Rosa Ann “"Rosie"” Anderson Batchelor (1886-1971)

Rosa Ann “"Rosie"” Anderson Batchelor

Birth

4 Jan 1886

Cedarville, Crawford County, Arkansas, USA

Death

3 Sep 1971 (aged 85)

Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas, USA

Burial

Salem Cemetery

Cedarville, Crawford County, Arkansas, USA Add to Map

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ROSA ANNE "ROSIE" ANDERSON BATCHELOR, daughter of Thomas Franklin Anderson and Molly Elizabeth "Mary" Brewer Anderson, was born January 4, 1886, near Cedarville in Crawford County, Arkansas. She lived in Crawford County, Arkansas, her entire life, being the only of her birth family who did not migrate to Oklahoma and California.

Rosa married William Jackson Batchelor on July 7, 1903, in Crawford County. They were the parents of four sons: (1) Fines Frank Batchelor, Sr., 1904-1991, (2) James Henry Batchelor, 1907-2004, (3) Joseph Lonnie Batchelor, 1910-1990, and (4) George Lee Batchelor, 1915-1994 (Find-A-Grave Memorial #335742).

When her husband, Will Batchelor died in 1921, from blood poisoning as the result of a nail wound in his blacksmith shop, she kept her family together, working hard just to survive. Her son, Henry, remembers that "Even with four boys, Mama was always the boss, and I'm glad she was. She held us all together."

Just north of the family home was Natural Dam, a natural dam caused by a rock formation, resulting in water pooling and forming a small lake. Water continuously flows over the top of this natural dam. One day in 1918, Rosa was out with three of her boys (Henry being home because he had fallen from a horse and cut his leg earlier). It rained hard, flooding the creek, and Rosa and the boys were unable to get across the creek to return home. Undeterred, Rosa went north and rode across the top of the dam, horseback, taking the boys across with her.

Rosa died at 6:20 P.M. on September 3, 1971, and was buried on Labor Day (September 6), in Old Salem Cemetery, beside her husband. She had been a widow for over 50 years.