Rose Agnes Appell, LaSalle County

Rose Agnes Appell was born 1871 in New York City to Charles and Lizzie Appell, two German immigrants living on Avenue C in what is now Alphabet City (Lower Eastside of New York City.) Her father worked in a shoe store in 1880. She was their only child. Charles had come to America in 1850 with a brother, Michel. Nothing could be learned about why Rose was given up by her parents or if they were living or dead.

Rose was sent to Illinois in 1885 and placed in the home of Francis A. Forbes. They first lived on their farm near Seneca, IL, but when the Forbes' retired they moved to Seneca. She remained with this family for nine years, until December of 1893, when she married William L. Grove. Earlier in 1893 Rose traveled with her family to the World's Fair in Chicago and stayed for ten days,

which must have been the trip of a lifetime. Her guardians must have been quite well off to afford such a trip. Rose would have enjoyed a truly amazing time at the glorious White City on the lagoon. I imagine Rose dressed in her very best dress and hat, strolling through the hundreds of exhibits at the 1893 Fair.

William L. Grove was a farmer who owned his own farm near Miller, IL in Lasalle County. They had one son, Lucian, named for his paternal grandfather. Lucian had one daughter with his wife, Hazel. His daughter was Shirley Jean Grove Berkland. She died in Texas in 1979 and had one son, who was not named in family trees.

Rose lived on the farm with her husband until her death in 1942.