Early Rhodes and New Roads

In January 2026 I had the opportunity to go to Middlesex County, Virginia to do genealogy research. I’d originally planned to go during the summer, but as my cats were separated then due to redirected aggression (as I wrote about here), that wasn’t possible. As it turned out, though, this was the perfect time for the trip!

As to the backstory, one of my maternal great-great grandmothers was Sarah Jane (Sally) Rhodes.

Born in 1826 in Albemarle County, Virginia, she married my great-great grandfather, John William Anderson, in January 1846. From their marriage license and census records I knew that Sarah’s father was Robert P. Rhodes, but for 30+ years I was not able to confirm the identity of his parents.

In January 2020 (as documented here) everything opened up on this family after finding valuable information in chancery suits. From there–through wills, deeds, and the incredible resource of church records–I was able to move the Rhodes history all the way back to the mid-1600s!

My earliest known Rhodes ancestor was Hezekiah (Ezechias) Rhodes. He was born about 1662 on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel. When he came to this country, he settled in Middlesex County, Virginia. His place of birth was confirmed in a Middlesex County Court court record from 1689 (source: Wikitree):

“Middlesex County Court 1st of April 1689. Ezekiah Roades humbly petitions this Court to prove himselfe a free borne Subject & produceing the evidence of Zachery Mullens for ye same, he is accordingly sworne & his deposition ordered to be recorded. The Deposition of Zachery Mullens examined & sworne saith that Ezekiah Roades was borne in ye Iseland Gernsey within ye Kings Dominion & further yor: Depont. saith that he ye sd. Ezekiah Roades & yor: Depont. we ware play boyes together & I knew him there severall yeares & further saith not. Zachery Mullelns, his marke. Sworne this first day of Aprill in Court. Test J. Vause 89 Cl Cur“

While I don’t know the exact year that Hezekiah/Ezechias arrived in Middlesex County, he married Elizabeth Ann Nichols in Christ Church Parish in 1684.

I wasn’t sure what I could find, in person, that hadn’t already been shared online, but I was ready for a fact-finding adventure and the opportunity to better explore this part of Virginia. So after an almost 3-hour drive, we arrived at the courthouse in Saluda, Virginia, (the county seat of Middlesex County), and the hunt was on!

Church records showed that Hezekiah (Ezechias) Rhodes died in 1717, and I hoped to find a will at the courthouse. Instead, we found an inventory and appraisement of his estate, with his oldest son, John, as the administrator. This was in Will Book B, page 86, though the actual page number was somewhat deceiving (and frustrating) given the way the book was assembled.

While some courthouses allow documents in will and deed books to be photographed, Middlesex County requires that researchers make hard copies of their pages of interest, for a nominal fee. The pages in the books are copies of the original documents–which is understandable, given their age. Unfortunately, however, they are very difficult to read, largely due to “bleed through,” as both sides of the originals were written on. The Rhodes appraisement spans three pages, and ultimately I’ll carefully photograph each page and try to make them clear enough in Photoshop to decipher and transcribe.

It was late afternoon by the time we left the courthouse. We crossed the beautiful Rappahannock River into Lancaster County on our way to Kilmarnock where we’d be staying. The Rappahannock travels a distance of approximately 195 miles from its origin in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, and it separates the Northern and Middle peninsulas in the Tidewater region of the state.

Frost had made a pretty pattern on the driver’s side window of my Jeep the next morning as we were heading out. It was a cold start to the day, but at least we had blue skies and bright sunshine!

After driving south across the Rappahannock back into Middlesex County, our first stop was at Christ Church, just east of Saluda. Most of the records I’d found for this early Rhodes ancestor came from Christ Church Parish, so I was interested in seeing the church and cemetery.

I knew there was no marked grave for Hezekiah in the cemetery, but I still assumed he was buried there, based on information on Findagrave. I was confused, then, when we looked at a directory that listed everyone who was buried in the cemetery and there were no Rhodes mentioned at all!

As we were leaving the cemetery, we were greeted by a woman who was walking out of the Parish Hall building. In the course of our conversation, we learned that Christ Church Parish encompassed the whole of Middlesex County, not just the grounds of this particular church! That meant that that Hezekiah Rhodes had likely been buried in a family cemetery somewhere in Middlesex County, but not in this church cemetery!

