Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick P. Rose Family Papers
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains materials spanning four generations of Priest and Rose family life and history, originally compiled by Sandra Priest Rose as she researched her maternal and paternal family history. More information regarding Frederick P. Rose can be found and viewed by special permission from the donor of the Rose Family Papers (P-981). The collection also contains some family photographs.
Dates
- Creation: 1890-2013
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1970 - 1990
Creator
- Rose, Sandra Priest (Person)
Access Restrictions
The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.
Use Restrictions
No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.
For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org
Biographical Note
Sandra P. Rose’s grandfather, Samuel Priest (1868-1926), was born in Lithuania and immigrated to the United States in 1888 at the age of 11.1 Samuel Priest made his fortune in the textile industry, founding Samuel Priest & Co in Providence, RI. Samuel later opened and operated the Imperial Printing and Finishing Company in Cranston, RI.
Samuel Priest married Pearl Raphael (1868-1944) in 1897. When Samuel died in 1926, Pearl Raphael Priest ran the business until it was sold in 1937. Samuel and Pearl had four daughters: Marion Rose (1898-1979), Ruth Beatrice (b. 1901), Hazel Muriel (1911-1999), and Sandra Priest’s mother, Mildred Edna Priest Frank (1903-1976).
Mildred Edna Priest Frank married Ira Allen Marcus (1893-1971) in 1927.2 Ira Marcus worked as an attorney, later entering the political field. Mildred and Ira had two children: Sandra Priest (1929-2017) and Jerome Allen (b. 1931).3
Sandra Priest met Frederick Phineas Rose (1923-1999) when Sandra was a student at Vassar college. They married in 1948.
Frederick Phineas Rose attended Yale University before taking a job in construction and design with his family’s company, Rose Associates.4
Sandra and Frederick Rose dedicated their lives to philanthropic endeavors. For example, they funded the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, the 1998 restoration of the New York Public Library’s Rose Reading Room, and the 1997 teacher training initiative at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.5 Sandra’s greatest passion was education. She founded and dedicated 35 years of her life to the Reading Reform Foundation of New York, which trains public school teachers in how to teach reading to Elementary School ages students. Sandra herself was a public school teacher, and held an advanced degree in learning disabilities.
Sandra and Frederick had four children: Deborah (b. 1950), Jonathan F.P. (b. 1952), Samuel Priest (1955-1994), and Adam Raphael (b. 1959). Today, Frederick and Sandra’s son Adam R. Rose and his cousin Amy (Rose) Silverman are co-presidents of Rose Associates. To learn more about the Rose Family, the Rose Family Papers (P-981) may be viewed with special permission from the donors.
References
- There is some ambiguity in Samuel Priest’s genealogical materials, indicating that he may have also been born in 1871 or 1872.
- Mildred Edna Priest Frank was married three times: first to Sandra and Jerome’s father, Ira Marcus, in 1927; second to Milton Emanuel Schechter in 1941; and third to Morris Henry Frank in 1945.
- Born Jerome Allen Marcus; both Sandra and Jerome changed their surnames to “Priest,” their mother’s maiden name, in 1945.
- Founded by his father, Samuel, and his uncle, David, in 1923.
- The full name of the NYPL Reading Room is the Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room.
Extent
4.5 Linear Feet (9 manuscript boxes and 1 oversized folder in a shared box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Priest-Rose family is a prominent New York-based American Jewish real estate family. This collection consists primarily of correspondence between Sandra Priest Rose and her extended family regarding the family’s Lithuanian history, and their role in the development of Rhode Island’s late 19th century business community. The collection includes handwritten genealogical charts, newspaper clippings regarding Sandra P. Rose’s grandfather, and the biographies, resumes, and publications of Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick P. Rose’s children and grandchildren.
Arrangement
The collection was previously arranged by a librarian hired by Mrs. Sandra P. Rose. It is arranged in three series.
Physical Location
Located in AJHS New York, NY
Digitization Note
This collection was digitized in its entirety with the exception of Box 6, Folder 9, which was not digitized. Certain materials are restricted to onsite access only due to copyright concerns. These include: Box 1, Folder 6 (entire folder); Box 1, Folder 7 (images 22-27); Box 1, Folder 8 (images 19-25); Box 1, Folder 12 (images 1-13, images 52-80, images 118-128, images 145-150, images 154-155); Box 2, Folder 8 (images 1-34); Box 3, Folder 3 (images 1-4); Box 3, Folder 4 (image 33); Box 3, Folder 5 (entire folder); Box 3, Folder 7 (images 24-27); Box 3, Folder 9 (images 43-44); Box 3, Folder 10 (entire folder); Box 3, Folder 11 (images 1-23); Box 4, Folder 4 (images 1-3); Box 4, Folder 6 (entire folder); Box 4, Folder 8 (images 29-32); Box 4, Folder 9 (images 60-61); Box 5, Folder 1 (entire folder); Box 5, Folder 3 (images 1-9); Box 5, Folder 7 (images 4-5, images 8-64); Box 5, Folder 8 (entire folder); Box 6, Folder 1 (images 52-99); Box 6, Folder 6 (entire folder); Box 6, Folder 7 (entire folder); Box 6, Folder 8 (entire folder); Box 7, Folder 1 (entire folder); Box 7, Folder 2 (entire folder); Box 7, Folder 5 (image 12); Box 7, Folder 6 (entire folder); Box 9, Folder 6 (images 27-30); and Box 9, Folder 7 (images 4-11).
Processing Information
The collection was previously arranged by a librarian hired by Mrs. Rose. The original box lists are included in Box 7 Folder 11. The materials were rearranged by family member and material type.
Subject
- Rose, Sandra Priest (Person)
- Rose, Frederick P., 1923-1999 (Person)
- Rose, Samuel Priest, 1955-1994 (Person)
- Rose family (Family)
- Priest family (Family)
- Raphael family (Family)
- Marcus family (Family)
- Finkel family (Family)
- Pristov family (Family)
- Rose Associates (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Sandra Priest Rose and Frederick P. Rose Family Papers, 1890-2013 P-1017
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Elizabeth Hyman and Boni J. Koelliker
- Date
- © 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Revision Statements
- February 8-14, 2018: dao links and digitization note added by Leanora Lange.
- November 2020: RJohnstone: post-ASpace migration cleanup.
Repository Details
Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository
