Among the earliest immigrants was Thomas Rogers, who came to Plymouth in the "Mayflower" in 1620, and died the following year. According to Bradford's "History of Plymouth," all of his sons were married in 1650, and had manv children. His known sons were Joseph, John, William and Noah. It is believed that he was also the father of James Rogers, mentioned.
Our earliest known encounter with Pilgrim Thomas Rogers was on 25 June 1618 when he became a citizen of Leiden, Holland, vouched for by William Jepson, formerly of Worksop, Notts., and by Roger Wilson, formerly of Sandwich, Kent Co. Engalnd. On 1 April 1620 Thomas sold his Leiden house on the Barbarasteeg for 300 guilders, in preparation for the journey to New England. Governor Bradford says in his history of the Plymouth settlement that on board the Mayflower were "Thomas Rogers and Joseph his son; his other children came afterwards......Thomas Rogers died in the first sickness but his son Joseph is still living (1650) and is married and hath six children. The rest of Thomas Rogers' [children] came over and are married and have many children." Therefore we know that Thomas and his son Joseph arrived at Cape Cod aboard the ship Mayflower and on 11 November 1620 according to their calendar, or 21 November on ours, Thomas was one of forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact. Thomas did not live through the rigorous winter which carried off half the group but young Joseph, like so many of the children, did survive. Recent discoveries show that Thomas had a family living in Leiden, Holland, when the 1622 Poll Tax was taken. In the Over "t Hoff Quarter, in a house with other Pilgrim families in St. Peter's Churchyard west-side, were Jan Thomas, orphan from England without means; Elsgen Rogiers, widow of Thonis Rogiers, an English woman; and Lysbeth and Grietgen her children, poor people. Translated this could read John, son of Thomas; Elizabeth Rogers, widow of Thomas; and Elizabeth and Margaret, her children. At that period the word orphan meant that either or both parents were dead.
That the descendants of Thomas Rogers shall keep his memory alive so that he may have his rightful place in the history of America with the other Pilgrims who came to this country on the Mayflower. To establish a Memorial Fund through which the memory of Thomas Rogers, Pilgrim shall be perpetuated. To support the publishing and distribution of a book to be named "Thomas Rogers, Pilgrim, and Some of His Descendants", in which all known descendants of Thomas Rogers, insofar as possible, are authenticated and made a matter of Record. The Society is organized exclusively for Charitable and Educational Purposes.
The Pilgrim Archives Leiden give a surprising look in a unique piece of Leiden history: the story of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were English Protestants, who fled England to escape the oppressive regime of James I and the Anglican established church. They lived and worked in Leiden from 1609 to 1620. From 1620 groups of Pilgrims travelled onwards to North America: the 'New World'.