I also learned that there were three churches in Christ Church Parish, so the record I’d found in an online Vestry book regarding Hezekiah being paid for “mending the pulpits” didn’t necessarily mean he’d made the repairs at this particular church:

We left the church knowing less than we thought we knew (which is kind of how genealogy research works for me!) and our next stop was the Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society in Saluda.

We were fortunate to be there on a day that Holly, the museum’s director, was working, and she was eager to help us make the most of our visit. Based on some deeds we’d looked at in the courthouse regarding the sale of Hezekiah’s land after his death, she helped us figure out possible areas where the Rhodes land might have been located. Nothing was conclusive, however, because “Barbecue Creek,” which was referenced in the deeds, was nowhere to be found on a map of the county…

She suggested a couple of books that might be helpful with my research, and I ordered the parish register (the one shown on the right) before leaving the museum. This not only contains information about Hezekiah, but also lists the birth, baptism, marriage, and death dates of his wife and several of his children.

As a bit of a coincidence and “small world-ism,” we were surprised to learn that Holly had grown up in the town where I now live! (Seriously, what are the odds?) But as it was getting close to lunch time–and based on her recommendation–we drove to a restaurant called “Something Different” in the town of Urbanna. It did not disappoint; best She-Crab soup I’ve ever had!

I’d never been to Urbanna before (famous for its Oyster Festival each November), and we stopped by one of the town’s marinas on our way to the restaurant:

After lunch, with most of my genealogy research options exhausted, we shifted into tourist mode. Since it was only about 25-30 miles away, I wanted to visit the campground on Gwynn’s Island where Wayne and I had stayed in August 2020.

I probably should have checked before we made the drive, but the campground was closed for the season, and all access to it was blocked. Darn! We only got a small glimpse of the Chesapeake Bay–wow, look at that big, blue water!–but it was a pretty drive and a gorgeous day. No regrets!

After leaving Gwynn’s, we did some wandering. We found a peaceful little park on the Piankatank River….

…. and after leaving Piankatank River Landing, we did a quick drive through Deltaville and out to Stingray Point before crossing the Rappahannock, yet again, on our return to Kilmarnock.

The name “Rappahannock” comes from an Algonquian (Native American) word meaning “river of quick, rising water” or “where the tide ebbs and flows.” Likes many rivers that empty into the Chesapeake Bay, the last 50 miles or so of the Rappahannock are tidal.

Before starting for home the next day, we drove just northeast of Kilmarnock to Hughlett Point Natural Area Preserve on the Chesapeake Bay. In the interest of time we just went straight to the beach, but trails there lead to a couple of observation decks in marshlands. Maybe on a future trip?

Hundreds of Canada Geese and seagulls were in the water to our left…

…with the Bay’s big, blue water to our right….

We were only about 50 miles from Westmoreland State Park on the Potomac River, and I thought that would be our next stop after leaving Hughlett Point. As we passed through Lively, VA, however, we saw a sign for Belle Isle State Park. Neither of us had ever been there and it was much closer than Westmoreland, so off we went!

The visitor center is right on the Rappahannock River, and we enjoyed looking at the various exhibits.

The gate to the campground was closed so we weren’t able to drive through to see it, but a woman I met several years ago said it’s her favorite campground, so I’ve always been curious about it. Pictures of some of the campsites are featured here. Looks very nice!

Such a beautiful day and such a beautiful state park!

We saw several Bald Eagles at Belle Isle, but they were too far away to get good pictures. I could just see their white heads and white tail feathers…

So while I didn’t find all of the information on my Rhodes ancestor that I’d hoped to find, I actually learned quite a lot. And that sets me up for a visit to the courthouse in Orange, Virginia, to see what I can find out about Hezekiah Rhodes, Jr. who’s my 6th great grandfather!

I’m so thankful that we had the opportunity to do some genealogy research, to see new places, to visit new towns and restaurants, and to explore new roads in this beautiful and diverse state. Experiences like these are to be treasured. ❤️