Lillias MacPherson Rose: First Woman Teacher in Zorra

The life and work of educator Lillias MacPherson Rose.

By Liz Dommasch, Archivist

Born in Invernesshire, Scotland on February 20, 1806, Lillias (nee MacPherson) Rose had an interest in learning from an early age. As a young girl, her teacher persuaded her father, who was an elder in the parish church of Edinkillie, to send her to school until she could qualify as a pupil-teacher. There she learned such subjects as Grammar, Religion, and Latin.

Lillias would grow up and marry Alexander Rose and in 1834, the Rose family, including four small children, immigrated to Canada, where they would settle in Zorra Township in the spring of 1835. At the time there was no school in this part of the County, and Mrs. Rose quickly took it upon herself to instruct her own children at home. Soon her neighbours were persuading her to teach their own children and she quickly established a day school in her own home, on Lot 7, Concession 10. As no one had money to pay school tuition, Mrs. Rose was often sent gifts of baked goods, pork, dairy, cheese, and even wool to repay her for her kindness. As noted in a booklet published in 1935 honouring the life of Ms. Rose, “she did not expect much for what she did” as “the success of her pupils was sufficient reward”.

Pupils attending the day school came from neighbouring farms and were taught in English, although the language of the community at the time was mostly Gaelic. Mrs. Rose felt strongly that English would be the language of Canada, and discouraged the use of Gaelic. In fact, she was said to be a stickler for the use of classical English and relied heavily on the English bible for teaching reading and writing.

Mrs. Rose would also open the first Sunday school in Zorra in her own home that same year. Conducted every Sunday, classes were attended by both children and adults. Eventually, Sunday Schools would also be established in Embro by the Rev. Donald MacKenzie, and another at Glenness, his home opposite the log church.

In 1839 the Rose family moved to a farm they purchased on Lot 6, Concession 3 where they built a log house with a cellar kitchen. A school was carried on there until 1843 when family duties compelled its discontinuance. During this time, Rev. Donald MacKenzie, now a member of the Board of Education, visited the school and was so impressed with the progress of the students that he arranged for Mrs. Rose to obtain a Canadian Teaching Certificate and thereby qualify for the government grant.

In spring 1856, the Rose family would move to Elgin County, though by 1871 they had moved back to Oxford County, settling in the Town of Woodstock. There Mrs. Rose devoted herself to temperance work and would organize the Women’s Mission Society in Knox Church. She would also contribute to Salvation Army work and was said to have a passion for gardening. Her son, Hugh Rose, operated the carriage-making business Gardner and Rose, while her son, Angus Rose, operated a grocery and egg business. Both sons and her son-in-law were teachers in the Sunday school and elders in Knox Church.

Lillias MacPherson Rose passed away on December 18, 1889.

Image credits:

Centenary of First Woman Teacher in Zorra, Lillias MacPherson Rose, 1835-1943, located in COA154 Woodstock North Women’s Institute fonds.

Oxford Historical Society Postcard Collection: J. Gruszka 0748 – Woodstock Knox Presbyterian Church.