Bios: OTIS L. ROSE, 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ed McClelland An html version of this volume may be found at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/lawrence/1908/ ************************************************ OTIS L. ROSE, [p. 448] one of the most prominent farmers of Shenango Township, residing on his excellent farm of 160 acres, was born February 1, 1861, in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Isaac P. and Margaret (Gibson) Rose. In the death of Isaac P. Rose, in 1899, Shenango Township lost a citizen of sterling worth and a man of more than the usual distinguishing qualities. He was born in Wolf Creek Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in February, 1815. In his youth he worked on a farm and found amusement in hunting and fishing, at the age of fifteen years, being an expert with the rifle. Up to that time he had received but three months of schooling. He continued on the farm, but in listening to the stories of trapping and fishing told around the old stove in the leading New Castle general store, he became so inspired that the homely duties of the farm grew distasteful. He was nineteen years old when he left his plough and, in company with a companion, Joe Lewis, he made his way to Pittsburg. The boys had cherished the hope of securing employment as stage drivers but, as they found no opening in that direction, they accepted berths at $15 per month as deck hands on a steamboat that was then loading for St. Louis. When they reached the latter city, Rose found employment as a hack driver in a livery stable, and Lewis a job of attending to the horses. Here the boys became acquainted with a number of "Rocky Mountain Boys," as they were called, and became fascinated with their stories of mountain life, of fights with bear and adventures in buffalo, elk and deer hunting, together with skirmishes with the Indians. Soon after this he joined a company formed by Nathaniel Wyeth, which started from Independence for the Rocky Mountains, with an outfit worth $100,000, sixty men and 200 horses and mules heavily loaded with goods. No novel was ever written depicting more thrilling encounters with Indians or hair-breadth escapes than were experienced by Isaac Rose and his companions. These are fully recounted in a volume entitled, "Four Years in the Rockies," the authorship of which is accredited to James B. Marsh, but is practically the work of Mr. Rose himself. It is a work full of interest for all readers and but brief excerpts can be repeated in the limits of the present biographical sketch. At the Gallatin River Isaac Rose and his party were joined by some trappers belonging to the American Fur Company, one of whom was Kit Carson. For years this noted trapper and Mr. Rose were closely associated in their adventurous life. Later, Mr. Rose became so expert a trapper himself that he won a prize of $300 as a trapper of beaver. In 1836 he had a thrilling experience with Indians, which almost caused the loss of his arm and was the real reason for his final return to civilization. The injury to his arm was so serious that the wild life he was then leading, with its dangers and hardships, could scarcely be continued and he finally returned to St. Louis. He there was reunited with his old friend, Joe Lewis, and they decided to go back to the old home, having had quite enough of adventure. Mr. Rose had accumulated some means and the first use he made of it when he reached Mercer County was to erect a comfortable dwelling, for his aged parents, on land he bought in Croton, land which he subsequently sold to advantage in town lots. He immediately set about, also, to repair the defects in his education, and in November, 1838, started to school and applied himself so closely that in the following winter he was accepted as a teacher and made school-teaching his main work in life. For forty-seven consecutive winters he continued to teach school, his services being given in all the wards in New Castle and in Neshannock, Hickory, Slippery Rock, Big Beaver, Taylor and Shenango Townships. He was very successfu1, for he had not only acquired the necessary book learning, but his experience had given him knowledge and his hardships had broadened his views so that he knew human nature better than years of collegiate training could have taught. These qualities served him well, also, when he was called on to administer the office of justice of the peace, enabling him to judge fairly and wisely and frequently to adjust differences without recourse to the law. He undoubtedly exerted more influence in his community than any other man of his day. In his political sentiments he was a Republican and held many local offices, elected on the ticket of that party. For many years he served as school director in Neshannock and Shenango Townships and belonged to the board of examiners of teachers. In 1849 he was elected county auditor and served as such for three years, and for fifteen years he was justice of the peace in Shenango Township. There are many residents of Lawrence County who recall him as he was in the prime of life, his sturdy strength, his compelling eye, his quiet but determined manner. On every side may be found his old pupils and all remember him with respect and affection. Isaac Rose married Margaret Gibson, who was a daughter of George and Ann (Vincent) Gibson, and nine children were born to them, namely: Mary J., who is the widow of Hugh. H. Warnock, of New Castle; Anna, deceased, was the wife of D. C. Mayne; James B., who resides at Sharon; Lemira, who is the wife of J. Watt Davidson; Willis, deceased; George G., who resides at New Castle; Otis L., Olive, who is the wife of Edward Gardner, of Hickory Township, and Elmer E., who resides at Beaver, Pa. For forty-five years Isaac Rose was connected with the Center United Presbyterian Church, being an elder and an officer in the Sunday-school. Otis L. Rose was reared to manhood in Shenango Township, and under the guidance of his father obtained a superior education. His pursuits have always been of an agricultural character and his methods scientific and up-to-date. In 1900 Mr. Rose purchased his present farm and has almost the whole of it under cultivation, keeping four men constantly employed. His main crops are corn, oats, wheat and hay. For the past fifteen years he has operated a milk route through New Castle, and produces all his own milk, keeping about twenty-five cows for this purpose. His farm is one of the most modern in this section, and his dairy the best equipped. The latter handles sixty gallons of milk a day. Otis L. Rose married Matilda Hartzel, who is a daughter of M. Hartzel, and they have seven children: Charles W., Clarence and Clare, twins; Ethel, May, Lida Marie, Herbert D. and Raymond Wesley. Mr. Rose and family belong to the Center United Presbyterian Church. In politics, he is a Republican and since 1905 he has been serving as justice of the peace in Shenango Township, repeating his father's efficient administration of the office. Fraternally, he is connected with the P. H. C. and the Tribe of Ben Hur, both of New Castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908 Updated: 23 Oct 2001