Thomas Rhoades: The First Mormon in the Truckee Meadows

Thomas Rhoades

Early records indicate that Thomas Rhoades and his family have the distinction of being the first Mormon group to travel through the present day Truckee Meadows area then proceed over the Sierras into California in the early fall of 1846. (J. Kenneth Davies, Olympus Publishing, Mormon Gold). The Rhoades family joined the church while living in Illinois in 1834. From the start, Thomas was a faithful, active member. When persecution of the Mormon population increased, the Rhoades family were targeted and afflicted with the mob’s cruelty. While attending church one Sunday, the mob burned his home, at the same time killing a close personal friend. This, in conjunction with the Nauvoo expulsion, prompted Thomas to join the saints heading west. While camped on the Mississippi River, the family experienced great hardship. Thomas approached Brigham Young with an idea that could help alleviate the suffering. He wrote, “[L]et me go now. I have nearly 200 persons who will gladly follow me to wherever I may choose. Let me take them and go westward until I find a suitable place—I understand that California has much to offer in a good climate and soil—let me take these and blaze the trail west. Should I venture too far, I’ll return when the settlement has been made by you” (Gail R. Rhoades, Footprints in the Wilderness).

Brigham held a council to consider the idea, then granted permission for the westward journey by stating: “[G]o with my blessing. Your company will be the Trailblazers that will pave the road to Zion. When the spring comes, I will follow with the strongest of my company and after that, another will follow me, and so forth until all the saints have been removed from this place; and soon, we may be able to establish the Zion of which Brother Joseph spoke of . . . wherever that place may be” (Gail R. Rhoades, Footprints in the Wilderness).

The Rhoades’s group advanced toward Iowa and shortly came to the Missouri River. There they camped near another emigrant group going the same direction. Two of the men introduced themselves as George Donner and James Reed. Since the Donner-Reed parties were less familiar with overland travel, George and James asked the more-seasoned Thomas Rhoads to join their party. Thomas consented on one condition: the Donner-Reed parties would concede and abide by the direction and rules of the Mormon wagon train. Both Donner and Reed agreed to the mandates stipulated.

The Donner/Reed and the Rhoades groups traveled together without much incident; occasionally running into an occasional skirmish with the Indians who became more difficult the farther west they traveled.

When both groups arrived at Fort Bridger, they had a decision to make. They could choose to use the Hastings cutoff, fabled to be a shortcut, or continue on the safer, slower, middle route. Unfortunately, the Donner Party chose the Hastings cutoff leading to a calamitous demise for many of their group while the Rhoades’ company chose the more conservative middle route. The separation led the Donner and Rhoades parties down two completely different paths and outcomes. 

The safer route took Thomas and his party through the Salt Lake Valley before anyone knew it was to be the saints’ future home. It is uncertain exactly which direction they took from there, but we know they passed through the present-day Reno-Sparks area via the Truckee route sooner than the Donner party.

After the Rhoades arrival at Johnson’s Ranch, north of Sutter’s Fort, California, on October 5, 1846, family members settled in the Sacramento Valley where they began employment with John Sutter.

 Thomas and his family were then in the perfect locale and position to take advantage of the gold discovery on January 24, 1848. Thomas later joined some of the Brooklyn Ship saints as well as several of the Mormon Battalion veterans panning for gold in the nearby American River at a place commonly referred to as Mormon Island. By the time Brigham Young sent a letter in 1849 to the Rhoades asking them to relocate to Salt Lake, Thomas’s wife had died. He gathered one of his sons, three daughters, Sam Brannon, Abner Blackburn, and others to leave California with $17,000.00 of his own gold money and $13,000.00 as collected tithing. He successfully buoyed the lagging economy of Salt Lake. The gold was used to create coinage for the newly founded territorial mint. Thomas benefited quite well during those few years in California.  Brigham touted him as being the richest man in Utah to come out of the gold fields.

