Rosanna Berry

(1836-1860)

Rosanna Berry
Mrs. Margaret Berry Street (original)

At a Glance

Born in Hillsborough in 1836, Rosanna Berry was the daughter of the well-known builder-architect John Berry and Elizabeth Ann Vincent of French Huguenot ancestry. Named for her paternal great-grandmother, Rosanna was considered to be the most beautiful and charming of the six Berry daughters with a dark Spanish type beauty [1].

Story

Rosanna attended the Burwell School in the 1850s along with two of her sisters, Elizabeth Ann Berry  and Josephine Berry . Like her artistic sister Josephine, however, Rosanna may have been sent North at some point for further education.

In 1860 on the eve of the American Civil War, Rosanna Berry died at twenty-four years old. She is buried in the Berry plot in Hillsborough's Old Town Cemetery. A lamb surmounts her tombstone which is decorated with oak leaves and a grapevine and leaves. It carries the inscription:

ROSANNA BERRY

1836-1860

GONE HOME [1].

Biographical Data

Important Dates

Rosanna Berry was born in 1836, in Hillsborough, NC. She died in 1860, and was buried in Hillsborough, NC.

Places of Residence

• Hillsborough, NC, between 1836 and 1860 [1].

Schools Attended

• Burwell School, from 1850. Apparently, Rosanna Berry attended the Burwell School, Hillsborough, Orange County, NC, USA in the 1850s. She was one of three Berry girls to attend the school. Like her sister Josephine, however, she may have been sent North for further studies [1].

Relatives

• Parents: John Berry (1798-1870) [1] and Elizabeth Ann Vincent (1803-1888) [1].
• Siblings: two sisters, Josephine Berry (1833-1912)  [1] and Elizabeth Ann Berry (1840-1909)  [1].

References

1. Mary Claire Engstrom. The Book of Burwell Students: Lives of Educated Women in the Antebellum South. (Hillsborough: Hillsborough Historic Commission, 2007).