California Biographies

Transcribed by Peggy Hooper

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives 
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

Source:
History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin 
Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from 
its earliest settlement to the present time.
Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M.
The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905
Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176


JOHN W. RHOADS. The west, prolific of contrasts, of successes and failures, of adventure 
and monotony, of privation and plenty, presents to the student of history no greater evidence of 
its changefulness than the lives of those who represent the second generation from true pio- 
neer. Especially is this the case with John W. Rhoads, capitalist, promoter and land owner of 
Han ford, whose career stands out in bold relief from that of his father, Daniel Rhoads, one 
of the best remembered and most widely respected and appreciated pioneers of 1846. The 
elder Rhoads gained his inspiration from mountain fastnesses, dire want, suffering and crude 
conditions, while his only living son has stepped into a waiting prosperity and has shown his met- 
tle in knowing just how to apply his inherited and perfected ability to latter-day civilization. 

Born in Gilroy, Santa Clara county, November 3, 1859, Mr. Rhoads followed the growing 
fortunes of his father for many years, having come to Kings county when an infant in arms. 
He attained maturity in a home atmosphere calculated to develop whatever of worth lurked 
in his nature, and in 1880 he had so far realized his ambitions that he established a home of his 
own by marrying Rosa A. Sanborn, a native of San Jose, Cal., who was reared and educated 
in Watsonville. Mrs. Rhoads' father, John L. Sanborn, was born in New Hampshire and be- 
came an early pioneer of California. She is the mother of two children, Ethel and Earl. Di- 
rectly after his marriage Mr. Rhoads settled on a farm of his own four miles north of Lemoore, 
consisting of two hundred and forty acres, to the improvement of which, with the additional 
two hundred and forty acres deeded to him by his father, he devoted his time until removing 
to Hanford in 1897. He made many fine improvements on his land, spared neither time nor 
money in making it a valuable and productive property, a fact which affords him great satis- 
faction, as it does also the tenant who now occupies and manages it. Since removing to Han- 
ford Mr. Rhoads has been unceasing in his effort to administer the estate of his father, valued 
at $200,000, and at the same time has taken an active part in many avenues of activity in the 
city and county. He was one of the organizers of the California Gas and Oil Company, now the 
California Limited, operating- in the Coalinga field in Fresno county, and incorporated for 
$100,000. The company owned one hundred and sixty acres of land and put down three wells, 
eventually selling out at a large profit. Mr. Rhoads is also interested in other oil fields and 
companies, and is a silent partner in many concerns of commercial and industrial importance. 
He possesses organizing ability of a high order, and is one of the community's most generous 
and progressive citizens. Extensive travel has brought him into touch with people of corre- 
sponding culture and enterprise, and his friends include persons high in business and social life. 
Schools and churches, charitable organizations and social enterprises profit by his geniality and 
his means, and his influence extends into all avenues where honesty of purpose and correct- 
ness of judgment are needed and appreciated. Fraternally he finds a home with the Masons, 
the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Foresters.