Jefferson Carroll Rogers was born on March 24, 1824, in Lawrence County, Tennessee, to George and Elizabeth Rogers. Rogers moved to Tippah County, Mississippi, sometime before 1846, and he served as a private in the 2^nd Mississippi Infantry during the Mexican American War. He mustered out on July 13, 1848, and returned to Tippah County. By 1850, he was working as a farmer, and he owned $200 of real estate. He moved to Texas sometime in the 1850s and married a woman named Nancy. In 1860, he was working as a district clerk, and he owned $9,672 of real estate and $1,575 of personal property.

 

He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861 and mustered in as a captain of Company G of the 5^th Texas Infantry. He was promoted to major on November 1, 1862. He was wounded in the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863 and spent the next several months recovering in Selma, Alabama. Confederate officials transferred him to the invalid corps in October 1864, and he was paroled in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 12, 1865.

 

Rogers returned to Milam County, Texas, after the war, and his wife Nancy died on August 26, 1866. He married Martha Sparks on August 26, 1866, and they had at least five children: Emeline, born around 1872; Jefferson, born around 1875; Ella, born around 1878; William, born around 1880; and Mary, born around 1882. In 1870, Rogers was working as a sawyer, and he owned $2,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. A decade later, he was working as a farmer and clerk. He died in Milan County on February 27, 1885.

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