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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
government census bureau. While most
capably discharging his official duties, he
accomplished other painstaking tasks,
among them the compiling and editing of
the code of Virginia of i860, and afterwards
in publishing the code of 1873 — works which
will be a witness to his ability and informa-
tion. He was one of the most active mem-
bers of the Southern Historical Society, of
which he became secretary at its reorganiza-
tion in 1873, ^^^ which position he filled
with marked ability until the winter of 1874,
when other pressing duties compelled him
to resign. He was author of "The Two
Parsons" and "Jewels of X'irginia" (Rich-
mond. 1884), and numerous monographs.
He died suddenly at his residence in Rich-
mond, January 9. 1882.
Rogers, William Barton, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1804, son of Patrick Kerr and Hannah (Ely the) Rogers. His father having pub- lished articles in the Dublin newspapers during the Irish rebellion hostile to the gov- ernment, sailed for America to escape ar- rest, and arrived in Philadelphia in August, 1798. He graduated from the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, 1802; piacticed in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and was professor of natural philosophy and chemistry in William and Mary College, 1819-28. William Barton Rogers removed with his parents to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1812, where he attended the common schools and was temporarily employed in a mercan- tile house ; was graduated from William and Mary, 1822, delivering an oration at the third **Virginiad,*' Jamestown, in May, 1822; continued at the college as acting professor of mathematics and as a post-graduate stu-
dent of the classics until October, I825, and
in the fall of 1826 opened a school at Wind-
sor, Maryland, with his brother James. He
delivered two courses of lectures before the
Maryland Institute at Baltimore, 1827, and
in October, 1828. succeeded to his father's
professorship at William and Mary. He
made a study of the geolog}- of eastern \'ir-
ginia. and taught the value of green marl as
a fertilizer. He was made state geologist in
1835. and in the same year was made pro-
fessor of natural philosophy in the Univer-
sity of \'irginia, and also chairman of the
faculty in 1844. In the latter capacity he
prepared a memorial to the legislature in
defence of the university and its annual ap-
propriation, and also the "Report of the
committee of the house of delegates on
.<rhix)ls and colleges, a report of much im-
portance in the histor>- of American educa-
tion. His administration included the ardu-
ous period of *'rioting ' among the students,
which was suppressed by civil authority.
He served as state geologist, 1835-42. He
was married. June 20. 1849, to Emma,
daughter of James Savage and Elizabeth
(Stillman-Lincoln) Savage, of Boston, Mas-
sachusetts; visited England and Scotland,
Ji'ne-October, 1849; delivered a course of
lectures on "phases of the atmosphere be-
fore the Smithsonian Institution, 1852; re-
signed from the University of Virginia in
1853, and removed to his wife's* former
home, Sunny Hill," Lunenburg, Mas.sachu-
setts. He delivered lectures on the ele-
mentary laws of physics before the Lowell
Institute. 1856-57, and devoted much time
to geological investigations. As early as
1846 he had conceived a definite idea for a
polytechnic school in Boston, and in Sep-
tember, i860, he submitted the plan which
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