John H. Roadman

ROADMAN, MCCONAUGHY, MILLER, MURRAY, BURKHEAD

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 11/13/2011 at 11:33:17

JOHN H. ROADMAN owns and operates three hundred and twenty acres of the fine land whose richness has made Grundy County the garden spot of Iowa. His estate, located on section 31, Fairfield Township, has been supplied with a beautiful farm residence and all the accompaniments in the way of barns, sheds, etc., that are needed in properly carrying on the domestic and farm economy.

Mr. Roadman is a native of Pennsylvania, where his parents, William and Polly J. (McConaughy) Roadman, were born. The father was a merchant in his native state, and after his removal to Iowa carried on farming. He first came to this state in company with his brother and purchased eight hundred acres of land, a part of which is in the possession of our subject. After transacting this business he returned to Pennsylvania, and ten years later went to Wayne County, Ohio, and there bought a quarter-section of improved land. Having been a merchant for twenty-five years in Pennsylvania, William Roadman opened a general store in a small village called Cedar Valley, and for some time was engaged in this business in connection with carrying on his farm. Then, desiring to improve his property in this state, in 1874 he came to Grundy County, and erecting buildings on his estate, gave his time and attention to the cultivation of the soil.

After the decease of his wife, which occurred in Iowa, June 30, 1875, the father of our subject was married to Mrs. Catherine Miller, and in 1886 they left the farm, and moving to Cedar Falls, there resided until his death, which occurred October 31, 1893, when in his seventy-fifth year. He was a man of culture, and his progressive public spirit placed him among those who sought to promote the growth and enhance the general welfare of this community, and his name is thus inseparably connected with the advancement of various enterprises calculated to improve the county. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

November 29, 1876, Mr. Roadman and Miss Lucetta E. Murray were united in marriage. The lady was born on a farm in Lucas County, this state, and was one in a family of ten children born to John and Elizabeth (Burkhead) Murray, natives respectively of Ohio and Virginia. Her brothers and sisters who are living are: Flora A., Clara J., Frank F., Charlie W., Herbert B. and Estella.

The parents of Mrs. Roadman are still living and make their home in Lucas County, this state, where they own a valuable estate of five hundred acres. The father, who was in early life a blacksmith, came in 1853 to this state, and in the above county purchased a large tract of land. He has been very prosperous in his undertakings as an agriculturist and is now living in retirement. He is respected by those that know him, and is pointed out as a fine example of the self-made men. He has been a member of the County Board of Supervisors, and in his political belief is a Republican.

The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Roadman are: Murray W., Velma P., Charles W., Earl A. and Willie J. Mrs. Roadman is a lady of fine education. She completed her studies in the high school at Chariton, this state, and afterward taught many terms. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has aided her husband very materially in the accumulation of his handsome property.

After his marriage, our subject removed to the eighty-acre farm which was given him by his father, and by good management and prudent investments he has added to it until he now has a valuable estate. Prior to settling down to a farmer's life, he taught school in Ohio, and was thus occupied for five terms after coming to this state. In politics he upholds the principles of the Republican party, and for many years has been Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is highly regarded by all who know him or have had dealings with him.

Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record
of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, Iowa
1894