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church and of the Masonic Lodge. He homesteaded the land north of town, where the Catholic church now stands, which he sold to the Lincoln Land company in 1885; he then built a fine residence on the east side of town where he now resides.
William B. Rogers was born in Case county, Indiana, October 1834; came to Norton county in December, 1873; selected land at the mouth of Horse Creek, near Almena.
Came with his family in May 1874; lost his land by contest, then went to Long Branch in northwest part of the county and stayed there until July; came to Norton and opened hotel in the old log house, near where the Rock Island depot now stands.
This was the building moved from the Edgar Page farm and was the first hotel in Norton.
Rogers got relinquishment on the 40 acres on which this house stood from Dick Felton, also a relinquishment from Briggs on the adjoining 40 where Case & Williams' store building stood.
He then put a homestead on this eighty. After Rogers had made proof on this eighty he discovered irregularities in the Norton Town Association's records.
He then platted a part of his north forty and filed his plat as the town of Norton.
This compelled the association to re-organize and file their plat as Associations' Addition to the town of Norton; afterward he deeded to Dr. Phoebe Oliver Briggs all that forty acres north of Main street which is now known as Briggs' addition to the town of Norton.
Rogers was appointed postmaster January 18, 1878; served till March 1878, and was assistant postmaster from that time until 1880.
He was Provost Marshal for Clinton county, Indiana, during the war under Captain Clark of the eight congressional district.In September 1878, Rogers sold the forty acres where the old log house stood to Lot Brown; he built the stone house on south State Street the same year; he sold the stone house to the Rock Island rail road in 1888, and bought a residence on the Hillside addition where he now resides. Although he was never admitted to the bar he conducted many lawsuits in the early days and gained considerable of a reputation as a lawyer. He was in the grocery and restaurant business in 1879, afterward kept boarders in the old stone house. In 1880 he was with the writer on the range hunting wild horses; he went to the Gunnison and had charge of an outfit on the construction of the D. & R. G. rail road in 1881. He was elected Justice of the Peace for Center township in 1875, served for two years. He was appointed deputy U. S. marshal in 1876, served four years. Although Rogers has always been a democrat he held all these offices under republican administrations. He was also a delegate to the republican senatorial convention held in Kirwin in 1876. No politics were known here then, but county seat, both the Norton and Leota factions claiming to be the republican party. He was deputy county clerk for a time |
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