[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 107 (Thursday, June 25, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H4252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING ROGERS FAMILY FARM

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the bicentennial of the Rogers Family Farm in Menard County, Illinois.
  Founded in 1826, this farm is still operated by the Rogers family, 
making seven generations of stewardship. This family heritage includes 
Samuel Rogers, who serves on my staff as counsel for the House 
Agriculture Committee.
  The Rogers family settled around New Salem, Illinois, the community 
that helped shape President Abraham Lincoln's early life. The family's 
founding patriarch cast his votes for Lincoln. In one extraordinary 
surviving affidavit, Lincoln himself signed Samuel Rogers' name, an 
enduring testament to the civic trust that bound citizens together.
  Frontier families like the Rogers family didn't just build farms. 
They built schools, townships, church communities, and civic networks 
that helped form the ground for Lincoln's political identity and the 
principles of the modern Republican Party,
  That same spirit lives on today in their descendants, including 
Samuel and his brother, Benjamin, a current University of Illinois 
veterinary medical student.
  Mr. Speaker, today, we honor the Rogers family and, through them, the 
enduring strength of the American community. I congratulate the Rogers 
family on this milestone.

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