Rose's family moved to the small city of Woodstock, Canada West, where he was educated.
In 1858 he moved to Iowa, serving as a school principal in Montezuma and Davenport for twelve years.
[1] In 1880 he was the Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Representative in Iowa's 2nd district,[2] losing to Republican nominee Sewall S. Farwell.
In 1882 he moved to Jamestown, in what was then the Dakota Territory, and helped draft the city's charter when it was incorporated in 1883.
Rose married Annie Ferneau (1844-1920) on June 2, 1864 in Iowa; they had two children who survived him, Edwin (1867-1904) and Nellie (1870-1926).