Elijah Rhoades (March 7, 1791

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Following the dissolution of the county government in 1999, county affairs were managed by the Hampshire Council of Governments, which itself ceas ...

– February 9, 1858

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...

) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was the son of Joseph Rhoades and Salome (Rust) Rhoades. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1813. On March 4, 1818, he married Louisa Gardiner, a sister of Chief Judge

Addison Gardiner Addison Gardiner (March 19, 1797 – June 5, 1883) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant governor of New York from 1845 to 1847 and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1854 to 1855. Early life and career ...

(1797–1883). They had no children, but adopted a daughter. He was Clerk of

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

from 1838 to 1840. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(7th D.) from 1841 to 1844, sitting in the 64th, 65th, 66th and

67th New York State Legislature The 67th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 2 to May 7, 1844, during the second year of William C. Bouck's governorship, in Albany, New York, Albany. Background ...

s. At the

New York state election, 1844 The 1844 New York state elections was held on November 5, 1844, to elect the Governor of New York, Governor, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, Lieutenant Governor and four Erie Canal Commission, Canal Commissioners, as well as all members of ...

, he ran on the Whig ticket for one of four vacancies as

Canal Commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

, but was defeated by the Democratic candidates. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1846.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 59, 133f, 144 and 391; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Nirthampton, Mass.''
by Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight (Albany, 1871; Vol. II, pg. 1139) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhoades, Elijah 1791 births 1858 deaths People from Chesterfield, Massachusetts New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American politicians New York (state) state senators People from Onondaga County, New York Williams College alumni