Chapter 2
DESCENDANTS OF JOHN RHODE
[Page 1 of 3]
[Note: The length of this chapter required dividing it into three parts. If you are searching for a name or other information, you need to search each part separately. We thank Charles C. Rhode for helping to divide this chapter.]
(Jonathan Rhode and descendants are covered in Chapter 3.)
1. WILLIAM RHODE AND DESCENDANTS
BIRTHPLACE AND MARRIAGE
William Rhode, the first child of John and Mary Rhode, was born in South Carolina on 23 December 1785 and died in Warren County, Indiana, on 5 November 1858. He was married to Sarah Murray in South Carolina on 22 May 1806; Sarah was born in South Carolina on 28 January 1787 and died in Warren County, Indiana, on 1 December 1866. Both are buried in the Rhode Quaker Cemetery near Pine Village, Warren County, Indiana. They were farmers. William Rhode was a Quaker. [Don Babcock provided the following photographs of William Rhode and Sarah Murray.]
MURRAY FAMILY*
The Murray family was started in America by William Murray I, who came from Scotland to America about 1715 and settled in Virginia. He and his wife had a son William Murray II, who settled in Charleston, South Carolina, married and had a son William Murray III, who was born in 1754 and in 1781 married Martha McQuillan, who came from Ireland.
[In 2002, Ann Miller Carr pointed out that William Murray II may also be known as Archibald Murray.]
William Murray III served in the Revolution. He settled on a plantation on the Edisto River near St. George, close to the John Rhode plantation. There were seven children born to William Murray III and his wife Martha. The first child, William Murray IV, was born in 1782 and married (1st) Mary Hughes of the pioneer Hughes family. There were four children, William V, David, Elizabeth and Suzanne. After his first wife's death in 1812, William IV married (2nd) Mary Rhode, who was the sister of William Rhode.
The fourth child born to William Murray III and his wife Martha was Sarah Murray, who married William Rhode. So Mary Rhode's husband and William Rhode's wife were brother and sister.
[In 2002, Ann Miller
Carr added the following information on William Murray IV.]
Descendants of William Murray IV
Generation No. 1
1. WILLIAM4 MURRAY IV (WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born September
15, 1782 in Murray's Crossroads, Dorchester Co., South Carolina, and died March
19, 1836 in Dorchester Co., South Carolina. He married (1) MARY HUGHES November 02, 1802,
daughter of DAVID HUGHES and SUSANNAH EBERLY. She died September
12, 1812 in Dorchester Co., South Carolina. He married (2) MARY RHODE August 13, 1813 in
Dorchester Co., South Carolina, daughter of JOHN RHODE and MARY LEWIS. She was born February 03, 1796 in
Dorchester Co., South Carolina, and died September 1836 in Dorchester Co.,
South Carolina.
Notes for WILLIAM MURRAY IV:
According to
Annie Dash Moorer, his descendant, William Murray inherited and lived on his
late wife's Mary Hughes', family plantation. The Murrays, Hughes and Rhodes
were neighbors near St. George's and Murray's Crossing, now Grover, South
Carolina.
More About WILLIAM MURRAY IV:
Burial:
Hughes Cemetery, Dorchester Co., South Carolina (now Buck Springs Cemetery)
More About MARY HUGHES:
Relationship:
According to Ellis Rhode (see sources), Mary Hughes "was of the pioneer
Hughes family."
Notes for MARY RHODE:
Mary Rhode,
b. February 3, 1796, was the fifth child and younger daughter of John and Mary
Lewis Rhode. When Mary was 15, her oldest brother, William, left with a band of
Quakers and went to the Western Reserve near Lake Erie in northern Ohio. Her
next eldest brother, Jonathan, either went with William or left shortly
thereafter with more Quakers, who left the South because they decided that
slavery was immoral.
Mary Rhode
married William Murray Jr. on August 29, 1813. William Murray Jr. was the
widower of Mary Hughes Murray, and he had four children by his prior marriage.
They lived on the plantation originally owned by Mary Hughes Murray's parents,
David and Suzannah Eberly Rhodes; the plantation was located at Hughes
Crossing, near St. George, Dorchester Co., South Carolina.
When her
parents, John and Mary Lewis Rhode, and her remaining brothers, Caleb, Thomas
and Seymour, left South Carolina for Ohio in 1814, Mary Rhode Murray was
virtually a newlywed. She and her husband William Murray Jr. decided to stay in
Dorchester Co. Mary Rhode Murray's sister, Esther Rhode Summers, was also
married and living in South Carolina, and Esther and her family also stayed.
Mary Rhode
Murray bore three sons, John Simmons Murray in 1819, Joseph Murray in 1824, and
Thomas Jefferson Murray in 1832. Fort- year-old Mary died at her plantation on
December 21, 1836, and when her children were all still young. She is buried in
the Hughes Family Cemetery on the plantation, on the west side of Indiana
Fields swamp. Her husband is also buried there.
All three of
Mary Rhode Murray's sons later enlisted in the Confederate Army during the
Civil War. John Simmons Murray was a chaplain and Joseph Murray a field
surgeon. Thomas Jefferson Murray, a officer in the South Carolina 24th regiment,
contracted typhoid fever while in the army and died.
More About MARY RHODE:
Burial:
Hughes Cemetery, Dorchester Co., South Carolina (now Buck Springs Cemetery)
Children of
WILLIAM MURRAY and MARY HUGHES are:
i. DAVID5 MURRAY.
ii. ELIZABETH MURRAY, d. April 02, 1873, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; m. R. E. MOORER.
iii. WILLIAM MURRAY.
iv. SUZANNAH MURRAY, m. (1) GEORGE SISTRUNK; m. (2) ANDREW MYERS.
2. v. MARTHA JANE MURRAY, b. Murray's Crossroad, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. New London, Howard Co., Indiana.
Children of
WILLIAM MURRAY and MARY RHODE are:
3. vi. JOHN SIMMONS5 MURRAY, b. January 06, 1819, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. November 07, 1892, Dorchester Co., South Carolina.
4. vii. JOSEPH MURRAY, b. May 25, 1824; d. 1898.
5. viii. THOMAS JEFFERSON MURRAY, b. April 05, 1832, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. September 06, 1862, James Island, South Carolina.
Generation No. 2
2. MARTHA JANE5 MURRAY (WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born in Murray's
Crossroad, Dorchester Co., South Carolina, and died in New London, Howard Co.,
Indiana. She married CALEB EASTERLING, son of JOHN EASTERLING and UNKNOWN UNKNOWN. He was born 1779,
and died 1850 in Plainfield, Hendricks Co., Indiana.
More About MARTHA JANE MURRAY:
Burial:
Honey Creek MM Cemetery, New London, Howard Co., Indiana
Notes for CALEB EASTERLING:
Caleb and
Martha Jane Murray Easterling reared Ann Easterling Wilson (Mrs. Isaac),
daughter of Henry and Eleanor Easterling and sister to Eleanor Easterling
Melton (Mrs. Stephen).Caleb Easterling witnesses a deed for Semer and Esther
Cobb around 1820 in Warren Co., Ohio.
Caleb
Easterling's mother may have been a daughter or sister of Caleb Hughes.
More About CALEB EASTERLING:
Burial:
Sugar Grove MM Cemetery, Plainfield, Hendricks Co., Indiana
Child of MARTHA MURRAY and CALEB EASTERLING is:
i. MARY6 EASTERLING, b. September 27, 1811, Clinton Co., Ohio; d. July 12, 1890; m. JOSEPH FURNESS.
3. JOHN SIMMONS5 MURRAY (WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born January 06,
1819 in Dorchester Co., South Carolina, and died November 07, 1892 in
Dorchester Co., South Carolina. He married MARY CAROLINE MOORER December 24, 1839.
More About JOHN SIMMONS MURRAY:
Military
service: Chaplain, Confederate Army, Civil War
Occupation:
Minister, Methodist Church
Children of
JOHN MURRAY and MARY MOORER are:
i. JONAH S.6 MURRAY, m. ALICE UTSEY.
ii. AUGUSTAS MURRAY, m. SUSAN WEATHERS.
iii. WILLIAM MURRAY, b. 1850, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. September 20, 1884, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; m. MARY COLLIER.
iv. MARY E. MURRAY, b. May 28, 1852; d. 1872; m. WIILLIAM T. BOWMAN.
v. THERESA ANN MURRAY, b. September 11, 1856; d. 1879; m. THOMAS COLLIER.
vi. JEFFERSON MURRAY, m. HENRIETTA UTSEY.
4. JOSEPH5 MURRAY (WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born May 25,
1824, and died 1898. He married MARY ANN MURRAY.
More About JOSEPH MURRAY:
Military
service: Surgeon, Confederate Army, Civil War
Occupation:
Surgeon
Children of
JOSEPH MURRAY and MARY MURRAY are:
i. WILLIAM6 MURRAY, m. SALLY JUDY.
6. ii. MELISSA MURRAY.
iii. VICTORIA MURRAY, m. L. WESTBURY.
iv. HAMPTON MURRAY.
v. DORA MURRAY, m. UNKNOWN OWENS.
7. vi. EMILY MURRAY.
5. THOMAS JEFFERSON5 MURRAY (WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born April 05,
1832 in Dorchester Co., South Carolina, and died September 06, 1862 in James
Island, South Carolina. He married ELEANOR D. F. MOORER.
More About THOMAS JEFFERSON MURRAY:
Burial: Buck
Springs Cemetery, Dorchester Co., South Carolina
Cause of
Death: Typhoid fever
Elected:
South Carolina Legislature, Colleton District
Medical
Information: Contracted typhoid fever while in the Confederate Army during the
Civil War.
Military service:
Company C, 24th Regiment, Confederate Army, Civil War
Relationship:
Thomas was a cousin to his wife, Eliza Moorer.
More About ELEANOR D. F. MOORER:
Relationship:
Eliza was a cousin to her husband, Thomas Jefferson Murray.
Children of
THOMAS MURRAY and ELEANOR MOORER are:
i. JOSEPH DANIEL6 MURRAY, b. November 19, 1853, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. March 20, 1876, Dorchester Co., South Carolina.
