William Rogers was born on April 4, 1817, in Orford, New Hampshire, to John and Lucy Rogers. His father earned a living as a lawyer. He grew up and attended school in Orford, and he began working as a teacher around 1833. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, around 1841. He eventually became a successful lawyer, and he also worked as a “reporter of legal decisions for the Boston Daily Advertiser.” According to an early biographer, he was a “well-read lawyer; patient of investigation, thorough, accurate, and sound.”

 

He married Margaret Mitchell on December 18, 1851, and their son Walter was born around 1854. His wife probably died in the mid-1850s. He then married Ellen M. Gavett on January 15, 1857, and their daughter Mary was born around 1858. Ellen probably died soon afterward, and he married Nancy R. Holmes on October 2, 1858. They had four children together: Edwin, George, Ida, and Lillian. By 1860, he was living in Milton, Massachusetts, and he owned $6,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property.

 

In August 1862, he received an appointment as an assistant adjutant general with the rank of major. He helped administer the draft in Massachusetts. After the Civil War, he resumed his legal practice in Boston. He died there of rheumatism and typhoid fever on January 15, 1869.

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