Rose Swart was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania on January 14, 1847. Her childhood became a tragic one when she lost both her parents when she was 10 years old. Orphaned, Rose Swart moved to Racine with her elder sister Mary to live with an aunt. It was in Racine where Miss Swart continued her education, now in the pioneer wilds of antebellum Wisconsin. Her life as an educator began in a small rural school at the age of fifteen where she was paid eight dollars a month plus room and board. At the age of 19, with no more school in front of her, Rose Swart took a position in East Troy for $30 a month where she began to make a name for herself, a reputation that extended beyond the limits of rural Walworth county.
In 1869 the superintendent for the city of Racine offered her a position at $40 a month. Janesville authorities countered this offer and for familial reasons Swart left for that town and stayed for three years. In 1871 Madison, bent on stealing her away, offered Swart $5 more a month. But before Miss Swart could pack her bags for Madison, Oshkosh Normal School put in a bid of $60 a month, an agreement quickly accepted by Miss Swart. Swart began by running the grammar department at the Oshkosh Normal School in December of 1871, the scrappy school's first year. She would leave the school only once in the course of the next 51 years, leaving a legacy felt even today.
