Elijah Rodgers & Zipporah Ann Horton

Elijah Rodgers (1834-1925) & Zipporah Ann Horton (1838-1920)
of Guysborough, Nova Scotia & Provincetown, Massachusetts

Tim’s 2nd-great-grandfather, Elijah Rodgers, son of Jacob and Mahala (Bedford) Rodgers, was born 4 October 1834 in Guysborough (Guysborough) Nova Scotia, and died 19 June 1925 in Provincetown (Barnstable) Massachusetts. He married 15 December 1863 in Toby Cove (Guysborough) Nova Scotia, Zipporah Ann Horton, who was born 22 February 1838 in Cook’s Cove (Guysborough) Nova Scotia, and died 6 March 1920 in Provincetown, daughter of Charles and Eliza (—) Horton.

Elijah was a fisherman and Zipporah was a homemaker. In the spring of 1873 Elijah may have been part of the rescue efforts to assist the passengers of the shipwrecked RMS Atlantic, which ran onto rocks off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Quite remarkably, Zipporah was 50 years old when she gave birth to her last child. A couple of years later, about 1891, the couple and their younger children emigrated from Nova Scotia to Cape Cod, joining Elijah’s younger brother Neadom, who had arrived in Provincetown many years earlier, in 1858, and their oldest son George, who had joined his uncle Neadom in 1883. Elijah & Zipporah resided at 72B Commercial Street in Provincetown.

In the summer of 1911, Elijah & Zipporah survived a deadly heatwave that killed more than 2,000 people in the northeastern states.

Elijah & Zipporah lie buried together, along with their son Charles, and with their daughter-in-law Adelaide (Williams) Rodgers, wife of their son Neadom, in Gifford Cemetery in Provincetown. Elijah died of heart disease.

Gifford Cemetery, Provincetown, Massachusetts

Elijah & Zipporah were the parents of eight children, all born in Guysborough:

1. Alice Rodgers, born about 1864, died 2 July 1870, age 6. Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Guysborough, next to her grandmother, Mahala (Bedford) Rodgers.

2. George Lincoln Rodgers (Tim’s great-grandfather), born 1 January 1865, died 16 July 1939 in Fall River (Bristol) Massachusetts. He married (as his first wife) 18 February 1891 in Provincetown, his first cousin, Mary Jane Rodgers, who was born 7 June 1867 in Boston (Suffolk) Massachusetts, and died 10 July 1916 in Somerville (Middlesex) Massachusetts, daughter of Neadom and Hanorah (O’Brien) Rodgers. George & Mary Jane were the parents of a son. George married (as his second wife) about 1918, Mary Etta (Cushing) Simmons, who was born about 1867, and died 21 January 1938, daughter of John Walter and Deborah (Sampson) Cushing and widow of Mark L. Simmons. George lies buried with his second wife and her first husband in Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

3. Harvey Rodgers, born 24 November 1872, died 16 November 1952 in Port Madison (Kitsap) Washington. He married 24 November 1914 in Seattle (King) Washington, Bertha Nyman, who was born in 1874 in California, and died 31 May 1945 in Seabold (Kitsap) Washington, daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (O’Rourke) Nyman. Harvey & Bertha had no children.

4. Charles Edward Rodgers, born 12 November 1873, died 6 May 1893 in Provincetown, age 19.

5. Neadom Oscar Rodgers, born 20 January 1876, died in 1953 in Provincetown. He married (as his first wife) 8 October 1908 in Provincetown, Adelaide Williams, who was born there 20 September 1875, and died there 24 October 1918, daughter of John and Marian (Campbell) Williams. Addie died of pneumonia, probably a victim of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Neadom & Addie were the parents of a son. Neadom married (as his second wife and as her second husband) 11 December 1923 in Wellfleet (Barnstable) Massachusetts, his brother’s widow, Lillian Udavilla (Stanley) Rodgers, who was born 23 January 1885 in Grand Manan (Charlotte) New Brunswick, and died 18 September 1979 in Provincetown, daughter of Job and Catherine (—) Stanley, and widow of William Rodgers. Neadom & Lil had no children.

