Rufus Clair Kenamore was born in Salem, Missouri, the son of Emma Kenamore and George R. Kenamore, who represented Dent County in 1890 in the State Legislature.
He was a college graduate at age 21 when he and a friend, Paul H. Sankey, stopped in St. Louis and announced they were on their way to the Klondike in Canada to prospect for gold with three other people [REF].