SAMUEL EVERETT ROGERS' GRAVESITE
SAMUEL EVERETT
ROGERS
1809-1863
In
a lovely clearing, near a corner in Texas where Hamilton, Erath and
Comanche counties come together, you will find the one hundred forty year
old grave of Samuel Everett Rogers. There is a bronze plaque on his grave,
placed there in 1941 by his
grandson and namesake, Samuel Everett
Rogers
of
Houston
,
Texas
.
At the request of Helen Rogers McKee of
Claremont
,
California
and Alice Rogers Kilman of
Houston
,
Texas
,
Rufus Freeman enclosed the gravesite with
a chain link fence ca 1973.
Alice
’s
father was the grandson who
placed the plaque on his
grandfather Samuel’s grave.
Since
Indian raids had become frequent in the area, Mr. Secrest
asked Samuel if he would protect his family during the night. Samuel and
his son , James Carroll Rogers, had been members of The Erath County
Militia . The next morning, Samuel was returning to the home of his son,
when he encountered Indians,
who had been trying to steal horses from James Carroll Rogers’ home.
There was a chase and that is when Samuel Everett
Rogers
lost the fight, was scalped and killed. He is buried nearby under a live
oak tree. The Rev. Sam Powers led a group of men who chased the Indians,
but they got away.
Samuel
Everett Rogers was born ca 1809 in Martin County, NC. His father was
Everett Rogers, his mother is unknown. Samuel married Elizabeth Ann
Sparks, daughter
of Richard and Elizabeth Cooper Sparks. Richard Sparks
was massacred in 1838 by Indians while surveying in Navarro County,
TX. Samuel Everett Rogers and Elizabeth Sparks Rogers had six children;
James Carroll b. 1835, William E. b. 1841, Joseph Franklin b. 1844,Thomas
H. (or M) b. 1846, d. 1864, while serving in the Confederate States Army,
John Marion b. 1848, and Mary b. 1850-53.
May 3, 2003, marked the one hundred fortieth
anniversary of the death of Samuel Everett Rogers. Five of his descendants
were there to place flowers on his grave and to embrace the moment.
Jeanne
(Dodson) Cariglio
Great-great granddaughter of Samuel Everett Rogers
Click on 1999
pictures to see a larger view.
Riding a small pony to Rocky Ranch, Samuel Everett
Rogers was scalped by Comanche Indians on May 3, 1863, a few miles west of
the future site of Carlton.
His fenced grave is in the middle of a cow pasture near FM2823 on land
owned by the Self family. Before 1912 Jim Rogers found the grave on
a hill and placed a rock border around it. The location of the grave
was forgotten until 1941 when Sam Rogers, grandson of Samuel Everett
Rogers, found the grave and placed a concrete slab and a bronze
marker over it. Now each Easter his descendants make a
pilgrimage to the grave.
Cemetery Coordinates:
"N31 degrees 55.310
minutes
W 098 degrees 11.861
minutes
within 27 feet accuracy
using 5 satellites
3D GPS location"
ROGERS, SAMUEL EVERETT
ROGERS, SAMUEL EVERETT, Page 2
ROGERS, AMANDA ELIZABETH (SPARKS) (O'HAIR)
