Rhodes, Eugene Manlove, 1869-1934

Eugene Mangrove Rhodes was a writer of the old west. He was nationally known for his poetry, novels and, stories. Eleven of his books appeared serially in The Saturday Evening Post . He lived and wrote in Otero county, New Mexico.

From the guide to the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Papers, 1930-1938, (Museum of New Mexico. Fray Angélico Chávez History Library.)

Eugene Manlove Rhodes was a writer of the old west. He was nationally know for his poetry, novels, and stories. Eleven of his books appeared serially in the Saturday Evening Post. He lived and wrote in Otero County, New Mexico.

From the description of Eugene Manlove Rhodes papers, 1930-1938. (Museum of New Mexico Library). WorldCat record id: 51198940

Author and historian of the American West.

From the description of Papers, 1914-1942. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122630876

From the guide to the Eugene Manlove Rhodes papers, 1914-1942, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska, on January 19, 1869 to Colonel Hinman Rhodes and Julia Manlove Rhodes. He had a brother, Clarence Edgar Rhodes and a sister, Helen Mabel Rhodes. His boyhood was spent in Kansas, his formal education ending at age ten. His mother's home instruction provided him with a foundation for his literary knowledge. In 1881, Eugene and his father moved to establish a homestead in Engle, New Mexico. In 1882, the rest of the family joined them. Eugene's early jobs in New Mexico included stints as a horse wrangler, a well-digger, a miner, an army scout, a freighter, and a cowboy. Above all, Rhodes loved books and he is said to have read even on horseback. In 1883, Rhodes went to work for the Bar Cross Ranch and this experience would provide a lasting inspiration for his stories and books. From 1888 to 1890, Rhodes attended the College of the Pacific. However, because of financial pressures he was unable to complete his education. When he returned to New Mexico in 1890 he taught school briefly, then built a ranch of about eighty acres with cattle and horses close to his family's original homestead near Rhodes Pass in the San Andres Mountains. Rhodes, inspired by his work as a cowhand and in ranching began to write about his experiences. From about 1896 to 1902, Rhodes was involved in a long distance courtship with May Davidson Purple from Apalachin, New York. The two were married on August 9, 1899. Rhodes returned to New Mexico to earn enough money to bring his family west. The family lived in Tularosa, New Mexico for two years where a son, Alan was born on June 12, 1901. May traveled home to Apalachin in 1902 to visit her parents and decided to remain, leaving Rhodes by himself from 1902 to 1906. During these lonely years he wrote at least ten stories. He visited friends, wrote, and read books. In 1904, a flood destroyed his ranch and corrals and by April of 1906 he had decided to join his family in New York. For the next twenty years Rhodes lived and wrote in New York. This period is often referred to as his "years of exile." It was in New York that he reconstructed his beloved New Mexico in fictional tales and essays. By 1926, Rhodes' health had deteriorated and he longed to return to New Mexico. In September of 1917, Gene and May returned to New Mexico. They settled in Alamogordo where they were joined by their son, Alan. Soon after, a long time friend, Albert Fall, allowed them to live in the "Rock House" on his ranch until 1929. Failing health necessitated another move to a different climate. The Rhodes family moved to California in 1931 where they lived near the ocean between La Jolla and San Diego. Here Rhodes wrote, corresponded with old friends, played baseball, and enjoyed his later years. He died on June 27, 1934 and at his request was buried in New Mexico close to his original ranch headquarters at Rhodes Pass in the San Andres Mountains.

From the description of Eugene Manlove Rhodes collection, 1900-1990. (New Mexico State University). WorldCat record id: 60678174

A novelist and short-story writer, Rhodes was one of the few writers about the West who was a westerner himself. Although born in Nebraska, Rhodes spent much of his life in New Mexico, several years in New York, and his last years in California. Rhodes returned to New Mexico frequently in his stories, and his novels include: Good men and true (1910), West is west (1917), Copper streak trail (1922) and Beyond the desert (1934). Of his several novelettes, Paso por aqui (1926) has been singled out as his masterpiece.

From the description of Papers of Eugene Manlove Rhodes, 1892-1951. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122570705

American cowboy and author known as "the novelist of the cattle kingdom."

From the description of Papers about Eugene Manlove Rhodes [manuscript], 1936-1943 (bulk 1936-1937). (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647840697

Eugene Manlove Rhodes. (Box 1, Folder 23).

"Cowboy chronicler" Eugene Manlove Rhodes was born in Tecumseh, Nebraska on January 19, 1869. He moved to New Mexico with his parents in 1881, and immediately fell in love with New Mexico. By age 13, he was an accomplished well digger; by age 16, he was accomplished as a stone mason, road builder (he built the first road from Engle to Tularosa, over the San Andres Mountains), and horseman. Rhodes was largely self-educated. He was an avid and eclectic reader. In 1888, he was admitted to the University of the Pacific, in California. Financial problems caused him to leave the university after two years; however, it was here that his first published works appeared, unsigned, in the college newspaper. His first signed published piece was the poem, "Charlie Graham," which appeared in Charles Lummis' Land of Sunshine in 1896.

Rhodes married May Louise Davison Purple, a widow with 2 sons from Apalachin, New York in 1899. Shortly after their marriage, Rhodes spent nearly two decades away from and longing for New Mexico. During this time, he wrote his first 7 novels. In 1926, he and his wife returned to New Mexico, living in Santa Fe for less than a year, and then, Alamogordo. When they could not afford to pay their rent in Alamogordo, Albert B. Fall gave them a house at White Mountain, 12 miles from Three Rivers. Eugene's poor health exiled him and May to Pacific Beach, California in 1930. Rhodes died on June 27, 1934. Per his request, he was returned to New Mexico to be buried in the San Andres Mountains.

Rhodes' philosophy, "master of no man, servant of none" permeated his life and his writing. Many of his works appeared in magazines including Land of Sunshine, Out West, McClure's, Redbook, Sunset, and Cosmopolitan, and much of his fiction was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post prior to being published as a book. Ten books by Rhodes were published between 1910 and 1935. Several of his works sold as motion pictures. Bernard DeVoto praised Rhodes' works as "the only body of fiction devoted to the cattle kingdom which is both true to it and written by an artist in prose." Despite his apparent success as a writer, for most of his life, Rhodes was broke or in debt.

From the guide to the Eugene Manlove Rhodes Collection, 1916-1972 (bulk 1930 ), (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)