Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

Visual materials may require special handling.

Preferred Citation

Rosser Family Photograph Collection, 1865-1909 (VC 0054), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

unknown

Alternative Form Available

None

Accruals

2014.0054x

Processing Information

Lisa Dezarn, 8 May 2014

Biographical Information

Thomas Henry Rosser (1818-1897), born in North Carolina, married Maria Louisa   Archer (1820-1904) of Petersburg, Virginia in 1848. They had the following children: Elizabeth Rosser Fisher (b. 1840), Henry Nollner (1844-1919), Thomas (b. 1845), Joseph Fletcher (1847-1926), Laura (b. 1848), Walter Erwin (b. 1851), William Cook (1852-1931), and George D. (b. 1864).

In the summer of 1856, the family was residing in Petersburg, VA. Sometime during 1856 Rosser led one hundred men and their families to settle in the new territory of Kansas. As a result of increasing tensions between antislavery and proslavery factions in Kansas the party withdrew to Missouri. While in Missouri Rosser was selected to serve as a colonel in the newly formed "Army of Law and Order of Kansas," a proslavery militia. The militia fought against the forces of John Brown, but was then disbanded. Rosser remained in Missouri working as a druggist until he enlisted in March of 1862 with the 3rd Battalion Missouri Infantry. Later, Rosser served with the Missouri Infantry First Regiment State Guard and was promoted to colonel on 9 September 1861. Before the end of the Civil War, Rosser was transferred to Selma, Alabama and served in the Alabama 62nd infantry.

Rosser's son, Henry, joined Company E of the Alabama Cavalry Battalion on August of 1863 as a sergeant. In 1869, Henry graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. He married Lillian N. Averett (b. 1843) in April of 1884 in Jefferson, Alabama. They had Henry N. (b. 1874), James R. (b. 1877), Jennie May (1885-1952), Mariah L. (b. 1887), Lillian E. (1890-1977) and Walter Averett (1896-1953).

By 1870, Thomas Henry and two of his sons, Thomas and Joseph Fletcher, were working in retail as grocers. Henry was employed as a physician and William was working as a clerk. Elizabeth was married with three daughters. In 1887, Thomas Henry was appointed Postmaster of Dallaston, Alabama. He died on 22 May 1897 and is buried with his wife in Selma, AL.

In 1883, Joseph Fletcher married Mary, "Mamie" Reese (1856-1896). Joseph was employed as a bookkeeper. Their children were: Joseph Reese (b. 1880), Susan Reese (1886-1968), and Thomas H. (b. 1888).The family remained in Selma, AL. Joseph's wife died in 1896 and Joseph died in 1926 in Atlanta, Georgia. By 1940, Susan was living with her uncle, George D. Rosser, and his wife in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Susan moved back to Birmingham, AL in 1958, where she died ten years later.

Walter Erwin Rosser married Bessie Boyd (1861-1939) and had six children, including Bessie Boyd (1884-1963). Bessie graduated from Charity Hospital of New Orleans, Louisiana as a registered nurse. She worked as a nurse in Montgomery, AL and joined the Army Nurse Corp during World War I. She later moved to San Diego and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Lida Lavina Rosser (1889-1975) married George Matthews Meriwether (1883-1961) and had two daughters, Lida Rosser (1913-1923), who died at age nine, and Louise (b. 1916). The family lived in Birmingham, AL and Jackson, Mississippi.

On 10 May 1915, Henry's son, Walter Averett, married Florence Alexander (1894-1944). By 1930, they had two sons and two daughters, and Walter worked as a photographer. He died in 1953. By 1930, Henry's daughter, Lillian E. moved to Miami, Florida where she worked as a teacher. Records indicate that Lillian's last benefit was received in Hamilton, Loudoun County  .

Scope and Content

This photographic collection contains thirteen items: eleven cabinet cards, one postcard, and one carte-de-visite.

Arrangement

Folder

Related Material

None

Separated Material

None

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Alabama Civil War Service Database. Alabama Department of Archives and History,

Ancestry Library Edition, California Death Index, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 22 March 2014).

Ancestry Library Edition, Florida State Census, 1867-1945 http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 22 March 2014).

Ancestry Library Edition, United States Census Records http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 22 March 2014).

Ancestry Library Edition, U.S. Appointments of Postmasters, 1832-1971 http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 22 March 2014).

Ancestry Library Edition, North Carolina Death Indexes, 1908-2004 http://www.ancestrylibrary.com (accessed 18 April 2014).

"Battle of Ossawatomie," Charleston Mercury . September 13, 1856.

Blackmar, Frank W. Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties  , cities, towns, prominent persons, etc . . .with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence . Vol 1. Chicago: Standard Publishing Co., 1912. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/a/army_of_law_and_order.html (accessed 28 April 2014).

California State Nurses' Association. "News Notes: District 8 - San Diego County  ." The Pacific Coast Journal of Nursing, 17, no. 9 (1921): 519-574 http://books.google.com/books (accessed 26 March 2014).

Find a Grave, Maria Louisa   Archer Rosser, http://www.findagrave.com/ (accessed July 23, 2013)

Hewett, Janet B. Roster of Confederate Soldiers . Wilmington, N.C.: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1996.

"Obituary, Colonel T.H.Rosser," Kansas City Star , June 1, 1897.

"One of Missouri's Heroes: A Fellow Officer's Tribute to the Late Colonel Rosser," Kansas City Star , June 13, 1897.

Rosser, Thomas H. "Letter Gives Account of Days When Kansas Was Being Settled." Kansas State Library: Blue Skyways. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/leavenwo/library/KSSTLMNT.htm (accessed 28 April 2014).

"Southern Kansas Emigrants," New York Herald , August 8, 1956.

Other Finding Aid

Past Perfect Catalogue records

Technical Requirements

None