Butler County AlArchives Biographies.....Rose, Thaddeus L. January 14 1855 - living in 1893
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 14, 2004, 2:10 pm

Author: Brant & Fuller (1893)
    THADDEUS L. ROSE, the popular and efficient agent of the L. & N. railroad at
Georgiana, Ala., was born in Yazoo county, Miss., on the 14th of January, 1855.
He is the eldest son of E. D. L. and Jane (Hyatt) Rose, a family of English
descent. His father was a native of Virginia, born in the year 1819. After
graduating at Yale college he married, and moved to Macon, Ga., thence to Yazoo
City, Miss., and from the latter place to Selma, Ala., where the family lived
during the Civil war, in which the father took a part. After the war the family,
having lost all their possessions, moved to Washington county, Ala., where,
broken in health and unused to battle for the necessities of life, the father
died on the 14th of February, 1869. After his death the family removed to State
Line, Miss., where Thaddeus L., entered the railroad office of the M. & O. and
took upon himself the responsibility of supporting and caring for his mother and
younger brothers and sisters. At the early age of fourteen he was in sole charge
of the office and became known all along the line as the "baby agent." After
several years his efficiency secured him an appointment in the city of Mobile,
where he remained until 1880, when, after a short sojourn in Montgomery, he was
stationed at Georgiana, where he has since had charge of the railroad interests
and cotton yard. In his line of work he is conceded to be a model of
faithfulness and efficiency and bears the reputation of being one of the most
expert and rapid telegraphers on the L. & N. system. In fact, his services have
been so efficient that he has been presented by the general manager of the great
L. & N. system with a certificate designating him "the model agent of their
line." Having the burden of a family thrown upon him at so early an age, Mr.
Rose found himself handicapped so far as an education was concerned. He had
inherited his father's taste for books, however, and with the aid of an
accomplished and devoted mother he soon mastered the common branches, and by
persistent study has made himself familiar with most of the sciences and
classics. For the past few years he has given much attention to the study of the
law, upon the practice of which profession he contemplates entering in the not
far distant future. The lack of educational advantages in his youth impressed
Mr. Rose most forcibly with the idea that every young person should be given as
much encouragement in that line as possible, and beginning with a younger
brother and sister whom he has given a classical education out of his own
earnings, he has taken delight in instilling into the minds of the young people
with whom he has come in contact a desire for higher educational training, and
many a young man has found in him a friend both morally and financially.
Untiring in his interest in this direction, he has carefully educated and fitted
for life's duties a number of young men, who all now occupy remunerative and
responsible positions. Mr. Rose is not only a suave and polished gentleman, and
a brilliant and interesting conversationalist, but he adds to these an enviable
reputation as a platform orator. Early in life he began to cultivate his natural
gift for public speaking, and when too close attention to office work found him
in failing health, he conceived, and, with his characteristic energy, carried
out the idea of addressing the people upon educational topics. He traveled for
one year in this way over the greater part of the southern states, and not only
recovered his health but gained a fine reputation as a lecturer. In March of
1891 Mr. Rose decided to gratify his longing for travel, and, joining a party of
thirty or forty, he made the voyage across the ocean. During his absence he
visited all the points of interest on the continent of Europe, and from thence
passed on to Egypt and the Holy Land. Since his return home he has lectured in
different places on the experiences of his trip. These lectures are the source
of great benefit to the people to whom they are addressed, as they are primarily
intended to reach a large class of the public who do not read much, with a view
to aid them in a better understanding of the Bible and the necessity for a
rational, every day religion. Wherever he has lectured in the rural districts,
thousands have gathered from every direction to listen to his discourses - many
traveling a distance of thirty miles or more - and in many instances the lecture
rooms were too small for the accommodation of the vast audiences. A quotation
from a newspaper account of one of his lectures will serve to show how he is
appreciated. "He is a pleasant, fluent and graceful speaker. His lecture was
extempore with nothing cut and dried and memorized, and it was a real treat to
hear this cultured gentleman speak of his varied Oriental experiences. In
private conversation he is charming in his  delineation of the people and the
countries with which he has come in contact; but when in a crowded house, with
the inspiration of an intelligent audience to give him a hearing, he is simply
unsurpassed." Mr. Rose has never married. Death claimed his sainted mother on
the 14th of May, 1878, since which time he has lived a bachelor's life, wedded
to his work, and to his books. He bears the reputation of being generous to the
needy, and is a consistent member of the Baptist church.



Additional Comments:
from "Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 574-576

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