Nathan Rodgers : Short Biography

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Nathan Rodgers 1863

Raphoe (Donegal)

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My grandparents Nathan and Sarah Rodgers (nee Roulstone) came to Canada in 1924. Nathan was born November 20, 1863 at Drumineney. He was a widower whose first wife and small daughter had died during from the flu. He married again to Sarah Mary Roulstone in 1909. He and his brothers operated a steam trucking business between Londonderry, Letterkenney and Raphoe. Due to the partition of Ireland in 1922 and the increase use of diesel and gasoline trucks, the steam hauling business declined. Nathan sold out to his brothers and emigrated to Canada with his wife and 8 children (7 sons and 1 daughter, my mother) in 1924. His sisters had previously emigrated to Canada and painted a glorious picture of the advantages of living in Canada. Not quite the paradise he was lead to believe; he and his sons worked as farm labourers in southeast Saskatchewan (flat open prairie which is essentially a desert for most years - my grandmother must of thought she landed on the moon when they stepped off the train train after the green hills of Ireland), until he obtained the rental of a farm near Handworth, Saskatchewan. Just in time for the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Canadian prairies were hit by dought for many of those years. During these years, all of the older sons worked out as farm labourers to help support the family. When the war came, all the sons but one (who stayed to work the farm) signed up with one son (Nathan) killed in action in Belgium). Nathan died December 22, 1943 at e 80 years old.

Nathan Rogers and Sarah My grandmother Sarah was born in Lisclamity, January 31, 1894. She was an only child and was engaged to a solider who was paralized in the Boer War. Because of this he refused to marry her and she married my grandfather in 1909. They had 11 children, two did not survive infancy, 8 were born in Ireland and the youngest daughter was born after they arrived in Canada,

Additional Information
Date of Birth	20th Nov 1863
Date of Death	22nd Dec 1943
Associated Building (s)	Bishop's Palace

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Could someone please tell me who Nathan's first wife was as I thought my great great aunt Sarah Mary Russell was married to Nathan? Her Mother was a Jane Roulstone and may have been related to your Sarah Mary.

Hazel

Saturday 6th October 2018 10:26AM

Could be - I have only sketchy information on my grandmother Sarah Mary Roulstone and even less on Nathan's first wife other than she and their daughter (only child) died in a flu epidemic. He remarried in 1909 to my grandmother Sarah Mary. So if your great great aunt Sarah Mary Russell was Nathan's first wife she would have had to died before 1909 and had no living children.

The only other information I have on my grandfather Nathan Rodgers was that his grandfather (may have been father since that family seems to have children well into their 60s - after they came to Canada when he was in his 60s they had another child!) was Nathan Rodgers (1796 to April 10, 1875) and was married to a Martha Hayes (1803 to Sept 5, 1873).

There also seems to be people by the name of Speers that were related, I think, to my grandmother. On the back of photos - Sarah Jane Speer of Grove Place. On the back of another photo is the following (convoluated family history) " aunt Bella, wife of James Speer, borther of William Speer, brother of Sarah Speer (Aunt Gankee?) also brother of my grandmother who married Bob Roulston, my grandfather Home place Altnaderry, Leitrim Place." I don't know who Bob Roulstan is and I think it was written by a cousin of my mother.

I have a photograph of my great grandfather Roulstone.

In the 1911 census of Raphoe, my grandparents are listed along with Jane Rodgers listed as mother aged 74 - must be Nathan's mother

Sorry for this - my mother really never bothered to find out much from her parents - it seemed once they left Ireland for Canada they didn't talk about their family/history in Ireland.

Maureen Matthew

Regina Saskatchewan

innovalearning@sasktel.net