens, browns and grays of their garb when out on a scout.
The blue tartan just doesn't seem "right" to me when I think of the name "Rogers". Sorry...!

[Galician]

Very nice tartan. Had you seen the clergy tartan when you were designing it?

Btw, the photo I have in my profile was taken at the Highland Games in your town a year ago. I wonder if we might have passed one another there.

[arrScott]

As a French & Indian War reenactor who used to be in a ranger unit, when I see the name Rogers, I of course instantly think of Rob't Rogers and his Rangers, along with the earthy greens, browns and grays of their garb when out on a scout.
The blue tartan just doesn't seem "right" to me when I think of the name "Rogers". Sorry...!

Hey, thanks! Don't apologize -- that's the kind of feedback I need. Here is an example of what my first ideas for the tartan looked like:



Or



Much more of the dark earthtones of the ranger's garb. Perhaps I was on the right track the first time around!

[gilmore]

Have you thought about testing your Y chromosome DNA? Men inherit it from our fathers, so it follows the surname (or vice versa) generally in modern times.

While it has been used as a tool for genealogical research widely for only 5-6 years and is still in its infancy, it might be helpful in cases like yours where you have hit a brick wall a few hundred years ago. It is no substitute for the certainty of a well-documented paper trail IMHO, but can tell you where it might be useful to look, and where it wouldn't, maybe more of the latter than the former. Family Tree DNA is the largest company doing DNA genealogical testing, has the largest databases and is thus more likely to be helpful. Here is there homepage: http://www.ftdna.com/ You might click on their FAQ if you are unfamiliar with genealogical DNA testing.

I see that there is a Rogers surname project https://www.familytreedna.com/surnam...&projecttype=S

as well as a smaller Rodgers surname project https://www.familytreedna.com/surnam...&projecttype=S

The former has members from 5 haplogroups, or unrelated lines, and a dozen or more other subclade groupings, so I would guess that you could hope to fit into one of those, share information with those folks, and be able to determine that the rest would not be useful to pursue.

If you join a surname project, FTDNA gives a discount. The prices start at $99 for a 12 marker test, up to $300 or so for the more precise 67 marker test. But to me was worth it, if like you and I, you have a not uncommon surname and have exhausted the paper trail.

You can also post your results here http://www.ysearch.org/ a helpful site that has a data base of Y chromosome results from all the various testing companies.

I would think that you could hope to at least determine with some certainty if your Rogers are descended from or are closely related to the Mayflower Rogerses, the Rogers Cromwell settled in Ireland, or the Elizabethan Border Rogerses, since it was far enough in the past that there are enough men around and interested in genealogy who can document their descent from those Rogers.

[Woodsheal]

Hey, thanks! Don't apologize -- that's the kind of feedback I need. Here is an example of what my first ideas for the tartan looked like:



Or



Much more of the dark earthtones of the ranger's garb. Perhaps I was on the right track the first time around!

I like the 2nd one best. Ranger colors combined with flag colors (both US and Great Britain!)....

[Phil]

You obviously like blue, a bit like Bell of the borders tartan. It seems to be a more modern trend whereas the older tartans were more greens and reds. Looks nice all the same. Don't suppose you're any relation to Roy then?

[arrScott]

You obviously like blue, a bit like Bell of the borders tartan. It seems to be a more modern trend whereas the older tartans were more greens and reds. Looks nice all the same. Don't suppose you're any relation to Roy then?

I like green a lot too, but blue seemed the more appropriate emphasis color.

Funny you should ask about Roy Rogers -- as far as I know, I'm not related to the Roy Rogers. But Roy used to be a common name in my family, and my father, Jim, who was born in 1940, was due to be named Roy. Fortunately for my dad, Grandma Rogers put her foot down and insisted on waiting for the next boy in hopes that the movie star Roy Rogers faded away. He didn't, the next boys were named Joel, William, and David, and the name Roy has died out in my family.

[Bryan]

Sorry, but I really like this one!