17

THE SIXTH GENERATION
Part C (193 - 207)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Aaron Rosenkrans (86)

AARON ROSENKRANS and Hannah D. Ager had seven children.

Selim B. Rosenkrans

193.  SELIM B. ROSENKRANS, son of Aaron, was born in Steuben County, New York, April 27, 1824. The following is his autobiography, written in December, 1899: "My father, Aaron Rosenkrans, was married to my mother, Hannah D. Ager, in the year 1823, and soon after, moved to what then was a new wilderness country and settled on the north side of Crooked, now Keuka Lake, about a mile from the lake up the slope some hundred of feet above the lake, and built or bought a log house with one living room and a linter in the rear where father worked at his trade, a wagon maker. In that log house. I was born April 24, 1824 (a memorable occasion to me). My earliest recollection was of mother keeping the Sugar box under the bed and my crawling under and helping myself to sugar. In two or three years my parents moved to Hammondsport, a town standing at the head of the lake, being connected by the Lakes Crooked, Seneca, and Cayuga, and canal to the Erie; thence to Albany. * * *

After moving to Hammondsport my father engaged in several kinds of business: the wagon building, a saw mill, and a boat for the canal. At about sixteen years of age, I went at driving on the canal with a remarkable result as to my health. From being a weak and puny boy I became a comparatively robust, healthy man, and as a result now at near 76 years of age, at the date of this writing, outliving most of my contemporaries, and being now the oldest living descendant of Levi, son of Colonel John Rosenkrans. After boating until I became of age, went to school and worked in the shop with my father, then went in partnership with father, and carried on for thirteen years quite an extensive wagon and carriage business, employing a good deal of the time from fifteen to twenty hands; also had farm at twenty-seven years of age. June 3, 1856, married Charlotte, youngest child of Albertus and Janette Larrowe, they having a large family of seven sons and five daughters, all of whom were living when we were married. The family were one of the oldest settlers in Steuben County, and they and their connection by marriage, etc., embraced a large circle of the first families of the county.

In the fall of 1855, moved and spent the winter in Northern Illinois, and March, 1856, in company with his wife moved to Webster City, Iowa, where he went into partnership with C. Fenton, buying a half interest in a steam saw mill, some lumber land, town lots, etc., taking charge of the mill for the first year. During this year in June, he attended as delegate the first Republican convention ever held in Iowa, where the party was organized in that Congressional District, embracing the whole northern part of the State; also attended as delegate the Republican county convention held in the county then embracing Webster and Huntingdon, and a part of Humboldt; was nominated and elected Clerk of said county , delivered the first Fourth of July address in Webster City , read the Episcopal burial service at the first funeral in Webster City, in June, 1856, as there was no clergyman there then, and delivered the Fourth of July address, July 4, 1857. Was elected clerk of the first Agricultural Society of Hamilton County; also of the first Old Settlers organization of Hamilton and Wright counties. Was elected President of the first building association, building a town hall for all public purposes, courts, etc., with post office and three stores underneath. Was elected representative for Hamilton and Story counties for the session of 1859, and also War session, 1861; was appointed drafting commissioner by Governor Kirkwood for Hamilton and Wright counties; was elected Mayor and afterwards member of City Council of Webster City.

Was one of seven members who re-organized the Congregational church, and was clerk for several years, associated with Walter C. Wilson and J.M. Funk in building the Crooked Creek Railroad, Webster City voting $32,000 to aid the enterprise; organized the company that built the second post office, together with two stores under office; also the grand central hotel , also built quite a number of business and private houses, also what was known as Rosenkrans Park, which for a number of years was a great attraction to Webster City, having four flowing wells of mineral water, etc. At the annual gathering June 4, there were usually from 3,000 to 5,000 people in attendance with speakers of State reputation, such as Governor Bois, Congressman Doliver, John F. Buncomb and others. My first wife died Sunday, December 15, 1888. I was married to Mary S. R., July 13, 1891; still living.

Mary S. Rosenkrans was born in the town of Caton, Cayuga County, New York, May 3, 1842. Her father, D.C. Steadman, belonged to an old and respected family of that county. His first wife, Mary’s mother, dying when she was quite young, he married again and moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where he died. After his death his wife married a Mr. Hollenbeck, and at the breaking out of the Civil War, went to the army with her husband, he being sutler. At the great battle of Winchester, she the next morning went over the battle field among the dead and dying. After the war they moved to Western Pennsylvania, and upon his death, she with her two sons, Clarence and Fred S., moved to Chicago, then with Uncle Samuel Steadman to Webster City, Iowa. Clarence is living , Fred was drowned near Omaha. She and her uncle were in business for several years in Webster City, where we became acquainted and were married July 13, 1891, at her uncle’s near Forest City, Iowa." Selim B. Rosenkrans had no children. He seems to have been an athlete in his younger days, and Webster City’s champion in winning for her the honor of having the county seat.

