Dr. Rogers was born in Madison, Indiana, and studied medicine with his physician father and later at the Cincinnati College of Medicine, receiving his M.D. (1864) from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York. He served as a surgeon at a military hospital until the close of the Civil War and then went to Europe for two years of study and travel. He fitted himself to practice as an ophthalmologist and entered successful practice in Madison, IN.
In 1879, Dr. Rogers became superintendent of the Indiana Hospital for the Insane in Indianapolis, where he remained for four years. He was appointed by the Governor to serve as medical engineer for the erection of three hospitals for the insane, and at the end of five years, he had supervised the building of the Northern Hospital in Logansport, the Eastern Hospital in Richmond, and the Southern Hospital in Evansville, IN. The three hospitals followed the pavilion, cottage, and radiate plans, respectively. He chose to become the superintendent at Logansport in 1888 and remained there until his death.
Dr. Rogers received an honorary Ph.D. from Hanover College in 1885 and occupied the Chair of Medicine and Therapeutics at the Indiana Medical College for four years. His writings include a long list of reports, state papers, and monographs. Dr. Rogers was President of the American Medico-Psychological Association (1899–1901).