1914 Delaware County History pgs. 392-395
Judge George W. Dunham
Judge
George W. Dunham, occupying the bench of the tenth judicial district and long
known as an able and learned member of the Delaware county bar, was born in Jones county, Iowa, January 13,
1857. His
father, Francis W. Dunham, was a native of Bakersfield, Vermont, born July 20, 1830. In 1855 he came to the west,
settling on Bowen's Prairie, in Jones county, Iowa, where he remained until 1856. He
then came to Delaware county with
a little colony which started a settlement where the town of Almoral now stands. The school was
established there and Mr. Dunham engaged as teacher. Later he removed to
Earlville, where he continued teaching for two years, after which he became
principal of the public schools of Manchester, remaining at the head of the
educational system of this city for three years. In the fall of 1867 he was
elected county superintendent, resigning his position as principal to accept
the office. He entered upon the duties of the position on the
1st of January, 1868, but was then in delicate health and death had already
marked him as a victim, he passing away on the 7th of the same month. His wife,
Mrs. Ann M. Dunham, was born in Bakersfield, Vermont, December
17, 1835.
Several years after the death of her first husband, or on the
4th of November, 1875, she became the wife of E. Cummings Sanborn. By the first
marriage there were three children: George W.; Mary, who died in childhood; and
Laura E., who married Charles H. Barrett of Vermilion, South Dakota.
Judge
Dunham has spent practically his entire life in Delaware county.
His preliminary education was acquired in the public schools of Manchester and later he attended the State University at Iowa City. In preparation for a professional
career he became a law student in the office and under the direction, of A. S.
Blair, a practicing attorney of Manchester, and afterward entered the law
department of the State University, from which he was graduated in June,
1879. He soon returned to Manchester, where he entered into partnership
with his former preceptor, a fact which indicates the excellent record which he
had made in his student days for reliability and trustworthiness as well as for
devotion to his chosen calling. The partnership relation continued for a number
of years.
On the
6th of February, 1890, Judge Dunham was appointed postmaster of Manchester and while discharging the duties of
that position continued also in the practice of law. Afterward a third partner
was admitted to the firm under the style of Blair, Dunham & Norris and when
the senior partner was elected to the bench the remaining two partners were joined
by a third under the firm name of Dunham, Norris & Stiles. This connection
was continued until 1912, after which time Judge Dunham practiced alone. His
power in the courts naturally led to his selection for judicial honors when in
March, 1913, it devolved upon Governor Clark to appoint some one to fill the
vacancy on the bench of the tenth judicial district caused by the resignation
of Judge Ransier. Judge Dunham was chosen and is now
acting in that capacity and his decisions are characterized by a masterful
grasp of every problem presented for solution. He also served as a member of
the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth general assembly and as a member of the
senate, representing Delaware and Buchanan counties, in the
thirtieth, thirty-first and thirty-second sessions. During the thirty-second
session he served as chairman of the committee which compiled the code
supplement (1907) codifying the laws of the state enacted after the adoption of
the code of 1897 and annotating the entire statutes.
On the 9th
of October, 1884, Judge Dunham was united in marriage to Miss Effie May Blair,
a daughter of his old law partner, Judge Blair, and they have become the
parents of three children: Francis, who wedded Josephine Lehn;
Harold, who married Bessie McGee and has a little daughter, Jean Elizabeth; and
Laura, a student in Oberlin College of Oberlin, Ohio. The family is a prominent
one in Manchester and throughout Delaware county, the
members of the household occupying a leading position in social circles. The
name of Dunham has also long been associated with movements for the upbuilding and benefit of city and county and in a
profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability
Judge Dunham has gained more than local distinction.
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