Clinton E. Rosette (c. April 1850 – July 24, 1909) was a prominent citizen of DeKalb, Illinois, during the 19th century. Rosette was closely associated with well-known men from the same city, such as

Isaac Ellwood Isaac Leonard Ellwood (August 3, 1833 – September 11, 1910) was an American rancher, businessman and barbed wire entrepreneur. Early life Ellwood was born in Salt Springville, New York. His first taste of business came as a young boy when he beg ...

. He was the first editor of the newspaper in DeKalb, the ''

Daily Chronicle The 'Daily Chronicle' was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a local newspap ...

,'' a newspaper whose first publisher was barbed wire inventor

Joseph Glidden Joseph Farwell Glidden (January 18, 1813 – October 9, 1906) was an American businessman and farmer. He was the inventor of the modern barbed wire. In 1898, he donated land for the Northern Illinois State Normal School in DeKalb, Illinois, whic ...

.DeKalb Daily Chronicle Building
, Wild Prairie Digitization Project, Northern Illinois University, 2004. Retrieved Jan. 2007. Today, a middle school bears his name.

Early life

Rosette was born about April 1850 in Paw Paw Township, Illinois, in southwestern

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missour ...

. He was the son of William E. Rosette and Elizabeth Breese, the sixth of ten children. Clinton married Alfaretta C. LaClaire in DeKalb Co., Illinois on December 24, 1873. In 1875, he and Alfaretta moved to DeKalb. Once there they ran a small private school until 1879 or 1880. They had no children.

The newspaper

In March 1879 Clinton Rosette took the helm of the new DeKalb newspaper, the ''

'', as the founding editor. In the paper's early years publisher D.W. Tyrrell sold the Chronicle to Joseph F. Glidden. Glidden, a barbed wire entrepreneur and farmer by trade, ran the paper with Rosette until October 1906, when Glidden died. After Glidden's death, Rosette assumed ownership of the J.F. Glidden Publishing Co. The paper became well known during its first three decades as a bastion of Democratic journalism. Its earliest slogan was "Democratic in all Things and Under all Circumstances." The publishing company was sold yet again in January 1909 to Edward J. Raymond and Frank W. Greenway, mostly because of Rosette's failing health.Bigolin, Steve
A special stop on the landmarks tour
''Daily Chronicle'', June 28, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2007.

Death

Rosette died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

on July 24, 1909, scarcely six months after selling the newspaper and publishing company to Greenway and Raymond. He was buried and is still interred at DeKalb's Fairview Cemetery.

Notes

People from DeKalb, Illinois 1909 deaths 1850s births 19th-century American newspaper editors Journalists from Illinois {{US-journalist-19thC-stub