History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with
Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious,
Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons
and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co.,
Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 656-657, Farmers' Township
Shiloh W. Durham, lumber dealer, Table Grove; was born in Wayne
Co., Ill., June 18, 1842, and is the son of Washington Durham, who was
of English descent, and who died in Southern Illinois, when our subject
was but 6 years old. After his father's death his mother moved with her
family of four children, Judge, Mariam, Shiloh and Victoria, to
Vermont, Ill. His mother placed Judge under the care of John Harland of
Farmers' tp. The two sisters she kept at home. His mother and the other
three children passed through the cholera scourge of 1851 in Vermont.
He studied hard between work hours, and at the age of 16 he taught his
first school at Hickory Grove, and was retained as teacher for several
years. He continued the profession for eleven years. Mr. Durham was
married Aug. 24, 1862, to Miss Lou Farr, daughter of Samuel Farr. His
family consists of three daughters and one son, viz: Loava R., Nandora,
Pearley B. and Judge. Mr. Durham entered the lumber trade in the fall
of 1870 at Table Grove in partnership with Thos. Matthews; they
continued the partnership three years, after which Mr. Durham bought
Mr. Matthews' interest, and has continued the business alone since the
fall of 1873. He sells over $20,000 worth of stock annually. He and his
family are members of Table Grove Christian Church.
