Rhodes, Amos Giles, 1850-1928

Amos Giles Rhodes (1859-1928) was born in Henderson, Kentucky on December 29, 1859. In 1875, he came to Atlanta to work for the L and N Railroad. He married Amanda Dougherty in 1876. The couple had two children, Joseph D. and Louanna. In 1878, he opened a furniture store on Decatur Street. He is credited with being the originator of the installment payment plan because he allowed customers to make weekly payments on purchases. In the 1880s, A.G. Rhodes’s
furniture business thrived, and he opened additional furniture stores all over the country. In 1890, he formed a partnership with J.J. Haverty, who also lived in Atlanta. Rhodes-Haverty Furniture opened its doors in St. Louis, Missouri in 1891, and it operated until 1912, when the partnership ended amicably. A.G. Rhodes died on June 16, 1928.

Amos Giles Rhodes (1850–1928) was an Atlanta, Georgia furniture magnate. He was born in 1850 in Henderson, Kentucky. In 1875, he came to Atlanta as a laborer for the L & N Railroad. In 1879, he began a small furniture company which would grow into a large furniture business and make Rhodes a "pillar of the community". Some sources credit him with inventing the installment plan for buying furniture. Mr. A.G. Rhodes died in 1928, leaving a substantial endowment.

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Family
He married Amanda Dougherty in 1876

Amos was the son of Joseph b 1817 OH, and Louisa Rhodes b 1813 VA. Joseph was a wagon maker. Amos was a furniture magnate. He arrived in Atlanta in 1875, and married his wife Amanda Dougherty in 1876. He began a furniture business in 1879 that would make him wealthy. In addition to the original firm of A.G. Rhodes & Son, Rhodes formed a partnership with J. J. Haverty in 1889. The headquarters of Rhodes-Haverty was moved to St. Louis in 1891, to better serve what Rhodes saw as a ripe market there for his brand of furniture merchandising. Atlanta was home, however, to both men and in 1893 the headquarters of Rhodes-Haverty returned to Atlanta. Known as Rhodes-Snook-Haverty between 1894 and 1897, the partnership with Haverty was amicably dissolved in 1908 and the assets of the seventeen stores in their chain divided. Rhodes also had extensive real estate investments not only in Georgia, but also in Florida and South Carolina.