Sumner County Biographies
"Portrait and Biographical Album of Sumner County"
Chapman Bros., Chicago, 1890
GEORGE W. DURHAM. Second only to the
influence of the home, is that exerted by
the school, and the character and example
of the teacher are even more potent than his precepts and mental instruction in molding the lives
of the young, and preparing them for their future
as citizens of this great republic. The position of a
teacher is, therefore, one of great responsibility,
and those who have charge of educational affairs
should allow it to be filled only by persons possessed of upright characters and correct lives, as
well as the tact which from a store of information
can instill instruction into the receptive minds. It
is a pleasure to all who are interested in the true
growth and advancement of our country to find
this principle carried out in the selection of instructors, and to feel assured that not only the
mental but moral training of the youth is undertaken by competent teachers.
The subject of this biography is a young man of
high mental attainments, cultured manners and fine
moral character, and Sumner County is fortunate
in having for several years enjoyed his services as
an instructor. He was born in Warren County,
Ky., July 5, 1861, and was reared and educated
under favorable auspices, completing his studies at
Smith Grove College, in his native county. He
became a resident of this county in 1884, and has
since been numbered among Kansas teachers, gaining a reputation and a popularity highly creditable.
At the home of the bride, on September 12,
1889, Mr. Durham was united in marriage with
Miss Linnie K. Frable, a young lady who was well-fitted to become his companion, being cultured and
refined, and like her husband, a worthy member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mrs. Durham
was born in Pennsylvania, October 25, 1869, and
is a daughter of Solomon and Mary (Schall) Frable, who were also natives of the Keystone State
The family moved to Sumner County in 1878, and
Mr. Frable is now engaged in farming here. Mr.
Durham is a Democrat in his political views, and
never fails to support with his vote the principles
in which he believes.
The Rev. Willis W. Durham, the father of our
subject, was born in Barren County, Ky., fifty-four
years ago. He is a Baptist minister, and is now
employed by the Philadelphia Bible Association,
as a traveling missionary in Southwestern Kansas,
having taken up his residence in this county in
1884. He married Miss Susan J. Renfro, who was
born in the same county in which he first saw the
light, and who is now fifty-five years old. She is
a daughter of Jesse J. and Pollic (Mitchell) Renfro, who were natives of the Old Dominion. At
the age of twenty-one years Mr. Renfro went to
Kentucky, and took charge of a plantation which
he carried on for five years. He then purchased a
farm, where, after having lived thereon sixty-eight
years, he died at the advanced age of ninety-six.
He had served as a soldier in the Mexican War. In
politics he was a Democrat. Mrs. Renfro died
when about seventy years of age. The parents of
our subject reared six children, all still living, and
named respectively: Alice E., George W., Dora
W., Nathaniel T., Jesse J. and Amanda A.
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This website created Oct. 29, 2011 by Sheryl McClure.
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