This is Your Family

The Blairs

Clella Allaire Cook – Carl Richard Miller

(See Miller Family)

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Merle Warden Cook – Vera Myrtle Parmater

(See Parmater Family)

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Jonathan Llewellyn Cook – Cora Inez Blair

(See Cook Family)

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William Isaac Blair – Ladora C. Perkins

Blair surname comes from the Gaelic word, blar which means a field or plain clear of words. Blair has its origins in several places in Scotland, Blairgowrie, Blair-Athole, Blair-Logie and Blair-Drummond.[1] There is also a Blair Castle but Blairs never occupied the castle.

The earliest Blair recorded in history was Stephen de Blare, who witnessed a charter to the monastery in Arbroath between 1204-11.[2] The town of Arbroath is located on the east coast of central Scotland. It is an ancient town having its origins 3500 years ago with the Picts. Blairs appeared also by witnessing agreements between the burgh of Irvine and Brice de Eglunstone and a charter by Fergus, Earl of Buchanin the early 1200s.[3]

William Isaac Blair was born on November 10, 1832, probably in Bath, New Brunswick. There is some confusion on this matter, since his Civil War records indicate that he was born in Baths[4]. There is no Baths in New Brunswick, but there is a Bath, a tiny town in remote Carleton County. Also there is Bathurst, a larger town on the northeast coast. If not born in Bath, then I suspect he may have lived in one of these two towns at some point. There is a possibility that he was born or lived in St. John.

According to his son, Robert Blair, William Blair had five brothers and one sister. He also indicated that his father was born in Nova Scotia.[5] Another relative said that the family had relatives living in Bath, Maine which is near Brunswick, Maine. She also indicated that the Blairs came from Nova Scotia and there are a lot of Blairs in Onslow Township near Truro in Colchester County.[6] Another story is that his father came from Edinburgh, Scotland.[7]

At some point, William became a sailor on the Great Lakes where he worked with two brothers, Orlando and Frances Perkins. Through this relationship, he met their sister, Ladora C. Perkins.[8] William and Ladora were married on November 30, 1860, in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio.

On January 4, 1864, William volunteered as a soldier in the United States Army. It indicated that he was a sailor. He was mustered as a private into the 20^th Ohio Independent Battery on July 4, 1864 at Cleveland, Ohio. According to his enlistment papers, he was five foot, nine inches tall with brown eyes, dark hair and dark complexion.[9]

During the war, his unit was attached to the Garrison Artillery which was mostly involved in the Tennessee campaigns and most likely in battle of Dalton, Nashville, Duck River, Spring Hill, Thompson’s Station, Franklin and Chattanooga. On July 13, 1865, he was mustered out with the rest of his battery.[10]

William and Ladora had four children, one of which was born before he enlisted. The other three were born after he returned from war. The youngest child, Sarah, was born after William died.

The Blairs moved from Ohio to Saugatuck, Michigan just prior to his death. William died of consumption (tuberculosis) on July 16, 1870 in Saugatuck, Michigan. He was 36 years old.[11] The attending physician indicated that William had told him that he had contracted the disease while in the service.[12]

Cora Inez Blair was the second oldest daughter of William and Ladora Blair. She was born on April 17, 1866 in Cleveland, Ohio. She lost her dad when she was only four years old. Her mother remarried three more times. Her second and third husbands, Mr. Cole and Lysander Jacobs, were extremely abusive to her younger brother, Robert, and sister, Sarah. She had a son, Lyle, with Lysander. She left Mr. Cole and returned her children to her parents, Hiram Perkins in Cleveland. Mr. Cole got into a fight and was murdered. Lysander experienced a similar fate when Lyle was a year and half. Cora married for a fourth time to Dennis Pease. According to family history, he was the best of the three, although he was a heavy drinker and did not have much of a work ethic. But at least he was kind to his wife.

Possible Leads on William Blair’s ancestors

Several genealogists have tried to find out who were William Blair’s ancestors. Tradition is that they were Scottish or Scots-Irish. There is a Blair Castle but this was named for the location rather than the family name. Blair means field and the castle was the home of the Murray clan.

Here are some of possible clues of William’s ancestors:

According to a letter to Ladora Parker dated October 16, 1944, Robert Blair, son of William Isaac Blair, seem to indicate that his father had five brothers and one sister. He seemed to imply that all remained in New Brunswick, but he was unable to find any of them in his later years. He did not indicate whether they were half brothers nor did he give us their names.[13] In another letter, a relative named Inez (daughter of Bell Hardenbrook) said that there were relatives in Bath, Maine.  Bath is near Brunswick, Maine.[14]  She and Robert keep indicating that the family came from Nova Scotia, rather than New Brunswick.

