Milton J. Durham
Milton J. Durham | |
---|---|
Philip B. Thompson, Jr. | |
Personal details | |
Born | Mercer County, Kentucky | May 16, 1824
Died | February 12, 1911 Lexington, Kentucky | (aged 86)
Resting place | Bellevue Cemetery, Danville, Kentucky |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Martha J. Mitchell Margaret Letcher Carter |
Alma mater | DePauw University |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | ![]() |
Milton Jameson Durham (May 16, 1824 – February 12, 1911) was a
After unsuccessfully trying to regain the Eighth District seat from Thompson in 1884, Durham was appointed First Comptroller of the Treasury in 1885, serving throughout President Cleveland's term. In 1890, after battling a severe case of
Early life and family
Milton J. Durham was born near Perryville, Mercer County (now Boyle County), Kentucky.[1] He was the son of Benjamin and Margaret (Robinson) Durham.[2] His grandfather, John Durham, established the first Methodist church west of the Allegheny Mountains, and his descendants, including Durham, were adherents of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.[3]
Durham attained his early education in the common schools of the area.[1] In January 1841, he matriculated to Indiana Asbury (now De Pauw) University in Greencastle, Indiana and graduated with honors in 1844.[4] After graduation, he taught in the common schools of Perryville and read law under Joshua Fry Bell.[2] He attended the University of Louisville School of Law and graduated in March 1850.[2] He was admitted to the bar in the same year and commenced practice in Danville, Kentucky.[1] For several years, he served on the Board of Commissioners for the Kentucky Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Danville.[4]
On June 18, 1850, Durham married Martha J. Mitchell.[4] The couple had five children – Louis H. Durham, Benjamin J. Durham, James Wesley Durham, Robert M. Durham, and Ora B. (Durham) Morris.[3] Martha Durham died in 1879.[3] After the death of his first wife, Durham married Margaret Letcher Carter in 1886.[3]
Political career
Although active in Democratic politics and frequently urged by friends and acquaintances to seek a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives or Kentucky Senate, Durham held no public office prior to 1861.[4] In that year, Governor Beriah Magoffin appointed him circuit judge of the eighth judicial district.[2] He served until 1862, but declined further service on the bench.[4]
In 1872, Durham was elected to represent the heavily Democratic
![A man with dark hair and a dark mustache wearing a high-collared white shirt, black jacket, and tie](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Philip_B._Thompson%2C_Jr._-_Brady_Handy_cropped.jpg/220px-Philip_B._Thompson%2C_Jr._-_Brady_Handy_cropped.jpg)
Durham sought re-election to his seat in 1878.
In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed Durham First Comptroller of the Treasury of the United States; he served from March 20, 1885, until the office was discontinued on April 22, 1889.[1][2] During his tenure, he sparked a minor controversy between himself and Governor J. Proctor Knott when, in a private letter to a friend, he suggested that Kentucky needed a financier in the governor's office.[10] The letter went on to say that, while Durham had no plans to actively seek the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1887, he would consider running if the nomination were offered him, provided that President Cleveland approved of his resignation to seek the office.[10] The courier who delivered the letter also shared it with a newspaper editor who subsequently published it.[10] Governor Knott took the letter as a slap at his financial acumen.[10] A noted satirist from his time in Congress, Knott responded with a biting letter in the local newspaper.[10]
Later life and death
After a severe bout with influenza, Durham's doctors advised him to abandon the practice of law.[2] In 1890, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky and engaged in banking.[1] He helped organize the Central Bank of Lexington and served as the bank's cashier and also served as the treasurer of the Blue Grass Building and Loan Association.[2]
Remaining interested in politics, he was among the speakers at a May 14, 1894 rally to condemn the renomination of Congressman
Durham was appointed deputy clerk of the Internal Revenue Service at Lexington in 1901 and served until his death in that city on February 12, 1911.[1] He was interred in Bellevue Cemetery in Danville.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Durham, Milton J." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- ^ a b c d e f g h Biographical Cyclopedia, p. 4
- ^ a b c d Biographical Cyclopedia, p. 5
- ^ a b c d e Barnes, p. 67
- ^ Tapp and Klotter, p. 123
- ^ a b c Barnes, p. 68
- ^ McAfee, p. 158
- ^ a b c McAfee, p. 120
- ^ "Interesting Triangular Fight in 'Old Eighth'. The Interior Journal
- ^ a b c d e "Kentucky's Angry Governor". The New York Times
- ^ "All Met to Condemn Breckinridge". The New York Times
- ^ "Political Riot in Kentucky". The New York Times'
- ^ a b "Encounter in a Newspaper Office". The New York Times
Bibliography
- "All Met to Condemn Breckinridge" (PDF). The New York Times. 1894-05-15. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- Barnes, William Horatio (1874). The American Government: Biographies of members of the House of representatives of the Forty-third Congress. Vol. 3. New York City, New York: Nelson and Phillips.
- Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Chicago, Illinois: J.M. Gresham Company. 1896.
- United States Congress. "Milton J. Durham (id: D000572)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "Encounter in a Newspaper Office" (PDF). The New York Times. 1896-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- "Interesting Triangular Fight in "Old Eighth"". The Interior Journal. 1916-12-12. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- "Kentucky's Angry Governor" (PDF). The New York Times. 1886-05-29. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- McAfee, John J. (1886). Kentucky politicians: sketches of representative Corncrackers and other miscellany. Louisville, Kentucky: Press of the Courier-Journal job printing company. Archived from the original on 2005-03-08. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- "Political Riot in Kentucky" (PDF). The New York Times. 1896-11-01. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- Tapp, Hambleton; ISBN 0-916968-05-7. Retrieved 2009-06-26.