Rose Owen

"Her name? Her name is Rose. Rose beautiful and Rose rare. Rose bright and Rose fair. Rose red and Rose white. Rose of the prairies and of the mountains and of the desert valley, where she will blossom like a rose without me. Rose of my heart. Charlotte's Rose."

                       Charlotte's loving poem for Rose

Rose/Mary Owen
Rose is one of the protaganists of the story. Rose is a Welsh/American baby born on the Mormon Trail to Thomas and Mary Owen. Rose had young beautiful parents who were kind and excited for her arrival. However, on the night of her birth, something went wrong. Shortly after she was born, something broke inside of her mother, and she began bleeding vaginally. Since no one knew how to stop it, Roses's mother eventually bled to death. In shock at his wife's sudden death, Thomas Owen became full of grief and refused to take his baby. But since caring for a motherless newborn was so hard while traveling on foot across the country, the women in their ward aren't sure of what to do with the baby. Since Charlotte had been eavesdropping, and wanting to prove she was not a child, Charlotte boldly declared she would watch over the baby. The women take her up on the offer, and the next day the baby is delivered to Charlotte. Charlotte is amazed by her at first, because she is so small, and smells so good. Charlotte believes she can easily carry the baby on her back in a sling, while pushing her hand cart. However, Charlotte's prediction isn't what she expected when the baby begins to cry all the time, and must be fed and changed a lot. Charlotte names Rose because her mother loved roses, and because of a piece of holy scipture she remembered from the book of Mormon. "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose!" Rose was fed by being breastfed by Rosa Jenkins. Rose spent most of her time riding on Charlotte's back in an old shawl used as a sling. As Rose grows along the trip, Rose learns new faces, though her favorite is Charlotte. Every night, before she goes to sleep Charlotte sings to her a lullaby she made up. "You're going to a new place, a safe place, a place for you to play and a place for you to grow, a place where girls will tend their houses and their gardens dressed with roses!" Or Charlotte also thinks of Rose by a piece of holy scripture in the book of Mormon. ''"And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the Rose!" ''She is often referred to as Charlotte's sweet flowe baby.

One night when she is 3 months old, Rose catches the coughing and fever disease going around the trail. Rose becomes very ill and doesn't make any noises. She even stops breathing. Everyone was sure there was no possible way Rose would survive because she was such a small baby with a bad disease. But Charlotte refused to let this happen, and sang to Rose all night. The next morning, miraculously, Rose's fever dropped and she became healthy again. When Rose's father hears that she almost died, he wakes up from his depression, and tells Charlotte that he would have hated himself if his daughter died and he didn't even know her. He then asks Charlotte for Rose back. Charlotte refuses and intends to keep Rose and take her to Ogden with her and her father. But after lots of people sternly tell Charlotte that Rose is not her baby and must give her back and a long talk with Catherine Jones, Charlotte decides to give Rose back. When she gives Rose back to her father, she gives Rose her mother's yellow quilt to remember her by. Charlotte then tells Rose's father that Rose doesn't have a name, and he renames her Mary after her mother. Thomas then takes his baby whose name is Mary Owen now to Cedar City with him to his sister's home.

Physical Appearance
When Rose was born, she was bright red like the color of a plum. She had a head full of thick black hair, and milky blue eyes. As she becomes older, her red face turns more pink then eventually to a normal color. When she becomes older, her eyes turn brown, her skin becomes darker, and her hair turns brown. Rose was described as being a very beautiful baby, as many people agree with this.