Notes for JOSEPH DANIEL MURRAY:
Never married.
More About JOSEPH DANIEL MURRAY:
Burial: Buck Springs Cemetery, Dorchester Co., South Carolina
8. ii. DR. WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY, b. 1855; d. 1929.
9. iii. THOMAS JEFFERSON MURRAY II, b. 1856; d. 1914.
iv. ABSOLEM MOORER MURRAY, b. September 13, 1861, Dorchester Co., South Carolina; d. September 01, 1863, Dorchester Co., South Carolina.
More About ABSOLEM MOORER MURRAY:
Burial: Buck Springs Cemetery, Dorchester Co., South Carolina
Generation No. 3
6. MELISSA6 MURRAY (JOSEPH5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) She married WILLIAM WESTBURY.
Children of
MELISSA MURRAY and WILLIAM WESTBURY are:
i. OLIN7 WESTBURY.
ii. EVELYN WESTBURY.
iii. MARY WESTBURY.
iv. CHILD FOUR WESTBURY.
7. EMILY6 MURRAY (JOSEPH5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) She married DR. JOSIAH MINUS.
Children of
EMILY MURRAY and JOSIAH MINUS are:
i. NANCY7 MINUS.
ii. PAUL MINUS.
iii. DOROTHY MINUS.
8. DR. WILLIAM JACOB6 MURRAY (THOMAS JEFFERSON5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born 1855, and
died 1929. He married MARY CONNER.
Notes for DR. WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY:
William
Jacob Murray operated a drug and general store in St. George, Dorchester Co.,
South Carolina, with Dr. P.L. Moorer. In 1920, William Jacob started and was president
of the Murray Drug Company in Columbia, South Carolina. Several years later,
the Murray Drug Company merged with McKesson & Robbins, a large national
drug company. Later his son, William Murray Jr., served in a number of position
within McKesson & Robbins and eventually became Chairman of the Board.
More About DR. WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY:
Education:
Vanderbilt University, Medicine
Occupation:
Pharmacist and businessman
Children of
WILLIAM MURRAY and MARY CONNER are:
i. JAMIE7 MURRAY, b. 1885; d. 1909; m. H. H. HARRIS.
ii. WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY, b. 1888; m. MINNIE BLAYLOCK.
Notes for WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY:
William Jacob Murray Jr. served in several positions within McKesson & Robbins Drug Co., a large national drug company. He eventually became president and finally chairman of the board in 1944.
More About WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY:
Education: South Carolina Military College
Occupation: Executive, McKesson & Robbins Drug Co.
Residence: New York, New York
iii. THOMAS LEWIS MURRAY, b. 1892; m. KATHERINE PATTERSON.
iv. MARY ELIZA MURRAY, b. 1897; d. 1918; m. ARTHUR TOMKINS.
9. THOMAS JEFFERSON6 MURRAY II (THOMAS JEFFERSON5, WILLIAM4, WILLIAM3, WILLIAM OR ARCHIBALD2, WILLIAM1) was born 1856, and
died 1914. He married JESSIE FIELDS.
More About THOMAS JEFFERSON MURRAY II:
Education:
University of Virginia, Law
Occupation:
Lawyer
Children of
THOMAS MURRAY and JESSIE FIELDS are:
i. OLIVE7 MURRAY.
ii. THADDEUS MURRAY.
iii. NELL MURRAY.
[At this point, we
return to Ellis G. Rhode's manuscript.]
*Murray family history from
the memoirs of Anna Dash Moorer of Walterboro, South Carolina, who is a
descendant of William Murray.
WILLIAM RHODE'S PARENTS
William Rhode was the oldest
of seven children, consisting of five boys and two girls born to John Rhode and
his wife Mary (Lewis) Rhode. John Rhode, according to tradition, came from
Germany to America before the Revolution. He was a Quaker. In 1796 John Rhode
bought a 500-acre plantation on the Edisto River near St. George, South
Carolina, which is about thirty miles from Charleston, South Carolina. He owned
slaves.
In about 1814 John Rhode,
wife, and sons left South Carolina for Ohio and finally settled in Warren
County, Indiana, in about 1820, taking up land from the government. His oldest
son William and family had, to our best knowledge, left Indiana several years
previously. Mary and Ester, the two daughters of John Rhode, remained behind in
South Carolina, as they had married and were living on plantations of their
own.
QUAKERS DID NOT BELIEVE IN
SLAVERY
One of the tenets of the
Quaker religion was that they did not believe in human bondage, which later on
was to bring on the Civil War. In plantation operation slaves were the only
labor available in those times. After the Revolution, however, plantation
operation and slave holding became less profitable than before. Whether William
Rhode owned a small plantation, farmed with his father, or owned slaves is not
known. However, he was a Quaker and did not want to have anything to do with
the slave business, so the best thing was to move west to a free country.
Others in this community of
South Carolina shared the feelings of William Rhode. Mrs. Ruth Price (a Murray
descendant) of Brookdale, Mississippi, in 1918 stated: "Caleb Esterling
and William Rhode (they married sisters) were Quakers, did not believe in
slavery, and moved to Indiana." Also, according to Anna Dash Moorer (a
Murray descendant and family historian of South Carolina) several families left
from this community at about the same time for reasons of opposing slavery,
namely Thomas Hughes, Mary (Hughes) Canby and her husband, Caleb Esterling and
William Rhode.
TREK TO INDIANA
In all probability some or
most of the above mentioned families left together in a caravan of ox teams
traveling over the Allegheny mountains and down into the Ohio River valley. The
date was probably prior to 1811 as old deeds show land transactions in Wayne
County, Indiana, by Canby and Hughes in 1811.
So William Rhode was
evidently the first Rhode to join the great migration after the Revolution into
the Promised Land of the "West," as Ohio and Indiana were called
then. In the years to come future Rhode generations were to push farther west
until the continent was spanned. (Research shows that this family legend is erroneous. William Rhode was the last of the family to leave South Carolina in 1812. See a full treatment of this topic in Chapter One.)
William's father and brothers
were to follow a few years later. At the time of their trek William and wife
had two small children, Mary born in 1807 and William born in 1809. The story of
the trip and the route taken has been lost with the passing of the years; after
all at this writing in 1959 it was around 148 years ago.
William Rhode and his
companions pushing westward to a new unbroken country were truly pioneers, and
they went with a clear conscience that they had left slavery behind them.
WILLIAM RHODE SETTLES IN
INDIANA
The U. S. census of 1820
lists William Rhode, wife and five children as residents of Wayne County,
Indiana. In addition it lists his brother Jonathan Rhode, wife and four
children. Of course that brings up the possibility that Jonathan may have
accompanied his brother William on this trek. However Jonathan Rhode married
Mary Anderson in Ohio in 1812, and their oldest child was born in Ohio in 1814.
William Rhode followed
farming in Wayne County, Indiana.
Now in the meantime, around
1814 William's father John Rhode, wife and remaining sons Thomas, Caleb, and
Seymour had left South Carolina and finally settled in Warren County, Indiana,
where they took up land from the government. John Rhode's two daughters, Mary
and Ester, had married and remained in South Carolina.
In 1827 William Rhode and
family left Wayne County, Indiana. for Warren County, Indiana, where he took up
land adjoining his father and brothers. Probably his brother Jonathan and
family went at the same time. (As related in the updates in Chapter One, John and Mary Lewis Rhode left St. George Parish, South Carolina, in 1806 with sons Jonathan, Caleb, Thomas, and Seymour Cobb Rhode. They were the first to leave the South, settling in Warren Co., Ohio, before eventually removing to Warren Co., Indiana, in 1826.)The U. S. census of 1830 lists the five brothers,
William, Jonathan, Thomas, Caleb and Seymour, as all living in Warren County,
Indiana.
LIFE AS A FARMER IN WARREN
COUNTY
William spent his remaining
thirty-one years farming near Attica, Indiana. The land when first taken up was
covered with a growth of forest that had to be cleared and then drained—a
prodigious undertaking. Eventually he owned a large tract of land, becoming one
of the prosperous farmers in this area.
WILLIAM RHODE'S CHILDREN
There were thirteen children
born to William Rhode and his wife Sarah (Murray) Rhode. All lived to adulthood
except the two children who died in infancy. All eight sons became prosperous
farmers in Warren County, except Isaac, who settled on a farm near Lead Hill,
Arkansas, in the northwestern part of the state. (Some of Isaac's brothers had
an interest in this farm.) Two daughters married farmers in Warren County. The
thirteen children were Mary, William, John, Thomas, Lewis, Martha, Isaac, Joel,
Semer, Caleb, Sarah, Jacob, and a son (name unknown).
1. MARY RHODE
Mary was born on 27 February
1807 in South Carolina and died in 1873 in Indiana; she was married on 21 April
1823 to William Railsback, a farmer, who was born on 10 November 1803 and died
on 7 October 1878. Both are buried near Bethel Church at Attica, Indiana, with
some of their children. At one time they lived in Kankakee, Illinois. Three of
their children, Caleb, Elizabeth and William, settled on farms near Hanford,
California.
William Railsback's father
David Railsback married Sarah Stevens. David served in the Revolution as
assistant wagon boy to a brother Edward, and an older brother Henry was a
company officer in the Army of General Gates, was captured by the British, and
never got home.
William Railsback's
grandfather Henry Railsback and wife Elizabeth came from Hamburg, Germany,
landing in America in May 1765. They lived at Yadkin River, Rowen County, North
Carolina. Henry Railsback also had two brothers who came to America from
Hamburg, Germany. There were nine children.
I. Caleb Railsback and his
brother William left Indiana for California during the Gold Rush of 1849. They
went by boat, crossing the Isthmus of Panama on foot. When they arrived in San Francisco,
it is said they had five cents between them. Caleb and William Railsback were
the first Rhode descendants to reach the West Coast in the western migration
from the eastern seaboard. They first settled in Petaluma near San Francisco.
