In the mid to late 1980s, an enterprising and energetic researcher, Elizabeth Ruth Townsend, compiled and published the story of her forebears, the Rossers. In the introduction she wrote:
Thirteen year ago I became interested in my family heritage when I visited my birthplace in Adelaide. I knew little of my own heritage, and decided to investigate.
Family research cam be compared with the fun of completing a jigsaw puzzle. With each new piece of information, the family picture becomes clearer.
In 1980 I completed my family history book about my “Stock” ancestors, and four years later I published my “Hayles” family history book. The size of the Rosser family then became my greatest challenge. Five years later, I have now exhausted all avenues of research, and the book is as comprehensive as I can make it.
The origin of the Rosser name is unknown. One explanation was “The Rossers came from the middle of Wales. The name was Prosser, but the English couldn’t pronounce the P so it was left off. The name is of French origin and comes from ‘the rose’ “ Another explanation is that the P is part of the Welsh patrionic system, derived from map, then ap, then p, meaning ‘son of’ Rosser. Perhaps there is some truth in both these explanations. The names Prosser and Rosser are still fairly common in Wales today.
This electronic format has the approval of Elizabeth. It has been prepared by Paul Blair, one of the (many) descendants of John Holbin Rosser.
Note: the pages are represented as faithfully as possible, and some minor corrections have been made. If you see inconsistencies, please let Paul know.