John Ross Blair, 1862 - 1925, m. Margaret Lou Pettet
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History of Montgomery County, Kansas.
Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan
Press of Iola Register, Iola, Kansas 1903.Pages 635, 636.
[Like most of the “Biographical and Pictorial” County histories of the day, this one is hard-hitting, warts and all, but fair.]
John R. Blair, who was, until early in 1903, a merchant of Havana and a young man of splendid executive talents, but now a resident of one of the Territories of the southwest, came to Kansas with his parents in 1866 and, three years later, to Montgomery county, where his residence was maintained ‘till his removal west. His birth occurred in Wappelo County, Iowa, on the 3rd of March, 1862, he being a son of John C. and Damaris I. (Briggs) Blair. His parents were of the sturdy yeomanry of the country and both natives of Fountain County, Indiana. After their marriage, they resided in Indiana until the date of their removal to the birthplace of John R., in 1856.
[Ed. Note - that is, the Blairs lived Indiana until 1856, Iowa until 1866, Kansas afterwards.]
They moved down into Kansas on the date stated above, and settled east of Galesburg, Neosho county, and, in 1869, filed on a claim near Havana. They were thrifty and industrious citizens, the right kind of pioneer material, and used their influence at all times in building well the foundations of Montgomery society. The mother passed away in 1886, aged fifty-five years. The father reached time ripe old age of three score and ten, dying November 27, 1901. Four of their seven children are living:
James W.,
John H..
Louisa M., now Mrs. Jones, and
Daniel W. G. Blair.
The training of our subject was that of the Kansas pioneer farm, with somewhat limited school facilities. But such as they were, John R. made the most of them and managed to have sufficient education at eighteen years to qualify him for work in the school-room. He taught successfully for two years, and then coming to Havana began his career as a business man, as a clerk in the general store of Lockwood & Son. [After] Four years of faithful service here, and he and his father went into the real estate business. After two years our subject started in the grocery business, in connection with which he served Uncle Sam as postmaster under the administration of President Harrison.
Mr. Blair had always been an active worker for the success of the Re publican ticket, and this fact, together with his excellent standing with the business men of the county, was instrumental in his being selected as a candidate for county treasurer. He took the oath of office in 1895, and two years later his conduct of the office was endorsed by re-election. His incumbency of four years in the county’s treasure-house was marked by efficiency and faithfulness, and he returned to private life with the best wishes of his constituents.
Under the firm name of the Havana Mercantile Company, Mr. Blair - his wife also being interested - now began business again, on a much larger scale than formerly. His success was most marked, the firm occupying a large two-story brick, filled with a splendid stock of general merchandise, and did the greater part of the business in their line in this part of the county. Mr. Blair owns two residence properties, one in Independence and the other in Havana.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Blair was consummated on the 13th of October, 1889, her maiden name having been Lou M. Pettet. She is a daughter of George and Nancy (Greer) Pettet, of Independence, and both she and her parents are natives of the “Hoosier State,” coming to Kansas in 1868. To Mrs. Blair have been born two children: Treva G., born July 14, 1890, and Lua E., born August 5, 1892.
Secure in the possession of the good wishes of a large portion of the population of the county, with an honorable public record and a successful business career, with conjugal happiness, a fair portion of this world’s goods, and above all, a splendid optimistic disposition, always seeing the bright side of life, the career of John R. Blair in his new home is not hard to prognosticate.
(After some time in New Mexico, John died 5 July 1925 in El Paso, El Paso, Texas. He is buried in the Evergreen Masonic Cemetery, El Paso, Texas)