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The first Rose named in our Family Bible was Philip B. He was born in 1832 (or 1834 depending on the document). He married Alida Hall in 1857 who died in 1865. And there it is, short and simple and on to the next entry. But not so fast! After just eight years of marriage she died? And she was only 27. What happened? I’ve written a chronicle about Alida’s sad story based on quite a bit of genealogical research over the years. I won’t fear all that here. But the brief Bible en

Goodwin A. Rose An Epigenetic Fantasy by J.E. Rose Goodwin Rose Historical Note It is difficult to exaggerate the impact of little Goodwin Rose’s childhood on the rest of his life. I didn’t hear many family stories about him but those I did described him as somewhat lazy and irresponsible. His oldest son, Edward (my grandpa) grew up having to pick up after many of his messes. Based on evidence in Alida’s Last Will and Testament, Goodwin’s parents were not happily married. It

Historical Note: The "Dutch Puritan" movement was properly called “the Nadere Reformatie” (or Further Reformation). It emerged in the 17th-century Netherlands as a response to what was perceived as a stalled, overly institutionalized Protestantism. It was during this time that the Latin phrase “semper reformanda” (always reforming) became a watch cry for the most passionate churches. Influenced deeply by similar impulses in English Puritanism, leading Dutch theologians like G

I Historical Note: The stories that are extant of Aldert Roosa and his adventures are begging to be made into action movies--or at least a comic book. That's what I've done in this chronicle, based on a true event involving Aldert and his son Arien. Though the historic events called the Esopus Wars primarily involved the Dutch and the Lenape Indians, that was only part of the powder keg in Wiltwyk (Kingston). In this story, I've focused on the British connection. This story

Historical Note: When I first began to study the family information pages of the Rose Family Bible, I was struck by the earliest entries: Philip B. Rose, born in 1831 and married to Alida in March of 1857. I should clarify that, though. It was the entry that said she was deceased in 1866, only eleven years into their marriage. Born April 1840, she was just 26. What’s more, the Bible also noted that a daughter, Mary, was born and died in 1862. It was only after I was able to

The Word of God in Dutch Comes to the Low Countries The Breath of God for Goert de Rosa (1560) Historical Note: As dramatized in another chronicle on Goert de Rosa, a fictionalized pirate story during the Spanish Inquisition, I’ve speculated that this first known ancestor in the Netherlands had roots in Spain. The reason for that story was to account for the old family legends about the origin of the first Roses–Rosas Spain on the Catalonian coast. Most careful genealogists

An Introduction to Rose Family “Bibliology” My Fond Memory When I was a young boy, an announced visit to my Grandpa Ed’s little house in Ortonville, Michigan was usually met with grumpy groans. There were many reasons I do not plan to share here. However, there was something in their front room (what we now call a living room) that managed to capture some boyhood imagination. They had a large oak table on a wall containing a lamp and an old, leather-bound book: the Rose Fami

Historical Note: Of the brief anecdotes about my grandfather–notably, Edward (b. 1887), Goodwin (b. 1859) and Philip (b. 1832--though some documents say 1831 and others 1834. I'll just stick to 1832 for this story), there seem to be recurring brief hints of men who battled unnamed inner-demons that disposed them to various struggles with work, money and even marriage. The Last Will and Testament of Philip’s first wife, Alida Hall, was particularly cryptic: a woman who possess

Edward J. Rose at Around 20 Years Old The Quiet Man At the dawn of the 20th century, the American cultural landscape was dominated by the mythology of Horatio Alger—tales of gritty boys heading west to find fortune through sheer "luck and pluck." My grandfather, Edward, was a notoriously quiet, slow-moving man from New York. But by 1921, at the age of 37, he was still single, living with his younger brother, and restless for a change. Inspired by the real-life success of Will

Historical Note: Though it’s been over 60 years ago, I still have dreams about my Grandpa’s house in Ortonville, Michigan. Like so many dreams, they don’t make a lot of sense but the identity of the dreamscape is usually self-evident in the moment. The actual scene in many of those dreams will seem particularly odd: the only bathroom in the little house! I could speculate on the psychology of bathroom dreams but I will spare you more weirdness. Suffice to say, the color and s

