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JOHN ALBERT BLAIR
Originally published in 1900 |
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JOHN ALBERT BLAIR, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, General
Quarter Sessions, and Orphans' Court of the County of Hudson, was born
near Blairstown, N. J., on the 8th of July, 1842, his parents being John H. Blair and Mary (Angle) Blair. He is the grandson of William and
Rachel (Brands) Blair, of Knowlton Township, Warren County, N. J., and
descends from one of the most distinguished families in the State. His
ancestors sprung from
the noted Blair family
of Blair-Athol, Perthshire, Scotland, whence
they came to this country in 1720, settling in
Pennsylvania and New
Jersey. Among them
were two brothers, Samuel and John Blair,
both of whom were educated at the Log College
on the Neshaminy under the celebrated William Tennant. They became distinguished ministers of the Presbyterian Church. The
Rev. Samuel Blair was
called to Fagg's Manor
in Chester County, Pa.,
in 1739, where, in conjunction with his pastoral work, he conducted a school that was
among the most noteworthy of the early
Presbyterian academies.
His son, also the Rev.
Samuel Blair, was pastor of the Old South
Church in Boston before
the Revolution. He became Chaplain of the
Pennsylvania Battalion
of Riflemen that participated in the siege of Boston. The Rev. Samuel Blair, the second, was
offered the presidency of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), but declined in favor of Dr. Witherspoon. The Rev. John Blair was ordained
pastor of Big Spring, Middle Spring, and Rocky Spring in the Cumberland
Valley in 1742, but resigned in consequence of the frequent Indian incursions on the frontier (1755-57) and succeeded his brother at Fagg's Manor.
In 1767 he became Professor of Divinity and Moral Philosophy at Princeton, and was acting President of the college until the accession of Dr.
Witherspoon in 1769. He died at Wallkill, in the New York Highlands,
in 1771.
While one branch of the family was devoting its energies to the work of the ministry and the dissemination of knowledge, another was molding the commerce which has since become one of the mainstays of the State of New Jersey. In the latter part of the eighteenth century another Samuel Blair was sent by a Philadelphia firm to take charge of the iron industry at Oxford Furnace, in Warren County, N. J. This Samuel Blair was the great-great-grandfather of Judge John A. Blair and the great-grandfather of the late John Insley Blair, who died December 2, 1899, at the age of ninety-seven, after one of the most eventful careers in the history of New Jersey. Judge John A. Blair's rudimentary education was obtained in the public schools of his native place, and later on he prepared for college at the Blairstown Presbyterian Academy. He entered the College of New Jersey at Princeton and was graduated from that institution in 1866. At the close of the college term he began the study of law in the office of the Hon. J. G. Shipman, at Belvidere, N. J. He was admitted to the bar as an attorney at the June term, 1869, and as a counselor at the June term, 1872. In January, 1870, he came to Jersey City, where he has ever since resided and been engaged in his profession. On the passage of the law creating district courts in Jersey City Hon. Bennington F. Randolph and Mr. Blair were appointed the first judges thereof by the Hon. Joseph D. Bedle, who was at that time Governor of the State. In May, 1885, Mr. Blair was appointed Corporation Counsel of Jersey City, which office he held until his resignation in 1889. He was re-appointed in 1894 and served in that capacity until April 1, 1898, when he resigned to accept the appointment of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, General Quarter Sessions, and Orphans' Court of the County of Hudson, to which he had been appointed by Governor Griggs just before the latter became Attorney-General in President McKinley's Cabinet. Judge Blair is a sound lawyer, an attractive and eloquent speaker, a man of fine classical acquirements, and the possessor of a large and choice library. He is a prominent and active Republican in politics. Although never seeking office, his name has been frequently mentioned in connection with some of the most prominent positions in the State. He is a regular attendant of the First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City. He is a member of the Palma Club, was one of the organizers of the Union League Club, and was President of the latter organization for several years.
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