Wayne County, NC - William Preston Rose Biography ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ William Preston Rose was my ggrandmother’s brother. His parents were born in Johnston County, but the family had moved to Wayne County by the time he was born. Source: History of North Carolina, Lewis Publishing Company, 1919, Volume V, page 372 Goldsboro has much reason back of its claim to be a modern, beautiful city, with advantages of every kind to attract capital for business investment as well as for the establishing of permanent homes. It is exceedingly attractive to the eye because of its beautiful style of architecture as well as its appearance of stability of construction and to no one in this connection is greater credit than to William Preston Rose, the leading contractor and builder here. William Preston Rose was born in Wayne County, North Carolina, June 6, 1870, and belongs to one of the old settled families of this section, the first of the name having come here from Virginia three generations ago. His parents were George Pinckney and Nancy (Brunt) Rose. His father, a millwright by trade, was also engaged in agricultural operations. After his public school course Mr. Rose became a student for a time in Turlington Institute. He then learned the carpenter trade and in the course of time became a contractor and still later, through diligent study of architecture, became able not only to erect buildings but also design them. This led into general contracting and this has been Mr. Rose’s business for a number of years, each year finding his reputation more widely extended and his contracts of greater and still greater importance and volume. He has done a large part of the modern building at Goldsboro and all through Wayne County and has many fine structures to his credit in other parts of the state. In 1914 Mr. Rose built the handsome Wayne County courthouse and recently has completed the spacious Borden office building, one of the fine modern structures at Goldsboro. He secured the contract and satisfactorily completed the fine Elk’s Temple at Newbern, North Carolina. The magnificent courthouse at Whiteville, North Carolina, and the Hemingway school at Wilmington are his work, as are also three public school buildings at Fayetteville, North Carolina. He also was the general contractor that built Mercy Hospital at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mr. Rose was the contractor and builder of the J. & D. Tire & Rubber Company plant at Charlotte, North Carolina. His work is characterized by thoroughness in every detail and integrity in every supply and in his field of endeavor his name is a synonym for reliability. Mr. Rose was married first to Miss Fannie Grantham, who was born also in Wayne County, North Carolina, and they had three children: Ruth, Robert Barton and William Preston. Mr. Rose’s second marriage was to Miss Jennie Pollok, who was born in Virginia. Mr. Rose is a member of the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce. He is a director of the People’s Bank and Trust Company and is extensively interested in farming. He was one of the organizers of the famous Algonquin Club. He is public spirited as a citizen but not active politically. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Stewart Barnes ___________________________________________________________________