|
William
Rose |
William Rose was born on May 8, 1868 at Normalville, Fayette County, PA, the son of Andrew J. and Susanna (Minerd) Rose Sr.
He is among far too many cousins and their spouses to have lost their lives in the mining and metals industries over the years, and is honored on a special page of Minerd.com.
William was a day laborer. It's presumed that he never married.
In 1900, when the federal census was taken in Springfield Township, Fayette County, William was then age 32, and living with his mother and bachelor brothers John and Andrew Jr.
William made Coonnellsville Courier news headlines in October 1904 when arrested after allegedly shooting 16-year-old Mary Nickler of Normalville. (She was the daughter of Benjamin and Anna [Eicher] Nickler.) He was released on $500 as paid by his brother, John, and was to stand trial in December. The Courier said she had been struck in the left lung, that William had run a mile and a half to the home of Henry Hall to obtain help afterward, and that William was "a firm believer in the doctrine of faith curists."
In reporting on the victim and her case a year later, after she announced her intended marriage to Frank Nicholson, the Courier said:
She has somewhat of a romantic life. About a year ago, while working in her uncle's kitchen, she was mysteriously shot, supposedly by William Rose, a resident of Springfield township. It was alleged at the trial of Rose that he had been "hanging around the house annoying her for several months." The shooting was enshrouded in so much mystery that even the court could not fully determine whether Rose was guilty or not and the result was that sentence was suspended and nothing more has been heard of the case. After the shooting the girl lingered for several weeks between life and death but finally recovered. She looked very robust and healthy Saturday as she sat blushing while her uncle and the prospective groom talked of the wedding.
Circa 1907, as he neared his 39th birthday, William was employed at the Mullen Mine of the H.C. Frick Coke Company, located near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, PA. Tragedy befell him on April 26, 1907, when he was caught in and killed by a fall of slate in the mine. His broken remains were transported to Indian Head for burial. His brother, Grant Rose of Mount Pleasant, was the informant for his official Pennsylvania death certificate.
Copyright © 2001, 2013, 2014 Mark A. Miner