Rhodes Family - Maryland and Pennsylvania

My 3x great grandfather George Rhodes (1783-1847) was a stonemason and house builder, who contracted for the U. S. Naval Shipyard at Gosport, Virginia.  He married Anna Maria McCabe in 1805.  Their third  son George (1813-1885) married Elizabeth Cunningham  at Georgetown, Washington, DC, in 1838, and took up farming around Hyattstown, Frederick Co., Maryland. George and Elizabeth had nine children, the eldest being my great grandfather William Lee Rhodes, born at Hyattstown in 1840.

William Lee Rhodes (1840-1902)

Maryland, being a slave state, but not in rebellion, had divided loyalties during the American Civil War.  Their father being a slaveholder, William Lee and his brother George joined the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, William attaining rank of captain, his brother that of sergeant.  A letter received by William's daughter Nelle in the 1920's indicates that her father served in General Jubal Early's Corps, General Robert Rodes Division.  He may have been at Petersburg at the end of the War.  His father George was held at Fort McHenry, Maryland, for two weeks in October-November, 1862, as a political prisoner, probably because of his sympathies or aid he may have offered the Confederates. (The Battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam was fought nearby in Maryland in September, 1862).


After the Civil War, William returned to Hyattstown for a short time, then moved to Chambersburg, Pennysylvania, where he married Barbara Allen Heayd in 1869.   William's uncle, William Powell Rhodes (1809-1887), had purchased property at Chambersburg in 1849, and it may have been this tie which attracted him there.  (William Powell Rhodes later relocated to Virginia and Missouri).

William Powell Rhodes' daughter Annie (William Lee's first cousin), who grew up near Chambersburg, married a Methodist Minster, Reverend Leonard Marsden Gardner (1831-1925).  They resided at York Springs, Adams County, Pennsylvania, north of Gettysburg.  On the morning of July 4, 1863, as Lee was withdrawing form Gettysburg, a messenger with dispatches for Union commander General George Meade asked Reverend Gardner how to get around the rebel forces and reach Meade's headquarters.  Gardner, being a strong Union supporter, personally escorted the messenger there; and then spent the following week assisting the sick and wounded from both armies who remained at Gettysburg.  He described the scene in an article, "The Carnage at Gettysburg - As Seen by A Minister".  During the Wilderness Campaign of 1864, he again ministered to and aided wounded soldiers, serving with the Union Army of the Potomac.

Of William Lee Rhodes' siblings, his brothers Charles Cunningham Rhodes (1850-1921) and Frank Valerius Rhodes became lawyers and formed the law firm Rhodes and Rhodes in Baltimore, Maryland.  Charles Rhodes met a sad end, when returning home from a store on the evening of November 29, 1921, and crossing the tracks at the Howardville, Maryland, station, he was struck and killed by the mail train of the Western Maryland Railroad.

William Lee Rhodes and Barbara Heayd had nine children, the second youngest being my father's mother Nelle, who married James Cowsill, Sr., in 1913.  The Chambersburg farm was sold in 1917 and is now the Rhodes Grove Camp and Conference Centre, a Christian retreat. 

Market Volatility

I keep hearing to expect "Volatility" in the stock markets.  Nothing new, really.  Some event spooks investors and they sell in a panic.  Sometimes it lasts a few hours; sometimes a few days; but sometimes a prolonged slump sets in.  Eventually, however, good companies return to their original prices.

During the fall of 2008, stock prices fell 40% in reaction to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the panic that ensued.  By the following summer, most had recovered substantially.  However, the American and Canadian economies have limped along and anticipated growth hasn't occurred.

Last week, the markets continued a two-week downtrend, particularly alarming on Thursday, when the Dow Industrial Average had its sharpest sell-off since 2008.  The current slump is attributed to sovereign debt problems in the U. S. and Europe, a fear that austerity measures to reduce debt will further injure weak economies.

After the markets closed on Friday, Standard and Poor's reduced their rating on U. S. Government bonds from AAA (top) to AA+, the first time U. S. bonds have not had the highest rating.   Standard and Poor's doesn't believe that the U. S. is in danger of defaulting on its bonds, but instead cited a lack of political will by the Federal Government to deal with its growing debt.

How will this affect the stock market?  We'll have to wait and see.  A lack of confidence in the future of the U. S. economy may lead to a sell-off.  On the other hand, nothing immediately changes, and two other bond rating agencies (Moody's and Fitch) continue to rate U. S. bonds AAA.

