Rhodes
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Rhodes Surname Genealogy
Rhodes, from the Old English rod meaning "clearing," may describe someone who lived by a clearing; or it is locational - from the early place-name of Rodewelle in Lincolnshire or from the later Rhodes in Yorkshire or Lancashire. Early spellings were Rhode, Rhoads, Rodes and Roads, as well as Rhodes. The surname has no connection with the English word road meaning "highway."
Rhode is also a surname in Germany where it is thought to have come from a town or village of that name near Lubeck.
England. There was an early Rhodes presence in Lincolnshire. Gerard de Rodes, a feudal baron, resided at Horncastle in Lincolnshire in the early 13th century (his descendants later established themselves at Barlborough in Derbyshire). And Daniel Rhodes was three times mayor of Boston in Lincolnshire between 1665 and 1686.
However, the largest number of Rhodes have come from Yorkshire, and mainly, it would appear, from the West Ridings. Almost half of the Rhodes in England were living in Yorkshire at the time of the 1891 census.
An early name was Thomas de Rodes of Thorp near Rotherham, recorded in the 13th century. Rhodes at Gomersal near Bradford date from 1657. A Rhodes family history began with Thomas Rhodes, born around 1724 at Ledsham near Castleford; another with John Rhodes, born in 1786 at Flockton chapel near Wakefield. William Rhodes the playwright, known for his popular burlesque Bombastes Furioso, was born in Leeds in 1772; and a Rhodes family was landed gentry at that time at Bramhope Hall near Leeds. The famous cricketer Wilfred Rhodes came from the village of Kirkheaton near Huddersfield.
Cecil Rhodes' ancestry has been traced back to a James Rhodes who lived at Snape Green in Staffordshire in the mid 1600's. The family later moved to London and then to Northamptonshire. Cecil set out with his brother Herbert in 1871 to prospect for diamonds in the Cape Colony. There he was to stamp his name on history.
America. It was said that a Rhodes was Sebastian Cabot's pilot and it was after him that the state of Rhode Island was named.
Zachariah Rhodes from Lancashire was an early settler there. He had been imprisoned for a short time in Boston for openly remarking: "the court has naught to do in matters of religion" and, being banished from Massachusetts, moved to Providence, Rhode Island in 1644. Henry Rhoades, also from Lancashire, arrived in the late 1630's and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. Both Zacharias and Henry have a large number of descendants.
Other early Rhodes settlers were:
A marker was erected on the site where this happened in 1985.
Ellis Rhode published his The Rhodes Family in America in 1959. It covered the descendants of John Rhode who came to South Carolina from Germany in the 1770's and later moved to Ohio and Indiana. Family tradition has it that he came to America as a young man and enlisted in the Revolutionary War.
Many other Rhodes (or similar sounding names) came from Germany to America in the 18th century.
New Zealand. The four Rhodes brothers - William, Robert, George, and Joseph - were the sons of William Rhodes, a tenant farmer in Yorkshire. They had come to New Zealand in the days before organized settlement (William arriving as early as 1836) and played an active part in the early political, business and farming life of the country. It was said that they were men of shrewd judgment, bustling energy, and full of Yorkshire determination. All of them amassed considerable wealth. Their descendants today in New Zealand are numerous.
Select Rhodes Miscellany
Select Rhodes Names
William Rhodes was the first very successful entrepreneur of the New Zealand colony.
Cecil Rhodes was a British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa. As Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in the 1890's he helped to extend British territory north into what was then called Rhodesia.
Wilfred Rhodes was a Yorkshire and England cricketer who took over 4,000 wickets with his slow bowling over his career.
Zandra Rhodes is a contemporary English fashion designer.
Select Rhodes Today
Rhodes, from the Old English rod meaning "clearing," may describe someone who lived by a clearing; or it is locational - from the early place-name of Rodewelle in Lincolnshire or from the later Rhodes in Yorkshire or Lancashire. Early spellings were Rhode, Rhoads, Rodes and Roads, as well as Rhodes. The surname has no connection with the English word road meaning "highway."
