Horatio Rogers, Jr., was born on May 18, 1836, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Horatio and Susan Rogers. His father was a manufacturer who owned $31,000 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in Providence, and he graduated from Brown University in 1855. By 1860, he was working as a lawyer in Providence. He married Lucia Waterman on January 29, 1861, and they had at least two children: Arthur, born around 1865; and Lucian, born around 1867.
He received a commission as a 1st lieutenant in Battery D of the 3rd Rhode Island Heavy Artillery in August 1861. He was promoted to captain in October 1861, and then to colonel of the 11th Rhode Island Infantry. He later became colonel of the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, and he took part in the Battle of Gettysburg. He resigned on January 15, 1864, and he later received a brevet promotion to brigadier general.
Rogers returned to Providence after the war. He supported the Republican Party, and voters elected him Attorney General of Rhode Island in 1864. He served until 1867. His wife died in 1867, and he married Emily P. Smith on October 6, 1869. Their daughter Emily was born around 1871. By 1870, he owned $12,000 of real estate and $4,000 of personal property, and he employed at least three domestic servants. By 1880, he was working as a cotton manufacturer.
He served as the state’s attorney general again from 1888 until 1889, and he received an appointment to the state’s supreme court in 1891. He served on the bench until 1903, and he died of “ hemorrhage of the brain” in Providence on November 12, 1904.
Image: Horatio Rogers, Jr. (Courtesy Wikicommons)