From a newspaper clipping received from Webster City, it appears that there was a great rivalry between that city and another village as to which was to become the county seat for the new county, when, at a public gathering to decide the question, it was proposed by some one that it be decided by a single fall at back hold in a wrestle by champions chosen from each side. They were chosen, Selim B. being the champion for Webster City, and won the county seat by throwing his competitor squarely on his back. Selim B. and wife are at present living at Perry, Iowa, with Mrs. R. ’s son, Clarence who keeps a hotel at that place. The following is the beginning of a poem read at one of the annual park gatherings mentioned above, June 4, 1887:

194.  LOUISA MARIA ROSENKRANS, daughter of Aaron, was born in Hammondsport, December 23, 1825, and died April 5, 1852.

195.  LEVI DEWITT ROSENKRANS, born December 28, 1828, died single February 22, 1850. He was a promising young man and visited his relatives in Sussex County, New Jersey, when about twenty years of age, when the writer became acquainted with him at the home of John Layton, Esq., in Centreville, New Jersey.

W.D. White and Wife — Mrs. A.E. (Rosenkrans) White

196.  ANN ELIZA ROSENKRANS, daughter of Aaron (86), was born at Hammondsport, New York, June 14, 1830. Reared as she was in the romantic village of Hammondsport, surrounded by the diversified scenery of the valley, the heights of Bully hill, the neighboring glen and the Crooked Lake, she seems to have imbibed or inherited a romantic disposition and to revel in poetry. She possessed "the pen of a ready writer" while in her teens, and subsequent years have by no means lessened her accomplishment. Her thoughts and expressions abound with poetic sentiments borrowed and original. One of her recent productions, publicly read by another in her own village, was on the death of Miss Frances E. Willard, late President of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and another brief one, of merit, "Lines contributed by Selim and Eliza on the death of their parents," may be found in her father’s biography (86). She is evidently a family favorite and popular among her relatives, having frequently come to the aid of her brothers in times of necessity, and she ministered to the comfort of both of her parents in their last illness, the one 1876 and the other 1880. She has traveled considerably in the West, and stopped frequently with her brothers and kindred at Elgin, Chicago and Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Webster City, Fort Dodge, and South Dakota. October 7, 1862, Ann Eliza married John P. Allis, of Chicago, son of Henry and grandson of Colonel Josiah Allis. He was a railway agent who traveled extensively in the far west. In 1894 Mr. and Mrs. Allis settled at Savona, New York, where he was taken sick in 1895 and notwithstanding the faithful watch and tender care given him, he died in the Christian faith November 30, 1895. His daughter Gertie, by a former wife, born 1855, married a Mr. Jermaine Barnes, son of Dr. Barnes, of Rock Stream, New York, 1880, and lives at Corning. On November 3, 1899, a daughter was born unto them, as reported by Mrs. White, who has been named Gertrude. Mrs. Allis was married again July 31, 1897, to William D. White, a merchant of Savona. Mr. White has three children by a former wife, but Mrs. White has none. She is a lover of her country and her kindred, especially of the Rosenkrans name, is extensively acquainted with the family and has rendered assistance to the writer in gathering information concerning them and thus aiding in the formation of the Rosenkrans genealogy. Mr. and Mrs. White are both devoted Christians and church members, "having promise of the life which now is and of that which is to come."

197.  ELIZABETH ROSENKRANS, daughter of Aaron (86), was born in Hammondsport, New York, May 13, 1833. She married about 1858, at Webster City, Iowa, Albert Morrison, son of Moses Morrison, of Bath, New Hampshire. After marriage they settled at Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he was engaged in the real estate business and died 1884. Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison still lives at her old home at Fort Dodge, her daughter Carrie and husband living with her. She also has a cottage at Chautauqua, New York, where she frequently attends the meetings Of the Chautauquan Society. She has four children: Adeline, born December 7, 1861, died August 19, 1884; Elizabeth, born July 11, 1860, died February 1, 1861; Pauline, born at Fort Dodge, October 4, 1864, and Carrie, born November 23, 1866. Pauline Morrison, daughter of Albert and Elizabeth, married Edward J. Mitchell, a merchant at Lehigh, Iowa, and has children: Nonnie, Carrie, Ruth, Eleanor and Morrison. Carrie Morrison, daughter of Elizabeth (197), married February, 1897, J.F. Drake, of Fort Dodge, "President and Manager of Columbian Savings Company, of Fort Dodge, Iowa." He has also a loan and insurance office at Fort Dodge where "Foreign Exchange is bought and sold." Mrs. Carrie Drake, as before stated, lives in the house with her mother and reported the above items concerning her mother’s family in typewriting February 2, 1897. Her husband, J.F. Drake, is elsewhere reported to be an active member of the Methodist Episcopal. church and we trust that his wife also, is a faithful follower of Him "who taketh away the sin of the world." A young daughter is reported by her aunt, Mrs. A.E. White, Myrtle Elizabeth Drake, born May 16, 1899.

