12:50pm Monday 8th February 2010
By James Tourgout
A ROSE by any other name… An American is appealing for help to trace his family tree in Dorset.
He is willing to pay for people with the surname ‘Rose’ to take a DNA test to see if they match families across the Atlantic.
Former American Army Lieutenant Colonel Myron Rose, 78, believes his ancestors left Dorset for the New World in the 1620s.
Now Mr Rose, who is a member of the Rose Family Association, wants to see if anyone in Dorset matches his Q1a3 DNA.
He said: “It was quite easy to trace my family tree to 1632, to the time when my English forebears settled in the American colonies in a place called Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
“I have a strong belief that my family once resided in the Dorset area. From records, it appears my eighth great grandfather left the Dorset area of England and disembarked in America about 1620 to 1625.
“His first name was likely to be Thomas or John.
“He did have a son born here in America in about 1633 by the name of Joseph. He was a common man unable to read or write, but a good citizen.”
Mr Rose and the Rose Family Association will pay the cost of a DNA test for a man with the surname Rose.
The candidate must be in a direct male line of descent from a Rose with ancestry dating to the 1600s in Dorset.
Mr Rose, who lives in Texas with wife Patsy, has also hired an expert to search for him.
They have a son Michael and a daughter Marie. Michael works in the financial market and Marie works freelance in Hollywood.
Mr Rose thinks that his ancestors originally came from Siberia and migrated to Dorset across the centuries.
He said: “They tell me that surnames came about to facilitate the work of the tax collector.
“My family accepts the name Rose, but there is a chance that across the pond my eighth great grandfather was a Rouse or Roes or some other variation.”
He added: “Those carrying that DNA migrated across the northern plains to Scandinavia, then to Scotland and England.
“I am sorry about the plague that hardly left enough people in Dorset to bury the dead. Then there was a terrible fire of 1613.
“It is personal to me because I think my family endured both.
“My very great grandfather endured and survived, but he left me wondering who I am.”
To help, email Christine@rosefamilyassociation.com
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