John Blair Radford (April 20, 1813 – June 30, 1872) was an American physician, businessman, farmer, and namesake of

Radford, Virginia Radford (formerly Lovely Mount, Central City, English Ferry and Ingle's Ferry) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of 2020, the population was 16,070 by the United States Census Bureau. For ...

Biography

Radford was born in

Bedford County, Virginia Bedford County is a county (United States), United States county located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, Virginia, Bedford, ...

, the son of William Radford and Elizabeth Moseley. He attended medical school in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1836, Radford married Elizabeth Campbell Taylor and they had 7 children, including Nannie, who married

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General Gabriel C. Wharton, and

James Lawrence James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, ...

, who served two terms in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. After their marriage, John and Elizabeth moved to Radford, which at the time was a community known as " Lovely Mount." John opened a medical practice in the area and was one of the few practicing physicians in the region. Between 1838 and 1840, Radford oversaw the building of the Arnheim

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

to serve as his family home. In addition to his work as a physician and his plantation's agricultural activities, Radford was active in various other commercial and railroad ventures. In 1844, Radford was appointed by the

Virginia Board of Public Works The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's transportation-related internal improvements during the 19th century. In that era, it was customary to invest public funds ...

as a Director of the LaFayette and English Ferry Turnpike Company. In 1864, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Radford's Arnheim home was shelled by cannons during the Battle of New River Bridge, as the Union Army mistakenly assumed the home to be the headquarters of the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Death

Radford died in 1872 and is interred at the Radford Family Cemetery in Radford.

Legacy

Local residents began to refer to the Lovely Mount area as "Radford" in the years following Radford's death. The City of Radford was officially incorporated in January 1892 and was formally named after Radford. A bronze statue of Radford is displayed in the Radford municipal building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, John Blair 1813 births 1872 deaths American slave owners Farmers from Virginia People from Bedford County, Virginia Physicians from Virginia Radford, Virginia

Biography

Death

Legacy

See also

References