He was one of the principal buyers in Jamaica of slaves taken by the Royal African Company and had extensive land-holdings on the island.
He had brothers Thomas and Francis who were resident in Jamaica, John who was a merchant in London and William who was an apothecary who was one of the parties in Rose v Royal College of Physicians (1701–03).
"[3] He was one of the principal buyers in Jamaica of slaves from the Royal African Company from which he bought 131 persons, of whom 42% came from the Bight of Benin and 32% from the Gold Coast (modern Ghana).
[10] In early 1688, he and Hans Sloane attended the former privateer Henry Morgan for a swollen belly and other ailments that were attributed by his doctors to excessive alcohol and lack of exercise.
but that not being completely satisfactory they,[10] gave him all manner of Diuretics, and easie Purgers we could find in Jamaica, Linseed and Juniper-Berries infus'd in Rhenish-Wine, Milleped.
[3] In 1695, his widow Elizabeth Langley Rose took as her second husband Sir Hans Sloane,[13] meaning that her one-third share of the income from Rose's estates ultimately became available to Sloane who received regular shipments of hogsheads of sugar in the following years.