William Rhodes (29 November 1821 – 16 February 1892) was a soldier, farmer and political figure in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He represented Mégantic in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

from 1854 to 1858 as a Reformer and in the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

from 1888 to 1890 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. He was born at

Bramhope Bramhope is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, north of Holt Park and north east of Cookridge. The village is north of Leeds city centre and it is in the LS16 Leeds postcode area ...

br>Hall Estate
in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of William Rhodes and Ann Smith. Rhodes entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1838, and served in

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

, 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 Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, on 16 June. The following year, Rhodes purchased Sillery'
Benmore Estate
(french: domaine Benmore), which has been designated a component of the

Sillery Heritage Site The Sillery Heritage Site (french: site patrimonial de Sillery) is an area containing historic residences and institutional properties located in the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was the first of 13 de ...

since 1964. Rhodes was one of the founders of the Union Bank of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. He was president of the

Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge (french: pont de Québec) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became a western area of Quebec City) and Lévis, Q ...

Company, the North Shore Railway, the Quebec and

Trois-Pistoles Trois-Pistoles is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is also the county seat. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. A ferry crosses the river ...

Railway, and the Quebec and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Railway. Rhodes was also president of the Quebec Geographical Society, a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, 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.

References

1821 births 1892 deaths People from Bramhope English emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people Burials at Mount Hermon Cemetery Canadian justices of the peace Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Military personnel from Leeds {{Liberal-Quebec-MNA-stub