Later they moved to Hanford, Kings County, California, where they purchased
large ranches.
Caleb Railsback married Mary
Caroline Kanaroe; it is said she came overland to California. There were seven
children:
(1) Mary Railsback married
AIf Lane. They were farmers near Hanford, California. They had three children:
a. Jessie Lane.
b. Howard Lane.
c. Floyd Lane. Floyd was in
the insurance business in Oakland, California.
(2) George Railsback married
Sarah Chambers. They were farmers near Hanford, California. They had two
children:
1. Mary Railsback married
____________ Allif; they lived in Lemoore, California.
2. George Railsback
(1884-1949) in 1907 married Floy Joiner, who was born in Texas. George
Raileback was a farmer near Hanford, California, and later an electrician in
Alameda, California. There was one child:
a. Richard Railsback was born
in 1912. He married
(1st) Helen Lang and had one
child [additional
information available].
(2nd) Margaret Meyer and had
two children [additional
information available].
Richard Railsback was an
orthodontist in Oakland, California.
(3) Walter Railsback
(4) Sherman Railsback
(5) Frank Railsback
(6) Oscar Railsback
(7) Ada Railsback, who
married Cort Newport
II. Elizabeth Railsback
married William J. Newport (1864-1904). They lived on a ranch near Hanford. He
was a county supervisor, bank director, and prominent citizen of the county.
There were six children:
(1) Ada Newport.
(2) Augusta Newport.
(3) Ernest Newport.
(4) Rofa Newport.
(5) Mildred Newport.
(6) Walter Newport.
III. David Railsback, who was
born in Wayne County, Indiana, in 1827 and died in Champaign, Illinois, in
1865. On August 24, 1854, he married Adaline C. Coe, who was born in 1833 and
died in 1901 in Indianapolis, Indiana. David Railsback graduated from Depauw
University in Greencastle, Indiana, with an A.B. degree in 1854 and an A.N.
degree in 1858. He was ordained a Methodist minister. There were five children:
(1) William Railsback.
(2) Charles Railsback.
(3) Elmer Railsback.
(4) Frank Railsback.
(5) Edward Railsback.
IV. John Railsback.
V. Joel Railsback.
VI. Sarah Railsback.
VII. Martha Railsback.
VIII. Rosa Railsback.
IX. William Railsback, who
came to California during Gold Rush days in 1849 with his brother Caleb as
mentioned under Caleb Railsback. He lived at Hanford, California, and was a
rancher.
2. WILLIAM RHODE
[On February 3rd,
1990, Elsie Jane Rhode Smith gleaned the following information from Wilda Page
of Elkhart, Texas. A great granddaughter, Page found the data in a family
Bible. Researchers will note that many of the details differ markedly from
Ellis G. Rhode's manuscript.]
William Rhode
Birth 22 Dec. 1809 in South Carolina
Marriage 13 Oct. 1831 in Warren Co., Indiana
Death 22 Mar. 1900 in Rainsville in Warren Co., Indiana
Burial in Gray Cemetery in Warren Co., Indiana
Occupation Farmer
His father William Rhode; his mother's maiden name Sarah Murray
Martha Cobb
Wife's full maiden name Martha Cobb
Birth 2 Apr. 1813 possibly in Lawrence Co., Indiana
Death 18 Feb. 1888 in Green Co., Indiana
Burial in Rector Cemetery in Green Co., Indiana
Her father Semer Cobb; her mother's maiden name Esther Lewis
Children:
Sarah Rhode, birth 18 Nov. 1834 in Warren Co., Indiana; death 30 Jan. 1835 in Warren Co., Indiana; burial in Gray Cemetery in Warren Co., Indiana
Semer Marmaduke Rhode, birth 30 Jan. 1836 in Warren Co., Indiana; death 29 Apr. 1837 in Warren Co., Indiana; burial in Gray Cemetery
James William Rhode, birth 4 Apr. 1837 in Warren Co., Indiana; death 27 Jan. 1839 in Warren Co., Indiana; burial in Gray Cemetery
Rachel A. Rhode, birth 11 Nov. 1838 in Warren Co., Indiana; marriage 17 Nov. 1861 in Warren Co., Indiana; spouse Samuel Young; death (of Rachel) 4 Dec. 1917 in Warren Co., Indiana
Esther E. Rhode, birth 22 Dec. 1839 in Warren Co., Indiana; death 23 Dec. 1870 in Warren Co., Indiana; burial in Gray Cemetery
Mary Jane Rhode, birth 5 Apr. 1842
Elizabeth E. Rhode, birth 3 Jan. 1845; marriage 6 Mar. 1870; Spouse Frank Kernick; death (of Elizabeth) 16 Mar. 1885
Martha A. Rhode, birth 3 Apr. 1847; death 29 Jan. 1899
Isaac M. Rhode, birth 18 Nov. 1849; death 2 May 1928 in Elkhart, Texas; burial in Elkhart, Texas
Sarah Lucina Rhode, birth 10 Jul. 1852; spouse Charlie Bennet; death 15 Feb. 1876
John Vernon Dixon Rhode, birth 20 Jun. 1855; death 17 Apr. 1928; burial in Elkhart, Texas
[At this point, we
return to Ellis G. Rhode's manuscript. Researchers are reminded that the
information above differs from the information below.]
William, the second child of
William and Sarah Rhode, was born on 29 December 1809 and died in March 1900;
he was married on 13 October 1831 in Warren County (2nd) to Martha Cobb, a
daughter of Seymour Cobb. They had eight children, and all were farmers:
(1) Rachael Rhode.
(2) Ester Rhode.
(3) Mary Rhode.
(4) Elizabeth Rhode.
(5) Isaac Rhode.
(6) Richard Rhode.
(7) Martha Rhode.
(8) Vivian Rhode.
3. JOHN W. RHODE
[In 2002, Ann Miller
Carr conducted extensive research into John W. Rhode's line. Elsie Jane Smith
contributed greatly to this effort. The results follow. Genealogists will note
that several of the details differ from Ellis G. Rhode's manuscript.]
Descendants of John W. Rhode
Generation No. 1
1. JOHN W.4 RHODE (WILLIAM3, JOHN2, PETER1 RHODE?) was born February
1812 in Wayne Co., Indiana, and died January 12, 1863 in Milford, Iroquois Co.,
Illinois. He married ELIZABETH LITTLE April 07, 1836 in
Warren Co., Indiana, daughter of JOSEPH LITTLE and MARY CLARK. She was born 1822 in Ohio, and died May 21,
1875 in Milford, Iroquois Co., Illinois.
More About JOHN W. RHODE:
Occupation:
Farmer
Residence:
Milford, Iroquois Co., Illinois
Children of
JOHN RHODE and ELIZABETH LITTLE are:
2. i. GEORGE LEWIS5 RHODE, b. February 22, 1837, Warren Co., Indiana; d. September 15, 1920, Oxford, Benton Co., Indiana.
ii. ELIZABETH RHODE, b. 1840, Warren Co., Indiana.
iii. WILLIAM RHODE, b. March 1842, Warren Co., Indiana; d. Elkhart, Anderson Co., Texas; m. EMILY PEARCE, October 10, 1867, Warren Co., Indiana; b. 1847, Warren Co., Indiana; d. Elkhart, Anderson Co., Texas.
Notes for WILLIAM RHODE:
Childless.
Notes for EMILY PEARCE:
Childless.
3. iv. MARY RUTH RHODE, b. Bet. 1838 - 1840, Warren Co., Indiana.
v. SARAH JANE RHODE, b. October 12, 1845, Milford, Iroquois Co., Illinois; d. March 11, 1863, Milford, Iroquois Co., Illinois.
More About SARAH JANE RHODE:
Residence: Oxford, Benton Co., Indiana
vi. MARTHA RHODE, b. 1846, Warren Co., Indiana; d. Texas.
Generation No. 2
2. GEORGE LEWIS5 RHODE (JOHN W.4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, PETER1 RHODE?) was born February
22, 1837 in Warren Co., Indiana, and died September 15, 1920 in Oxford, Benton
Co., Indiana. He married LUCINDA COX March 14, 1878 in
Warren Co., Indiana. She was born March 26, 1857, and died February 12, 1932 in
Oxford, Benton Co., Indiana.
More About GEORGE LEWIS RHODE:
Residence:
Oxford, Benton Co., Indiana
Children of
GEORGE RHODE and LUCINDA COX are:
i. LELAH DAISY6 RHODE, b. January 06, 1880.
ii. WILLIAM LLOYD RHODE, b. November 21, 1882.
4. iii. DORA OLIVE RHODE, b. June 21, 1887.
3. MARY RUTH5 RHODE (JOHN W.4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, PETER1 RHODE?) was born Bet. 1838 -
1840 in Warren Co., Indiana. She married JOHN GORDON.
Children of
MARY RHODE and JOHN GORDON are:
i. GEORGE6 GORDON.
ii. JOHN GORDON.
iii. ELIZABETH GORDON.
iv. MAE GORDON.
Generation No. 3
4. DORA OLIVE6 RHODE (GEORGE LEWIS5, JOHN W.4, WILLIAM3, JOHN2, PETER1 RHODE?) was born June 21,
1887. She married CHARLES COZAD May 04, 1904 in
Oxford, Benton Co., Indiana.
Children of
DORA RHODE and CHARLES COZAD are:
i. CHALMER7 COZAD, b. March 15, 1906.
ii. WILMA COZAD, b. May 13, 1909.
iii. CLARENCE COZAD, b. October 07, 1911.
iv. CLINTON COZAD, b. February 23, 1913.
v. MILDRED COZAD, b. August 15, 1918.
vi. GLADYS COZAD, b. September 29, 1925.
[At this point, we
return to Ellis G. Rhode's manuscript. We urge researchers to remember that the
recently researched information above differs significantly from Ellis G.
Rhode's information below.]