There was a Robert Blair who was head of a household in Painesville, Ohio in the 1840 Census. There were nine people in that household and it is uncertain which one was Robert, since there were four adult men along with two adult women in the household. One man was 60-70 years old and a woman who was 50-60 (perhaps grandparents). There were two men who were 40-50 years old and one who was 20-30. One of the women was also 20-30. One of boys in the family was 10-15 and the other was 5-10. (Our William would be in the 5-10 year-old age group if this is ours.) There was one girl who was 15-20. There could be a strong case made for Robert being the father or uncle since William’s future wife, Ladora Perkins, lived here and William Isaac settled down here for a few years after he was married.[15] This raises a number of questions. First if the 1944 letter from Robert Blair is correct, where are the five brothers and one sister? I see only two brothers and perhaps one sister. Which of these people is Robert Blair? My guess is that the man and woman, who are 20-30, could be the parents, if they were more at the upper end of that scale and the boy in the 10-15 is at the lower end of that scale. But that does not answer why there were no more children. The girl who is 15-20 could be a relative or a maid. And the older people could be grandparents or hired help. But this is a very good lead. One last bit of information from the Census is that one of the above individuals was a farmer, while four others were involved in Manufacturing and Trades. If they were sailors, I would have thought that they might have been listed under Navigation of the lakes rather than Manufacturing and Trades.

There were a few more Blairs living in Lake County: 1) Alexander Blair of Rutland – not ours since there is no son, William’s age and he had all girls; 2) Levi Blair of Leroy, Ohio – same thing. Thee were no children in the correct age group; 3) Thomas Blair of Madison, Ohio – same thing. There was only one son in the 10-15 year-old age group.

One researcher indicated to Mary Scholtan that she believed William’s father was Simeon H. Blair (b.1798, d. 19 Oct. 1866); married to Janet G. McCurdy; and that his parents were John Blair, and Agnes Downing.  His grandparents were reportedly William Blair and Jane Barnes. William Blair was born in Aghadowey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and immigrated to Leicester, Massachusetts. He and his son and his son’s wife moved to Nova Scotia, some time before 1781.

This has not been substantiated.  But family tradition is that he was from New Brunswick.  There are seven children for this line.  Eunice Wright Blair, Mary McCurdy Blair, Daniel McCurdy Blair, Israel A. Blair, William Blair, Nancy Harriet Blair, & George Blair.  Marriage of this couple was 19 Dec. 1820. One guess is that Simeon might have been William’s uncle. This does not match what we had in oral history from Robert Blair.[16]

While some of the following does not match the oral history about brothers and sisters passed down to us, there is a possibility that William Isaac Blair’s mother was Jane Blair. In the 1851 Census, there is a William Blair born in 1832 (the correct birth year) living with his mother, Jane. She was 35 and both had entered New Brunswick in 1837. No husband is mentioned nor are there any other children living in the home. But she was only 16 years old when William was born, so he may have been born out of wedlock. It is also possible that she lied about her age or someone was generous about guessing her age. Other children may have died or been given to another family to raise. William was rigger, which is a person who works with the masts, sails and ropes on a ship. This matches the information about him being a sailor.[17] However, if William had other brothers and a sister, this Jane would have been too young, unless they were half brothers. It would definitely not fit with James and John Russell listed below if they were the brothers. It might work if they were uncles however. (Note: This happened before the great Irish potato famine from 1845-46.)

Again this does not seem to match the oral history, in the Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Antrim County, Glynn Parish, Ballyvernstown Townland in Northern Ireland, there was a Protestant family who moved to St. John, New Brunswick in 1839. They were William and Jane Blair and three children, William Jr., Sarah and Mary. William Junior was born in the same year that our William Isaac was born. William Senior was a shoemaker who was born in about 1808 and Jane in 1809.[18] All I can find of Ballyvernstown is a mile and half-long road that runs north-south, west of Glynn. Glynn is located north of Belfast and south of the town of Larne on the North Channel. In 435 AD, St. Patrick built the Church of Gluaire in the town of Glynn. The ruins can still be found in the town. [19]

William Williams murdered William Blair on January 9, 1841, in Lower Cove, St. John. He was a shoemaker and left a wife and four children.[20] This Blair was 32 when he died.[21] This is not likely since in 1851, only William Isaac was living at home with his mother. Where did the other three children end up? Were they given up to another family?

There was a William Blair that was on board the Envoy on July 24, 1847, that was quarantined. They had an outbreak of small pox.[22] He would have only been 15 but he could have been a ship hand.

