Lewis Henry Rhoades was born in Fulton County, Illinois, August 1844. He crossed the plains with his parents by ox-team in 1848, arriving in Marion County, Oregon, in September 1848. Six months later Alfonso Rhoades relocated to a new claim in Clackamas County. Alfonso and Phebe Rhoades relocated on a third claim at French Prarie, where they remained until 1862, farming, stock-raising, and milling.
Catharine Parrett was born in England in 1845. Her parents, Samuel and Marie Parrett sailed from Liverpool in 1852, around Cape Horn, to Portland, Oregon. They arrived in 1853, settling at "The Mountain" near Newberg, in the Willamette Valley.
Catharine Parrett and Lewis Rhoades were married December 27, 1860. Their first child, Henry Lincoln, was born and died in Marion County, Oregon. Lewis and Catharine Rhoades moved to Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory, in the summer of 1862, arriving at Ilwaco in August. Lewis Rhoades worked at the Daniel Wilson Mill. His father, Alfonso Rhoades and his four year old brother Lucius joined the young couple in 1863. The Rhoades moved to the first falls on the Palix River, to build a new mill and to establish their first homesite. In August 1863, Lewis Rhoades moved to Bruceport so he could harvest oysters at night.
Catharine and Lewis Rhoades were the parents of thirteen children. Phebe Helen was the first child born in Washington Territory in October 1863. In 1864 Lewis Rhoades walked to Olympia to obtain the land patent for the Sand Point Ranch, acreage two miles south of what became the village of Bay Center. The Rhoades established a home in Bay Center in 1874.
Beginning c.1877, Lewis Rhoades was engaged in oystering. The Occidental Oyster Company was a Rhoades family enterprise. Lewis Rhoades also served as a Methodist preacher c.1878. He went to Alaska on a Methodist mission trip in 1900. In 1910, Lewis Rhoades moved to Roseburg, Oregon, establishing "L.H. Rhoades & Co.: Hardware, Harness and House Furnishings-All Kinds of Second Hand Goods." He died of cancer in Astoria, Oregon, in 1913. Catharine Rhoades remained in Bay Center until her death at Rhoadesia Beach in 1927. Grace Rhoades Lang, their youngest daughter, lived in Bay Center until her death in 1969. Lewis and Catharine Rhoades and five of their children are buried in the Pioneer Cemetery in Bay Center, Washington.
Lewis Henry Rhoades, born August 20, 1844, Fulton Co., Illinois. To Oregon, overland 1848, married December 27, 1860. Died July 14, 1913, buried in Pioneer Cemetery, Bay Center,Washington.
Catharine Parrett Rhoades, born October 27, 1845, Hever, England. To Oregon by ship 1853, married December 27, 1860. Died October 15, 1927, buried in Pioneer Cemetery, Bay Center,Washington.
Children
The Lewis Henry Rhoades papers include correspondence, diaries, family business papers, records of the Occidental Oyster Company, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, sermons and short stories, written by Lewis Rhoades 1911-1912.
The collection is arranged chronologically, beginning with the papers of Lewis and Catharine Rhoades, then those of their eleventh child and eighth daughter, Grace Rhoades Lang, and concludes with the correspondence of Grace Lang's younger son, Byron Lang.
This collection is open for research use.
[Item Description]. Cage 271, Guide to the Lewis Henry Rhoades Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.