The Journal of Samuel Holister Rogers
Source: Rogers, Samuel Hollister, (1819- ), Journal (1819-1846),
Typescript, BYU
[p.1] The journal of Samuel Holister Rogers, son of Chandler and Amanda Holister Rogers. My father’s family consisted of six sons and three daughters. I was the eldest and was born March 1st, 1819, in Palmyra, Portage County, Ohio.
My grandmother, Sarah Pritchard, was the daughter of James and Abigail Pritchard whose parents came as immigrants from the Highlands of Scotland. My father went to Queenstown, Upper Canada, in 1814 or 15 and returned the same year. His father moved with his family from Pennfield, New York, to [p.2] Palmyra, Portage County, Ohio, in the fall of 1817. Father learned the trade of shoemaker from his father; he followed agricultural pursuits in summer and worked at his trade in winter. In 1819 he moved to Edingburg, in the same county in which he lived before. Here in company with two of his brothers, Milton and Noah, he bargained for a piece of land for a farm. They were to pay for it in different installments, within a specified time. They were to put a frame house and tannery, but being defrauded of their wages in a job of work they had previously done, they were in consequence unable to build the tannery, failing in which they lost all the improvements they had made on the land, and also the money they had paid, this reduced them to penury. Father moved with family back to Palmyra in the fall of 1823. He bought a piece of unimproved land consisting of 55 acres, where he built a log house into which he moved in January 1826.
[p.2] I will here relate an incident which took place while my father and family and his brothers, Milton and Noah, with their families lived at Edingburg. The three families all lived in one log house. One day a stranger came along and stated that he would like to preach, so the word was sent to the school then being held in the neighboring schoolhouse, and as the children went home they circulated the news of appointed meeting for that evening. None of the Rogers families belonged to any religious denomination, but they all attended the meeting. The preacher taught scriptural doctrines different from the preachers of the day. The Rogers fully expected that some of the religious people that attended the meeting would invite the preacher to their homes, but as none of them invited him, he returned with them to their house. They found him a very remarkable man. He was cleanly and tidily but not showily dressed, at first sight he seemed a young man, but afterwards appeared to be older. The three brothers remained up all night talking with him. He was well acquainted with all the localities with which [p.3] they were familiar, and perfectly conversant with the history of the country generally. He told them the true church was not then on the earth, but be restored during their lives, and that they would all live to see it and would join it. They asked him how they would know the true church. He replied, “This is your blessing, you shall know it and be identified with it.” He went away in the morning and they heard no more of him.
Some seventeen years afterwards they read in the Book of Mormon about the three Nephite apostles who should remain on the earth until the coming of the Savior. They then supposed this unknown preacher to have been one of them. All three of the Rogers brothers with their wives and all their children that reached the required age were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Glad to see this work, makes one hunger for more, how can we get a full account of Samuel’s journal? Also, it would be nice to know more about this family, the Rogers; in particular, Mark Rogers. He was brother of Samuel Hollister Rogers, he along with other members of his family died enroute to the Rockie Mountains shortly after leaving Nauvoo, 1846-48 time frame. He had died not long after marrying a grandmother of mine, Sally Ray Whitlock, who gave birth to his only daughter, Amanda Azelia Rogers Oviatt, who had married Joseph Smith Barney, son of Lewis Barney. My great-grandfather, Henry Orville Barney was Joseph Smith Barney’s son so, you can see my interest of knowing more about these families. If available, I would like any information that may be had concerning the Hollister families as well. This would be deeply appreciated, thank you.
The best I can tell you is that there was a copy at BYU in Provo. I also found the following links that might help you.
http://net.lib.byu.edu/imaging/into/hdniowa/24shrfs.html
http://mightymalls.com/mission/Noah%20and%20Eda%20Rogers.pdf (his journal is referenced here)
He is in my family line and I think it would be awesome if I coud find a way to get ahold of the real copy of his journal.
Contact BYU and see if they can help you.
I am a descendant of Samuel Hoister Rogers and I recently heard about a page of Samuel’s journal that was placed in the corner stone of the Snowflake Temple where Samuel had recorded the prophecy by a general authority that one day a Temple would be built in Snowflake Arizona. I am wanting to see if there is a copy of that page from his journal.
My wife and I are both descendents of Samuel Hollister Rogers. We have a typed copy of his journal.
I found a typed copy of his journal: https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/9095845
I believe I uploaded his journal into family search. I have the full pdf of one of his journals