Henry Rhodes was born around 1830 in Pennsylvania to Solomon and Rebecca Rhodes. His father was a farmer who owned $2,080 of real estate and $600 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in North Beaver, Pennsylvania, and he probably served in the Union army during the Civil War. He married a woman named Mary Josephine, and they had at least three children: Herman, born around 1869; Jane, born around 1874; and Carry, born around 1868. They lived in Mahoningtown, and he worked as a carpenter. By 1870, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He died sometime after 1880.