John was born in February
1812. He married Elizabeth Little. They lived on a farm near Milford, Illinois,
in Iroquois County. There were five children:
(1) George Rhode; married
____________. They lived at Oxford, Indiana. There was one daughter.
(2) Elizabeth Rhode
(3) Mary Ruth Rhode, who
married ____________ Gordon. They lived in Oxford, Indiana. There were four
children:
1. George Gordon.
2. John Gordon.
3. Daughter.
4. Daughter.
(4) William Rhode.
(5) Martha Rhode.
4. THOMAS RHODE
Thomas was born on 13 May
1814; he died in infancy.
5. LEWIS RHODE
Lewis was born on 10 December
1816 in Wayne County, Indiana, and died in 1906. He was married in Warren
County, Indiana, on 29 January 1843 to Elizabeth Jane Clifton, who was born on
26 July 1825, in Sussex County, Delaware. They lived on a farm in Warren
County, Indiana. Lewis Rhode lived to be 91 years of age; belonged to the
Masonic Lodge and was township clerk, justice of the peace, and Township
Trustee. He was known as "Uncle Luke." There were three children:
I. John Wesley Rhode, who
married Fanny Jones, who was born in 1849. They owned and farmed 600 acres of
land in Warren County, Indiana. They had three children:
(1) Lula Rhode, who married
Oakley Bright. They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana. They had two
children:
1. Asher Bright.
2. Daughter.
(2) Coral Rhode, who married
____________ Grames. They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana. They had two
children:
1. Glen Grames.
2. Russell Grames.
II. Thomas Rhode, who married
Emily Wattle. They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana. They had two
children:
(1) Floy Rhode, who married
____________ Coolman. They were missionaries to Japan. They had one child.
(2) Bessie Rhode, who married
____________ Builta, a minister. They lived in New York. They had one child:
1. Thomas Builta, who married
____________. They had one son.
III. Newt Rhode, who was born
on 13 September 1851; he married Laura Wattles. They were farmers near Oxford,
Indiana. They had one child:
(1) Wattle Rhode.
6. MARTHA RHODE
Martha was born on 22
February 1819 and died on 3 January 1851. On 24 January 1838, she married John
Wesley Gray, who was born on 22 February 1819 and died on January 1859. [Dr.
Rhode notes the similarity in the date of birth, 22 February 1819, for both
Martha Rhode and John Wesley Gray and suspects a typographical error in Ellis
G. Rhode's history.] They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana. They had
five children:
I. Semer Gray, who died in
Ottawa, Kansas; he married ____________; they had seven children:
(1) Wesley Gray.
(2) Emma Gray.
(3) Birdie Gray.
(4) Dora Gray.
(5) Joel Gray.
(6) Addie Gray.
(7) Son.
II. Sarah Gray, who married
Basil Wattles; they had one child:
(1) Ida Lee Wattles, who
married ____________ Hillyer and had four children:
1. Grace Hillyer.
2. Kenneth Hillyer.
3. Vern Hillyer.
4. Tracey Hillyer.
III. Mary Elizabeth Gray, who
married Rev. S. H. Lewis; they had four children:
(1) Lydia Jane Lewis, who
married ____________ Misner and had two children:
1. Dale Hillyer Misner, who
married ____________ Hester and had one child:
a. Margaret Misner.
2. Albert Bean Misner
(2) Carrie Adelle Lewis, who
married ____________ Cheak. They lived in Attica, Indiana, and had four
children:
1. Chester Wesley Cheak, who
lived in St. Louis.
2. Bonnie Leah Cheak, who
married ____________ Powell and lived at Attica, Indiana; they had two
children:
a. Ruth Powell.
b. Marjorie Powell.
3. Glen Harold Cheak, who
lived in Indianapolis, was married, and had one child:
a. Bill Cheak.
4. Lena Ruth Cheak, who
married Rex Rabb and had two children:
a. Rex Rabb, Jr.
b. Margaret Rabb.
(3) Marasalina Lewis, who
married Lutz. They lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and had two children:
1. Lewis M. Lutz, pastor at
Wayauege, Wisconsin. He was married and had two children:
a. Jo Lutz.
b. Zora Lutz.
2. Eugenia Worth Lutz, who
married ____________ Hunter and had two children:
a. Jack Hunter.
b. Merideth Hunter.
(4) Kertha Olive Lewis, who
married ____________ McDowell. They lived in Attica, Indiana, and had two children:
1. Mary McDowell.
2. Paul McDowell.
IV. Joel North Gray, who
married ____________; they lived at Attica and had two children, both of whom
died in infancy.
7. ISAAC RHODE
Isaac was born on 14 February
1821 and died in Arkansas on 3 June 1872. He married Mary Eleanor McCord—late
in life, it is said. He settled on a 139-acre farm near Lead Hill in Boone
County, Arkansas, which is in the northwest part of the state near the Missouri
line. In an old deed (loaned to the author by Lloyd Pumphrey) some of Isaac's
brothers were listed as one-time owners of this farm, namely William, Lewis,
Semer, Joel, Caleb, and Jacob.
The owner of this farm in
1955 was Lloyd Pumphrey, whose grandmother Jane Mitchell was a sister to Mary
Eleanor McCord's mother. The White River nearby was dammed, making a large lake
near Lead Hill called Bull Shoals.
Isaac's Uncle, Jonathan
Rhode, wife and married children were at Lead Hill, Arkansas, from 1839 to
1843. Several of Jonathan's grandchildren were born at Lead Hill. Jonathan's
wife, Mary Harriet, died at Lead Hill and is buried on this farm. (See the
story of the Arkansas trek under Jonathan Rhode.)
There were no children born
to Isaac Rhode and his wife.
8. JOEL RHODE
Joel was born on 9 March 1823
and died on 7 January 1891. He married Ellen Reid. They were farmers near
Rainsville, Indiana, and had one child:
I. Henry Luther Rhode, who
married ____________ Ogburn. They were farmers near Rainsville, Indiana, on
Henry's father's farm. They had one child:
(1) Elmer Rhode, who lived at
Pine Village, Indiana.
Henry Luther Rhode married
(2nd) ____________; there were no children.
9. SEMER RHODE
Semer was born on 28 April 1825
and died on 5 March 1896; he married Matilda Pearce. They were farmers in
Warren County, Indiana, near Pine Village and had three children:
I. William Andrew Rhode, who
was never married and was a farmer in Warren County, Indiana.
II. Martha Rhode, who was
never married and farmed with her brother William A. Rhode.
III. Emma Rhode, who married
Perry Short; they were farmers in Warren County, Indiana, and had one child:
(1) Celia Short, who married
____________Eberly and had four children: three sons and one daughter.
10. CALEB RHODE
Caleb was born on 20
September 1827 and died on 15 November 1915. He married Melinda Pearce. They
were farmers in Warren County, Indiana, and had two children:
I. Jasper Rhode, who married
Louise Milligan. They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana. Jasper died when
he fell from a windmill tower and struck his head on a clothesline post. He had
been trying to get a better view of a distant fire. He left two children:
(1) Jasper Claire Rhode, who
helped to found the Pine Village professional football team, one of the first
such teams in United States history. Claire is at the far right of the middle
row in the photograph below left. He married Lena Fenton (See her in the
photograph below right), and Claire and Lena had seven children:
1. Ardis Rhode, born June 29,
1906, who married George Kerner (See the photograph below.) and had two
children [additional
information available].
2. Jasper Fenton Rhode, born
on March 6, 1908.
3. Hollis Alvin Rhode, born
on October 10, 1910.
4. Lena Claire Rhode, born on
June 3, 1913. (See a photograph of Lena Claire below.)
5. Olive Rhode, born on
December 12, 1918, who married ____________ Oliver and had two children [additional information available].
6. Ellsworth Rhode, who was
born on February 14, 1922; he died when his submarine sank in 1943. (See a
photograph of Lena and several of her children below.)
7. Gail "Breeze"
Rhode, who was born on January 7, 1924; he married Wilma Jean Brutus and had
three children
[additional information available].
(2) Clay Rhode, who never
married and was a farmer near Pine Village, Indiana.
11. SARAH JANE RHODE
Sarah was born on 21 December
1829 and died in 1917. She married John Wesley Gray, after the death of his
first wife, who was Sarah's sister, Martha. Sarah and John were farmers in
Warren County, Indiana. They had one child:
I. Charles Jake Rhode, who
was never married and did construction work in Attica, Indiana.
12. JACOB MORGAN RHODE
Jacob was born on 7 September
1833 and died on 8 February 1919. He was married on 3 January 1858 at Winthrop,
Indiana, to Mary Jane Russell, who died on 12 July 1919. She was the daughter
of William and Fanny (Hall) Russell.
They lived on a farm near
Winthrop in Warren County, Indiana—the farm that his father, William Rhode, had
taken up from the Government in 1828. Jacob Rhode was one of the best known and
most prosperous farmers in Warren County. He outlived all his brothers and
sisters. There were three children:
I. Fannie Adelaide Rhode, who
was born on 20 October 1858 and who was married on 20 September 1885 to Albert
Cobb. They were farmers in Warren County, Indiana, and had three children:
(1) Murray Cobb, who married
Pearl Barton and had two children:
1. Dorothy Cobb, who married
Wallace Knight and had one child:
a. Jane Knight.
2. Barbara Cobb, who married
____________ Coleman and had one child:
a. David Coleman.
(2) Malcolm Cobb, who married
____________ and had two children:
1. Fann J. Cobb, who married
____________ and had no children.
2. Jane Cobb, who never
married.
(3) Albert Cobb, who married
Gladys Martin and had two children:
1. Jessie Cobb, who married
____________ and had no children.
2. Russell Cobb, who never
married.
II. Martha Frances Rhode, who
was born in 1861 and died on 21 January 1906. She married John McCord. He was
the recorder in Warren County, Indiana. They had no children.
[Note: Ann Miller
Carr and Robert T. Rhode thank Howard McCord for supplying the following
information on Martha Frances Rhode's descendants.]
Descendants
of Martha Frances Rhode
Generation
No.1
1. MARTHA FRANCES1 RHODE
was born March 1861 in INDIANA' and died Febuary 06, 1906, in WARREN CO., IN2.
