William Rodgers was born in Rockford, Illinois on February 25, 1850, to John and Mary Ann Tite Rodgers, two English immigrants whom had recently emigrated to America. Shortly after his birth, William and his parents settled in Shannon, Illinois. Within two years, the Rodgers were living on their own farm northwest of Shannon. William attended school in Carroll County and helped his father on their farm. According to the 1870 Census, William, age 20, was still living at home and his occupation was listed as farm laborer.

In about 1870, “William, entered, as a young man, the Masonic fraternity. He did not only become identified with its membership as many do, but he became enthused with it principles and devoted himself to their application as factors in the solution of life’s problems,” according to a local newspaper story about William. After a return trip to his parents’ homeland of England, William promptly began planning for his future. William bought some land not far from his father’s property in Cherry Grove Township. The Carroll County Directory in 1878 noted that William farmed the land in Section 13 in Cherry Grove Township. By April of 1875, he began purchasing turkeys and black, brown and white hens. It was his intent to make his living as a turkey farmer and selling eggs. William proposed marriage to Amelia Coon, daughter of Sheldon and Mary Jane Hacker Coon of Freedom Township. William Rodgers and Amelia Coon of Carroll County were then married several months later on December 22, 1875, in Spring Valley, Illinois. The couple began raising turkeys and hens and planning for a long life together. A year and one half after their marriage, they celebrated the birth of their first child, Mary Luella. Not long after Mary’s birth, William Lester, Hattie Belle, and John Sheldon were born.  

According to the 1900 Census, William, age 50, was still farming his land. He was a very successful farmer, farming four hundred acres of land, while caring for a great deal of livestock. Three of his children: Hattie,  William, and John were still living at home. After a three month illness, that was “extremely severe and painful,” William Rodgers died, at the age of 52, on June 19, 1902, at his home in Cherry Grove Township. According to his obituary, “William’s suffering was indescribable. He was patient, submissive, deliberate, thoughtful, cheerful, kind, and conscious up to within a few hours of his death. He talked and planned his death, just as we would for any ordinary and welcomed circumstance.”

On June 6, 1902, William prepared for his death by writing his Last Will and Testament. All expenses would be paid from the estate and each of his four children would receive $1.00 from his estate. The remainder of his property, personal and real estate, was bequeathed to his “beloved wife, Amelia Rodgers. I have the greatest faith in her discretion and character, and know that it will be used for her comfort and the best interests of our children.” The Reverend B.A. Dickens of the Dunkard Church preached at William’s funeral. “It was one of the largest funerals held in the community, and the attendance was indicative of the esteem in which our friend was held by the people.” At the Masonic funeral, Rev. Dickens noted that “Brother Rodgers was a good and exemplary man, industrious and frugal, an old and faithful Masonic brother, a good and kind neighbor, a frank and congenial friend, a kind and loving husband, a fond and considerate father, and a follower who put his trust in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” William Rodgers was buried in the Shannon Cemetery.  

