Rose family

    The Rose family was active in the commercial and transportation industries of the Tonawandas during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Three members of the family buried in City Cemetery contributed to the area's economic development through business, canal transportation, and military service.
    Lorenzo P. Rose operated a flour and feed business in Tonawanda for many years. He was also affiliated with the Prohibition Party during the late nineteenth century. 
    His son, Ira M. Rose, began working on the Erie Canal as a boatman at the age of seventeen. He later became a builder of canal boats and established the first express delivery service in the Tonawandas, transporting freight and packages throughout the community. 
    Henry A. Rose  served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted as a private in Company F, 10th New York Cavalry, on February 20, 1864. On July 30, 1864, he was severely wounded in the left leg at Lee's Mills, Virginia. His leg was amputated because of the wound, and he was discharged from Harewood Hospital in Washington, D.C., on February 7, 1865. After returning to Tonawanda, he became one of the largest coal and wood dealers in the Tonawandas. 
    It wasn't only the son's of Lorenzo who became prominent businessmen. His grandson, who carried his name, Lorenzo was also a successful businessman. He controlled the ice trade for years with the Rose Ice Company at 145 Young Street.  

                                     From left to right: Lorenzo,  Henry, Lorenzo, and Hiram Rose