W. H. (William Henry) Rhodes

Born in Windsor, North Carolina, in 1822, William Henry Rhodes later lived in Texas before making his way to California during the Gold Rush era. He built a career as a lawyer and also served as a probate judge, while writing poetry, essays, and fiction.

Rhodes often wrote under the pseudonym Caxton. He is most closely associated with The Case of Summerfield, first published in 1871 in a San Francisco newspaper, a story often noted today for its early science-fiction ideas and its dark, suspenseful mood.

Though he was active in several kinds of writing, his reputation has lasted mainly because of that imaginative speculative work. He died in 1876, but his name still appears in discussions of early American fantasy and science fiction.