Children of Amelia (Coon) and William Rodgers MARY LUELLA RODGERS TRUCKENMILLER (1877-1938)   Mary Luella Rodgers was the first child born to William and Amelia Rodgers. She was born on their turkey farm in Cherry Grove Township in Carroll County, Illinois on April 23, 1877. She married Oliver Truckenmiller (1871-1935), a farmer, who lived in the area, on November 29, 1899. They owned 135 acres of land in Sec. 16 in Cherry Grove Township. To this marriage, three children were born: Raymond Merle born October 18, 1902, and died June 2, 1980, Ivy Marie born December 28, 1908, and died November 10, 1910, and Earl born in 1911 and died December 26, 1959. According to the 1910 Carroll County Census, Oliver was still employed as a farmer, and Oliver (38) and Mary (32) had two children: Raymond (7) and Ivy (3). Mary Luella Rodgers Truckenmiller died on November 19,1938, at the age of 61, in Freeport, after a three month stay in the hospital. Her two sons, Ray and Earl, residing on farms near Shannon, survived her. WILLIAM LESTER RODGERS (1880-1903)   William Lester Rodgers was the first son born to William and Amelia Rodgers. He was born on their farm in Cherry Grove Township in Carroll County, Illinois on March 24, 1880. William helped his father farm their land in Cherry Grove Township. On July 9, 1903, William L. Rodgers died of pneumonia on their farm after being ill for thirteen days. William, age 23, was buried in Shannon, Illinois. HATTIE BELLE RODGERS HAYES (1886-1970) Hattie Belle Rodgers was the second daughter born to William and Amelia Rodgers of Cherry Grove Township, Carroll County, Illinois. She was born on the Rodgers’ farm on August 24, 1886. In the late 1800’s, education was not a priority for girls. Hattie attended school through the eighth grade in a one-room schoolhouse. In that era, it was important that girls learn the arts of homemaking. Hattie excelled in learning to cook, sew, knit, and crochet. She enjoyed cooking dinners for a large group. After raising turkeys on their farm, she couldn’t bring herself to fixing turkey in her home in years to come, let alone eating it. From 1896 until 1905, the Rodgers family of Shannon, Illinois was hit by death and despair. After her grandmother, Mary Anne Rodgers, died in 1896, Hattie’s grandfather, John Rodgers, moved into her family’s home on the farm. In February 1901, Grandpa Rodgers passed away. Then Hattie’s father, William Rodgers, died in 1902 after a painful death. Amelia packed up their belongings and moved her daughter, Hattie, and two sons, William and John, from the family farm into a home at 148 Ridge Street in Shannon. They did not sell the farm, but working it was too much of a responsibility for Hattie’s mother. They would keep their 400 acre farm in the family for another thirty years, but the Rodgers never moved back there. Sadness filled their home again when Hattie’s brother William died the next year in 1903. If things could not get any worse, Hattie’s mother died of diphtheria two years later, in 1905. There were too many deaths in the Rodgers Family for a teenager to be burdened with. It became Hattie’s responsibility, at age nineteen to serve as guardian and raise her twelve-year-old brother, John Sheldon. According to her mother’s will, Hattie received $348.25 worth of personal property to provide a home for her and her brother. Along with $348.25 left to her younger brother, Hattie took on the difficult task. Hattie went to work in the local yard goods store, while caring for her brother.   Marion Cleveland Hayes of Appleton, Minnesota and Hattie Belle Rodgers of Shannon were married in Freeport, Illinois, on August 2, 1912. The newlyweds left Illinois and headed north to Minnesota. During the early years of their marriage, the young couple moved from place to place within the state. While her husband was studying for his master’s and doctoral degrees, the Hayes moved often. Her husband served as a superintendent of schools in three different communities in Minnesota. To this marriage, five children were born while living in Minnesota: Byron in 1913, Roger in 1915, Marion in 1917, Helen in 1920, and Paul in 1922. They were all born in Minnesota. The Hayes finally settled in DeKalb, Illinois where Hattie’s husband, M.C. Hayes, was a professor at Northern Illinois University. During the fifty-eight years that Hattie and M.C. were married, she devoted herself to her family. Hattie was definitely the one in charge of her household. She enjoyed cooking big family dinners and taking care of her home. After her husband’s death in 1960, Hattie continued to live near the university in DeKalb. Hattie Belle Rodgers Hayes died April 27, 1970, at the age of 83. She was buried in Fairview Memorial Park Cemetery in DeKalb, Illinois, next to her husband. Her three sons: Byron of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, Roger of DeKalb, and Paul of Fort Morgan, Colorado, two daughters: Marion Barth of Sycamore and Helen Dolio of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, sixteen grandchildren, and one brother, John Sheldon Rogers of Burlington, Iowa survived her. Hattie Rodgers and John Sheldon Rogers JOHN SHELDON RODGERS (1893-1974)   John Sheldon Rodgers was born on a farm in Cherry Grove Township near Shannon, Illinois on September 8, 1893, to William and Amelia Rodgers. The youngest child of the Rodgers was named after his grandfathers: John Rodgers and Sheldon Coon. Shelly, as everyone called him, was faced with the realities and hardships of life at a very early age. When John was nine, his father passed on. Shelly, his mother, and his sister left their 400 acre farm and moved to a home in Shannon. Three years later, Shelly’s mother died. Without his parents to support him financially and emotionally, Shelly’s nineteen-year-old sister, Hattie, was named guardian of her twelve year old brother. Her mother left her $345.25 to raise her younger brother. According to the 1910 Census, Hattie and Shelly were living in a rented house on Ridge Street in Shannon. At the age of sixteen, Shelly went to work as a barber in a barber shop. His sister married in 1912 and left Shannon, leaving her brother, then eighteen, to face the world on his own. Shelly was a personable young man. He moved to Rockford, Illinois and in 1916 married Iva Beech. They had one child, Elizabeth “Betty” Rodgers born in about 1917. Records show that in June 1917, Shelly was employed as a barber for CM Bloyer at the Lewis Branch Barber Shop in Rockford. Later, Shelly left the barber business and became a car salesman. According to the 1930 Census, Shelly and Iva were living at 1928 Melrose Avenue in Rockford. Their home was valued at $9000. At that time, Shelly was the Sales Manager at the Motor Car Company in Rockford. Shelly and Iva later divorced. Shelly married again to a lady named Ann who had a son, Phil. Shelly adopted Phil, and they moved to Burlington, Iowa, where they lived happily for the rest of their days. John Sheldon Rodgers died in March of 1974. His wife, Ann, and two children, Phil and Betty, survived him.

Robert Coon was born in Cherry Grove Township, Carroll County, Illinois in 1857 to Sheldon and Mary Jane Coon. He was their youngest child. Robert married Martha Holmes (1864-1920) of Carroll County, in 1881, in Carroll County, Illinois. They had one son, Herbert C. born in December 21, 1884, and a daughter Elsie. In the 1900 Census, Robert, Martha and Herbert were living in Shannon Township. Robert owned his own home and he listed his occupation as landlord. By 1920, Robert and Martha had moved to the nearby town of Freeport. Their son, Herbert, and his family lived next door. Martha died January 5, 1920. Robert died in Freeport on June 23, 1934.

21st Birthday Celebration of Herbert C. Coon on December 27, 1905
Several Coon family members were there to celebrate Herbert’s birthday
In the first row, 2nd from right, is Herbert C. Coon, son of Robert Coon.
In row 2, first one on left is Elsie Mallory, future wife of Herbert Coon.
In row 3, first one on left is Mabel Coon, daughter of Ralph Coon,
Back row, 3rd from right, is Hattie Rodgers, daughter of Amelia Coon Rodgers.

Hacker Pioneer Family

Horner Family