There was a Mrs. Jane Blair who married John Campbell on April 17, 1852 in Lancaster parish of St. John. They got the consent of guardians by Rev. Samuel Robinson, minister of the Brussels Street Church, a Baptist church in St. John. It was done in the presence of James Bennett.[23] It is possible that Jane Blair remarried. According to the 1851 Census, she was not married. Her son was often at sea by that time. But it would seem to imply that they were under age if they needed to get the consent of guardians.

There was a Jane Campbell who had three sons, ages 22, 23 and 26 living in Lancaster in 1871. She was born in Scotland and was 50 years old. There were a number of Campbells in the area. Her husband must have died by that time.[24]

There was also a William Blair and Eliza McBay married by Reverend James Bennett of the Presbyterian Church of St. John on November 13, 1854.

Dr. Toner in his book on Irish immigrants said that a Jane and William came from Antrim in 1839.

William Chalmers Blair was born in 1806 in Ireland. He was a member of Church of Scotland and a tailor by trade. The interesting thing about this person is that he was living in Bath, New Brunswick in 1871. This is the town where our civil war records say that our William was born.[25]

There were three other William Isaac Blairs which would imply that it is a family name and these men might be related to our William Isaac Blair:

1). John Russell Blair (1824-1910) and Margaret King Gibson (1837-1919) had several children including their youngest son, William Isaac Blair (1875- ).[26] He was not listed in the 1881 Census. I have heard that he died as an infant. There are several records of different dates for John Russell’s birth, 1822, 1824, 1826 and 1828. He may have been born in Bathurst. There is some evidence that his parents were born in Quebec and may have changed their name from Belair. Many French people in New Brunswick anglicized their names because of a history of persecution, even deportation of those of French descent. Heidi Russell has been instrumental in exploring this line.

2). There was a James (Jacob) Blair (1822-1911) who was married to Margaret Daigle. They also had a William Isaac who was born in 1869. He was baptized in the Catholic Church on July 25, 1869 at the age of six months. This William Isaac was born in Belludune. They had a daughter named Agnes which was also one of our William’s children’s names.[27]

3). There was third one who was born in about 1849 and died on April 16, 1924 in Rodburn, Quebec, Canada. His parents were not known. This one is interesting since John Russell Blair may have been from Quebec.

4). There was a fourth William Isaac Blair born on 1844 in Burlington, Vermont.

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William Blair arrived in 1775 from Colvend, County Galloway, Scotland. He had to leave Scotland because of his health. He was a mariner. Ours was a mariner as well.

There was a William Blair who married Eliza McBay on December 1, 1854 in St. John.[28] It is not impossible that our ancestor was married once before marrying Ladora; however our William is married to Ladora by this time and living in Ohio. This William shows up in the 1861 Census for Saint John. He was born in Derry County, Ireland. This William would be three years older than ours. It show that he was married (Eliza) and had three children (Eliza 5, Sarah 4, and Mary 1). There are no Jane Blairs and only this William Blair who was 32 (born in 1829) listed in the Census. However not all of the 1861 Census for Saint John survived.[29]

There was a Jane Blair who married an Alexander Currier but she was born in 1834 and would not be the Jane that we are looking for.

William Blair was born in 1800 in Scotland. He was a farmer in Notawasaga.[30]

William Blair was born about 1836 and died on May 26, 1880. His children were born in Hampton, New Brunswick. This of course was not our William Blair because ours died ten years earlier in Michigan and the birth dates do not match.

William Blair, a farmer in the vicinity of Stanley, was born in 1831. He was a member of the Church of Scotland.[31] This is not our William Blair since he was still living in Canada in 1871, the year that ours died in Michigan.

William Blair, a farmer from Hay, was born in Scotland in 1804.[32] It is possible that this one might have been a father or uncle but again this is not our William Blair since he was still living in Canada in 1871, the year that ours died in Michigan.

William Blair, a carpenter, who was married to Jane Smith, daughter of William P. Smith. Mr. Smith died on August 7, 1824, in St. John. He was a plumber. But she had at least one brother, William H. Smith, and at least three sisters, Anne Quin, wife of John Quin. Eleanor, Eagan, wife of James Eagan, and Margaret Clark, wife of Isaac Muncy.[33] This would have been before our William Isaac Blair was born, so it was unlikely.

There was a Jane Blair who was discharged on May 28, 1849. She was 37 at the time. She was Glasgow and a Protestant.[34] This is not likely since she would have been 33 at this point, although some of the ages could have been recorded in error.

There was a William Blair that arrived in Saint John from Londonderry on the ship, Condor in 1838 as an 8 month old child. He was from Lifford County in Ireland. His parents were Robert and Rebecca Blair. Robert was listed as a laborer and Rebecca was a spinster.[35] This is unlikely since our William would have been six years old at the time.

