Renfro, Willis H.

Born: 1826-XX-XX Kentucky

Died: 1894-11-04 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

Willis H. Renfro was a farmer and live stock raiser. Little is know about his early life. Renfro married Sarah Ann Davis in July 1854 in St. Louis County, Missouri. He was living in Springfield, Illinois, by May 1856, when he served as a judge at the draft horse competition at the Sangamon County Farmer's and Mechanic's Association exhibition and fair. Renfro also judged the same event in May 1857. At the Illinois State Fair in October 1857, Renfro won the prize in the jacks, jennets, and mules category for the best single mule over one and under two years old as well as the prize in the single harness horse category for best gelding or mare four years old and over. In 1860, Renfro was farming in Sangamon County and owned real property valued at $24,000 and had a personal estate of $22,000.

Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002, 16 July 1854, St. Louis County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2007); Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 12 May 1856, 3:3; 29 May 1857, 3:3; 2 October 1857, 2:2; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Sangamon County, IL, 287; The Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 5 November 1894, 5:3; Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 , Sangamon County, 4 November 1894, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.