6. William Rodgers, born in December 1878, died 13 January 1920 in Provincetown. He married (as his first wife) 24 January 1900 in Provincetown, Lizzie Ellsworth Newcomb, who was born there 5 November 1883, and died before 1906, daughter of John O. and Christina (McKinnon) Newcomb. William & Lizzie were the parents of a son. William married (as his second wife and as her first husband) Lillian Udavilla (Stanley) Rodgers, who was born 23 January 1885 in Grand Manan (Charlotte) New Brunswick, and died 18 September 1979 in Provincetown, daughter of Job and Catherine (—) Stanley. William & Lil were the parents of two daughters.

7. Edna Elizabeth Rodgers, born 5 November 1884, died 15 October 1967 in Provincetown. She married 22 November 1904 in Provincetown, Samuel Thomas Rich, who was born there 6 September 1882, and died 2 August 1979 in Hyannis (Barnstable) Massachusetts, son of Caleb and Julia Ann (Freeman) Rich. Edna & Samuel had no children.

8. Osela Charles Rodgers, born 20 June 1888, died 20 June 1968 in Philadelphia (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania. He married 22 August 1917 in Portland (Cumberland) Maine, Sylvia Frymire, who was born 8 July 1894 in Williamsport (Lycoming) Pennsylvania, and died in January 1983 in Bethlehem (Northampton) Pennsylvania. Osela & Sylvia were the parents of a son.

12 thoughts on “Elijah Rodgers & Zipporah Ann Horton”

  1. Wow Barbara – the ancient ancestors come alive to me – and I think if I had met Elijah and Zipporah as they look in that photo, my jaw would have dropped. OH those countenances – faces is wrong word – thanks for this!
    And I would love to know what YOU get out of this loving job 🙂

    1. Thank you, Leelah! I still can’t get over Zipporah having a baby at age 50! (I did some research, it is possible but is very rare.) Not sure why I love family history so much but I know the ancestors themselves are guiding me and blessing my efforts. I’ve been doing this since I was a small child but the research tools I have available now are making it ever more compelling. 🙂

    1. If they had read any Jules Verne or H. G. Wells I bet they would think we are living in a science fiction world come to life. 🙂 Likewise, I often wonder what we would make of the world 100 years from now…

  2. Your in-depth research is amazing. I know some family stories, but nothing this factual. I do know that my great grandmother gave birth to her last child at 52! She and Zipporah could have had quite a chat.

    1. Thanks, Ally, it’s my passion. It’s fun to start with the stories and then find records to flesh them out. It’s good to know pregnancy at 50+ isn’t completely unheard of. I imagine your great-grandmother and Zipporah would have had lots to talk about!

  3. That’s a lot of information you found by delving into Tim’s family history. I have two high school friends who are very interested in tracing their roots and have done extensive spreadsheets with the info they glean.

    1. It’s a never-ending puzzle and a great way to pass the winter hours, especially with all the research tools available online these days. I’m constantly surprised and delighted by the new bits of information I keep finding. 🙂

      1. My neighbor Marge, who passed away in 2017, loved working on her “tree” and discovered another woman named “Marge Aubin” who was not related to her at all, but this woman was French Canadian like Marge’s husband. They were friends for years after connecting up on the Ancestry site.

        1. That was nice that Marge found a friend on Ancestry. I’ve found a couple of distant cousins, and even met one years ago. She showed me where our 2nd- and 3rd-great-grandparents are buried on Cape Cod. Sadly, we didn’t stay in touch.

          1. That’s too bad you didn’t stay in touch. Marge was astounded to discover someone with the same name but not related to her in any way … I guess there were a lot of “Aubins” in that part of Canada, all whom were related.

          2. Apparently Aubin is a surname for a person who lived in Aubin (Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier) in the province of Brittany, France. Perhaps a lot of the population emigrated to Canada in the 1790s to escape anti-Revolutionary insurrections…

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