What do I do as an individual?  The stocks I hold are high quality, pay dividends, aren't overpriced, and have had good growth long-term (more modest recently).  As a long-term investor, I should hold on and not be checking the market every day.  At least this is the advice I hear.  I don't consider myself good at predicting the future, so I shouldn't try to be too smart.  Emotions are likely to take control if I do.

Before the crash of 2008, there were a lot of signs of problems. Asset-backed commercial paper had frozen in Canada in August 2007.  Bear Stearnes investment bank had collapsed, and fears about Lehman Brothers were prominent.  At that time, I sold most of my market holdings ahead of the crash. Now I'm much more heavily-invested.  How worried should I be?

Getting On

I visited with my sister-in-law (or maybe my ex-sister-in-law) yesterday.  She was married to my brother for forty-two years, but they separated in 2007 and later divorced.  They had four children, all grown, and now scattered in different locations, none nearby.  She lives alone in a small two-bedroom apartment in an adjoining municipality.

I don't know if anyone's life unfolds as they expected it too.  We end up living in different locations, having careers that we sometimes fall into more than plan, with partners who came along at the right time.  Relationships are built on fulfilling one another's needs, sometimes held together by a sense of commitment, obligation, or simply convenience. Even when you've been together a long time, the relationship is vulnerable.

My sister-in-law and I talked about what older people often do, our histories, family members no longer with us, things we remember more than plans for the future.  We discussed her Mother and Father, her younger brother who died suddenly last year, some of my family members. (I don't discuss her relationship with my brother or his new life.)  We also discussed whatever small plans she has (her patio garden, decorating), her health, her old friends (and any new ones she might be making), how she gets around, whether she's able to get the things she needs. Her knees are bad and she has some trouble walking distances. She's lost weight, which she attributes to giving up junk food.  She says that she suffered a nervous breakdown after the separation, and I wonder whether she's fully recovered.  She says that she has unlimited, free long distance calling and talks to her children; but she's not active on the internet and I wonder why.

Getting older can be a little sad, not always the "golden years" that we hope for.  Some people cope with it fairly well, as long as their health holds up.  With others, you worry.

Liberal vs. Conservative

Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, "of freedom") is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but most liberals support such fundamental ideas as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights, free trade, and the freedom of religion. These ideas are widely accepted, even by political groups that do not openly profess a liberal ideological orientation. Liberalism encompasses several intellectual trends and traditions, but the dominant variants are classical liberalism, which became popular in the eighteenth century, and social liberalism, which became popular in the twentieth century.
Liberalism first became a powerful force in the Age of Enlightenment, rejecting several foundational assumptions that dominated most earlier theories of government, such as hereditary status, established religion, absolute monarchy, and the Divine Right of Kings. The early liberal thinker John Locke, who is often credited for the creation of liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition, employed the concept of natural rights and the social contract to argue that the rule of law should replace absolutism in government, that rulers were subject to the consent of the governed, and that private individuals had a fundamental right to life, liberty, and property.

Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes it to be a legitimate role of the state to address economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding civil rights. Under social liberalism, the good of the community is viewed as harmonious with the freedom of the individual. Social liberal policies have been widely adopted in much of the capitalist world, particularly following World War II. Social liberal ideas and parties tend to be considered centrist or centre-left.

By Contrast:
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to the way things were. The first established use of the term in a political context was by François-René de Chateaubriand in 1819, following the French Revolution. The term has since been used to describe a wide range of views.

Dreary in Vancouver

I suppose if all I have to do is complain about the rain in Vancouver, things can't be that bad.  After all, about  one-third of my Facebook friends are leading miserable lives (according to them), either struggling with relationships, health problems, finances, drugs, loneliness, or what-have-you.

The irritations in my life are always temporary.  Right now I have the deck half-stained and can't continue, because it's been raining for the last three days.  Pretty small problem.

On the other hand, some of my "friends" struggle with divorce, relationship break-ups, chronic health problems, unaffordable health insurance, drug addiction, isolation, unemployment, anger, depression, etc.  It seems to rain on them continuously.

Some individuals seem to be able to "right the ship".  Others just seem to lurch from one unhappy situation to another.  You would like to tell them to analyze their situation, cut out the bad habits, make a plan, follow it up.  But it's usually not that simple.  Bad habits, refusal to take responsibility, inability to "move on", are ingrained.