198.  SOPHIA ROSENKRANS, daughter of Aaron, was born March 29, 1841, and died February 23, 1857.

199.  GEORGE E. ROSENKRANS, son of Aaron (86), and last child, was born at Hammondsport, New York, October 1, 1844. As his father had a carriage factory and also a vineyard during his latter days, he probably gained a knowledge of the wheelwright business and fruit growing and was connected for awhile with his father in the business. September 7, 1869, he married Rose Clark, of Steuben County, New York. After his father’s death, 1880, he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and there engaged in the drug business. Subsequently he went to Miller, Hand County, S.D., and secured 320 acres of Government land, where lie lived for a time and was elected treasurer of Hand County. Retaining his land there he returned to the place of his birth, and is now living in Hammondsport. His children are Clarence C., Hattie C., William, Perry DeWitt, Floyd Ayers and Mabel C.

Reverend Cyrus Egbert Rosenkrans (88)

REVEREND CYRUS EGBERT ROSENKRANS and Phebe Reeve had three children, and by Helen Sarah Benson he had four children.

200.  EMMA LOUISA ROSENKRANS, daughter of Cyrus Egbert, was born at East Troy, Wisconsin Territory, January 14, 1844, and died February 19, 1846.

Mrs. Harriet G. (Rosenkrans) Wright

201.  HARRIET GOODRICH ROSENKRANS, daughter of Reverend Cyrus Egbert (87), was born at East Troy, Wisconsin, October 11, 1845, and married Henry Wright. I have not been able to get a report from her regarding her family till today (March 12, 1900), which is to be printed tomorrow. Her communication is dated Denver, Colorado, March 5, 1900, in which she says, "I was married 27 years ago and have three sons — the eldest, Francis Henry, 26 years old, the second son, Harry Egbert, is 25 years old, and the youngest, Philip Reeve, is 20 years old this winter. My husband Henry Wright is an Englishman by birth (but a good American all the same) and is in mining and real estate business; but he has been in various enterprises, as he was a Colorado pioneer and came here in 1859. I was elected as a Populist on a Silver Fusion ticket to the legislature from Arapahoe county, of which Denver is the principal part, and our ticket was elected in the county by 12,000 majority." She says: "I graduated from Rockford (Illinois) Woman’s College and taught before marriage." * * * She inscribes her name as Mrs. Harriet G.R. Wright, Late Representative from Denver, Arapahoe County, Colorado.

[Ed: the following was inserted as an unnumbered page in the book. ]

(Received too late for General History)

MRS. HARRIET G. (ROSENKRANS) WRIGHT

(From Ainslee’s Magazine.)

"Mrs. Harriet G.R. Wright, who was elected (Representative) for Arapahoe County, has been a resident of Denver for nearly twenty years. With her husband and three grown sons, she occupies a pretty home that is the center of a pleasant social life. Mrs. Wright is the descendant of old Colonial families. Her father, the Reverend Cyrus E. Rosenkrans, a Presbyterian clergyman, was an abolitionist, and one of the first advocates of advanced education for women. He was one of the founders of Beloit College, and afterwards started the Woman’s College in Columbus, Wisconsin, serving as its President for many years. Mrs. Wright was graduated from Rockford College, and for several years remained at the institution as one of its teachers. She left the College to become an instructor in the High School at Columbus, Wisconsin

After her marriage she (Mrs. Wright) went to Colorado, and was a fearless advocate of equal suffrage long before the movement became popular in Colorado. When the Populist party gave her the nomination for the Legislature she received the support of many Democrats and Republicans who were anxious to see a woman of her rare qualifications put into a high place. Mrs. Wright has a keen, logical mind, which is supposed to be a possession rare among womankind. A quickness in repartee and an adroitness in exposing the weak points in an adversary’s speech, have made her a foe to be feared on the floor of the House. In the recent fall campaign, this versatile little woman was vice chairman of the People’s Party Arapahoe County Central Committee. In this position that demanded so many peculiar qualities, she again gave evidence of her great executive ability and tact.