She married JOHN GRANT FREMONT McCORD December 25, 1885, in WARREN
CO., IN3, son of JAMES McCORD and ESTHER LITTLE. He was born July
25, 1859, in LIBERTY TWP. WARREN CO., IN4, and died September 06,
1937, in PINE VILLAGE, WARREN CO., IN5.
Notes for FRANCES RHODE:
Martha evidently made a will,
as Don C. McCord notes that she left all her possessions to her husband.
More About MARTHA FRANCES
RHODE:
Burial: WILLIAMSPORT, WARREN
CO., IN5
Occupation: teacher
Notes for JOHN GRANT FREMONT
McCORD:
From Fountain and Warren Counties. Indiana
- 1913 - p. 938:
"The two most strongly
marked characteristics of both the East and the West are combined in the
residents of the section of country of which this work treats. The enthusiastic
enterprise which overleaps all obstacles and makes possible almost any
undertaking in the comparatively new and vigorous western states is here
tempered by the stable and more careful policy that we have borrowed from our
eastern neighbors, and the combination is one of peculiar force and power. It
has been the means of placing this section of the country on a par with the
older East, at the same time producing a reliability and certainty in business
affairs which is frequently lacking in the West. This happy combination of
characteristics is possessed by the subject of this brief sketch, John G.
McCord, who has spent practically his entire life in the county of his
nativity. John G. McCord was born in Liberty township, Warren county, Indiana,
on July 25, 1859, and is the son of James and Esther (Little) McCord, both of
whom also were natives of this county. The paternal grandfather, James McCord,
who was a native of Pennsylvania, came to Warren county, Indiana, from Ohio, in
1828 and settled in Liberty township. To the subject's parents were born four
children, namely: Mary L., who married a Mr. Allen and lives in Adams township;
John G., the subject of this sketch; Charity Z., Mrs. Atchison, of Adams
township, and Elizabeth, deceased. James McCord followed farming all his active
years and was fairly successful. He was a man of marked strength of character
and at all times possessed the respect and confidence of those who knew him.
"John G. McCord received
his elementary education in the public schools of Adams township, supplementing
this by study at Purdue University. He then engaged in teaching school and in
farming between times until 1883, when he engaged in the mercantile bnsiness at
Pine Village. He continued in this line until 1889, when he resumed teaching
for three years. He then engaged in the hardware business at Frankfort and
Williamsport, Indiana, continuing thus until 1895. Mr. McCord was then elected
to the office of county clerk and for eight and a half years he discharged the
duties of this responsible position, his re-election to the office standing in
evidence of the satisfactory character of his services. Upon his retirement
from office, Mr. McCord accepted the position of cashier of the Bank of Pine Village,
which was organized in 1905 as a private bank, with a capital stock of ten
thousand dollars. The officers of this bank are James C. Jones, president;
Clement H. Jones. vice-president; and John G. McCord, cashier. This bank has
been very successful fiom the date of its organization and has been a direct
stimulus to the business and commercial interests of the community.
"On December 25, 1883,
Mr. McCord was married to Martha F. Rhode, the daughter of Jacob M. and Mary J.
Rhode, who were natives of Warren county. Mrs. McCord died in January, 1906,
and subsequently Mr. McCord was married to Elizabeth Schoonover, to which union
have been born two children, Esther Elizabeth and Mary Catherine. Fraternally,
Mr. McCord is a member of Lodge No.34, Free and Accepted Masons at
Williamsport, and to Lodge No.200, Knights of Pythias, at Pine Village. He very
ably and faithfully discharges his public duties and has long been regarded as
one of the influential and public spirited men of his community. Personally, he
is known to be a man of scrupulously honest principles, generous and kind - in
short, a gentleman whom to know is to respect and admire, for with all his
commendable attributes is entirely unassuming."
Following is an article from
the Warren Republican:
"County Clerk McCord
left last Sunday evening on the 9:16 west bound train for Watseka, Ill., called
there by phone by the death of an aged aunt, Miss Susan Little, who died that
evening at 6 o'clock. Deceased had been ill over a year with dropsy and lung trouble.
Since March, 1898, she had been staying with a sister, Mrs. Cobb, residing 6
miles north of Watseka. The funeral and burial occurred Monday afternoon, at
the Armstrong Chapel."
From The Warren Review
Thursday, October 18, 1894:
"County Clerk: From its
close relation to probate and judicial matters, the office of County Clerk is
one of no little responsibility or importance and it requires a man of no mean
ability to fill this important office acceptably. He should be a man at least
of a good moral character and although a subordinate office his official acts
are of vast importance to the people direct. John G. McCord is truly a Warren
county boy, being born and raised in this county, his father, James McCord,
Sr., now living near Pine Village, being among the oldest, if not the oldest
citizens now living who was born in the county. John was born in Liberty
township, one of the banner townships of the county, July 25th, 1859, and in
1863 moved with his father to Adams township where he since resided until
entering business in Williarnsport two years ago. Up to 24 years of age he was
engaged with his father upon the farm, coming in for his usual winter term of
school and spending the rest of the year at farm work. During this time,
however, he spent two years as a student at Purdue University, where he
prepared himself with a business education and for teaching. Mr. McCord taught
six terms of school in our township grades and when he closed this career, held
one of the first grade licenses.
"In 1883 he engaged in
business in Pine Village which he successfully operated until moving to
Williamsport. He is most highly respected in Adams township and has ahvays
taken a leading part in the township and county politics and none failed to
know where to find John McCord, yet his consideration for others of opposite
political faith has always been such that he has many warm Democratic friends.
John is eminently qualified in every way for the office he seeks and there is
no doubt that he will be elected Clerk of Warren county at the coming November
election."
NOTE: Don C. McCord states
that John's mother changed his name from John Fremont to John Grant Fremont
McCord during the Civil War. He was a farmer and a lawyer and worked in the
Attorney General's office for 20 years. In 1900 he lived on Fall Street,
Williamsport, IN - per the Census.
More About JOHN GRANT FREMONT
MCCORD:
Burial: PINE VILLAGE
CEMETERY, PINE VILLAGE, IN
Occupation: Recorder, Warren
County, Indiana
Endnotes
1.1900 Warren Co., Ind.,
Census
2 Don C. McCord Records
3 Warren Co, Ind., Courthouse
Records
4.1860 Warren Co., Ind.,
Census - p. 463; 1870 Warren Co., Ind., Census - p. 294; 1900 Warren Co., Ind.,
Census
5. Don C. McCord Records
Descendants
of Daniel A. Rhode
Generation No. I
1. DANIEL A.1 RHODE He married MARY MCCORD April 13, 1837, in Warren Co, IN, daughter of JAMES MCCORD and HANNAH MORRIS. She was born April 12, 1822, in OH1, and died November 10, 1865, in WARREN CO. IN2.
Endnotes
1. Warren Co., IN, census - 1840 - p. 96. James Baker Pedigree Chart gives exact date.
2. James Baker Pedigree Chart
[Here ends Howard McCord's information.]
III. Charles Willard Rhode, who was born on 10 December 1871 and died on 24 January 1928. On 30 April 1900 he married Cora Jones, who was born on 17 September 1873. They were farmers near Attica, Warren County, Indiana. He was a member of the Masonic lodge. She and her daughters assisted with this list of William Rhode descendants. (See reference below.) There were six children:
(1) Lucy Ruth Rhode, who was born on 12 February 1901 and who married W. R. Fisher, who was in the insurance business. They lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and they had two children [additional information available].
(2) Fanny Lillis Rhode, who was born on 29 September 1903 and was never married. Fanny was a teacher in Indiana.
(3) Jacob Henry Rhode, who was born on 27 October 1906 and who married Mildred Vaughn. They had no children.
(4) Sarah Louise Rhode, who was born on 17 September 1912 and who was not married; she was a farmer on her mother's farm.
(5) Elsie Jane Rhode, who was born on 20 September 1914 and who married Carl Smith, who, between 1940 and 1947, was a welder in the U. S. Navy yard in Boston. He later spent a year at Fort Richardson in Alaska. They had three children [additional information available].
(6) Joel Clay Rhode, who was born on 21 October 1916 and who married Irene Siminson. They were farmers on Joel's mother's home farm. They had one child:
1. Gale Rhode.
13. SON.
This son died in Infancy.
References:
The South Carolina history was by Annie Dash Moorer of Walterboro, South Carolina.
The notes on Rhode descendants were by Mrs, A. S. Dolch of Attica, Indiana, and Mrs, J. B. Lutz of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Cora (Jones) Rhode of Attica, Indiana, who visited the author in 1947, gave much assistance with William Rhode's descendants and checking copy. Her daughters Ruth (Rhode) Fisher and Lillis Rhode also gave assitance.
Lloyd Pumphrey of Lead Hill, Arkansas, gave data on Isaac Rhode.
The early history of the Railsback family was composed in 1955 by Martha (Railsback) Tinsley of Custer, South Dakota, who is a member of the Insignia Committee of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
2. JONATHAN RHODE AND DESCENDANTS
BIRTHPLACE
Jonathan Rhode was born in South Carolina on 22 August 1788 and died on 23 November 1845. He was the second of five brothers and two sisters, all of whom were born in South Carolina; they were William, Jonathan, Thomas, Caleb, Seymour, Ester and Mary. Jonathan's father was John Rhode, who came to America some time during the American Revolution, 1776 to l782. Jonathan's mother was Mary (Lewis) Rhode, who probably married John Rhode after he came to America.
TREK TO OHIO
Jonathan Rhode left South Carolina probably in about 1810-1811, ahead of his parents and younger brothers, who left about 1814. Whether he left with his older brother William, who left in about 1810, is not known. Jonathan was married in Ohio in 1812. His first three children were born in Ohio in 1813 to 1819. The U. S. census records show he and his brother William were living in Wayne County, Indiana in 1820. Later they both took up land in Warren County, Indiana, adjoining his father, John Rhode, who settled there in 1826.
