J.W. Rogers was born in Moultonboro, N.H. In 1843 he emigrated to Wisconsin and in 1849 he and his wife (Sarah Jane Simons Rogers) moved to what would become the town of West Union in Fayette County, Iowa. In West Union Rogers engaged in the real estate business and was a leader in many of the activities surrounding the settlement of the town and county, including a movement to secure a railroad and building the first school house. He was active in the Republican Party until he changed his loyalties to the Prohibition Party in 1884. During the Civil War he raised a company and served as its captain (38th Iowa Infantry, Company F).
From the description of Jacob Wentworth Rogers diaries and papers, 1841-1900. (Iowa Sate Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 70596456
