Frank Albert Rogers was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the 16th October 1880, the son of George Thomas and Harriet Emma Rogers (née Cornish). His father owned a gents furnishing store, and in his childhood years, the family home was at 330. Yonge Street, Toronto. He was one of six children, having two brothers and three sisters.
His father died in 1885, and on leaving school, Frank became a dry goods clerk, and later a manager for the Robert Simpson and Company of Toronto. From 1913, he travelled to Europe to purchase footwear on behalf of his company. He resided with his widowed mother, and financially supported her.
On the 29th April 1915, he married Agnes Bloor Hill in Toronto, and up to the time of his marriage he resided with, and financially supported, his widowed mother. For their honeymoon, the newly-weds decided to take a trip to Europe.
Consequently, they booked saloon passage for themselves on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. The booking was made through Robert Simpson and Company of Toronto, the company that Frank Rogers worked for.
Having left Toronto shortly after their wedding, the couple travelled to New York and arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 on the west side of the city, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure. Once on board, with ticket number 10859, they were escorted to their accommodation in room A25, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward Charles Randall, who came from Gateacre on the outskirts of Liverpool.
The steamer’s sailing was then postponed until just after mid-day whilst she took on board passengers, cargo and some of the crew from fellow Cunarder Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned as a troop ship at the end of April.
Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20, twelve miles off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and sank just eighteen minutes later. At that stage of her voyage, she was a mere twelve or fourteen hours away from her Liverpool destination.
Both Frank and Agnes Rogers lost their lives as a result of this action and although Agnes Rogers’ body was later recovered from the sea and identified, his never was. As a result, he has no known grave.
Bedroom Steward Randall, who had looked after Mr. and Mrs. Rogers in room A25, did survive the sinking, however, and eventually made it back to his Gateacre home.
Frank Rogers left an estate of $37,759.23, which was divided equally between his mother and his four surviving brothers and sisters, one of his sisters having died in 1892. As his mother was completely dependent, financially, on Frank, none of his siblings claimed their share of his estate, giving it all to his mother.
Frank’s mother filed a claim with the Canadian Commission seeking compensation for his loss, however, on the 12th August 1923, she died, and it was therefore left to his brother, Thomas, to give evidence before the Commission on the 11th October 1923. The Commission awarded the estate of Harriet Rogers $13,500, which is what they calculated they would have awarded her as compensation from the time of his death, to the time of her own death. Presumably, Harriet Rogers’ estate was divided between her four surviving children.
Ontario Canada Births 1832 – 1914, Ontario Canada Marriages 1826 – 1938, 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1911 Census of Canada, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 786, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.