Rose was an African American woman residing in Pasquotank County, North Carolina. Sarah had been enslaved by Thomas Newby, a Quaker. Due to the Newby's religious beliefs, he freed Rose in about 1776. Later, North Carolina passed a law stating that enslaved people could not be freed without permission of the courts. In 1778 local officials arrested Rose, arguing that she had violated the law even though she had been emancipated prior to the law, and sold her labor at public auction. Any further information regarding this individual has not been located.