Historical Note: My. fifth-generation grandfather, Cornelius Rose (b 1757) was an amazing man and I wish there were documented written stories about him. Thankfully there is enough of a record to reconstruct some. Not only do we know that he fought in the famous Green Mountain Boys Reigment, under Ethan Allen, in the early days of the war, after his duty with them, he moved to Schaghticoke New York and joined the Albany Militia serving under another famous figure, Colonel Joh

Historical Note: It is impossible to ignore the irony of what took place in Metamora, Michigan on Mother’s Day of 1938: the hit and run death of my Uncle Bob, riding his bicycle in the morning doing an errand for his dad, when he was struck by a drunk motorist. Ed and Lottie were permanently scarred by the trauma and grief and in many ways never recovered. It was never discussed in their home. Even my dad, Roger, would only have bits and pieces of memory. There is no doubt t

Historical Note: This is a memory written by my dad, Roger, about his dad, Ed. It is word for word as Roger told it. This is a family photo of Ed holding the watering can and leading his sheep. I have a picture printed on my memory of Dad and his watering can. It's around 7;30 on a summer evening. In those days before daylight savings time the shadows are already lengthening but Dad has on his wide brimmed straw hat anyway. He never went out of the house in the summer without

Historical Note: My dad, Roger, grew up on a farm in Metamora, Michigan. I’m glad he told stories about his childhood. I wish I would have asked him to tell more before he passed. Though some of the details of this story are dramatized for interest, it is all based on the actual events. Back when Roger was a little boy, growing up on the farm in Metamora, Michigan, Christmas was celebrated a lot differently than it is now. First was the Christmas Tree. They had trees back t

Historical Note: The record of Aldert’s journey to the New World aboard the Dutch ship. Bonte Koe (spotted cow) is well-documented in multiple ways, including the ship’s log of its captain, Pieter Lucasz. The Bonte Koe was one of the fleet traders of the powerful West Indian Company (WIC) whose influence during that era is much overlooked. Very few passengers would have the financial resources to pay upfront. Consequently, the WIC had a mutually beneficial solution: passage

Historical Note: The details of the Esopus Revolt of Wildwyk and the important role of Aldert Roosa in the dramatic events is a matter of historical record. There is ample evidence also of the kidnapping of his 12 year old daughter, Eyke, though, many details of the events themselves are lost, it takes little speculation to iamgination the impact her abduction and rescue would have on the entire community, shaping their colonial mistrust of the Indians who still inhabited the

Lottie Ware Historical Note: Though diaries and personal journals have existed for hundreds of years, it was only in the beginning of the 20th century that they became common place in a young American girl’s bedroom. A safe place to share her most secret thoughts. For most of my youth the only image I had of my Grandma Rose was a tiny, shriveled old lady who always seemed worried about something. As I explored her younger years, I was surprised to learn what an independent,

Historical Note: Though our particular Rose family tree is firmly connected to Dutch stock with a documented pedigree to 17th century Holland, family lore has often speculated about what came before. The traditional Roosa origin story,first penned around 1730 by Arien van Rijckhuijsen—claimed that the family's founding father was named Goerts who fled religious persecution from a town called Rosas in Catalonia, Spain. This was the time of Spanish Inquisition and it is docum

I have sent three sons off to war. Though watching them depart and worrying about their safety was a daily challenge, I never had to deal with what my eighth generation great grandfather, Samuel Rose did: watching two sons on opposite sides of the battle. In 1775, the colonies were straining at the seams of unity. War drums were beating forcing everyone to choose a side. As in so many towns, sensibilities lined up on various sides. Not everyone chose the same allegiance. Sam

Historical Note: Aldert Roosa had eight children and the story of his son Arien is part of the Rose Chronicles. Arien would eventually have a son named Samuel. At some point he left Kingston in the new territory of Vermont. While there he had a son named Cornelius (1757). Cornelius and Jacob lived far apart and even though they were cousins would not have known each other. Even so, their fates were intertwined because, like so many others in this period, they had different a