John Blair Radford
{{short description|American physician and farmer, namesake of City of Radford, Virginia}}
{{infobox person
|name=John B. Radford
|image=John Blair Radford.jpg
|caption=Portrait of Radford, {{circa|1850s}}
|birth_name=John Blair Radford
|birth_date={{birth date|1813|04|20}}
|birth_place=Bedford County, Virginia, U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1872|06|30|1813|04|20}}
|death_place=Central Depot, Virginia, U.S.
|burial_place=Arnheim
|education=University of Pennsylvania
|occupation={{hlist|Physician|farmer}}
|party={{ubl|Democratic|Opposition (1858)|Know Nothing (1855)}}
|spouse={{marriage|Elizabeth Campbell Taylor|1836}}
|children=7, including J. Lawrence
|signature=John B. Radford signature.svg
}}
John Blair Radford (April 20, 1813 – June 30, 1872) was an American physician, businessman, farmer, and namesake of Radford, Virginia.{{Cite web |title=Glencoe History {{!}} Library {{!}} Radford, VA |url=http://radfordpl.org/glencoe/history/glencoehistory.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |language=en-US}}
Biography
Radford was born in Bedford County, Virginia, the son of William Radford and Elizabeth Moseley.{{Cite book |last=Yates |first=Robert Somerville Radford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEhMAAAAMAAJ&q=Dr.+John+Radford |title=A History of William Radford of Richmond, Virginia: His Ancestors and Descendants from 1700 to 1986 |date=1986 |publisher=R.S.R. Yates |pages=3 |language=en}} He attended medical school in Philadelphia.{{Cite web |title=Letter from William Radford II to Dr John Blair Radford |url=https://monk.radford.edu/records/item/20449-letter-from-william-radford-ii-to-dr-john-blair-radford?offset=51 |access-date=30 October 2022 |website=Radford Family Letters Collection, McConnell Library, Radford University, Radford, VA}} In 1836, Radford married Elizabeth Campbell Taylor and they had 7 children, including Nannie, who married Confederate General Gabriel C. Wharton, and James Lawrence, who served two terms in the Virginia House of Delegates.{{Cite web |title=126-0002 Arnheim |url=https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/126-0002/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.dhr.virginia.gov |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjsjIeQVA6oC&dq=Dr.+John+D.+Radford+Virginia&pg=PA68 |title=Pulaski County Virginia Heritage 2003 |publisher=S. E. Grose |pages=68 |language=en}}
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.{{Cite book |last=Barksdale |first=John W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rjw_6JHerDoC&q=Dr.+John+D.+Radford+Virginia |title=Radford |date=2007-10-31 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-3371-7 |language=en}} Between 1838 and 1840, Radford oversaw the building of the Arnheim plantation 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 as a Director of the LaFayette and English Ferry Turnpike Company.{{Cite web |title=Letter from the Board of Public Works to JB Radford |url=https://monk.radford.edu/records/item/20470-letter-from-the-board-of-public-works-to-jb-radford?offset=36 |access-date=30 October 2022 |website=Radford Family Letters Collection, McConnell Library, Radford University, Radford, VA}}
In 1864, during the American Civil War, 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.{{Cite web |title=Virginia's Civil War Trail {{!}} Radford, VA |url=https://www.radfordva.gov/515/Virginias-Civil-War-Trail |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.radfordva.gov}}{{Cite web |title=Battle of New River Bridge (Radford) – Virginia Center for Civil War Studies |url=https://civilwar.vt.edu/battle-of-new-river-bridge-radford/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last1=Davis |first1=William C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d71FEAAAQBAJ&dq=Dr.+John+B.+Radford+Virginia&pg=PA412 |title=The Whartons' War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton and Anne Radford Wharton, 1863–1865 |last2=Bell |first2=Sue Heth |date=2022-05-03 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1-4696-6771-3 |language=en}}
= Death =
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.{{Cite web |title=Dr. John Blair Radford |url=https://www.bettybranch.com/art/dr-john-blair-radford/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=www.bettybranch.com}}
See also
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, John Blair}}
Category:American slave owners
Category:Farmers from Virginia
Category:People from Bedford County, Virginia