My Genealogy Hound

Dr. John O. Durham, a prominent physician and druggist at Ash Flat, was born in Shelby County, Tenn., in the year 1851. He is a son of the Rev. Dennis and Sarah (Harper) Durham, the former a noted and eloquent divine who was born in Georgia, in the year 1824, and the latter in North Carolina in 1832. The parents were married in Shelby County, where the mother is still living. The Rev. Durham during his life had been a Missionary Baptist minister for twenty years, and his fame as an eloquent and gifted speaker was widespread. He also served sixteen days in the Confederate army with General Forrest, and in the short time of his stay in the army he made many warm friends among the boys in gray. Mr. Durham died in 1873, after a long and useful life. His father was Grisham Durham, of Irish descent, who was born in South Carolina, and in after years moved to Lawrence County, Ark., where he was appointed county surveyor for a number of years, and died in 1856. The mother of Dr. John O. Durham was a daughter of James Harper, of North Carolina, a brick mason by trade, who was one of the first settlers of Memphis, Tenn., and helped to build the first brick building in that city. The Doctor is the oldest of four sons and three daughters, and spent the greater portion of his younger days on a farm. When eighteen years of age he began the study of medicine with Dr. Ed. Irby, and Dr. B. A. Mathews, of Cuba, Tenn., and under these able instructors he acquired a thorough knowledge of the intricate study of medicine. In 1873 the Doctor commenced to practice, and since that time he has steadily raised himself to the top of his profession. He was married, in 1870, to Miss Elizabeth J. Smith, a daughter of James and Lucy Smith, of Lawrence County, Ark., her father being at one time one of the most illustrious of Lawrence County’s citizens. Mr. Smith served in the Confederate army through the war, and was taken a prisoner to Little Rock, where he died, his wife following him to the grave in 1869. The Doctor and his wife have had nine children, of whom one son and two daughters are still living. In 1876 he moved to Calamine, Ark., where he practiced for about one year, and then came to Ash Flat, where he has been residing ever since. His skill as a physician has given him a large practice, and as an individual he has won a host of friends. He is a self-made man in the true sense of that term, and is in every way worthy of the success which has fallen to his lot. In politics the Doctor is a Democrat, and has also been a member of the A. F. & A. M., of Ash Flat, since 1880, holding the offices of Secretary, Junior Warden, and at the present time Senior Deacon. He also belongs to Royal Arch Chapter No. 50, Evening Shade, and was at one time Master of Third Vail. He is now a Royal Arch Captain, and a member of Eastern Star, Adah Chapter No. 32, of Ash Flat. He is also a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, and has been Protector and Treasurer. The Doctor and his wife are both members of the Missionary Baptist Church, he for a period of twenty-two years, and Mrs. Durham for fifteen years.