Though the site I present to you
outlines the correct biological ancestry and history of Georgiana Rogers, it is likely not the one Georgiana would approve of. For Georgiana, her father was and is Milford Rogers…he raised her and was there in the role of
“father.” Consequently, if Georgiana were alive today, she might not approve of this biography. However, it is an interesting story and is accurate history. This is a story that Georgiana almost certainly knew
little to nothing about. While Milford Rogers
passed Georgiana his virtues, morals, ethics, and principles, he did not
contribute to her his genes.
Georgiana Rogers circa 1920
For me, this story started with a
trip to Cameron, Louisiana in the early 1990s. On an overcast day, as I remember, my grandmother Bertha Mudd-Drost took me to visit Ed Kelley. Ed Kelley was not only her childhood friend, he was a cousin of her
husband Jack Donald Drost. Ed and Jack were both grandsons of Georgiana Rogers. What Ed Kelley told me was that Georgiana Rogers was actually an illegitimate child! In other words, Milford Rogers was not her
biological father. I asked him many
times and he told me that for sure…Milford Rogers was not her birth
father. Disappointment sank in. I was anxious to put together my biological
pedigree, what made me the person that I am through DNA, and this would be a
serious hindrance.
But I eventually, mainly because
of necessity, came to terms with the Milford Rogers dilemma and planted him
squarely on my pedigree chart. Georgiana
would be happy and of course I was happy too since I had no blank gaps on
that section of the pedigree! This all changed when I found
and ordered the Civil War pension file for Milford Rogers from Washington DC. The file was think and very informative. The most interesting information was the
Louisa Jones Rogers (wife of Milford Rogers and mother of Georgiana Rogers)
affidavits required for her to receive a widow’s pension for his service in the Civil War. Surprise! Louisa stated that she had been previously married
to a man named “Harry Nias.”
It seems from Louisa’s affidavit
that she and this Harry Nias were married before 1867. Louisa reported that on April 1867, this
Harry Nias, a sailor, had left home and was working on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. According to a Mr. John Holmes (another
sailor), Nias left the port of Corpus Christi, Texas in June 1867 on a
small boat which capsized. Harry Nias
and two others reportedly drowned in the Gulf between Corpus Christi and Galveston.
Louisa also provided, within her
widow’s pension application, her marriage certificate to Milford Rogers. Part of the early issue with the Rogers research was that Louisa and Milford were married prior to 1874 - when the Cameron
Parish, Louisiana courthouse burned! So previously, I had just figured Louisa and Milford
were married in the early or mid-1860s in Cameron Parish and the record was lost. It turns out that they were actually married
in Galveston, Texas on 19 May 1870, according to that marriage certificate! Four years after Georgiana "Rogers" was born.
So, was Harry Nias, husband of Louisa Jones during 1867, the
father of Georgiana? And who was he?
Where did he come from? Louisa stated in
her pension application that all her children were issue of Milford
Rogers. That was not true since the dates don’t jive…
Georgiana (last name unknown) was born 19 January 1866 Cameron Parish,
Louisiana
Louisa Jones-Nias (mother of Georgiana) became a widow June 1867
Louisa Jones-Nias (mother of Georgiana, widow of Harry Nias) and Milford Rogers married 19 May 1870
Galveston, Texas
When I put this together, I
felt sure that I had, amazingly, found the father of Georgiana. My next step was obvious, search for evidence
of Harry Nias prior to 1867. After years
searching, nothing. Unfortunately, I was
not even sure if I had the correct spelling - NIAS - since it was hard to read
the hand written affidavit. But finally,
about ten years after my initial Nias identification, I found him. And
even better, I became 100 percent sure that Harry Nias was the father of
Georgiana, based on what I found. And…I also determined that
Harry Nias did not die in 1867. Read on
and learn the amazing story. It is a
story that would make a dramatic tale in the form of a novel or
movie!
Most of the plot begins in the Plymouth District at Devonshire,
England