There were William Blairs who are listed in the Index to New Brunswick Land Grants (1784-1997): 1) father and son, both Williams, in Wentworth, Sunbury County in 1785; and 2) one in Woodstock, York County in 1828.[36]

We wondered if there is a coincidence that our William had a death certificate listing Bath NB, when there were a number of William Blairs living in Bath, Maine. Here is what we have found.

There was a William Blair in the 1840 Census in Bath, Lincoln County, Maine. He was a mariner and 37 years old at the time.[37] He is possibly the same William Blair (47) listed in the 1850 Census for Dresden, Maine, about a dozen miles inland from Bath. However William S. is listed as a farmer and married to Rebecca with three children, Henrietta (8), Eldridge (6), and Eliza (4).[38] He is a blacksmith and still living in Dresden in 1860 and he and Rebecca have Elbridge (16), Eliza (14), Edwin (8) and Lydia (6) living at home. We do not know what happened to Henrietta, but she could have been married. We find that a 55-year old William, a farmer, living with them. (He was probably the one living with William T. in 1850.)[39] This would not our William and was not be a mariner like our William. All were born in Maine.

Next door to this William in 1850 is William T. Blair (33), also a farmer, married to Helen L. They had Augenet (8), Warren (6),Hobart (5), Elwilda (3) and Hansel (2). They had probably his parents living with them, Thomas (82) and Mary (50) Blair. To add to the confusion, they also had a blacksmith living with them by the name of William Blair (39). None of these are our William Blair and all were born in Maine.[40] William and Helen are still living in Dresden with the following children: Angenette (19), Warren (17), Hobart (15), Elwilda (13), Ansel (11), James (9), Flora (7), Philip (5), Thomas (2), and Eda (8 months). Warren is a mariner at this point.[41]

Next door to these Blair was another Blair, who was a 44-year old farmer, named Thomas Blair Jr. This would mean that William and Thomas were probably brothers with Thomas Senior living with William. Thomas Blair was married to Susan Blair (39). They had Martha A (18), Mary O. (15), Lewis (11), Susan E. (9), Thomas B. (5), Abba M. (4), Delia (2) and John P. (1 month old). Again all were born in Maine.[42] In 1860, Thomas and Susan are still living in Dresden, near William and Helen. Their daughter, Susan, is now a seamstress, living at home. Also in the home are Thomas, Abby, Adelia, Georgina (8) and

There is a William H. Blair who received a Seamen’s Protection Certificate in 1847 in Bath, Maine.[43] He is listed in the 1850 Census as a trader living in inland in Lewiston, Maine, married to E. B. Blair with one child, H.B. Blair. They were all born in Maine.[44]

There is one more William D. Blair living in Lincoln County, Maine in the 1850 Census and he was the twenty-year old son of Alexander and Fanny Blair of Richmond, Maine. His 18-year old brother, Carleton and 12-year old brother, James W. were also living on the farm.

There is a 17-year old William I. Blair living in Pittston, Maine listed in the 1860 Census. He was the son of Gilmore and Abigail Blair. His siblings are Frances (20), Eli (15), Eddy (5) and Tudor (3 months). They were farmers. Next door was Laban and Sarah Blair. They too had a son named William H.[45]

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[1] “Arbroath”, Wikipedia.

[2] Anderson, William, Genealogy and Surnames with Some Heraldic and Biographical Notices, (Edinburgh: William Ritchie, 1865), p. 106.

[3] Black, George, F., The Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin, Meaning and History, (New York, New York Public Library, 1946), p. 81.

[4] Muster and Descriptive Roll for William Isaac Blair, Ohio 20^th Independent Battery, January 4, 1864.

[5] Letter from Robert Blair to Ladoura Parker, granddaughter of Agnes Blair, October 16, 1944.

[6] Letter from Inez, daughter of Belle Hardenbrook to Ladoura Parker, granddaughter of Agnes Blair, April 9, 1950.

[7] Oral History through Mary Scholten, dated May 12, 2008.

[8] Affidavit by Frank Perkins regarding William Blair for Ladora Perkins’ pension, November 5, 1895.

[9] Volunteer Enlistment Papers for William Isaac Blair.

[10] Stevens, Larry, 20^th Ohio Independent Battery, 1998.

[11] Certified Copy of Record of Death, State of Michigan, February 23^rd, 2000.

[12] Stimson, Dr. Henry, Physician Affidavit, Saugatuck, Michigan. 1870.

[13] Letter from Robert Blair (son of William Isaac Blair) to Ladaura Parker, dated October 16, 1944.

[14] Letter from Inez and L.M. