Richard and Vere; the last may have been disabled in some way as a legal guardian was appointed for her in 1689. First English Civil War The Rossiters ranked as middle to lower members of the Lincolnshire gentry, with an estimated annual income of £1,000 in 1640 compared to £5,000 to £8,000 for the upper levels. After his father died in 1620, Elizabeth apparently took her children to live with their grandfather in Yorkshire, as Rossiter was educated at Kirton and Beverley Grammar School, before attending Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1636. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, Rossiter joined the Parliamentarian army as captain in a regiment of cavalry raised by the Earl of Lincoln. The unit was restricted to service in Lincolnshire until April 1643, when Rossiter was promoted Colonel and it became part of the Eastern Association army, commanded by Lord Willoughby. At the beginning of 1643, Royalists based in Newark captured Gainsborough, which was retaken on 16 July by the Eastern Association. On 28 July, Rossiter was with a detachment led by Oliver Cromwell which repulsed a Royalist relief force outside Gainsborough, although the Parliamentarian garrison surrendered a few days later. Newark was a key strategic position linking the Royalist capital of Oxford with their armies in the north, and Rossiter spent the next two years based in Melton Mowbray as part of the Parliamentarian blockade. In March 1644, he was part of a force commanded by Sir John Meldrum defeated outside Newark by Prince Rupert. While this ensured Royalists held the town until the end of the war, the capture of Lincoln in May meant Parliament controlled the surrounding areas. Near Melton Mowbray on 25 February 1645, Rossiter intercepted Royalist cavalry under Sir Marmaduke Langdale, on their way to lift the siege of Pontefract Castle. After a short struggle, his men retreated and although Rossiter occupied the bridge near Doncaster, he was too late to stop Langdale crossing. In April, his unit was transferred to the New Model Army as the 5th Regiment of Horse, the only unit made up of men who had not previously served in the field armies of either Essex, Manchester, or William Waller. Although its main purpose remained securing Lincolnshire, It arrived on the morning of the Battle of Naseby in June, a victory that reduced the Royalist presence in the region to a few scattered