Little is known about Caesar Rose (1791-1868) or his wife
Violet. Joseph Anderson, minister of the First Congregational
Church and editor of a three-volume history of Waterbury
published in 1896, recorded that Caesars wifes
name was Violet, and that Rose was a former Connecticut
slave. He would have become free on his 21st birthday.
It is not known where in Connecticut he was enslaved or
when he came to Waterbury.
Rose died a pauper in Waterbury in 1868. His funeral was
attended by Anderson, who noted in 1896 that it was marked
by some unusual ceremonies which may have
been of African origin. Rose was buried in Waterbury's
Grand Street Cemetery.
Joseph Anderson's Diary - 1868
Joseph Anderson was the minister of the Congregational
Church and attended Caesar Rose's funeral. Collection
of the Mattatuck Museum.