George Herbert Whitcomb, of Topeka, was born in the State of Vermont, May 2, 1858, a son of Harvey Whitcomb, a native of Vermont, and isabel (Moore) Whitcomb, who was born in New Hampshire. He was reared in his native state and received a preparatory course of study at Tilton, N. H., after which he entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1885. At the close of his college course he was elected to the honorary fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa. Shortly afterwards he began his legal studies in the law school of the Boston University, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws there in 1887, and in July of the same year was admitted to the bar at Boston. He came to Topeka in September, 1887, and for three years was connected with the law firm of Jones & Mason. He then entered the practice independently, and has been actively identified with the legal profession of Topeka since that time. In 1898 he was appointed receiver of the Trust Company of America by the United States Circuit Court, and discharged the duties of this position for six years. When the attorney-general of the state brought ouster proceedings against the several brewing companies operating in Kansas, Mr. Whitcomb was one of the receivers appointed by the supreme court of Kansas to take charge of the property, both personal and real estate, of these corporations. Mr. Whitcomb has been a member of the faculty of the law school at Washburn College, at Topeka, since its organization. He holds membership in the Shawnee county and Kansas state bar associations. In March, 1911, he was appointed judge of the second division of the district court of Shawnee county, by Governor Stubbs, receiving the practically unanimous endorsement of the bar of the county for the position.

Mr. Whitcomb was married Nov. 15, 1888, to Miss Jessie E. Wright, who has won distinction in the literary world and in professional circles. She is a graduate of the Boston University Law School, where she was a classmate of her husband, and practiced law at the Topeka bar as Mr. Whitcomb's partner for several years after their marriage. She was born at Princeton, N. J., and is a daughter of Rev. William J. Wright, D. D., LL. D., a distinguished mathematician and a prominent member of the Presbyterian clergy, and Julia McNair Wright, an eminent writer, whose name is well known as that of the author of many popular books. Like her mother, Mrs. Whitcomb is the author of several books, and a writer of much ability. Mr. Whitcomb and wife have six children: Philip Wright, who graduated from Washburn College at the age of eighteen, and who was elected a Rhodes scholar from Kansas to Oxford University, England, in December, 1910; Richard S., Robert F., William H., and George A. and Isabel M., who are twins. Mr. Whitcomb is a trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Topeka, where both he and his wife maintain membership.