DeWitt Clinton Blair (September 6, 1833 – June 3, 1915) was an American philanthropist and industrialist.
Early life
Blair was born in Gravel Hill,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
(later renamed Blairstown) on September 6, 1833. He was the son of entrepreneur and railroad magnate
John Insley Blair
John Insley Blair (August 22, 1802 – December 2, 1899) was an American entrepreneur, railroad magnate, philanthropist, and one of the 19th century's wealthiest men.
Early life
Blair was born at Foul Rift in White Township, New Jersey, just s ...
and, his wife, Nancy Ann (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Locke) Blair (1804–1888), a granddaughter of Captain Locke, who was "killed at the
battle of Springfield
The Battle of Springfield was fought during the American Revolutionary War on June 23, 1780, in Union County, New Jersey. After the Battle of Connecticut Farms, on June 7, 1780, had foiled Lieutenant General Wilhelm, Baron von Knyphausen's e ...
during the
revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
." Among his siblings was Emma Elizabeth Blair (wife of publisher
Charles Scribner I
Charles Scribner I (February 21, 1821 – August 26, 1871) was an American publisher who, with Isaac D. Baker (1819–1850),DA1906 founded a ), Marcus Laurence Blair, and Aurelia Ann Blair (wife of Clarence Green Mitchell).
He graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
with the class of 1856, and later served as a Princeton trustee from 1900 to 1909 and was instrumental in expanding the campus and buildings (Insley, East and Locke) of Blair Presbyterian Academy.Blair Family Papers: Biographical Sketch of John Insley Blair , accessed January 1, 2007 In 1907, Blair contributed towards the expansion of Blair Hall at Princeton, which had originally been built with his father's donation to the school.
Career
Blair continued his father's varied business interests and philanthropy and was partners in Blair & Co. with Edgar L. Marston.
Personal life
On April 21, 1864, he married Mary Anna Kimball (1837–1914) with whom he had three sons, two of whom survived to adulthood:
* John Insley Blair (1865–1866), who died in infancy.
* Clinton Ledyard Blair (1867–1949), who married Florence Osborne Jennings. After her death, he married Harriet Stewart Brown.
* James Insley Blair (1876–1939), who married Natalie Bennett Knowlton (1883–1951), the daughter of Danforth Henry Knowlton.
The Blair Estate, in
Belvidere, New Jersey
Belvidere is a town and the county seat of Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New ...
, was built in 1865 and purchased by Blair in 1867. The estate was purchased by the Presbyterian Synod of New Jersey for use as an old-age home. Warren County purchased the site in 1970, which is now used for the Warren County Library and other county offices.
Less than a year after the passing of his wife Mary Anna on February 12, 1914, Blair died on June 3, 1915, at the age of 81, at his home, 6 East 61st Street in New York City. After a funeral at his New York residence, he was buried at
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...