John Rhodes, born in Northampton County, Pa., September 17, 1783, died in Milton, Pa., January 13, 1843. Soon after his admission into the Baltimore Conference in 1808, he was transferred to the Philadelphia and later to the Genesee Conference, extending his labors into Northern Canada. Returning to the Baltimore Conference in 1810, he traveled till 1841, boldly and conscientiously discharging his duties as a preacher. He died in full and triumphant hope of immortal life.
History of the Old Baltimore Conference from the Planting of Methodism in 1773 to the Division of the Conference in 1857, By James Edward Armstrong ยท 1907, p. 444
John Rhodes. The subject of the following notice was born in Northampton county, Pa., Sept. 17, 1783. His ancestors were of the society of Friends, and were associated with William Penn in settling Pennsylvania. When about twenty Tears of age he left the home of his parents, and became a resident of Carlisle, where he became acquainted with, and interested in, the Methodists. In the year 1804 or 1805 he obtained "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," and subsequently attached himself to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Soon after his conversion he received the impression that he was called to the ministry, but long debated with his convictions whether he should go forth as a herald of the cross. He finally yielded to the impression that he was called of God to the work of the ministry, and was admitted into the Baltimore conference, at its session held in Georgetown, D. C., March, 1808. Immediately after his reception into the Baltimore conference he was transferred to the Philadelphia conference, and appointed to Northumberland circuit. In 1810 he was transferred to the Genesee conference, and appointed to the Seneca circuit. Daring the last war with Great Britain he laboured in Upper Canada, zealously and fearlessly doing the will of his Master; often exposed to great peril, and called to endure many and severe hardships in the discharge of his duties.
After peace was proclaimed between the United States and England, he returned to the Baltimore conference, in which he remained until his death. During the years of his ministry in this conference he travelled in different parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, boldly and conscientiously executing the office of his ministry. In 1841, worn down with incessant labour, and greatly enfeebled, he took a superannuated relation, and retired to a small property in Milton, Pa., to spend the remainder of his days in the peace and quietness of retired life. The disease which terminated his earthly history, and which seriously affected his mind, was chronic inflammation of the brain. A short time before his death he became perfectly rational; still felt the consolations of religion, and died in the triumphant hope of a glorious immortality, Jan. 13, 1843, in the sixtieth year of his age.
Minutes Of The Annual Conferences Of The Methodist Episcopal Church, For The Years 1839-1845, Volume Iii, New-York Published By T. Mason And G. Lane, For The Methodist Epi8c0pal Church, At The Conference Office, 900 Mulberry-Street. J. Collord, Printer 1840, p. 352.