WIFE AND CHILDREN
Jonathan Rhode married Mary Harriet Anderson in Ohio in about the year 1812. According to family tradition, Mary Harriet Anderson was a first cousin of Major General William Starke Rosecrans, who was one of the distinguished generals of the North in the Civil War.*
Six boys and two girls were born of this union. They were: Hester 1813, Daniel 1814, Allice 1816, John 1817, Joseph 1819, Hannah 1821, Caleb 1822, and Seymour 1825. All were born in Ohio except the last three (Hannah, Caleb and Seymour), who were born in Indiana. All of these children grew up to raise families of their own, except Hester, who lived only about eight months.
[Mark Kellam suggested the following website as a source of biographical information on Joseph Rhode, John Rhode, and D. A. Rhode: http://www.rootsweb.com/~iabiog/fremont/f1881/f1881-ross.htm. Note that the Rhode names are not quite in alphabetical order on the Rootsweb site. In the Joseph Rhode sketch, we get the dates of death for two of his wives, nicknames for his children, and the fact that Joseph was born in Wayne County, Indiana. We also get his exact birthdate. Other dates of birth in the Rootsweb information suggest that the Rhode family was living in Wayne County as early as 1814. Dr. Robert T. Rhode has handwritten tax receipts dating to 1815, but they provide no location. Rhode family members were enumerated in Wayne County in the 1820 census. The Rootsweb site gives Mary Harriet Anderson's name as Mary Rosencrans (sic), but we believe she was a cousin of the Rosecrans family. Finally, the Rootsweb site mentions a great grandfather, who would be the father of John Rhode. Genealogists studying the Rhode family have been wondering whether or not a Peter might be the father of John Rhode; perhaps Peter is the great grandfather to whom the Rootsweb site alludes. Maybe John accompanied Peter to America.]
[Note: Ann Miller Carr and Robert T. Rhode thank Howard McCord for providing the following information on Hannah Rhode's descendants.]
Descendants of Hannah Rhode
Generation No.1
1. HANNAH RHODE was born March 09, 1821, in Near Winthrop, IN, and died July 28, 1862, in WARREN CO, IN. She married ROBERT ALLEN MCCORD April 09, 1846, in WARREN CO, IN, son of JAMES MCCORD and HANNAH MORRIS. He was born February 28, 1820, in OHIO, and died February 24, 1886, in WARREN CO, IN.
Notes for HANNAH RHODE:
"Harriet Hannah was the daughter of Jonathan Rhode and Mary Harriet Anderson. Jonathan was the son of John Rhode who came from Germany. The Rhodes were all Quakers. John Rhode seffled on the old Peter Hickman place near Winthrop, not far from James McCord's old place. Jonathan's brother Semour Rhode bought 160 acres from Zadoc and Lilles (Campbell) Hurley (parents of his wife, Rebecca Hurley) and secured another 160 acres from the government. After Hannah (Seymour's niece) married Robert McCord in 1855, they purchased this 320 acres from him. Zadoc Hurley had originally purchased the 160 acres from the government in Crawfordsville in 1828. Zadoc's wife, Lilles Campbell, was the daughter of John Campbell. They were married at Union District, S. Carolina, in either 1804 or 1805." (From Adilda McCord's memoirs)
[Here, Howard McCord included the "Trek to the Ozarks" section of Ellis G. Rhode's history.]
NOTE: About three years prior to the Rhodes' move, Robert Allen McCord's uncle, John McCord, had moved to this same area of the Ozarks. This must have been the reason the Rhodes decided to go there too.
We still have a letter written by Caleb Rhode in Warren County, IN, to his brother Jonathan when he was living in Lead Hill, Arkansas:
"State of Indiana - Warren County - this 24th of 10th mo. 1840.
Dear Brother and Sister we have once more commenced to write a few lines to you and to inform how we are at present but I have never received a letter from you since you left here and I want you to write me once and if you are tired of my writing to you, just write to me and say so and I will try not to bother you any more with my scribbling. Rachel is quite poorly but the rest of us as well as common and I hope these few lines may find you all well. Mother is still living but she is growing weaker and weaker. Father deceased the 13th of the 7th month last we have written to you since his death which described his death to you if you have ever got it. I may inform you a little how we have done with his things he left six cows and old Dobbin and we have had a sale just among ourselves and sold the property and made an estimation of it and what notes there was little over ten thousand dollars a piece and your part was put in brother Semours hands till you could get it. Father was against anyone administering on his estate and the knowing men here told us we must do it this way and if you will come we can tell you and show you how we have done with his estate. We have very good crops of corn here this fall and it has been very healthy here this fall and summer. Aunt Esther Cobb has got almost fat since she got here. William Rhode is building brother Semour one of the biggest frame houses in this county. It is to be 48 by 18 with a shed on each side 10 feet wide and an entry through the middle of the house 12 feet wide and four bedrooms under the shed for man and boys rooms. The prospect for pork is dull this time but I am in hopes it will be a little better yet. I have nothing more particular to write and I suppose I have written more now than you will like to bother to read but I don't do it for any offense but when I commence it seems like one word calls for another. My hands are very sore so I must conclude with our love to you all and to William Cobb and Alice and to Daniel Rhode and Mary and John and to Joseph and Elizabeth and tell them if they will write me I will try to find twenty-five cents to pay for it on. From Caleb and Rachel Rhode to Jonathan and Harriet Rhode."
John Rhode - grandfather of Hannah Rhode McCord - came to America some time about 1776-1780 and settled in South Carolina, where he married Mary Lewis. John Rhode left South Carolina about 1814 along with three of his sons, Thomas, Seymour and Caleb, settling in Ohio until about 1820, when the whole family moved to Indiana. His other two sons, William and Jonathan had left So. Carolina about 1810. He served in the Revolutionary War in the Commissary Department. The family were Quakers. In the South he was a "planter" with slaves which he freed when he came to Ohio. When he came to Indiana he had two black employees, a cook and a blacksmith.
Ron C. McCord visited the old Rhode farm in Lead Hill, Ark., in 1995. He tried to located Mary Rhode's grave in Cedar Grove Cemetery with no luck. He later found a deed recorded in Book G, pages 67, 68, & 69, Boone County, Harrison, Ark., signing over 412 acres to David McCord for $400 on June 12, 1882. It was signed by 27 people in Warren County, Indiana. Many of them are Rhodes. The rest may be Rhode relatives. Names are: Seymour B. Gray, Eliza B. Gray, Nelson H. Baker, Martha M. Baker, Lewis Rhode, Eliza J. Rhode, Seymor Rhode, Matilda Rhode, ? Rhode, Emily Rhode, Joel Rhode, Ellen Rhode, Caleb Rhode, Malinda Rhode, Sylvester Lewis, Mary E. Lewis, Jacob M. Rhode, Mary Jane Rhode, Bosel J. Walters, Sarah J. Walters, Sarah Jane Gray, John Wesley Gray, Joel W. Gray, Josephine Gray, Mary R. Gordon, George L. Rhode, Lucinda Rhode.
More About HANNAH RHODE:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY, WARREN CO, IN
Notes for ROBERT ALLEN MCCORD:
Written by Adilda McCord:
"Robert, our grandfather, and his second wife and young children on the prairie south of Boswell made their home. Father spoke of working with him there. This land was given at his death to the three younger children who held it until their maturity. After marriage all three lived for a time in the Armstrong Church neighborhood near Aunt Ellen Gephart's home on Road 26. Aunt Becky owned her prairie land through the first half of 1900. Aunt Betty from her father received the Benson land, eight acres east of the 'Old Home' place where Mac Steele lives. Her great-grandson, Billy Paul Jones, now owns it. That farm passed from Robert, Betty Jones, Jimmy, Isaac, and Billy Paul and all Jones. I have a license issued to Robert McCord as a cattle broker in Warren Co. for 1846. Grandfather was living on the Benson place when he took pneumonia and died in 1886. He and his two wives are buried in the Quaker Cemetery. Aunt Becky told me whe was thirteen when her father died but she didn't know until the next morning. Grandfather McCord raised horses. Father said in the spring he and his brothers had to go into the pasture and take the unbroken colts and make their teams for the crops from them. In the fall their father sold them. Runaways were common. My mother, her mother, and brother, Uncle Grant Hall, lived with Uncle Jack and Aunt Hannah Mills at this time as their Father, Allen Hall, had died of typhoid. They were living at the Melton place, in the house which afterwards was moved to the McCord place where it now stands east of the new home Mac Steele built. Mother was a child at the time and she was living close enough to see what was happening at the McCord place. She said, 'If you wanted to see a runaway, you just looked over into McCord's pasture before a storm and you could see one.' When my father took over the farm he never raised horses except for farm work."
From letter written 8/3/1991 by McCord Steele regarding an existing picture of James McCord's house:
"This is the house where Robt A. fled into the cornfield. He was a small boy at the time and he had been taught to hide when Indians were in the area. While hiding, he fell asleep in the tall corn and all night long his family searched and called, and gave up, convinced that he had been stolen. However, when daylight came, he awoke and came back to the house. . . . Another picture is of the house Robt A. built on SR26 east of Pine Village - Aunt Ellen Gephart's house where we stopped to get pictures.... Robt A. gave all his children 160 acres or $8000. He had ten children who survived to adults. California became the recipient of a great deal of his wealth and of Indiana resources. In 1877, Robt A gave Joseph H. and Jonathan D. each 160 acres of what has been called 'The Old Home Place'. This is the 320 acres that Margaret and I purchased from Joseph H.'s estate in 1951, and have sold to our daughter Layna Steele Cottingham. It has been in the family since 1828. In 1881 Jonathan D. sold his 160 acres back to his father, Robt A, for $8000 to finance his adventure to California. Lizzie Jones has penned on the picture of James' house that James W., father of Sarah and Bessie, lived at the farm when Sarah was born. At the time James W. left for California, he and his family lived on a farm just north of Pine Village. That was Robt A. land, and I assume James W. had heired [hired?] the land he sold to finance his trip to California! Anyway if I am not careful, I will develop a thesis that California is indebted to Indiana for its existence! James W., Jonathan D., Rebecca, and Samuel all took their Indiana inheritance to California. Their sister Harriet married Robert Hurst and they went to Wyoming. Lilly Mae married Levi Wright and moved to land they purchased in Oklahoma. I think all of Robt A. children lost their land except Elizabeth and Joseph H. What a bunch of prodigals!"
