William Rhodes (Canadian politician)

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}

{{Other people|William Rhodes|William Rhodes (disambiguation){{!}}William Rhodes}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = William Rhodes

| honorific-suffix =

| image = William Rhodes.png

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| office = Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Mégantic

| predecessor = Andrew Stuart Johnson

| successor = Andrew Stuart Johnson

| term_start = 1888

| term_end = 1890

| office2 = Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

| term_start2 = 1854

| term_end2 = 1858

| birth_date = {{birth date|1821|11|29}}

| birth_place = Bramhope Hall, Yorkshire,
{{flag|England}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|1892|02|16|1821|11|29}}

| death_place = Sillery, {{flag|Quebec}},
{{flag|Canada}}

| resting_place = Mount Hermon Cemetery, Sillery, Quebec, Canada

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William Rhodes (29 November 1821 – 16 February 1892) was a soldier, farmer and political figure in Quebec. He represented Mégantic in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1854 to 1858 as a Reformer and in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1888 to 1890 as a Liberal.

He was born at Bramhope [http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=2008714_167102 Hall Estate] in Yorkshire, England, the son of William Rhodes and Ann Smith.{{Quebec MNA biography|rhodes-william-5071|William Rhodes}}{{Cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/4152be6d-d3ec-443f-ade7-f1b0fa81549a|title=Bramhope Hall Estate, deeds — Catalogue description — 205 - West Yorkshire Archive Service, Leeds — ACC 1057 — Discovery|work=The National Archives|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-11-14}} Rhodes entered the British Army in 1838, and served in Canada East, from 1842 to 1844.

In 1847, he retired from the army as a captain and settled in Sillery, Canada East. During the same year, he married Anne Catherine Dunn, granddaughter of Thomas Dunn and Mathew Bell, at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Quebec City, on 16 June. The following year, Rhodes purchased Sillery's [http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=110489&type=bien#.W-vTAndKjaY Benmore Estate] ({{langx|fr|domaine Benmore}}), which has been designated a component of the Sillery Heritage Site since 1964.{{Cite web|url=http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=110489&type=bien#.W-vTAndKjaY|title=Domaine Benmore|work=Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec|language=fr-ca|access-date=2018-11-14}}

Rhodes was one of the founders of the Union Bank of Lower Canada. He was president of the Quebec Bridge Company, the North Shore Railway, the Quebec and Trois-Pistoles Railway, and the Quebec and Richmond Railway. Rhodes was also president of the Quebec Geographical Society, a justice of the peace, and a lieutenant in the militia. He served in the Quebec cabinet as Commissioner of Agriculture and Colonization. Rhodes was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1890. William Rhodes died at his residence of the Benmore Estate in Sillery, at the age of 70.