She allegedly helped her husband, Henry Berry Lowrie, flee after he and his gang killed many white people in attempt to avenge his father and brother's deaths.
[3][4][5] Rhoda is thought to have grown up living in Robeson County with her father, who is believed to be a white man who changed his name from "Gorman" to "Strong" after fleeing murder charges in the state of Virginia.
[2] During this time the Lumbee Indians suffered from a state law that forbid them from voting or owning guns, making farming their only way of obtaining food.
[1] Rhoda and her cousin Henry Berry Lowry started dating and not long after they made plans to wed. On December 7, 1865, the two were legally married in Robeson County, North Carolina.
According to legend, Rhoda walked eighty miles from Scuffletown to Wilmington, North Carolina to set her husband free.
When he bent down to remove his shoes, Rhoda pulled a heavy lead pipe from under her skirt and knocked the jailer unconscious.