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Note: Source: Unless otherwise stated, information is from missionary records held at the American Board of Missions headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey.
Studied in Rutland, VT, Haverhill and Andover, MA. At Andover she studied French and German with Mr. W. G. Schauffler who became a missionary. She taught for a time in Catskill, NY.
In Turkey became fluent in Greek and Armenian. Six children were born. She developed lung problems. Went to Halki (Heybeli-Ada) for rest but it did not help much. In October of 1850 they went to Rhodes, hoping the climate would help her. Swedish doctor on the island treated her but she died on Nov. 14. Buried in the Greek Cemetery with the English Consul reading the funeral service.
SOURCES NAMED IN MEMORIAL BOOK: Light on the Dark River by Margarette Lawrence My Life and Times by C. Hamlin Tombstone erected in Protestant Cemetery, Ferik�y to memorialize her. On the stone it says, "Descendant of John Rogers, the Smithfield Martyr."
According to Chamber's Encyclopedia, p. 735, published in England, John Rogers (c1500) was the first of the Marian martyrs. He was born near Birmingham, England, graduated in 1525 from Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, was a London Rector (1532-34) and then lived abroad at Antwerp and Wittenberg, where he embraced the doctrines of the reformation. He prepared a complete translation of the Bible under the name of Thomas Matthew (known as "Matthew's Bible", 1537) and returning to England, preached against Roman Catholicism at St. Paul's Cross after Queen Mary's accession. After a long imprisonment, he was tried as a heretic and burned at Smithfield.
Smithfield (Smoothfield) was well known in the Middle Ages for its horse market. In 1173, William FitzStephen, clerk to Thomas Becket, describes the area as a "smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold." There was also trading in sheep, pigs and cattle. Bartholomew's Fair, held annually for three days from the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, was held at Smithfield from 1123 until its suppression for rowdiness and debauchery in 1855. As a convenient open space near the city of London, the field was used for tournaments, jousting and sporting events. Smithfield was a place of public execution for over 4 years. Supposed witches and heretics were burned, roasted or boiled alive. In 1554-8 in the reign of Mary Tudor, many martyrs were burned. On February 4, 1554-5, under persecution allowed by the Heresy Acts (revived by Queen Mary), John Rogers, once vicar of St. Sepulcher's and prebendary of St. Paul's, was the first to suffer for conscience's sake by being burned at the stake.
Today there is a memorial marker for John Rogers on the site of Smithfield in London.
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