Rhode is also a surname in Germany where it is thought to have come from a town or village of that name near Lubeck.
Select
Rhodes Resources on
The
Internet
- Rhodes Family. Rhodes genealogy.
- Rhodes Family History. Rhodes from Wakefield in Yorkshire.
- The Rhodes Family Tree. Rhodes from Staffordshire.
- Rhodes DNA Project. Rhodes DNA.
England. There was an early Rhodes presence in Lincolnshire. Gerard de Rodes, a feudal baron, resided at Horncastle in Lincolnshire in the early 13th century (his descendants later established themselves at Barlborough in Derbyshire). And Daniel Rhodes was three times mayor of Boston in Lincolnshire between 1665 and 1686.
However, the largest number of Rhodes have come from Yorkshire, and mainly, it would appear, from the West Ridings. Almost half of the Rhodes in England were living in Yorkshire at the time of the 1891 census.
An early name was Thomas de Rodes of Thorp near Rotherham, recorded in the 13th century. Rhodes at Gomersal near Bradford date from 1657. A Rhodes family history began with Thomas Rhodes, born around 1724 at Ledsham near Castleford; another with John Rhodes, born in 1786 at Flockton chapel near Wakefield. William Rhodes the playwright, known for his popular burlesque Bombastes Furioso, was born in Leeds in 1772; and a Rhodes family was landed gentry at that time at Bramhope Hall near Leeds. The famous cricketer Wilfred Rhodes came from the village of Kirkheaton near Huddersfield.
Cecil Rhodes' ancestry has been traced back to a James Rhodes who lived at Snape Green in Staffordshire in the mid 1600's. The family later moved to London and then to Northamptonshire. Cecil set out with his brother Herbert in 1871 to prospect for diamonds in the Cape Colony. There he was to stamp his name on history.
America. It was said that a Rhodes was Sebastian Cabot's pilot and it was after him that the state of Rhode Island was named.
Zachariah Rhodes from Lancashire was an early settler there. He had been imprisoned for a short time in Boston for openly remarking: "the court has naught to do in matters of religion" and, being banished from Massachusetts, moved to Providence, Rhode Island in 1644. Henry Rhoades, also from Lancashire, arrived in the late 1630's and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts. Both Zacharias and Henry have a large number of descendants.
Other early Rhodes settlers were:
- John Rhodes in Virginia from Guernsey (in the Channel Islands) in
the 1630's
- and John Roades, a Quaker from the Barlborough, Derbyshire line, in Pennsylvania (Fayette county) in the 1690's.
"John Rhodes was shot while standing in
his doorway. Eve Albright Rhodes and a son were killed in the
yard. Five other children were killed. Eight children
survived."
A marker was erected on the site where this happened in 1985.
Ellis Rhode published his The Rhodes Family in America in 1959. It covered the descendants of John Rhode who came to South Carolina from Germany in the 1770's and later moved to Ohio and Indiana. Family tradition has it that he came to America as a young man and enlisted in the Revolutionary War.
Many other Rhodes (or similar sounding names) came from Germany to America in the 18th century.
New Zealand. The four Rhodes brothers - William, Robert, George, and Joseph - were the sons of William Rhodes, a tenant farmer in Yorkshire. They had come to New Zealand in the days before organized settlement (William arriving as early as 1836) and played an active part in the early political, business and farming life of the country. It was said that they were men of shrewd judgment, bustling energy, and full of Yorkshire determination. All of them amassed considerable wealth. Their descendants today in New Zealand are numerous.
Select Rhodes Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Rhodes Names
William Rhodes was the first very successful entrepreneur of the New Zealand colony.
Cecil Rhodes was a British colonial financier and statesman in South Africa. As Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in the 1890's he helped to extend British territory north into what was then called Rhodesia.
Wilfred Rhodes was a Yorkshire and England cricketer who took over 4,000 wickets with his slow bowling over his career.
Zandra Rhodes is a contemporary English fashion designer.
Select Rhodes Today
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For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.