George Andrew Huron, of Topeka, is one of the large number of men of sterling worth who came from the East to Kansas, when it was just an infant state, and have contributed their share toward placing Kansas in the front rank of the most progressive states of the Union.

Judge Huron was born March 29, 1838, in Hendricks county, Indiana, twelve miles west of Indianapolis, a son of Benjamin Abbott Huron and his wife, who was Katharine Harding, prior to her marriage. The Huron family is of stanch Scotch ancestry. The genealogy of the family is set forth at some length in "Littell's Genealogies, First Settlers of the Passaic Valley," which states that Seth Ma Hurin, the great-grandfather of Judge Huron, was born Nov. 11, 1729, in New England, married Mary Hazen and, in 1753, removed to Morristown, N. J., where all of their children were born, and that they all belonged to the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown. In 1787 the family removed to Ulster county, New York, and after the death of the father, Seth Ma Hurin, his sons—Othniel, Enos, Eli, and Silas—dropped the Scotch prefix "Ma," and thereafter the family name was written either Hurin or Huron. Othniel Ma Hurin, the grandfather of George A., was born Jan. 10, 1759, in Morristown, N. J., as stated above, and after his marriage, to Bethiah St. John, settled in Warren county, Ohio, where their son, Benjamin Abbott Huron, was born, near the town of Lebanon, Dec. 31, 1811. Benjamin Abbott Huron, the father of Judge Huron, removed to Hendricks county, Indiana, in 1832, and on Dec. 10, 1835, was married to Katharine Harding, a native of Campbellsville, Ky., born Aug. 4, 1815, and who removed to Indiana, in 1833. Benjamin Abbott Huron and his wife settled in Hendricks county, on a piece of land which was then wild and unbroken forest, but which they developed into a highly productive farm. They reared their family there and became worthy, respected, and influential people of their community. George Andrew Huron spent his early life associated with his father in the work of developing this farm, by which he acquired a sturdy constitution and habits of self-reliance and industry, which have marked his subsequent life. From eighteen until twenty-three years of age he alternately attended and taught school, his public education being supplemented by an academic course at the Methodist Academy, Danvile, Ind. He was especially interested in educational work and intended to prepare fully for the profession of teaching, but when the storm of Civil war broke over the country he promptly responded to the call to defend the Union, by enlisting as a private in Company I, Seventh Indiana infantry, in August, 1861. During his service he was promoted to the rank of regimental quartermaster-sergeant and was mustered out with his regiment, Sept. 20, 1864. As a soldier he displayed bravery and true patriotism, and with his regiment saw active service in the battles of Winchester, Port Republic, Front Royal, Slaughter Mountain, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Ashby's Gap, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania Court House, Po river, North Anna River, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, and Yellow Tavern. After he was mustered out of service, in September, 1864, he was commissioned by Gov. Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, as the state's sanitary agent for the armies of the Potomac and James, and was engaged in the duties of that office until the close of the war, his headquarters being at City Point, Va. He arrived at the front, at Appamatox Court House, the day after the surender,[sic] with the first sanitary supplies to reach the Union army. Mr. Huron received an appointment as clerk in the Third Auditor's office, United States Treasury Department, Washington, D. C., in December, 1865, and was there engaged until 1868, when he was graduated in the law department of Columbian, now George Washington University. In August of that year he removed to Valley Falls, Kan., where he engaged in the practice of his profession until 1883, when he removed to Topeka, which city has since been his home. During the past twenty-nine years he has continued the practice of law in Topeka and is recognized as one of the strong and able members of the Shawnee county bar and an honor to the profession.

While a resident of Valley Falls he was elected probate judge of Jefferson county and held that office two terms. He is a member of the Shawnee County Bar Association and of the Kansas State Bar Association. Judge Huron has always been a Republican in his political views, a strong advocate of his party's principles, and an able and effective campaigner in his party's behalf. He has also exerted a widefelt and beneficial influence in public affairs, his service for the public being characterized by a devotion to duty and a keen discrimination in regard to those interests which largely concern the public at large and bear upon general progress. From 1873 to 1876, while a resident of Valley Falls, Kan., he was the editor of a paper published there, known as "The Grasshopper," which is now the New Era." He was largely instrumental in securing a change of the name of the river at Valley Falls from Grasshopper to Delaware, and in changing the name of the town itself from Grasshopper Falls to Valley Falls. He is in touch with Topeka interests, as a member of the Topeka Commercial Club. Fraternally he has been identified with Oddfellowship since March, 1872, and for several years was grand treasurer of the Grand Encampment of the order. He is also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Knights and Ladies of Security, in which order he was the head of the law department from the time of its organization until June, 1908. He is a member of Lincoln Post and an active worker in the Grand Army of the Republic. He has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal church since his eighteenth year, and now, at the age of seventy-four, his life record is one of continuous activity and of duty well performed. It is such men as these that have made Kansas the great state it is. Judge Huron is a director of the Kansas State Historical Society.

Judge Huron was married, July 31, 1861, in Hendricks county, Indiana, to Mary Frances Freeman, daughter of Blackstone and Sarah J. (Bennett) Freeman. The surviving children of this union are: Horace, born May 10, 1862, who now resides at Rock Island, Ill.; Mrs. Mary H. Hale, the only daughter, who is the widow of Rev. William Gainsford Hale, formerly a Methodist minister of the southern Illinois conference; and George B., of New York city.