Rogers Tartan

[gilmore]

Have you thought about testing your Y chromosome DNA? Men inherit it from our fathers, so it follows the surname (or vice versa) generally in modern times.

While it has been used as a tool for genealogical research widely for only 5-6 years and is still in its infancy, it might be helpful in cases like yours where you have hit a brick wall a few hundred years ago. It is no substitute for the certainty of a well-documented paper trail IMHO, but can tell you where it might be useful to look, and where it wouldn't, maybe more of the latter than the former. Family Tree DNA is the largest company doing DNA genealogical testing, has the largest databases and is thus more likely to be helpful. Here is there homepage: http://www.ftdna.com/ You might click on their FAQ if you are unfamiliar with genealogical DNA testing.

I see that there is a Rogers surname project https://www.familytreedna.com/surnam...&projecttype=S

as well as a smaller Rodgers surname project https://www.familytreedna.com/surnam...&projecttype=S

The former has members from 5 haplogroups, or unrelated lines, and a dozen or more other subclade groupings, so I would guess that you could hope to fit into one of those, share information with those folks, and be able to determine that the rest would not be useful to pursue.

If you join a surname project, FTDNA gives a discount. The prices start at $99 for a 12 marker test, up to $300 or so for the more precise 67 marker test. But to me was worth it, if like you and I, you have a not uncommon surname and have exhausted the paper trail.

You can also post your results here http://www.ysearch.org/ a helpful site that has a data base of Y chromosome results from all the various testing companies.

I would think that you could hope to at least determine with some certainty if your Rogers are descended from or are closely related to the Mayflower Rogerses, the Rogers Cromwell settled in Ireland, or the Elizabethan Border Rogerses, since it was far enough in the past that there are enough men around and interested in genealogy who can document their descent from those Rogers.