California would not be the last state where Thomas mined gold. Three years after arriving in Utah, Thomas was the only man Brigham Young and Chief Walker of the Ute Nation entrusted to secretly mine gold in the Uintah Mountains. Years earlier, the Ute Indians had been victimized by the Aztecs as slaves in the gold mines of Utah. The Utes had no use for gold, so when Brigham Young encouraged Chief Walker to divulge the location of the mines, Chief Walker resorted to a compromise with him. The location would be revealed to only one man who would be under constant surveillance. If the location was divulged at any time, the man would be killed. This man would be allowed only as much as he could carry in his arms at one time and the Utes would not be of any assistance. That man was Thomas Rhoades.

 According to family papers and tradition, the first load weighed 62 pounds. There were several more trips in the ensuing years, each trip took two weeks. It is said that “the Angel Moroni on top of the Temple is overlayed with gold brought from the Indian mines, and also in the spacious rooms of the Temple can be found woodwork with trimmings of said gold” (Pioneer Heritage Library in the LDS Family History Suite infobase.)

Saints of the Sierra: the Westward Migration

To some extent, pioneer saints who passed through, camped, or lived in the shadow of the nearby Sierra are deemed historically insignificant to the development and economy of Northern Nevada. Mormon Station/Genoa and the Donner Party are appropriately chronicled in great detail but little reference is made to Mormon pioneer figures of the same era. Relevant to the broader picture are significant contributions made by men and women who traversed on sod worn down from weary saints, driven from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois because of their religion. In contrast, most textbook histories focus on those who willingly left their homes to pursue adventure or supposed wealth. 

An estimated 20,000 people lived in Nauvoo prior to the exodus in 1846. Within a few months 15,000 were strung out on the plains. Putting it succinctly, Daniel H. Ludlow writes, “For Brigham Young and his associates, the 1846 exodus from Nauvoo, far from being a disaster imposed by enemies, was foretold and foreordained – a key to understanding LDS history and a necessary prelude for greater things to come. From a later perspective too, scholars of the Mormon experience have come to see the exodus and colonization of the Great Basin as the single most important influence in molding the Latter-day Saints into a distinctive people.” “(Reed C. Durham Jr., “Westward Migration, planning and Prophesy,” in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 4:1563).

 From the expulsed saints, various groups branched out to contribute a spectrum of influence in the westward migration of the 1800’s. Facing a rugged forced march, five hundred beleaguered refugees were inducted into the U.S. military as the Mormon Battalion to fight the Mexican/American war. At the time of the Nauvoo expulsion, 238 saints left New York on the ship Brooklyn eventually landing in Yerba Buena/San Francisco; providentially providing the means to help jump start modern California.  Thomas Rhoades and his party of 200 saints helped provide needed tithing funds for the saints in Salt Lake. Thomas’ son, Big John Rhoades, provided assistance in the Donner Party rescue efforts. All of the parties were in the right location at the right time to prosper from the gold rush thus enabling the church some much needed capitol.  The Mormon Battalion, the Brooklyn ship saints and the Thomas Rhoades party were independent pieces of a puzzle that came together to comprise a divine destiny. All the pieces substantiated a base whereupon the gospel could grow and thrive in the latter days.

The Truckee Meadows and Northern Nevada have a rich and vast Mormon record that parallels the dispersed saints era. It is a heritage that goes well beyond the first one hundred years of its later official church organization in 1910. Men and women who traversed this locale in the 1800’s weave an intricate tapestry of life. They contribute stories of tragedy and triumph, riches and rags, security and upheaval. Mormon pioneer journals and recorded history demonstrate how significantly interwoven their lives were with the broader historical scenes of their generation.

Preface by Author Anita Hicks

Preface

I was called to be the chairman for the Sparks Stake, Valley Ward Relief Society Sesquicentennial program in 1992. The March evening was to include a historical presentation featuring many of the past presidents. Having no need to be a historian before; I felt it a daunting task to trace our church roots. Burning questions spun into a frenzy of activity to discover the identity of the first Relief Society president and develop a story line for each president thereafter.  I came to realize it was an impossible task with the information I could glean at the time.

