New-York tribune., 1909-05-20

The First Unitarian Church Of Fairhaven. with
its palatia parsonage, was built by Mr Rogers al
q cost Of 900. and occupies a whole oock-
It is monument to Mrs Mary Eldrdge Rogers.
the mother of tie hnancier. who died on November
g. 1899.
H. H. Rogers was not only religious" says MT
Tripp. but his religion broad one Although
he himself attended Unitarian church he hao oIteh
told me that he would never seek to Destroy
another mans faith in any other church IN oroer 70
convert him the Unitarian belief ana II 5 hol
merely talk either. Mr.. Rogers had given SUD
stantial checks other denominations IN orosr
that they might build new houses OF worship OF
renovatA old sanctuaries. Mr. Rogers nau give"
money for example. to the Congregationahsts the
Methodists and the Adventists. He hao also nelu .
the Catholics When there was movement u
build 2 convent of the Sacred Heart in FairnaVen
he made it successful by a large contribution
AN lEsTHETIC SIDE.
The charge that Mfr Rogers was simply a colossal
money making machine is also denied by frlends'
who assert that the Standard Oil man had a
strong aesthetic element in his character as was
shown by his particular fondness for trees and
flowers and not only did he expend large sums
on his summer home in Fairhaven in surrounding
It with broad gardens and spacious groves out ne
gave thousands Of dollars to the town Tor street
trees and parks II mis- especial interest IN
street trees which resulted in his accepting the
place Of Street Commissioner
The model city. according to the belief Of Mr
Rogers" says the Assistant Superintendent OF
Streets. lis garden in which the different houses
are situated amid beds Of flowers And such an
ideal should not be difficult to attain II everybody
was imbued with the right sort of public spirit.
Mr. Rogers has come TO love the elms of FAIR
haven with much the same feeling that father
has for his children. Whenever We go out driving
together for the purpose of inspecting the streets
he goes slowly. that he may take look at every
tree If one shows signs of decay he orders an
examination to learn the cause. And as result
the streets Of Fairhaven boast OF as handsome
elms as you may find anywhere
Illogical as it may seem. the story Of how the
First Citizen of Farhaven gave the town its
sewer svstern is Identical the story Of how he
gave awav one of his daughters in marriage
Having made up his mind that II the town couid
afford the piping Of its sewage into the bay ne
would himself meet the expense. Mr. Rogers de-
termined that he would choose the very best sew
age system obtainable.
After an inquiry which extended to Europe the
First Citizen" decided on kind Of sewer built
by English company, whose representative was
Urban H Brouehton. He accordingly invited Mr.
Broughton 10 Fairhaven and made him guest
his home while the two inspected the town to
determine where the trunk and where the tributary
pipes should be laid. At the Rogers home MT
Broughton met the fnanciers daughter cara ana
as the trenches deepened where Mr. Brougnton
superintended the work his love for the heiress
also grew deeper.
In his courtship the Englishman made even great
er progress than in finishing his task for the young
woman's father. with the result that the engage
was announced first Mr. and Mrs Broughton
now live at Great Neck, Long Island, where the
nnancior always stopped on his voyages through
Long Island Sound aboard the Kanawha between
Fairhaven and New York
Resides giving FairhAven its Mr.. Rog-
ers presented the town with It's waterworks-
According to his boyhood friends, Hen" Rogers.
though an Indifferent student. showed unusual
amount OF industry in business at the very begin
ming OF his career. Rowland Rogers. his father
died while Hen still a boy. Hen" accord
insIv cut short his schooling to get down TO the
more practical task Of providing the family with
bread and butter. For time he sold newspapers
in the streets OF New Bedford. and later he went
10 work as a clerk in grocery store. At another
tine he worked as a brakeman at $40 month on
the little railroad whose terminus was Fairhaven.
That he was a lover OF humOr has been shown 20
the literary world by the close friendship which
mad grown up between him and Mark Twain. But
not only did Mr.. Rogers delight in hearing story.
he also enjoyed telling one.
The First Citizen likes nothing better" says
the Fidus Achates Bryant. than to get around
him lot Of his old schoolmates and crack jokes
that bark back his boyhood. Not long
when Wall Street greatly agitated about his
/ health and rumors flying thick and fast that
he might utterly collapse he and a number Of old
Fairhaven friends were swapping stories that
dated back half a century. Finally Mr.. Rogers
said.
Boys do YOU want to know how I started in
the oil business? Well. II while was selling
papers I'm New Bedford. 4 captain came in with
vyhaIer but with not enough oil TO supply all his
( orders He wanted more, and going start
/ out to get IT, when he was laid uD with the rheu-
matiz ! heard OF his misfortune and asked him
/ - he u,ould give me a good commission If would
land the oil for him He gladly said he would. and
| I started out / got the oil And wasn't fined
for getting the commission. either
Mr. Rogers spent 10000 OF his own
/ money on the streets Of Fairhaven He served
/ rho town as lis superintendent OF streets at a
salary OF 50 a day after 1923 On the outskirts OF
/ the town is his handsome country estate There
/ he delighted In gathering his family. and passed
/ many Of his idle hours.
/ Mr. Rogers's benefactions confined alto
/ catbcr 10 Fairhaven, by the way. In 1875 he gave
sg00 m 10 build the Messiah Home for Little Chill
/ dren in 10th street. Many other minor benefac-
tions we're connected with his name. though he
! never practised philanthropy ostentatiously
/ ESTIMATE OF Mr. ROGERSS FORTUNE.
Estimates Of Mr.. Rogers's fortune vary. and it
,o,I1 not surprise Wall Street IL il should be found
| 70 he s1o0OOO0GO In the course Of a government
,ro,trv in 1907 It developed that he held $500 shares
~ standard OIL stock, which at yesterdays closing
rricA would he worth about 100000 His holdings
| of Amalgamated stock and OF the stock OF the
| United Metals Selling Company were undoubtedly
.arv large as also of the shares OF standard rail-
roads although his name does not appear in the
lists published time ago Of the principal own
ers Of railway shares perhaps because his holdings
| were in the names OF representatives
Mr. ROGERS never figured as conspicuously. now
ever rs soue other fnanciers OF no greater wealth.
His actual power the world at large was OBJ
! sc,,red somewhat by the name OF John D. Rookie
falIer This suited him entirely. he instinctively
Stunned notoriety. In fact, before Thomas w
| Lawson began his magazine assaults on Mr. Rogers
and his financial methods FIVE years ago, he was
! comparatively little known IN ule "oIlu oeSoilu
the realm of finance.
| In connection with this attack Of l-awsons' Mr..