John Rogers (1800–1867) was a Kentucky preacher, a promoter of the Stone-Campbell union, and the earliest biographer of Barton W. Stone. Formed in Stone's Christian Church from the age of eighteen and won over by Alexander Campbell's Christian Baptist in the mid-1820s, he embodied the union of the two movements in a single person before the two movements had agreed to it.
After the Lexington union, Rogers — representing the Christians — and "Raccoon" John Smith — representing the Disciples — were appointed to travel together for several years to commend the union to the congregations. The handshake in Lexington bound the leaders; the two men riding the circuit together are what actually bound the churches.
His 1847 edition of Stone's autobiography, with his own additions and reflections appended, was the first published biography of Stone and remains a founding document of the movement's historiography — and one of the primary sources on which the Cane Ridge story depends.
Relationships
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Was Stone's first biographer: Barton W. Stone
Rogers edited and published Stone's autobiography in 1847, the first published biography of Stone. -
Rode the union circuit with: John "Raccoon" Smith
Appointed after the 1832 union to travel together — Rogers for the Christians, Smith for the Disciples — commending the union to the churches.