Nathaniel Rose

ROSE, Nathaniel – Nathaniel Rose was born May 27, 1841 in Washington County, Tennessee, a son of Isaiah Rose, born August 1804 in Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina and Rachel Brown, born in 1812 in Washington County, Tennessee. On December 4,1861, in Winston County, Alabama, he married Mary Elizabeth Greer, born August 8, 1844 in Winston County, Alabama and they became the parents of five children: Louisa, Martha Winny, Lewis Walker, Oliver Goldman (Ollie) and William Isaac (Ike) Rose. (From “Heritage” Vol. 1 No. 1 pages 8-9 by Gratia Comstock - The Crawford County Historical Society) Nathaniel Rose and his wife Mary, together with their five children, came to Arkansas from Alabama sometime in the late 1860’s, making the entire journey by steamboat. Their first stop was at Dardanelle, where they resided for one year, coming from there to near Natural Dam, where he farmed for a number of years on what was then known as the Deffenbaugh farm of that community, Deffenbaugh being one of the early Crawford County physicians. A few years later, Rose moved to Cove Creek, the post office then known as Eads. In 1893 Cove Creek went on a rampage and washed away the store building in which the post office was maintained. At that time, the acting postmaster was Mr. Rose’s son-in-law, J.H. Comstock. When the post-office was restored, the name was changed to Rosedale.

Rose had two daughters and three sons. The oldest daughter, Louise, married Houston London, son of M.L. London, who owned the store, gin, sawmill and grist mill which was destroyed by the 1893 flood. Winnie, the second daughter, was married to J.H. Comstock, who died in 1940 at the age of 90 years. Mrs. Comstock, now 93 years old lived at Westville. The three sons were Louis, Ollie and Isaac. After the marriage of the children, Rose moved to the Goingsnake District in what was then Indian Territory, living some ten miles from the present ton of Westville. While living there his wife died on election day in the year that William Bryan was first defeated for president. Rose then moved back to his old haunts at Cove Creek where he spent the remainder of his life making his home with his son Louis.

Rose was a charter member of the Cove Creek Masonic Lodge and served several terms as Master. He was a great lover of the Fraternity, often riding horseback to Cove City, the Hall at Natural Dam and Uniontown to visit with these lodges and assist in conferring degrees. Rose was a one-sixteenth Cherokee Indian. His father accepted an allotment of land in Alabama at the time the Cherokees were moved to the Indian Territory, hence was not eligible for rights in the Indian Territory later. [Rootsweb.Ancestry.com]