Editing Benjamin Roden (section)

== Early life ==
Benjamin Roden was born on January 5, 1902, in [[Bearden, Oklahoma]] (in what was then [[Indian Territory|the Indian Territory]]). His parents, James Buchanan Roden and Hattie Roden, had five other children.<ref name="newport117">{{cite book |title=The Branch Davidians of Waco: The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect |first=Kenneth G. C. |last=Newport |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19924-574-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YE8TDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA117 |pages=117–118}}</ref>

Little is known of Roden's early life but he grew up on a farm in Bearden and attended high school there before going to a teacher's college and then practicing as a teacher for a brief period. Thereafter, he spent some time working on oil fields, first in Oklahoma and later in [[Odessa, Texas]].<ref name="newport117"/>

Roden married [[Lois Roden|Lois I. Scott]] on February 12, 1937. With Scott he had two daughters and four sons, including [[George Roden]].<ref name="newport117"/>