Person:Rose Barnard (3)

Rose Barnard Miller lived for 86 years in the house she was born in, a white clapboard house on the north side of Hobson Road, just west of where the road crosses the east branch of the DuPage river. Later in life she moved to Naperville to live with her daughter, Laura Evelyn, and her family.^[2]

Education and Career

In a 1970 article, Rose told Naperville Sun writer Genevieve Towsley the following:

"I began high school in Downers Grove. The school, situated on what is now Fairview Avenue, was a small building, and the high school occupied one room. It offered, however, four years of high school work, and was accredited by the University of Illinois. Naperville then had only a three year course, and was not accredited. I drove back and forth with two of our neighbor boys-- Billie and Hibbard Greene. We rode in a one seated buggy with a top on it, and my father paid ten cents a day for this transportation. Our parents also paid the high school our tuition."^[2]

"I only went to Downers Grove one year because the older Greene boy graduated and decided to go to North Western College (Now NCC). I rode with him and entered the academy department of the college. I went two years to the academy, and then four years to the college, graduating in 1906. These were some of the happiest days of my life."^[2]

"After graduating from college, I was offered the position of librarian at Nichols Library. the hours were 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and 2-5 p.m. on Sundays. I enjoyed the work, rode horseback back and forth in good weather, and was paid $35 a month. I had to give up the work when my sister was married and I was needed at home. Although I taught Miss Matie Egermann to take my place and catalog the books, she became more expert than I. My father paid me $35 a month to stay home."^[2]

Marriage and Family

Rose told Genevieve Towsley:

"I was married April 6, 1918, to Charles Miller, who had come to America from Yugoslavia before World War I. He had been with us for eight years, and in that time had made himself so necessary and beloved that we decided to be married and take care of the farm and my parents together. We raised three wonderful children-- Robert Dewey, Donald Charles, and Laura Evelyn. We called them 'Bob', 'Don', and 'Peach'. These children gave us eleven grandchildren..."^[2]

"Charley lived long enough for us to celebrate our golden wedding two years ago. He died in January of this year..."^[2]

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Fox Valley Genealogical Society. Naperville Cemetery: A History of a Town In Stone. (2008)
   p. 221.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Towsley, Genevieve. A View of Historic Naperville from the Sky-Lines: A Collection of Articles of Historic Significance. (Naperville, Illinois: The Naperville Sun, Inc., November 1, 1975)
   p. 109-111.

   This article was originally printed in the Naperville Sun on July 30, 1970 in Sec. 2 p.6-7.