Eugene Gets a Little Cleaning and Recognition

 

The mural in Highland Baptist Church

When  I last visited New England In 2013, I was determined to talk to as many elders in the Tapply family as I could and to check out the Fitchburg Historical Society. There, in the lobby (at the time-they've since moved) was a huge mural of the local dam and reservoir that served Fitchburg at the time my great granduncle, Eugene Rogers, was alive. It was a spectacular piece. They also owned a portrait of a local woman which was in storage at the time. Both were done by Eugene himself. Since then, I have discovered that Eugene also has work that lives in the Westminster Historical Society. I believe it was the nice lady at the FHS who said that there was also a piece at the Highland Baptist Church on Cedar Street in Fitchburg.

So I moved on to interviewing elders. One of those was Marjorie Dik. My aunt was with me and mentioned our visit to FHS and the work at the church. Turns out, Marjorie was a member. So it was Marjorie who smoothed the way for me. to visit the church and see the mural. I took pictures which came to the attention of my cousin Jill Rogers Pratzon. Jill is an illustrator and art restorer in New York City. (Pratzon Art Restoration) She visited the mural on her next trip to Fitchburg and thus began the quest to restore the mural.  

The title of the piece is, I believe, "The Banks of the River Jordan". Jill laughingly said, "That's not the River Jordan".  The maple trees in the mural are a bit out of place. And having been there, Jill has reason to know. It sits above the baptismal tank in the church and has seen some years of use. 

I strongly suspect that Eugene was actually a member of Highland Baptist Church. You might remember that in investigating his mother's name, Cassandria Hooper Harrington, I discovered a local evangelist named Cassandria Hooper Bliss. And I suspect that is the origin of the Winslow and Brainard names in the family. Cassandria was a stout member of the Baptist church, so it would only make sense that Eugene might be as well.

So time moved along, some fund raising happened and Jill announced that she would be restoring the mural.

Jill hard at work.

This last week that happened. Jill contacted the local paper, The Fitchburg Sentinel,  and they came out and did a very nice story.  You can check that out HERE. Much thanks to Danielle Ray for the coverage.  I anticipate that this attention may turn up more clues in the story of Eugene Harrington Rogers. I can't wait to see what happens next. Here's my next tantalizing clue from a book called The History of Worcester County Massachusetts : "Mr. Eugene H Rogers was born in Holden in 1858. He was educated in the schools of his native town and of Worcester. He early began to cultivate his natural artistic talent, studying by himself and receiving instruction from his father, also an artist." . Also an artist? WB Rogers? Oh boy! This is the rewarding part of genealogy.

Eugene Harrington Rogers

Eugene Harrington Rogers
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This is Eugene Harrington Rogers, son of Cassandria and brother of my great grandfather. I'm not really sure where this was taken, but perhaps this was his studio. I love the large artist's palette and his generous muttonchops. His life is not a great mystery; he was born in Holden, Massachusetts and lived most of his adult life in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. We're not sure when or if he had much formal training, but he married Mary Clark, opened a sign painting and advertising business at 304 1/2 Main Street in Fitchburg and lived on Arlington Street. They never had children and he died of a heart ailment at only 45 years old.

You may have noticed the large painting and recognized the "White Rock fairy". This is actually a very good copy of a painting called "Psyche" by Paul Thumann.  Thumann's original was exhibited to some great attention at the Chicago World Exhibition and I would assume White Rock bought the rights after that. Being an artist myself, I always wanted to know about Eugene. A small oil still life hung in our house all my childhood and larger pastel of a Newfoundland dog hung in my grandmother's house. These were the only existing works the family knew of. My cousin, an illustrator and art restorer in Manhatten, looked around on the internet from time to time and discovered that some of his work was registered. Tracing backwards she found that it was in the collection of the Fitchburg Historical Society. Sure enough, when I visited I found an enormous charcoal drawing called "Overlook Reservoir and Mt. Wachusett". It was a lovely landscape with which our family was quite familiar as it's a popular hiking spot in Fitchburg. A little more research by my cousin, my aunt and myself found a mural at the local Baptist church and another large charcoal landscape at the Westminster Historical Society. My cousin says they are all quite good. Now all three of us were intrigued....

One of the best sources of small town information for genealogists is digitized newspapers. Luckily the Fitchburg Sentinel has digitized much of its collection and Eugene showed up regularly between 1870 and 1900. The accounts of his sales are complementary and lively as is the story of his rivalry with another sign painter.  At this time he was doing landscapes, small still-lifes and animal portraits of hunting dogs in oil, pastel and charcoal. The Sentinel described his success this way "The sale increased so rapidly that the demand was far ahead of the supply within 10 days....Mr. Rogers' work went to the shores of the Pacific and throughout the West and South." Queries in the historical society newsletters have turned up no further clues. The signature on the work would be E.H. Rogers.
If you live in the West or South or even in New England and have a work with this signature, the family would love to hear from you.