Early Settler – C.E. Roughton – Fairmount Cemetery, Hodgeman, Kansas

Mr. Roughton came to Hodgeman County in March of 1878 and settled on a homestead northwest of Jetmore.

Columbus Elisha Roughton was born on August 27, 1843 in North Carolina. He was the oldest of six children born to Josiah L. and Amelia Roughton. As the Civil War neared and being Union sympathizers, the family moved north to Illinois. C.E. went back to Kentucky and worked with the quartermaster’s department of the Union Army.

When the war ended, C.E. returned to Illinois to farm. He and Amanda Wilson (b. 1848) were married on March 25, 1874. Two years after the birth of their first child, the family packed up and headed west. Accompanying the Roughton’s on their journey, was his mother, Amelia.

Hodgeman County was founded in 1867 and with the arrival of C.E. ten years later, he had the opportunity to impact the growth of the area. And he did.

He opened the first store in Jetmore, built and operated the first hotel, livery, and feed business.

Believing that politics would allow him more opportunities to promote the area, C.E. was one of the first county commissioners, was the first mayor of Jetmore, and helped establish the first school. As a postmaster, he assisted in the development of mail routes. In 1889, Mr. Roughton was admitted to the bar, but he never practiced until he was elected county attorney at the age of 87. He served in the Kansas legislature in the 1901 and 1903 session.

His mother, Amelia, passed away in 1883. Amanda died in 1912. C.E. died in 1935 at the age of 91. All three are buried in Fairmount Cemetery.