Rose, Ada Campbell, 1901-

Author Ada Campbell Rose was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 3, 1901, the daughter of William T. and Carrie Campbell. She grew up in Pueblo, Colorado. She received a B.A. from Northwestern University in 1923.

Rose began her career in the publishing business as a newspaper reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain, 1919-1923. She was a textbook editor for Scott Foresman in Chicago, 1923-1926, and did freelance writing for women's magazines, 1926-1938. She is mostly known as the founding editor of the children's magazine Jack and Jill, which began publication in 1938.

After she retired as editor of the magazine in 1959, she became an editorial consultant to several book publishers, including Westminster Press, and to the Friend's Journal, published by the Quaker Religious Society of Friends.

In addition to her career as editor, Rose was a writer, mostly of short stories and articles, which she often signed with the pseudonyms Rose Curtis and Martin James. She also wrote poetry. She published one book, Acquainted with Grief (1972), which she wrote after her son Malcolm committed suicide in 1968. Her book-length works include Jack and Jill Story Book: Stories and Other Features from Jack and Jill Magazine (1948) and Jack and Jill Mystery Book (1959), which she edited. Northwestern University honored her with its Merit Alumni Award in 1948.

She married Donald Ghering Rose. They had two sons, Malcolm and Donald. After her retirement she became very active in volunteer work for the Society of Friends, particularly at the Friends Hospital, where she became known as the “Quaker-in-residence.” In 1974 Rose moved to Rydal Park Apartments in Rydal, Pennsylvania. She died there on February 10, 1976.

From the guide to the Ada Campbell Rose (1901-1976) Papers, 1922-1977, (Northwestern University Archives)