Biography

He was the son of Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers (locomotive builder)

Thomas Rogers was an American mechanical engineer and founder of Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey...

, the founder of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor.

When Thomas Rogers died in 1856, Jacob took over the business and reorganized it as Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a 19th-century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. It built more than six thousand steam locomotives for railroads around the world. Most railroads in 19th-century United States...

 and served as the company's president. The company eventually became the second most popular steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 manufacturer in North America.

Upon Jacob's death in 1901, he bequeathed the majority of his fortune to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

 in New York City. The museum continues to acquire art works in his name through the "Jacob S. Rogers Fund."

Jacob S. Rogers is buried in the Rogers family plot at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...

.