202.  EGBERT ROSENKRANS, third and last child of Reverend Cyrus Egbert, and Phebe, was born at East Troy, September 2, 1847, and died 1848.

203.  HENRY BENSON ROSENKRANS, son of Reverend Cyrus Egbert (88), and Helen S., was born at Columbus, Wisconsin, July 18, 1850. He remains unmarried, and as reported by letter January 26, 1894, was at Boulder, County, having a collection and loan agency office, where live stock was bought and sold.

204.  MARIAN REEVE ROSENKRANS, daughter of Reverend Cyrus Egbert (88), was born at Columbus, Wisconsin, July 30, 1852. She went to Portage, Wisconsin, as a school teacher, November, 1871, and July 9, 1873, married at Columbus, Orson Hutchins Warriner, of Portage, born at Thedford, Vermont, September 10, 1835, who by practice is an engineer. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Warriner lived one year at Plymouth, Wisconsin, and then two years in Milwaukee. October, 1876, they returned to Portage, where they still resided in October, 1897, when a report was received from Mrs. Warriner. She had the old family Bible, and reported most of the family records of her father’s family as well as her own. Her children were Richard Orson, born December 18, 1876; died May 24, 1878, and Helen Haskell, born at Portage, March 9, 1879.

205.  ROSALIN ROSENKRANS, daughter of Reverend Cyrus Egbert, was born December 19, 1854, and died October 25, 1869.

Dr. James Hankinson Rosenkrans

206.  DR. JAMES HANKINSON ROSENKRANS, son of Reverend Cyrus Egbert (88), was born 1857. His biography is as follows : "James Hankinson Rosenkrans, M.D., was born in Columbus, Columbia County, Wisconsin, July 31, 1857, the son of the Reverend Cyrus Egbert Rosenkrans and his wife, formerly Miss Helen Sarah Benson, of Vermont. He received his elementary education in the public school of this small county town. With his mother he studied Latin and imbibed a love for culture. He was frugally brought up, and early learned self-reliance. His mother died when he was seventeen years of age, and after that was entirely dependent on his own exertions. He got a position in a flouring mill in his native town, where he remained two and one-half years. Leaving the mill in October, 1877, where he had learned business habits he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get an education. He remained in Ann Arbor five years supporting himself, not being absent or late a day except in the winter of 1879 and 1880, when he taught school in Caseville, Michigan, for four months. Graduating from the Ann Arbor High School in 1880, he at once entered the medical department of the University of Michigan, where he remained two years. In September 1882 he entered Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he received his medical degree in March 1883. April 1, 1883, he was appointed on the staff at Randall’s Island Hospital, and Infants’ Hospital of the City of New York for one year and one-half. Being so well prepared, in the summer of 1884 he was called to substitute Dr. A.E. Loewenthal, of Hoboken, New Jersey, who was absent on a vacation for two weeks. After Dr. Loewenthal’s return he was called to substitute another Dr. at Jeanesville, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania for a few weeks. But his heart had been won in Hoboken by the sister of Dr. A.E. Loewenthal, the daughter of E.J. Loewenthal, M.D., of 1848 renown, who had left Germany like others for freedom. His good star led him back to Maja Loewenthal:

He began practice in October, 1884, near Hoboken, on Jersey City Heights, and was married to Miss Maja Loewenthal, May 20, 1885. The next year he moved to Hoboken, where he has been very successful. In the spring of 1886 he injured his knee. The knee became so bad that in a few months it was necessary to reset the knee joint, which was done by Dr. Frederick Lange, of New York City. In the spring of 1891 he began assisting Dr. Lange, and this training for nearly five years with a man of Dr. Lange’s experience and world wide fame started the successful career of our modest and humble James Hankinson Rosenkrans. Dr. Rosenkrans, it is said, has performed some very difficult surgical operations seldom attempted outside of a hospital, and with success. He also has a private hospital for patients in surgery. Two children have been born to him: Egbert August Rosenkrans, October 7, 1887, and May Ernesta Rosenkrans, May 8, 1892. His residence is 826 Hudson Street, Hoboken, New Jersey.

207.  HELEN ROSENKRANS, last child of Reverend Cyrus Egbert, was born at Columbus, Wisconsin, October 15, 1859, was reported 1894 as living at Bozeman, Montana, but a letter addressed to her there failed to reach her.

This page was last updated on February 26, 2007 .
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