Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (October 1, 1838September 12, 1918) was an American politician and lawyer who was a Democratic

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and Governor of Panama Canal Zone. A skilled and spirited orator, he was a prominent trial lawyer known for his skill at swaying juries.

Biography

Blackburn was born on October 1, 1838, near

Spring Station, Kentucky Spring Station, Kentucky is an unincorporated community in the northern part of Woodford County, Kentucky located approximately three miles west of Midway. The area is said to have been settled during the early part of the 19th century and it b ...

. He was the younger brother of

Kentucky governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have bee ...

Luke P. Blackburn Luke Pryor Blackburn (June 16, 1816September 14, 1887) was an American physician, philanthropist, and politician from Kentucky. He was elected the 28th governor of Kentucky, serving from 1879 to 1883. Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 200 ...

. He attended Sayres Institute in Frankfort and graduated from

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

in Danville in 1857. He studied law in Lexington and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He practiced in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

until 1860 when he returned to

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles, Kentucky, Versailles. The area was home to Pi ...

, and entered the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

as a private in 1861. A staff officer, by the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Blackburn had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war he settled in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, where he was engaged as a lawyer and a planter in

Desha County Desha County ( ) is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Arkansas, with its eastern border the Mississippi River. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,395. The county is plurality-African American. The county seat ...

until 1868 when he returned to Kentucky and opened law offices in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. He was a member of the State house of representatives from 1871 to 1875. He was then elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Forty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1885). He was the chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia (Forty-fifth Congress) and the

Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

(Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses). In 1885, U.S. Army Lt. Henry T. Allen named a mountain after Joseph Blackburn.

Mount Blackburn Mount Blackburn (Ahtna: ''K’ats’i Tl’aadi'') is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska in the United States. It is the fifth-highest peak in the United States and the twelfth-highest peak in North America. The mountain is a ...

is the highest peak in the Wrangell Mountains of the state of Alaska and the fifth highest peak in the United States. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1884, was reelected in 1890, and served from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1897. He failed to be reelected in 1896. He was the chairman of the Committee on Rules (Fifty-third Congress). He was once again elected to the United States Senate in 1900 and served from March 4, 1901, to March 3, 1907, but failed in his next election bid in 1906. Loosely associated with the free-silver wing of the Democratic party, he was well known nationally and his name was placed in nomination for the presidency in 1896. He was appointed Governor of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

on April 1, 1907. He resigned and returned to his estate in Woodford County. He died on September 12, 1918, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was interred in the State Cemetery in Frankfort.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, JCS 1838 births 1918 deaths Arkansas lawyers Illinois lawyers Kentucky lawyers Centre College alumni American planters Democratic Party United States senators from Kentucky Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Woodford County, Kentucky People of Kentucky in the American Civil War Confederate States Army officers Farmers from Illinois Farmers from Arkansas 19th-century American lawyers Phi Delta Theta members 20th-century United States senators 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly Chairs of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Biography

References

Further reading

External links