William D. Rogers Biography
William D. Rogers Portrait circa 1859
[summarized with excerpts from The New York Coach-Maker’s Magazine 1859]
BORN: Baltimore, 1819
DIED: ????
“When quite young, his parents removed to the city of New York, and subsequently to Philadelphia, where their son William, after leaving school, was apprenticed to learn the business of coach-trimming. It is in the self-sacrificing energies of this period in the life of the boy that was sired the spirit of successful enterprise in the future
man. The trials to which he was exposed, during the greater part of the six years of his apprenticeship, were such as only those who have been similarly situated can appreciate; yet, in the face of every obstacle, young-Rogers persevered with a heroism that cared for nothing but the acquirement of a perfect knowledge of everything pertaining to his future business. Nor was this fidelity entirely lost upon his employer. Two years before the expiration of his term, he had so thoroughly mastered his profession, and evinced so much fidelity and vigilance in the absence of his employer, that the entire charge of the shop was given to him.”
1841 – Arrived in Boston with letters of introduction to “the most celebrated coach-makers of that city” but had a hard time finding a position.
18?? – Worked in Roxbury, met Mr. Dennis who introduced him to Mr. Goddard. Mr. Dennis also taught Rogers about New England business protocols and the shops in the State. He then obtained positions in Lynn, Amesbury, Newbury and Exeter, New Hampshire. He worked for $17 per month with boarding included. and his board. In the spring he left Exeter but found reason to return the next year since the salary offered was $18 per week.
18?? – He was traveling to Springfield [Vermont?] when he rescued a woman for a runaway stage-coach. After the rescue, those gathered around the coach included an older gentlemen who happen to have carriages that needed repair. Rogers got the job but had to quickly secure a shop location and was successful in doing so. He stayed in the town for four months and then returned to Philadelphia. His stay in Philadelphia was short lived and, at the urging of his friends, he returned to Boston and other towns in Massachusetts.
1844 – Sets out for the western country including “Madison, Indiana; but, finding the change rather inauspicious in several respects, he soon decided to remain there no longer than to fulfill an engagement, during which, however, he introduced many new styles of work, some of which bear his name in that region of country to this day.” He then travels to Kentucky, Tennessee, Huntsville, Alabama, and New Orleans where he embarks for Havana, carrying letters of introduction to General O’Donnell and others. He stays in Cuba for a few months, returns to New Orleans, then to Louisville, Kentucky for one year and then back to Philadelphia with the idea of establishing his own business.
1846 – “He traveled, partly with the view of perfecting himself in all the branches of his profession, but mainly to obtain that intimate acquaintance with men, and especially such as he might wish to become his future patrons, which every wise business man knows from experience to be a necessity. This devious tour, then, of Mr. R., instead of being without a purpose, was made with the same prudent motives that a builder has in laying a firm foundation before commencing his above-ground operations. Being an acute observer of men and things, and possessing social qualities which at once admitted him to the first circles of society, and, withal, a straightforward integrity that inspired the confidence of every acquaintance he made, it is not difficult to perceive that a tour, such as he accomplished, would ultimately redound to immense business advantage, provided he obtained the necessary facilities for making them available. This Mr. Rogers was now about to undertake. His first step was, to buy out a small establishment, located at the corner of Sixth and Brown streets, on a lot belonging to the Girard Estate. His next object was to procure the right stamp of workmen. To effect this he found it necessary once more to visit New England, which he did, and returned with seven competent hands, and commenced, in Philadelphia, the business of coach-making, in the autumn of 1846.”