In our December Grave Spotlight of the Month, we take a quick look at Benjamin Franklin Rogers.

Born on November 27, 1817 in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, and, according to the Monroe County History Center's Timeline of events, and his own obituary, he was the first white child born in Bloomington.

We will talk about why that seems to not be possible a little later on, but for now, let's take a look at his life.

He was the son of Johnathon Rogers (?-?) and Mary "Polly" Rand Rogers (1788-1869). She was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky to Thomas Rand (1746-1825) and Elizabeth Carder Rand (1767-1821).  Thomas was born in County Antrim, Ireland and was a veteran, I assume of the Revolutionary war.  They are both buried in Rand Cemetery, Dearborn County, Indiana.   Johnathon Rogers is buried in Beck Cemetery, Washington County, Indiana.  There is no information for his family.  I found the names of three other children, siblings of Benjamin: James Rogers (1810-1871), buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana (he died of consumption); Sergeant Henry Rogers (1814-1876), buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana; and Aquilla Wayne Rogers (1819-1890), buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.  Unfortunately, I can find no further information about either his parents or his siblings. Even his obituary, published in the Bloomington Courier on February 24, 1876, talks next to nothing of his parents or siblings, besides the line, "He passed his boyhood peaceably and quietly under the roof of his devoted parents, rendering to them the pride and admiration which only a dutiful son can bestow to his parents."

His childhood seems to have been uneventful, with no more than the small mention in his obituary above.  Next we see him, is 1839, where he is married to Sophia Rogers (1817-1886).  She is buried near him in Mount Gilead Cemetery on State Road 45 in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.  She is stated to be "highly esteemed on account of her feminine purity and good Christian qualities."

They had, as far as I have been able to find, 5 children:

Rebecca Rogers (1840-1858) - buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

Rachael R. Rogers (1850-1882) - buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

Charles P. Rogers (1857-1935) - buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

Margaret E. Rogers (1858-1864) - buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

Sarah E. Rogers (?-1857) - buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana

He was a member of the Christian Church for about 35 years, though which church is not known.  There are many in Bloomington and in Monroe County as well, but which one is not known.  The obituary notes that "he was highly regarded as a kind, liberal and sociable neighbor, most tenderly and dearly loved by his relatives.  As a highly respectable, law-abiding citizen he ranked among the first.  He was amiable honorable, and peaceable which always won for him friends wherever he went."  Benjamin Franklin Rogers sounds like he must have been a wonderful man.

His obituary goes on to say that "his last hours were ones of much agony and suffering."  There is nothing stating what he passed from.  I have not been able to find his name in records church or otherwise.  

So, all in all, it would seem that the only claim to fame that Benjamin Franklin Rogers has is that he is recorded as being the first white children born in Monroe County.  But could that possibly be true?  I think, and this is only my opinion from past research, that he was the first recorded white child born Monroe County.  People started filtering into the area in 1815.  It seems odd that there would not have been at least one child born during the time, between 1815 and 1817.  Because there was nothing here bur wilderness, any child that was born, would probably never have been recorded in anything other than a family bible.  

Even if others were born before him, he has the fame of being labeled as the first white child born in Monroe County.  I do think that's pretty interesting.  

Rest in Peace, Benjamin Franklin Rogers.

 This month Grave Spotlight of the Month takes a look at Harry A. Axtell, also known as the Turkey King of Monroe County.  Why you ask?  Well, let's find out together.  

Harry Allen Axtel was born on February 19, 1871, possibly in Bloomington, as he is listed as being a Bloomingtonian, though it is not certain.  He was the youngest son of Doctor Andrew Jackson Axtell (1827-1900) and Susan McKee Gilkerson Axtell (1830-1923).  Both are listed on the same headstone at Rose Hill Cemetery, in the Spencer Addition near the rock wall that borders on Third Street. He had four older siblings: Charles Jasper Axtell (1851-1917), buried with his parents and Harry in Rose Hill Cemetery; William Francis Axtell (1855-1935), buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Washington, Indiana; Martha "Mattie" Eugenia Axtell Hert (1861-1932), buried in Bound Brook Cemetery, Bound Brook, New Jersey; Mary Belle Axtell Willis (1865-1953), buried in Rose Hill Cemetery; and Henry Oscar Axtell (1865-1908), buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Clay Center, Kansas.

Harry was a graduate of Indiana University, having studied law.  He became a lawyer, though he didn't seem to stick with it because he is also stated as having been in the insurance and real estate business.  

In 1898 he was married to Jane Wylie (1872-1958), daughter of Redick McKee Wylie (1831-1904) and Madeline A. Thompson Wylie (1837-1923); granddaughter of Andrew Wylie, first president of Indiana University (formerly known as Indiana College).  She is buried in Rose Hill with her husband and his parents.

Not long after they were married, Harry began working with the Mutual Savings and Loan Company, located on the east side of the 100 block of College Avenue.  I am not sure how long he stated with this company.

He and his wife owned a large farm, one of 18 1/2 acres located on what is now Tenth Street to Smithwood Hall on Indiana University Campus.  Living with them were three children that they adopted, all of whom were orphans from another family.  It doesn't appear that they had any natural children.  They stayed here for a few years before selling the home and part of the land to Phi Delta Theta fraternity in 1913 for $16,000.  With this money, they built a new home a few hundred yards away.  This house was also sold some years later to developers who wanted the land to build Fraternity and Sorority houses.  This time, they moved onto a farm in Ellettsville, leaving Bloomington behind.

This move to Ellettsville was what started Axtell on his path to becoming the Turkey King.  He had a crazy idea: raise and sell turkeys.  On a large scale.  Most of the wild turkeys had been wiped out in the 1800s by hunters and domesticated turkeys were few and far between making it hard for people to enjoy a lovely turkey dinner.  If someone wanted one, an order had to be placed with a local grocer and that could take a long time to get.

Few farmers wanted to deal with them though as it was noted that these "feathered critters were gluttonous eaters, ill-tempered, and often downright mean, and tried to run away at every opportunity".  Because of their ill-temper, many farmers reported the turmoil that these birds caused in the barnyard by harassing chicken and ducks, battling with cats and dogs and causing the cows and horses to become very nervous.

Axtell determined that the reason for these problems was the twofold: (1) the farmers only had 2-6 birds, where more would cause less trouble, (2) turkeys do not integrate well with chickens and ducks and should be kept on their own.  With this in mind, he figured out what he needed to do to be successful: Large scale turkey farming.  This became the Axtell Turkey Farm in which he came to special in prize winning birds, having won first prizes in many large poultry shows all around the country.

Unfortunately, this is where the story stops.  We know that Harry Axtell and his family are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery and that he had a thriving and successful turkey farm, but that's about it.  I haven't found any advertisements in any of the local papers or any further information about his business.  All we know is that he was a successful turkey farmer.

So as you having your Thanksgiving dinner, remember Monroe County's Turkey King, Harry Allen Axtell.

 

REFERENCES

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Monroe County History Center - The Monroe County "Turkey King"

Seeking My Roots - Axtell Family History