Rose, Edward

Rose grew up near Louisville, KY. His birth and death dates are not known for certain, but he lived during the late 1700s and early 1800s. His father was a white trader and his mother was referred to as a Cherokee-Negro woman. Rose was known as a shrewd businessman who would fight to the death, more often than not coming out on top of a deal by any means necessary. He was sometimes referred to as a "celebrated outlaw." Rose also had a unique skill for languages, particularly Native American languages, and he was one of the few successful guides, hunters, and fur traders in the uncharted western territory, so much so that his services were a necessity. When he wasn't leading an expedition, Rose lived with the Crow, Arikara, Omaha, and other Native Americans. It is believed he was killed in a tribal battle sometime around the mid 1830s. Edward Rose was one of the contemporaries who mapped the west for future generations, though his name has been forgotten over time. For more see W. Blenkinsop, "Edward Rose," The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West, 1972, vol. 9, pp. 335-345; K. W. Porter, "Roll of Overland Astorians," Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1933, vol. 34, p. 111; and In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, by Q. Taylor.