William Rhodes (1820-1885)
William Rhodes (1820-1885)
1886 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM RHODES was born on the 8th of April, 1820, at Fort Augustus, Invernesshire. His education was conducted at Bandvie and Inverness until he was fourteen, when he went to Edinburgh, and was at the High School there from 1836 to 1838.
He was in the office of Mr. Joseph Mitchell, M.Inst.C.E., Inverness ; from thence he went for five years to the establishment of Messrs. Fenton, Murray, and Jackson, Engineers, Leeds, and was engaged constructing and fitting up locomotives, stationary and marine engines, also superintending the erection of dredging engines on the River Shannon, under Mr. Thomas Rhodes, M.Inst.C.E.; then, from 1843, for three years he was similarly engaged in the establishment of Messrs. Buddicom and Co., of Rouen, Evreux, &c.
From 1846 to 1849 he was employed on the Leeds and Dewsbury Railway as assistant engineer to Mr. Henry Renton, M.Inst.C.E., then for two years he was superintending (for the War Department) the erection of fortifications at Alderney.
For upwards of twelve years he was employed by Messrs. Thomas Brassey and Co., for seven years of the time as agent on the Paris and Cherbourg Railway, and for four years on the Bilbao and Tudela Railway, and was for some time on the Central Argentine Railway, and since July 1669 had been Resident Engineer for the Commissioners of the Caledonian and Crinan Canals, and since January 1878, on the Caledonian Canal, till the time of his death, which took place quite suddenly from heart disease, at the official residence, Clachnaharry, Inverness, on the 21st of July, 1865.
Mr. Rhodes was conspicuous for his unimpeachable integrity and for exercising the full amount of his energies on whatever he was engaged upon, and was highly esteemed by those who knew him best.
He was elected an Associate of the Institution on the 9th of January, 1866, and was transferred to the class of Members on the 31st of March, 1865.