Somehow during my research, I ran across a yellow lined notepad my father, Farrel Ross, wrote on about the origins of the Sparks Branch in 1910. It seemed to me a miracle that he documented the first Relief Society president’s name. Other names and dates no one knew filled the page. Regardless of who I questioned about the early decades of the branch organization, no one knew all the answers, including my father.

The experience in ’92 gave me a fleeting thought that a centennial would be in order for the year 2010. Thinking 18 years was an interminable amount of time to worry about a centennial, I tucked the notes, pictures and written history away without a second thought.

Seventeen years later while reviewing some family history, I came across the same yellow lined paper entitled, “History of the Church in Sparks.” The first date written was, “1909, missionaries were sent from the California Mission to conduct church meetings in Sparks.” I then realized I was looking at a date one hundred years ago.

I felt completely overwhelmed with a desire to promote a centennial event to commemorate the auspicious occasion of the organization in our area. Unclear as to proceed, I thought I could contribute my sesquicentennial Relief Society information and my father’s church related pictures taken while he was a professional photographer. I’m not a writer by profession; I had no intention of writing a volume of history. I had something far less in mind, maybe a scrapbook I could copy off for those who were interested.

My brother-in-law, Melvin Knight, who was serving in the Sparks Stake Presidency at the time, approached me about doing a bigger enterprise. He had grand plans to prepare a 500 page book, throw in a tri-stake celebration, form a committee to help me, and do it all within 7 months. The centennial celebration was a huge success. It included many hundreds of displays, slide shows, pictures, music and talks. The tri-stake committee did a fantastic job. 

Since then, the history has been a work in progress, full of delays and frustration punctuated by many miracles, but clearly taking more than 7 months. For the most part, I received a great deal of support. The Lord directed me to people and places I would never dream of. A vast majority of acquired information was from 1941 onward. I discovered general knowledge of earlier decades was scarce.  Living in a transient area proved to be detrimental for easy access of information. Those who could authenticate information had either moved or died.

Beginning a history with only a few facts meant the hunt was on. Far more time, money and effort were exerted getting acquainted with the early saints. Those saints who forged through very different, difficult times so they could raise their children in the gospel. As a result, I gathered more than enough information about the organization, buildings, missionaries and people to write several volumes

My first focus ranges from the years 1910-1941. It also includes a short history of the very earliest of saints who traversed through our area. The second starts in 1941 with the history of the new Reno Stake of Zion, and ends in 1974 when the Reno North Stake was divided and Sparks Stake was organized. The third will include the formation of the Sparks Stake, and more particularly the Reno temple construction and dedication. It will include a list of all the branch presidents, bishops and stake presidents from 1910-2010.

  I never set out to research, compile or write a scholarly work. I must say up front, this history is abundantly full of information that contradicts some local legends and dates.  I don’t feel comfortable with the scrutiny new facts may illicit.  As a result, I offer my apologies for information that may contradict some sources that others feel are more legitimate. With that as a consideration I’ve tried to document where I can, considering my circumstances. History, at its best, can be inaccurate. Take for example, the address of the original C Street chapel built in Sparks. There have been four different addresses written in various documents. I chose one that seemed reasonable.

Earlier generations were called on to sacrifice their time and means far more than we do today. In several cases the early saints had children who slipped beyond the confines of church activity. They expressed to me their disgruntled feelings about their parents’ whole hearted devotion to the church. Regardless of their posterity’s interpretation, the forefathers of the church in our area were indomitable characters who laid the foundation for growth and prosperity.

I felt a compelling drive to tell stories of common folks who made an impact through their concerted efforts. As it turns out, I discovered that a blog might be the best format to disseminate the information and pictures I’ve collected. 

My hope for this effort is to partially fill the void left by untold tales of the past. I assume the blog will be used as a resource for family history as much as anything else. I am sure some of the stories and people I write about will not be known to their families. There should be something for everybody. Some will find laughter, some will find awe, but in the end it should meet the Lord’s standard which is to show His hand in all things.

Join me in the journey each week as we explore our local history through this blog. My many thanks to Steve Nord who set up the Facebook page and this blog. He will be a regular contributor. We ask that you leave comments on the blog if you have any further insight or information regarding our topics.

~Anita Hicks~