I suppose I've experienced things in life that would depress others.  But I've always had as a first principle never to let myself get down, never to dwell on misfortune, never to be without a plan, never to put the control of my life in the hands of others.  If one thing doesn't work, try another.  Maybe I've just been fortunate.

Vancouver Riots

The words used most frequently to describe the rioting that occurred in Vancouver after the Game 7 Stanley Cup loss are "embarrassing" and "shameful".  Much better than "tragic" and "deadly".  No one died.  No buildings were torched.   It was all over before 11:00 pm.  Three hours of mayhem, property damage, and looting over a few blocks.  Hundreds of volunteers came out the next day to clean up.  By its end, the city was back together, except for some boarded up windows. By other standards, not that much of an event.

However, people in Vancouver are plenty upset that this occurred.  There doesn't seem to be any excuse, except some young people wanting to see some action, being drunk, having a stage, and an opportunity to grab some free stuff.   People around the world with legitimate concerns of poverty, democracy, and oppression are demonstrating for their rights; in Vancouver, they riot for electronic gear to sell on the internet, on the excuse of  losing a hockey game.  The image spread around the world is that of hooligan children of affluent parents; any child of the third world (think Tahrir Square) would know better.

It's interesting that my liberal friends seem more upset than the conservative, law and order types.  After all, they are the ones who usually complain about heavy-handed police presence, being too quick to arrest, and violating rights.  None of that here.  Suddenly the call is for more police, more crowd infiltrators, removal of the rowdy early, examination of back packs, put up more fences, have a more secure venue, raise the drinking age, and jail time for those convicted.

The electronic age has changed the dynamics.  While some looted and broke windows, just as many seem to have been taking pictures.  Together with surveillance cameras, the events were well documented.  Some of the rioters have become internet celebrities, something they weren't counting on in the apparent anonymity of the crowd. Some have had their addresses and phone numbers published, to the great discomfort of their families.  Their fifteen minutes of fame may cost jobs, scholarships, and result in criminal charges.  A kind of people's justice has sprung up, some might say vigilantism by the internet.  The legal protection for young offenders not to have their names revealed isn't much use when their actions have already been splashed online.  It will be interesting to see if the pictures can be used in court, unless actual witnesses come forward, but some already stand condemned and are feeling the effects.

Samuel Cowsill

Cowsill family monument, Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, DC

On Dec 30, 1884, my gggrandfather Samuel Cowsill arrived at Baltimore, Maryland,  from Liverpool, England, aboard the ship Circassian, with his wife Catherine and daughters Emma, 15, and Ada, 14.

Samuel had been born in 1831 in Kearsley,  Lancashire, England.  At eleven, his father, also Samuel, was killed in a mine accident at Botany Bay Colliery, Clifton, Eccles Parish, Lancashire, leaving his mother Mary Ann a widow with seven children, ages two to fifteen.  Five years after his father's death, in 1847, his uncle James Cowsill and James' son William were killed on the same day in another mine accident at Spindle Point Colliery.  Prudently, Samuel took up bricklaying as a trade.   He married Catherine in 1854.

Two years before Samuel's arrival in America, his sons Nathan (1855), Edmund Turner (1857),  James (1860), and Arthur (1864) had immigrated from Farnworth, Bolton, England.  They first settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where my grandfather, James Arthur, son of Edmund and Margaret Oakes, was born in 1883.  A few years later, the family relocated to Washington, DC.

In America, the Cowsills became brick contractors.  Nathan and Margaret Evans had five children, Vincent, Evelyn, Nellie, Harold, and Alma.  Edmund and Margaret Oakes had Frederick, Lillian, and James.  Arthur and Matilda Rutherford had Catherine and Arthur Rutherford.  Tragically,  in 1916, 19-year-old Arthur Rutherford Cowsill and a friend drowned in the Potomac River (near the Aqueduct Bridge), when their canoe capsized.  James, who went to San Francisco about 1895, died there in January, 1896, age 35.  In 1906, my grandfather also relocated to San Francisco, in search of work after the great earthquake and fire. 

Some of Samuel's relatives spelled their name Coucill.  His uncle William, whose descendant Walter Jackson Coucill (1915-1982) became a well-known Canadian artist, took this spelling.

Several of Samuel's third cousins also immigrated to the U. S. and Canada at about the same time as he.  Together their descendants make up most of the Cowsills found today in the United States and Canada.