Tombstone Tuesday: Rhodes Family, Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria BC Canada

Here is a photo of the Rhodes family plot at the Ross Bay Cemetery in the city of Victoria, BC, Canada.  Henry and Sophia (Cape) Rhodes were an immigrant family from England who came to  Canada in the mid-1800s, and became quite prominent in the early society of Victoria BC.  The following people are buried in this plot:

Henry Rhodes b 1824 England, died 1878 Victoria BC

Sophia Harriet (Cape) Rhodes b 1830 India/Ceylon, died 1899 Victoria BC

Sophia Edith Rhodes, b 1860,  died 1902 Victoria BC; daughter of Henry & Sophia, wife of Hon. George Anthony Walkem

Hon. George Anthony Walkem, husband of Sophia Edith, premier of British Columbia 1874-1876, and 1878-1882; Justice of the Supreme Court of BC 1882-1908.

Charles Wallace Rhodes b 1861 died Sept 12, 1912 Victoria BC; son of Henry & Sophia.

Phebe Brown Rhodes b April 18, 1868  Folsom, CA, USA; died 1932 Victoria BC Canada ; wife of Charles Wallace Rhodes; sister of my great grandfather Frank Ricard Brown, daughter of my gg grandparents H.N.H. Brown and Cordelia Rickard of Folsom & Sacramento, CA.

Mabel Rhodes Sterry, b Jan 18, 1901, died Aug 31, 1930 Victoria BC;  married Francis "Frank" Middleton Sterry who moved back to England with their two children (Ann Louise Sterry and Peter Wasey Sterry) after Mabel's death. Mabel was the daughter of Charles Wallace Rhodes and Phebe Brown.  I posted Mabel's photo on a previous blog post

Unknown Dovey d 1951, likely the husband of Ethel Rhodes, sister of Mabel Rhodes Sterry. I posted Ethel's photo on a previous blog post.


Several other of the children of Henry & Sophia (Cape) Rhodes are also buried here:

Annie Isabella Rhodes, b 1852 Hawaii, died 1920 Victoria BC; wife of unknown Janion; daughter of Henry & Sophia Rhodes

Harry Rhodes b 1854 Hawaii, died 1895 Victoria BC, son of Henry & Sophia Rhodes

Godfrey Rhodes b 1855 Hawaii, died 1882 Victoria BC age 27, son of Henry & Sophia Rhodes

Martha Rhodes  b 1869 d 1919 Victoria BC daughter of Henry & Sophia Rhodes

Emily Beasley Rhodes b 1854, d 1919 Victoria BC (spouse of Harry?)

Harry Dean Morgan Rhodes b 1922, d 1979 Victoria BC (Harry's grandson?)

Photograph of Phebe Brown Rhodes from her obituary, 1932, Victoria BC Times-Colonist Newspaper. The following excerpt is from her extremely long & detailed obituary:

MRS CHARLES W RHODES (PHEBE BROWN RHODES)


Victoria lost one of her most public-spirited citizens yesterday with the death of Mrs. Charles W. Rhodes of 1024 Terrace Avenue, noted for many years as a keen worker in the interests of Jubilee Hospital. Mrs. Rhodes passed away suddenly early yesterday morning as the result of a heart seizure on Tuesday evening, which was of such obviously serious nature that she was removed at once to the hospital. Her daughter, Miss Ethel Rhodes, RN, who was summoned from Seattle, arrived just too late to be with her at the end.

The remains will repose on Saturday at the residence on Terrace Avenue until 2:15 p.m. when the funeral cortege will proceed to Christ Church Cathedral, where services will be held at 2:30 o'clock. The remains will be forwarded to Vancouver for cremation. Interrment will later be made at Ross Bay Cemetary here. haywards BC Funeral Company is in charge of the funeral arrangements.

Mrs. Rhodes was born on April 18, 1868 in Folsom, CA, being the daughter of the late Mr. & Mrs. H.N.H. Brown. She first came to Victoria in 1896 as a bride, her husband the late Charles W. Rhodes, who died about twenty years ago, being the manager for many years at the Brackman-Ker Milling Company. They took up their residence on Terrace Avenue immediately on arrival here, and Mrs. Rhodes continued to make her home there until the last.


CHARLES WALLACE RHODES was born in Victoria BC in 1861 to a pioneer family from England, Henry & Sophia Rhodes. According to his obituary, he first began working in 1878 as a clerk in his father's lumber business, Henry Rhodes & Company. In 1880 he left Victoria and joined the western division of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) as a paymaster. The territory he covered was between Port Moody and Savonas, and he was in responsible for paying the seven thousand men who were forging that railway. He was also required to see to the forwarding of supplies by pack animals over very rough terrain and trails. When he returned to Victoria, he worked as an accountant and as a realtor, until 1889 when he joined the Brackman-Ker Milling Company. He was to stay with that company for twenty years. In addition to his business career, Rhodes served in the militia under a Major Dupont, was an amateur actor in local productions and had a fine baritone voice. He passed away on September 12, 1912. He was a member of the Victoria Native Sons Society, Post #1, the Arion Club, and the Union and Pacific Club. When he died, the flag on the Union Pacific building was flown at half mast in honor of his memory.


Victoria BC Canada is a two hour ferry ride from my home, and I have visited there many times over the years.  In 2001 my mother & I went there and photographed the Rhodes family plot. We tried to find the family home on Terrace Avenue, but were unsuccessful.

Have a great day!

Betty