J. F. Rhodes

The town of Fertile finds in J. F. Rhodes one of its representative and pro­gressive citizens and Worth county numbers him among those who are wisely and successfully directing financial interest; for he is the cashier of the Fertile Savings Bank. Moreover, he is entitled to mention in this volume as the first white child born in Fertile township, being a. representative of one of its oldest and best known families. He is a son of William and Hannah (Pence) Rhodes. The father was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, on the 2d of December, 1833, while the mother was a native of Jackson county, Iowa, born November 11, 1839. The Rhodes family in America is descended from Thomas Rhodes, who, with two brothers, emigrated from Yorkshire, England, to the United States between 1720 and 1725, settling in Rhode Island. Not liking the new and undeveloped country, Thomas Rhodes returned to the old world and established his home in Queens county, Ireland, probably on the old estate of Cooracleven, where he died about 1760. His son, John Rhodes, born April 26, 1759, at Cooracleven, Queens county, Ireland, came to the United States because of religious persecu­tion, together with many other refugees. They set sail on the 26th of August, 1796, and John Rhodes took up his abode in Ash Grove, New York, where he became identified with the woolen industry, and subsequently operated mills of his own. Following his death, his son, Joseph Rhodes, succeeded to the business. John Joshua Rhodes, the grandfather of J. F. Rhodes of this review, in company with his brother Joseph, went to Ontario, Canada, in 1826 and there married Abby Jane Secor, while his second marriage was with Miss Pamelia Wilson. He learned the wheelwright's trade in early life and with his brother Joseph built a sawmill and woolen mill at Jordan, Ontario, where he resided until 1839, when he removed to Roscoe, Illinois. There he purchased a farm and also built a sawmill, giving his attention to those pursuits until his death, which occurred February 2, 1859. The Pence family in the United States, from whom J. F. Rhodes of this review is descended in the maternal line, was founded on American soil by Henry Pence, who emigrated from Germany to this country and established his home in Champaign county, Ohio. Gabriel Pence, the grandfather, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, April 27, 1806, and in 1835 removed to Henderson county, Illinois, while in 1839 he took up his abode in Jackson county, Iowa, but in 1857 removed to Cerro Gordo county, where he settled on a farm, there residing to the time of his death, which occurred in 1880. .

William Rhodes

William Rhodes, the father of J. F. Rhodes, was born in Ontario, Canada, December 2, 1833, and in young manhood worked in his father's sawmill. He also learned the carpenter's trade and his early training well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. In 1856 he came to Iowa, and after erecting two houses in Charles City he removed to Worth county in August, 1856. He took up his abode on the present site of the town of Fertile, becoming ­the first settler of Fertile township, and from that time forward he was closely identified with the work of progress and development in the community. While in Mason City he became acquainted with a man who told him of the existence of a mill site at this point and he started out on a trip of inspection. Arriving at the present site of the town of Fertile, he greatly admired the location and determined to settle here. He afterward returned to Charles City to make the nec­essary preparations and purchase the tools and supplies which he needed. These he loaded upon his wagon and with his yolk of oxen started for what was then the boundless wilderness. He arrived on the 6th of August, 1856, and his first work was to build a grindstone frame, in order to set up and sharpen his scythe to cut grass for his oxen. He soon built a little log cabin fourteen by eighteen feet with a Dutch fireplace in one end. He then went to Owens Grove in Cerro Gordo county to secure lumber with which to make the roof. In his cabin he at once took his abode and often three weeks would pass at a time without his seeing a human being. The latchstring was always out, and when he had occasion to be absent from home it was his custom to write in chalk upon the door: "Walk in and help yourself." This was the spirit of old-time hospitality, when every traveler was welcome. In the fall of his arrival wild deer were very plentiful, wild fruits of various kinds were abundant, and one could live the life of an epicure. There were also many specimens of the feathery tribe that furnished an excellent meal. After completing his house and becoming comfortably installed therein, Mr. Rhodes' next task was the building of a dam across the creek for his mill. This he completed, built the mill, installed the machinery and had his sawmill ready for operation by the following July. He continued to run his mill until the spring of 1858, when the high water of that spring cut around the south end of his dam, and mill operations were halted until the dam could be repaired. After the break was stopped the mill was again started, but fate seemed against him, for the following day rain set in torrents and with the dawn of another day it disclosed a swollen stream, which had again cut around the dam, taking away about forty feet of the embankment. Mr. Rhodes says this was the only time in his life that he felt disheartened or discouraged over a loss or setback. The year 1858 was known to all the old settlers as the wet season. Lime creek was not fordable at any time during that summer, and as a consequence no work could be done on the wrecked dam. In February following he was informed of his father's death in Roscoe, Illinois, and he debated with himself as to whether he should leave the country and allow his creditors to fall heir to his mill property and other holdings or whether he should stay and fight it out. He decided on the latter course, not willing that defeat and discouragement should get the better of him, and in the latter part of February, 1859, securing some help, he cut the ice in the creek and extended the dam fifty feet. His persistence merited success and from that time on he met with no further calamity. He operated his mill successfully until August, 1862, when all business and personal considerations were put aside in order that he might join the army and aid in the defense of the Union.