Robert and his first wife, Hannah Rhode, accompanied the Rhode family to Lead Hill, Boone County, Arkansas, in 1839. (See the story in Hannah's messages.) This was very near Forsyth, Arkansas, where John McCord - Robert's uncle - had come in 1837. John died in 1839. The Rhodes and Robert A. McCord went back to Indiana in 1843. John's wife and family remained in Arkansas.
In the 1850 census for Erie County, Ohio (Margaretta Twp), Robert is listed as a saddler.
On May 14, 1856 in Warren Co., IN, Robert witnessed the will of Stephen Melton, whose daughter Melissa married Robert's nephew Samuel Rhode.
More About ROBERT ALLEN MCCORD
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY, WARREN CO, IN
Occupation: farmer
Children of HAANAH RHODE and ROBERT MCCORD are:
2. i. HARRIET MCCORD, b. April 02, 1847, WARREN, IND
3. ii. ELIZABETH "BETTY" MCCORD, b. June 14, 1848, LIBERTY TWP, WARREN CO , IN; d. June 04, 1934, home of Hannah Anderson, near Pine Village, WARREN CO, IN
4. iii. JAMES WILSON MCCORD, b. July 17, 1849, WARREN CO, IN, d. May 02, 1918, HANFORD, KINGS CO., CA.
5. iv. ELEANOR "ELLEN" MCCORD, b. March 29, 1850, WARREN, IN
6. v. EMILY "JANE" "EMMA" MCCORD, b. February 14, 1852, WARREN CO, IN; d. 1935, IN
7. vi. JOSEPH HARVEY MCCORD, b. October 07, 1855, ADAMS TWP, WARREN CO., IN; d. November 08, 1926, OXFORD, BENTON CO., IN
8 vii. JONATHAN DANIEL "J.D." MCCORD, b. December 11, 1858, WARREN CO, IN; d. 1934, HANFORD, KINGS CO., CA
viii ZADA ALICE MCCORD, b. October 18, 1857; d. October 02, 1862, WARREN CO, IN
Notes for ZADA ALICE MCCORD:
Hannah died near the time of Zadie's birth. Her sister "Elsie" Cobb cared for Zada.
More About ZADA ALICE MCCORD:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY, WARREN CO, IN
[more information on the McCord family available]
[Note: Ann Miller
Carr and Robert T. Rhode thank Howard McCord for supplying the following
information on the descendants of Caleb Rhode.]
Descendants
of Caleb Rhode
Generation
No. I
1. CALEB1 RHODE
was born 1822 in IN', and died January 25,1882, in WARREN CO, IN2.
He married ELIZABETH "BETTY" McCORD June 11, 1846, daughter of
JAMES McCORD and HANNAH MORRIS. She was born June 04, 1830 in WARREN
CO, IN, and died June 04, 1880, in WARREN CO, IN (of T.B.)2.
Notes for CALEB RHODE:
Caleb was the son of
Jonathan Rhode and Mary Harriet Anderson. Jonathan was the son of John and Mary
(Lewis) Rhode. John was from Gemany. John was born circa 1753 and died
7/13/1841. Moved from NC to Lexington, KY, then to Vincennes, IN, later to
Warren Co., IN. May have been born in SC. His wife, Mary, was born 7/22/1754
and died 1/18/1845.
. . . . .
Caleb's sister, Harriet
Hannah Rhode, married Caleb's wife's brother, Robert Allen McCord. In her
notes, Adilda MeCord tells that Caleb was an invalid and he spent his time
knitting.
More About ELIZABETH
"BETTY" MCCORD:
Burial: RHODE QUAKER
CEMETERY, ATTICA, IN
Children of CALEB RHODE and
ELIZABETH McCORD are:
2 i. WADE JOHN2 RHODE.
ii. WEBSTER RHODE, m. MARTHA CELIA METSKER, November 23, 1879; b. bet. 1855-1860.
Notes for MARTHA CELIA METSKER:
Celia was the daughter of Aunt Lib Sales.
3.iii. MARY ELEANOR "ELLEN" RHODE.
iv. HANNAH ARVILLA RHODE, m. GEORGE H. BAILEY, September 07, 1879.
More About HANNAH ARVILLA RHODE:
Occupation: ran a millinery shop
More About GEORGE H. BAILEY:
Occupation: ran a millinery shop
v. EMMA JANE RHODE, m. JOHN "COON" STEADMAN, August 18, 1881
Notes for EMMA JANE RHODE:
Emma cared for her mom.
4. vi. SAMUEL RHODE, b. April 13,1847; d. May 29, 1918, IN (death date according to Civil War pension records)
5. vii. JONATHAN RHODE, b. December 19,1848, WARREN CO, IN
6. viii. JAMES K."POKER JIM" RHODE, b. August 05, 1852, IN; d. October 05, 1922, IN
7. ix. ALICE RHODE, b. 1867, INDIANA
Generation No.2
2. WADE JOHN2 RHODE
(CALEB1) He married (1) EURENA METSKER. He married (2) MARY
ANNA SHACKLETON October 07, 1875
Child of WADE RHODE and
EURENA METSKER is:
i. RHODE3, d. Lived at BosweIl
3. MARY ELEANOR
"ELLEN"2 RHODE (CALEB1) She married
JAMES A. SHACKLETON February 27, 1877.
Children of MARY RHODE and
JAMES SHACKLETON are:
i. SYLVIA3 SHACKLETON
ii. FRANK SHACKLETON
4. SAMUEL2 RHODE (CALEB')
was born April 13, 1847, and died May 29, 1918 (according to his Civil War
pension records). He married MELISSA MELTON September 09, 1868, in
INDEPENDENCE, IN.
Notes for SAMUEL
RHODE:
Sam's grave is only marked
with a flag. It is near his sister's grave - Alice Adair.
More About SAMUEL RHODE:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
Notes for MELISSA MELTON:
From Early Wills of Warren Co., IN:
Melissa was the daughter of Stephen and Eleanor Melton. Stephen died on or
about March 15, 1857, leaving a will dated May 14, 1856. Robert McCord
(probably Robert Allen McCord) was a witness to this will.
More About.MELISSA MELTON:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
Children of SAMUEL RHODE and
MELISSA MELTON are:
i. ONA3 RHODE, m. LEWIS NELSON, February 04, 1892
More About ONA RHODE:
burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
More About LEWIS NELSON:
burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
ii. JAMES W. RHODE. b. abt. 1868, INDEPENDENCE, IN; m. LEWIS, March 31, 1884
5. JONATHAN2 RHODE
(CALEB') was born December 19, 1848, in WARREN CO. IN2. He
married CORDELIA COTTINGHAM March 14, 18722. She was born in OHIO
and died in of T.B.?.
Notes for JONATHAN RHODE:
I'm uncertain if Jonathan and
Cordelia died of T.B. or if their children Alma and ? did.
From Biographical Sketches - Benton Co.,
IN, 1883:
"JONATHAN RHODE. Farmer
and stock-raiser, was born December 19, 1848, in Warren County, Ind. His
parents were Caleb and Elizabeth (McCord) Rhode, the former a native of Ohio,
the latter of Indiana, who lived in Warren county till their deaths: the former
January 25, 1882, the latter June 14, 1880. Jonathan worked for his father
until his majority. In 1872 on the 14th of March, he married Miss Cordelia,
daughter of Robert and Levina Cottingham, a native of Ohio. The fruition of
this union was one child - Alma E. Mr. Rhode moved to this township after his
marriage and purchased eighty acres, which he improved and where he lived until
1882, when he moved to his present location, where he owns 161 acres under good
cultivation, and one of the best farms in the county. Mr. Rhode is a
Republican, an esteemed citizen and one of the prominent farmers of Benton
County. He and wife are members of the United Brethren Church."
More About JONATHAN RHODE:
Occupation: farmer
Notes for CORDELIA
COTTINGHAM:
Cordelia's parents were
Robert and Levina Cottingham.
Child of JONATHAN RHODE and
CORDELIA COTTINGHAM is:
i. ALMA E.3 RHODE, b. INDIANA
6. JAMES K."POKER
JIM"2 RHODE (CALEB') was born August 05, 1852, in
IN3, and died October 05, 1922, in IN3. He married
SARAH McKENZIE April 03, 1873. She died July 10, 1932.
More About JAMES
K."POKER JIM" RHODE:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
(ADJOINED HIS FARM)
More About SARAH McKENZIE:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
Children of JAMES RHODE and
SARAH McKENZlE are:
8.i. LAURA V.3 RHODE
9 ii. LILLY RHODE
iii. ANNA RHODE, m. CAMPBELL HALL, April 04, 1918, b March 02, 1879
10. iv. SEYMOUR RHODE, b. 1882; d. 1936.
7. ALICE2 RHODE (CALEB1)
was born 1867 in INDIANA. She married FRANK ADAIR September 18, 1884, in
INDEPENDENCE, IN. He was born 1862.
. . .
More About ALICE RHODE:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
Notes for FRANK ADAIR:
Frank was a good photographer
of large family groups.
More About FRANK ADAIR:
Burial: QUAKER CEMETERY
Occupation: photographer
Children of ALICE RHODE and
FRANK ADAIR are:
i. ADAIR3, b. May 05, 1885, INDEPENDENCE, IN
More About ADAIR:
Occupation: mechanic
ii. ADAIR, b. March 07, 1887; m. FRANK CARPENTER
iii. ADAIR, b. June 15, 1896
More About ADAIR:
Occupation: photographer - Williamsport
iv. ADAIR, b. December 29,1897
More About ADAIR:
Occupation: photographer - Williamsport
v. ADAIR, b. January 29, 1900
More About ADAIR:
Occupation: artist
Generation
No.3
8. LAURA V.3 RHODE
(JAMES K."POKER JIM"2, CALEB1) She
married HENRY G. "BUD" RITENOUR December 15, 1895. He died Bef. 1964.
