Biography of Willis Rhoads, pages 443/444/445.  History of 
DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 
Indianapolis, 1914.



Fealty to facts in the analysis of the character of  a 
citizen of the type of the gentlemen whose name appears at 
the head of this sketch  all that is required to make a 
biographical review interesting to those who have at heart 
the good name of the community honored by his residence, 
because it is the honorable reputation of the man of 
standing and affairs more than any other consideration, 
that gives character and stability to the body politic, In 
the broad light which things of good report ever invite the 
name and character of Mr. Rhoads, stand revealed and secure 
and, though of modest demeanor, his career has been 
signally honorable and useful and may be studied with 
profit by the youth entering upon his life work. Willis 
Rhoads, the efficient and cashier of the City National Bank 
of Auburn, Indiana, was born on October 2, 1867, in Steuben 
county, Indiana, and is the son of Richard F. and Nancy 
(Gates) Rhoads. Both of these parents were natives of New 
York state, being brought by their respective parents to 
Indiana in their childhood. Richard F. Rhoads was the son 
of Lorenzo D. and Abbie Rhoads, who came to this locality 
in 1850 and entered a tract of government land in Steuben 
county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. 
Nancy Gates was born in Broome county, New York, and in 
1840 was brought to Steuben county, where her parents also 
entered government land and were numbered among the early 
pioneers. Lorenzo Rhoads had a brother who was a colonel in 
the war of 1812 and the land which the family acquired here 
was obtained through government script. They still hold 
script entitling them to forty acres of government land in 
certain states. Richard F. Rhoads and Nancy Gates were 
married in Steuben county, were life-long farmers, and 
lived there to good old ages, the father dying in 1910 and 
the mother in 1911. They were members of the  Methodist 
Episcopal church, and under their careful direction their 
son Willis was reared with correct habits and instilled 
with correct principles of living. He was reared on the 
home farm and attended the public school of Orland, 
graduating from high school there in 1886; then he became a 
student in the Tri-State Normal School at Angola, where he 
was graduated in 1891, with the degree of Bachelor of 
Science. He then applied himself to the reading of law in 
the office of Judge Roby, at Angola, and in 1894, he was 
admitted to the bar, when Judge Stephen A. Powers was on 
the local bench. Mr. Rhoads continued his law studies and 
took a course at Indiana Law School, where he graduated in 
1895, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Returning then 
to Angola, Mr. Rhoads formed a partnership with Judge Roby 
and entered actively upon the practice of his profession. 
In 1896 he was elected prosecuting attorney for the thirty-
fifth judicial circuit, comprising of DeKalb and Steuben 
counties, and was re-elected in 1898, thus serving two 
terms in this responsible position, in which he earned many 
warm encomiums because of his faithful and able performance 
of duty. In 1900 Mr. Rhoads moved to Auburn and again 
formed a partnership with Judge Roby, who in the meantime 
had moved to that place. Five months after the partnership 
was formed Judge Roby was appointed to the bench of the 
state appellate court, and Mr. Rhoads thereafter practiced 
alone until 1907. Well grounded in the basic principles of 
law, a close student of late decisions, careful and 
painstaking in the preparation of his cases, and a forceful 
and effective pleader in court, Mr. Rhoads achieved a 
splendid success in his practice and earned the high regard 
of his professional colleagues. On May 1, 1907, Mr. Rhoads 
was elected cashier of the City National Bank, of which he 
had been a stockholder since 1902, his selection being 
prompted largely by the notable success with which he had 
managed and closed up the affairs of the DeKalb Bank, at 
Waterloo, and the McClellan Bank, at Auburn, both being 
owned by the same stockholders and failing at the same 
time, and of which Mr. Rhoads had been appointed trustee in 
bankruptcy. As cashier of the City National Bank, Mr. 
Rhoads has demonstrated business and financial ability of 
high order and the splendid record which this strong 
institution in making is due in a large measure to this 
energetic efforts, personal influence and sound judgement 
in the handling of its affairs.  The City National Bank of 
Auburn was organized in 1902 with an authorized capital of 
$50,000, the principal promoters of the enterprise being W. 
H. McIntire (who became president), Dr. F. M. Hines, F. E. 
Davenport, cashier, and I. M. Zent, of Auburn, and Timothy 
J. Knisely and David Knisely, of Butler. In 1907 Mr. 
McIntire sold his stock in the bank, the new officiary 
being as follows: President, Dr. F. M. Hines; vice-
president, C. M. Brown; cashier, Willis Rhoads, and 
assistant cashier, Fred W. Knott; directors, F. M. Hines, 
C. M. Brown, I. M. Zent, Willis Rhoads, Rev. August Young, 
H. Garrett, Philip Carper and Emory A. Shook. The financial 
statement of the City National Bank, at the close of 
business on June 4, 1913, was as follows: Resources---Loans 
and discounts, $255,706.63; overdrafts, $4,002.13; W. S. 
bonds to secure circulation, $25,000; other bonds to secure 
U. S. Postal savings deposits, $7,000.00; bonds, 
securities, etc., $4,000.00; banking house, furniture and 
fixtures, $18,330.64; due from national banks not reserve 
agents, $25,505.49; due from approved reserve agents, 
$60,647.37; checks and other items, $1,041.03; notes of 
other national banks, $880.00; cash on hand, $19,360,19; 
redemption fund with U. S. treasurer, $1,250.00; total, 
$422,723.48. Liabilities---Capital stock, $50,000.00; 
surplus fund, $14,000.00; undivided profits, less expenses 
and taxes paid, $4,319,58; national bank notes outstanding, 
$25,000.00; deposits subject to check, $205,266.93; demand 
certificates of deposit, $93,877.82; saving deposits, 
$25,382.63; postal savings deposits, $4,876.52; total, 
$422,723.48. A Republican in his political affiliations, 
Mr. Rhoads has taken an active and effective interest in 
public affairs, and in 1908 he was the nominee of his party 
for state senator, but went down to defeat together with 
the rest of the ticket. Fraternally, he is a member of the 
Masonic order, in which he has attained the first fourteen 
degrees in the Scottish Rite, and he is also a member of 
the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Golden Eagle. 
Religiously, he is, with his wife, connected with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is one of the 
stewards. In the civic life of the community, Mr. Rhoads 
has been a prominent figure and an influential factor, 
having been for a number of years a member of the Auburn 
Library board and for a number of years chairman of the 
board of children’s guardians. Socially, he and wife move 
in the best circles and are deservedly popular among their 
acquaintances.  In 1897 Willis Rhoads was married to Clara 
Morgan, a daughter of Winfield S. and Elizabeth (McCurdy) 
Morgan. She was born four miles northeast of Butler, this 
county, where her parents had been early settlers. Her 
maternal grandfather, John McCurdy, was one of the pioneer 
Methodist preachers in this county and was a well-known 
character and a man of great influence for good. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Rhoads have been born three children, one son and two 
daughters, namely: Frank Morgan, born October 18, 1898; 
Margaret Lucile, born October 27, 1902, and Joanna 
Elizabeth, born July 6, 1910.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com