George Rosenkrans, Band Composer

Historical Marker along Route 255 east
of Penfield

Just east of Penfield stands a historical marker for George Rosenkrans. Rosenkrans, who now is forgotten by most, lived most of his life in Penfield writing countless pieces of music including over two hundred band pieces.

Little seems to have been recorded in the annals of history about him. Having discovered the historical marker that was dedicated to his honor, I found myself armed with little information about this prolific musician as I set out to discover this son of Pennsylvania.

George Rosenkrans was born January 17, 1881 in a rented shack that stood along the railroad tracks; his father worked a number of jobs, but most important was the position of Music Director at the Penfield Methodist Church.

George had a natural talent for music. Under his father's direction, George sang in the choir and would learn to play the organ. He played baritone horn in the Penfield Town Band and would later become conductor of the band. His father, Allen, had composed a number of hymns for the church, and George was soon following in his father's footsteps; by the time he was in his early twenties, he was composing six to eight fully orchestrated pieces a year.

George remained with his parents, even after his four younger siblings moved out; after the deaths of his parents, he remained in the house that he allowed to fall apart around him. When the music publishing business dried up in the 1920s, he focused on writing for local bands. Sadly, George sold most of his music for less than fifty cents, but most were merely given away to those willing to play his compositions.

In 1942, his neighbors convinced him to move into a boarding house instead of remaining in the unlivable shack he had grown up in, sleeping under newspapers in the corner that did not leak. By 1949, he was living once again in the shack. Friends convinced him to take a room with a lady in Butler and August 18, 1955 he passed away a pauper at the age of seventy-five. Eighteen years later, those who remembered George Rosenkrans finally provided his resting place in the Penfield Cemetery with a headstone.

His compositions have been played at historical events, including the inauguration of Pennsylvania Governor Arthur H. James in 1939, and his music would be a part of the funerals of German President Konrad Adenauer, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and United States Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.

The historical marker for George Rosenkrans stands along Route 255, just east of Penfield, in front of the Methodist Church.