Mr. Rhodes enlisted as a member of Company B, Thirty-second Iowa Infan­try, under which command he served until the close of the war, taking part in a number of hotly contested engagements and proving at all times a brave and loyal soldier. After his discharge he resumed the operation of the sawmill, which he had improved and which he continued to operate until 1868. In that year he built a gristmill thirty-four by forty-two feet and two and a half stories in height on the site of the old sawmill. This is a three-burr mill and has a capacity of fifty barrels of high grade flour daily. He and his son, J. M. Rhodes, whose name introduces this record, now own the mill in partnership and still operate it, although the father is now in his eighty-fifth year. He is still in quite fair health for a man of his age.

J. F. Rhodes was reared under the parental roof and the public schools of Fertile afforded him his educational opportunities. He worked upon his father's farm until he reached the age of twenty-two years, early becoming familiar with all the duties and labors incident to the development and cultivation of the land. He then entered his father's mill, with which he was identified until his thirty-first year, and during eight years of that period he had charge of the mill. In 1892, however, he turned his attention to financial interests by establishing the Fertile Bank, of which he became cashier, and for twenty-five years the institu­tion was conducted as a private bank. In the spring of l917 they built a modern bank building and in November of that year the business was incorporated under the name of the Fertile Savings Bank. Mr. Rhodes remained as cashier and the dictator of the financial policy of the institution, which has always ranked as one of the safe moneyed concerns of the county. While a progress method has been followed, it has always been tempered by a safe conservatism that has awakened the confidence of the public. Mr. Rhodes is familiar with every phase of the banking business and he has ever carefully protected the interests of his depositors.

In 1883 J. F. Rhodes was united in marriage to Miss Dora Kirk of Fertile, a daughter of William Kirk, who came to Worth county from Mahoning county Ohio, in 1861 and is still living in his eighty seventh year, being yet hale and hearty. To Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes have been born four children: Hilda, the wife of Roscoe hill, who is living three miles south of Fertile, in Cerro Gordo county; Albion W., who died at the age of thirteen years; James F., at home; and Minard W., also under the parental roof.

In his political views Mr. Rhodes has always been a republican and he has served as a member of the school board but has not held political office. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and are interested in all those forces which work for the material, political, social and moral progress of the community. Mr. Rhodes, without invidious distinction, may be termed the foremost citizen of Fertile. Throughout his entire life he has lived in this locality and has contributed in marked measure to its progress and upbuilding. He has never made the accumulation of wealth the sole end and aim of his life, but has recognized that there are other interests and activities as important as the attainment of success. In fact, his has been a well balanced career in which he has given earnest thought and support to movements for the uplift of the individual and for the betterment of the community at large.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; Pages 38-43

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, January 5, 2006