Charles Marion Roderick

Charles Marion Roderick July 17, 1898 – Sept. 1, 1960 62 yrs

Married to Icel (Kirkpatrick) Roderick May 30, 1898 – Oct. 23, 1995 97 yrs
Daughter of Fred & Magnolia Stanner Kirkpatrick
Married April 9, 1939—Parents of Charles M. Jr. and Patricia
Charles, son of Joseph & Effie (Huffman) Roderick (F-3)
Brother of Kenneth (D-3B), Harry (G-3A) and Florence (F-2B)

Charles was the oldest son of Joseph & Effie Roderick. He grew up on the Huffman homestead, and attended Grange Hall School. He was just 16 when his father died, and he had to take on the responsibilities of farming along with the custom baling and threshing with steam engines which his father had done. With a younger sister, two brothers and his widowed mother to provide for, he went on to advance in farming, eventually buying the neighboring Starr farm, and farming at least 400 acres—a lot of ground to farm at that time. He also sold insurance, seed corn, and was among the first in the area to sell dry fertilizer and promote its use. He was a director in soil conservation, Vermilion County Farm Bureau, Vermilion County FS, etc. He was very knowledgeable on new ways of farming, and many people in the area would come to him for advice on their farming techniques. He was a trustee of the cemetery, and was always willing to assist in the maintenance and running of the cemetery, even before it was organized.