Mourning Myrtle

Myrtle McAnelly was 20 years old when she married Henry Jasper Rogers, aged 19, on February 13, 1909 in Marion, Illinois [14].  Both Myrtle and Jasper were lifelong residents of Williamson County, which had been nicknamed “Little Egypt” due to the particularly lush terrain created by the nearby Mississippi and Ohio rivers – much like that near the Nile River [4].  Unsurprisingly, they were both children of farmers [5, 6].

Marriage certificate for Henry Jasper Rogers and Myrtle McAnelly from Marion, Williamson County, Illinois on February 13, 1909.

Just a month before their first anniversary, the couple welcomed their first child – a son, Lowell Ralph Rogers [17], born on January 8, 1910 [12].  A daughter, Mary Berniece, joined the family four years later on October 28, 1914 [15].  Myrtle worked as a housewife and a seamstress [16] while raising the two children, and Jasper studied to become a school teacher, graduating from Southern Illinois University [1].  He taught in Williamson County schools for 27 years [1].  Jasper was a well-educated man, and was known to write beautiful poetry.

Henry Jasper Rogers, a school teacher, with his class in Williamson County, Illinois. The photo is undated, but was likely taken in the 1920’s.

The couple’s happy times would come to an end on February 6, 1951.  Jasper fell dead at the family home at 807 West Prairie Street in Marion at 9:30 PM, aged 61 years [1].  The couple was just one week shy of their 42nd wedding anniversary.  Jasper was buried in the Oddfellows Cemetery [3].

Myrtle lived for twenty-one long years after her beloved husband passed away.  Starting the year after his death, Myrtle placed an “in memoriam” ad in the local newspaper in Jasper’s honor.  She would continue this ritual yearly, until at least 1964 – I don’t have records past this date – though I imagine she probably continued until her death on July 20, 1972 [17].  Her short poems and mournful remembrances speak clearly of her adoration for Jasper, and have been a treasured addition to my collection of family history keepsakes.  These newspaper clippings are in the gallery below.

Memorial from 1964
Memorial from 1960
Memorial from 1953
Memorial from 1959
Memorial from 1952

How Are We Related?

Myrtle Relationship Calculator
Family Tree Maker® Relationship Calculator for my paternal great grandmother, Myrtle E. McAnelly, and me.  I have blurred the names of other living relatives, as well as my own personal information.

Sources

  1. “Death Claims H.J. Rogers: Public Aid Commission Staff Member Was Former Teacher,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [References to the death of Henry Jasper Rogers indicate that the article was probably written shortly after his death in February 1951.]
  2. “Gone But Not Forgotten,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [Probably published 06 February 1953 per statement in article: “who passed away two years ago today February 6, 1951”.]
  3. “H.J. Rogers Funeral Held,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [As Henry Jasper Rogers was buried on 08 February 1951, the article was probably printed shortly afterward.]
  4. “History.” Williamson County, Illinois, williamsoncountyil.gov/history/.
  5. “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 Jul 2017, entry for Jesse W. Rogers, 1933; Williamson County.
  6. “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Jul 2017, entry for John Henderson McAnelly, 1939; Williamson County.
  7. “In Loving Memory of H.J. Rogers,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [Probably published 06 February 1960 per statement in article: “who passed away 9 years ago today February 6, 1951”.]
  8. “In Loving Memory of Our Dear Husband and Father, H.J. Rogers,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [Probably published in February 1964 per statement in article: “who passed away 13 years ago February 6, 1951”.]
  9. “In Memoriam,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [Probably published 06 February 1952 per statement in article: “who passed away one year ago today February 6”.]
  10. “Memoriam: In Loving Memory of H.J. Rogers,” undated clipping from an unidentified newspaper, in family papers, in possession of Elizabeth Rogers. [Probably published 06 February 1959 per statement in article: “who passed away 8 years ago today February 6, 1951”.]
  11. “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 Dec 2016, entry for Berniece Rogers Hodge, 2004; Williamson County, Illinois.
  12. “U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 02 Jan 2017, entry for Lowell R. Rogers, 1990; Graves County, Kentucky.
  13. 1940 U.S. census, Williamson County, Illinois, population schedule, Marion City, enumeration district (ED) 100-32, sheet 16A (stamped, 16A handwritten), family 16, H.J. Rogers; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jul 2017); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 911.
  14. Certificate of Marriage, H.J. Rogers to Myrtle McAnelly, 13 February 1909, Marion, Williamson County, Illinois. Copy in possession of Elizabeth Rogers, Anchorage, Alaska.
  15. Mary Berniece (Rodgers) Hodge obituary, Carbondale, Illinois, Southern Illinoisan, 01 Feb 2004, p.11, col. 1.
  16. Myrtle E. Rogers obituary, unknown location, unknown newspaper, 20 Jul 1972. In possession of Elizabeth Rogers.
  17. Myrtle E. Rogers obituary, Carbondale, Illinois, Southern Illinoisan, 21 Jul 1972, p.17, col. 6.

 

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