Draft:Thomas Rhoads

{{Short description|American Mormon pioneer, prospector, and early LDS Church member}}

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Thomas Foster Rhoads (also spelled Rhoades; July 13, 1796 – February 20, 1869) was an American frontiersman, prospector, and early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is noted for his leadership during the Mormon migration west, his role in the early California Gold Rush, his association with the Lost Rhoades Mine, and as one of the first settlers of Oakley, Utah.

Early life and family

Rhoads was born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, on July 13, 1796.Davies, J. Kenneth. "Thomas Rhoads, Forgotten Mormon Pioneer of 1846." Nebraska History 64 (1983): 81–95. [https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/doc_publications_NH1983Rhoads.pdf PDF] He served in the War of 1812, then settled in Edgar County, Illinois in 1820, where he worked as a surveyor and road builder. Rhoads married Elizabeth Forster in 1817, with whom he had twenty children, including multiple sets of twins.[https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Rhoades/3932045404090071482 Geni.com – Thomas Rhoades] After Elizabeth’s death in California in 1847, he entered into plural marriages as practiced by some early Latter-day Saints, fathering a total of thirty-six children.[https://www.angelfire.com/ut2/footprints/eagle10.htm Angelfire genealogy page]

Conversion to Mormonism

Rhoads encountered members of Zion’s Camp, a Mormon expedition led by Joseph Smith, in 1834 and was baptized into the LDS Church in 1835. He moved to Ray County, Missouri, where he acquired land and was ordained an elder in the church in December 1837.

Migration West

= The 1846 Journey =

In May 1846, Rhoads led a family group with 12 wagons from St. Joseph, Missouri across the Missouri River, joining other westbound parties such as the Donner-Reed Party and the company led by former Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs.[https://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2021/10/31/the-rhoades-family-and-the-donner-party/ Kamas Valley History: The Rhoades Family and the Donner Party][https://rsc.byu.edu/california-saints/california-beginnings-1846 Religious Studies Center, BYU: California Beginnings 1846] Rhoads was responsible for scouting routes and helping lead the train to California, arriving before the ill-fated Donner Party, which suffered severe losses in the Sierra Nevada.

= Life in California =

Upon arrival, Rhoads worked at Sutter's Fort during the California Gold Rush.[https://californiapioneer.com/thomas-rhoads/ California Pioneer Heritage Foundation – Thomas Rhoads] After the death of his wife Elizabeth, he continued his westward work and was later involved in transporting gold back to the Utah Territory to support the church’s economy, specifically the Deseret Mint.

= Return to Utah =

In 1849, Rhoads led a company of nearly fifty people from Sacramento to the Salt Lake Valley, returning with gold to aid the LDS Church’s finances. In 1853, he became the first white man to winter in the valley that would become Oakley, Utah, where he is commemorated by a local monument.[https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/877 Intermountain Histories: Thomas Rhoads]

The Lost Rhoades Mine

Rhoads is closely associated with the Lost Rhoades Mine legend. In 1852, Brigham Young reportedly commissioned Rhoads to retrieve gold from mines whose location was shared with him by Ute leaders, particularly Chief Walkara, under the promise that it would only benefit the church.[https://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2020/05/11/the-lost-rhoads-mine-the-back-rhodes-of-our-genealogy/ Kamas Valley History: The Lost Rhoads Mine] Rhoads made multiple secret trips into the Uinta Mountains, and stories of lost Spanish mines and treasure have surrounded his name ever since, though the mine’s existence remains unproven.{{cite web |title=The Lost Rhoades Mine: The Back Rhoades of Our Genealogy |url=https://kamasvalleyhistory.org/2020/05/11/the-lost-rhoads-mine-the-back-rhodes-of-our-genealogy/ |website=Kamas Valley History Group |date=11 May 2020 |access-date=27 January 2025}}

Later life and death

By the 1860s, Rhoads moved with two of his wives to the Minersville area west of Beaver, Utah, a region known for early mining development. He may have also worked to establish Mormon mining claims in the Pahranagat Valley, just west of the Utah-Nevada border. Rhoads also served as a missionary among the Yaqui people along the Colorado River.

Thomas Rhoads died on February 20, 1869, in Minersville, Beaver County, Utah, and was buried in the Minersville Cemetery.[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38076329/thomas-foster-rhoades Find a Grave: Thomas Foster Rhoades] His obituary was never published, likely due to LDS Church concerns over publicity surrounding mining activities at the time.

Legacy

Rhoads’s story remains a part of Utah pioneer folklore, especially due to the ongoing legend of the Lost Rhoades Mine. A monument in Oakley, Utah, commemorates his role in the settlement of the area.[https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/877 Intermountain Histories: Thomas Rhoads]