Children of LAURA RHODE and
HENRY RITENOUR are:
i. GLEN4 RITENOUR
ii. HARRY RITENOUR
iii. MARY RITENOUR, m. JOHN ROST.
Notes for MARY RITENOUR:
Mary and John lived (1964) on her great-grandfather's farm across the road from the Quaker Cemetery.
9. LILLY3 RHODE (JAMES
K. "POKER JIM"2, CALEB1) She married CLINT
G. BECKETT May 21, 1905. Children of LILLY RHODE and CLINT BECKETT are:
i. JAMES BECKETT
ii. EILEEN BECKETT
iii. LOUELLA BECKETT
iv. WILLIAM BECKETT
10. SEYMOUR3 RHODE
(JAMES K."POKER
JIM"2, CALEB') was born 1882 and died 1936. He married
BESSIE McKENZlE June 05, 1907. She was born 1886.
Notes for SEYMOUR RHODE:
. . .
Children of SEYMOUR RHODE and
BESSIE McKENZIE are:
11. i. VOYLE4 RHODE, b. January 22, 1911 [In 2002, Jim Buckley provided Voyle's date of birth.]
12. ii. OTIS RHODE, b. November 12, 1908
iii. RUTH MAXINE RHODE, b. July 12, 1914; m. LOWELL GALLOWAY
Generation No 4
11. VOYLE4 RHODE (SEYMOUR3,
JAMES K."POKER JIM"2, CALEB') She married HAROLD
BUCKLEY.
More About VOYLE RHODE:
Occupation: teacher
Child of VOYLE RHODE and
HAROLD BUCKLEY is:
i. MlKE3 BUCKLEY
12. OTIS4 RHODE (SEYMOUR3,
JAMES K. "POKER JIM"2, CALEB1) was born
November 12, 1908. He married DOROTHY. Children of OTIS RHODE and DOROTHY are:
i. PHlLIP5 RHODE,
m. JENNETTE, FRANCE, b FRANCE
ii. SUSAN RHODE
Endnotes
1. John Rhode and His Descendants,
by Ellis G. Rhode
2. Biographical Sketches -Beriton Co.,
IN, 1883
3. John Rhode and His Descendants,
by Ellis G. Rhode
[Here ends Howard
McCord's information.]
JONATHAN RHODE TAKES UP
LAND IN 1828**
"Jonathan Rhode took up
land in Warren County, Indiana, on 3 January 1828, the signature of John Quincy
Adams being affixed to the parchment deed in the possession of a grandson,
James N. Rhode.
"In 1828 and 1831 Jonathan
Rhode took up more land, making a total of 360 acres of government land. It is
a tradition of the family that Jonathan Rhode journeyed to Washington, D. C.,
from Crawfordsville, Indiana, by horseback to secure the signature of President
Andrew Jackson to the second of these deeds. All three deeds are on sheepskin,
and were treasured heirlooms of James N. Rhode, a grandson who farmed this
land."
*General Rosecrans was in
command of the West Virginia campaign. Later he defended Corinth from assault,
driving Confederates back sixty miles. He defeated General Bragg at the battle
of Murfreesboro. He was appointed minister to Mexico in 1868, and he became
president of a powder company in San Francisco in 1878. He was a representative
to the U. S. Congress from 1881-1885, serving as Chairman of Military Affairs.
He died in Rosecrans, California, in 1898 and was buried in Arlington Cemetery
in Washington, D. C. He was known as the great decliner; he was considered as a
running mate with President Lincoln for Lincoln's second term, and he declined
running for Governor of Ohio in 1865. Similarly, he declined running for
Governor of California in 1867 and declined running for Mayor of San Francisco.
(from Notable Americans, Vol. 9)
**Quoted from the Fountain-Warren
Democrat, 16 January 1940, published at Attica, Indiana.
TREK TO THE OZARKS
Jonathan Rhode evidently got
tired of grubbing out the white oak stumps and fighting the "ager"
(ague) of the poorly drained land in Indiana. So in about 1839 he decided to
trek to the Ozarks in Arkansas, where fishing and hunting would help supply the
needs of his family. His whole family, including his wife Mary, his five sons
and two daughters, were loaded into the wagons, and they set off for the
Ozarks. The two daughters were married by this time, also some of the sons. As
near as can be learned the following made the trip to the Ozarks:
Jonathan and his wife Mary.
Five sons: Daniel Rhode, John
Rhode, Joseph Rhode and wife, Caleb Rhode, and Seymour Rhode.
Two daughters: Allice Rhode
with her husband, William Cobb, and Hannah Rhode with her husband, Robert
McCord.
Of how long they were on
their way, their adventures with hostile Indians, the difficulties of fording
swollen streams, or the trail they followed no record has been left behind.
Probably they went down along the Wabash River, then crossed the Ohio River
where it joins the Wabash, and then down along the Ohio until it joins the
Mississippi. After going down the Mississippi a short distance, they probably
crossed over in the State of Arkansas.
They settled in what was then
called Marion County, but which is now called Boone County, which is located on
the northern tier of counties next to the Missouri line and on the western
border of Arkansas. The nearest trading post was a place called Lead Hill,
which is still a town by that name. Lead Hill is on Sugar Loaf Creek, and a few
miles away is the White River.
For four or five years the
Jonathan Rhode clan tried to farm in this region—but without the success they
had anticipated. The men folks spent much time hunting and fishing. Many are
the bedtime stories that have been told to the children of succeeding Rhode
descendants concerning the exploits and adventures of the Rhode bear hunters in
the Ozarks. It is said that the Rhode bear hunters did not hesitate to go into
the bears' caves where they were hibernating and kill them with knives. It is
also said they all got very tired of eating bear meat and longed for pork
again.
LEAVING THE OZARKS
While the Jonathan Rhode clan
had wonderful adventures and success in hunting and fishing in the Ozarks, they
found that there was not the opportunity to get ahead in farming. So, after
about four or five years spent there, they loaded their goods in the wagons and
started the return trip to Indiana in about 1843. All the sons and daughters
made the trip back, except the oldest son Daniel, who remained for several
years and then went to western Iowa, where he arrived in 1847. Son Joseph and
his wife had two children born to them while in the Ozarks, and perhaps there
were children born to some of the others.
It was a sad trip back, as
they left behind Mary (Anderson) Rhode, Jonathan's wife and mother of the five
sons and two daughters who had gone along to the Ozarks. When she was in her
last sickness, and she knew she was going to die, she made them all promise
they would leave the Ozarks and go back to make their homes in Indiana again.
She passed away in 1843. Her grave is in the Cedar Grove cemetery near Lead
Hill, Arkansas, on the old Rhode farm.
Jonathan's father, John
Rhode, had passed away in 1840, just before or soon after they had left for the
Ozarks. Jonathan's mother, Mary (Lewis) Rhode had died in 1843 while they were
in the Ozarks, or soon after they returned.
In 1955 additional information
was received about the Rhode farm in Arkansas from the owner, Lloyd Pumphrey,
of Lead Hill, Arkansas, who is a relative of the wife of Isaac Rhode, a son of
William Rhode. The old Rhode farm, as it is called, consists of 139 acres.
According to old deeds, it was once the property of the following sons of
William Rhode: Isaac, Joel, Caleb, Lewis, Seymour, Jacob, William and other
persons. Isaac was evidently the only one of these who lived and farmed here
during his life. What was the farming status of the Jonathan Rhode clan is not
known. There is no record of their owning this farm. However, according to
Lloyd, the wife of Jonathan Rhode is buried in the Cedar Grove cemetery on this
farm. The grave is unmarked except for two large rocks. Nearby is Bull Shoals,
created in recent years by a government dam on the White River, that has become
quite a resort area.
BACK HOME IN INDIANA
On the return to the Jonathan
Rhode farm in Warren County, Indiana, they all started farming and clearing up
new land. The guns were laid aside, and they got busy with the axes and plows.
Jonathan Rhode died 22 November 1845, not long after his return to Indiana.
Jonathan's youngest son,
Seymour, took over the Jonathan Rhode farm. Two of his other sons, John and
Joseph, were in a few years (1851) to load their families in ox-drawn wagons
and trek across the plains to western Iowa, to pioneer again in a new country
and start the fourth Rhode settlement in America. In western Iowa they were to
join their brother Daniel, who had moved to Iowa in 1847 from Arkansas.
JONATHAN RHODE FARM STILL
OWNED AND OPERATED BY HIS DESCENDANTS*
"After the death of
Jonathan Rhode in 1845, his youngest son Seymour T. Rhode and his wife Lucy
(Benge) Rhode owned and farmed this land. After the death of Seymour T. Rhode
in 1874, his wife, Lucy, continued to operate this farm with the help of their
five children, Jonathan, Curtis, Frank, James and Celia.
"One of these children,
James N. Rhode, after his marriage to Effie J. Sailor in 1899, rented the farm
during his mother' s lifetime, purchasirg the other heirs out upon his mother's
death in 1907.
"Two hundred and forty
acres were added to the James N. Rhode holdings after he purchased the holdings
of the Seymour T. Rhode heirs in 1907, making 600 acres in all farmed at
present. The nucleus of this big farm has been in the Rhode family (in 1940)
for 112 years, the other two tracts for 109 and 101 years, respectively.
"Mr. James N. Rhode is a
Master Farmer and is widely known over the state as a successful farm operator.
He and his son Lee Rhode operate a general livestock and farming business. His
son Lee is a well-known Warren County resident and may be said to be
responsible for the Warren County Rural Electrification Program, serving for
some time as its manager. Mr. and Mrs. James Rhode are the parents of one
daughter and two sons, Mrs. Leo Hunter of Judyville, Glen N. Rhode of Pine
Village, and Lee Rhode, who resides near and with his father operates the home
farm."
(Jonathan Rhode's son Seymour
T., his grandson James N., and his great grandson Lee were all born on his
original farm.)
*Quoted from the Fountain-Warren
Democrat, 16 January 1940, published at Attica, Indiana.
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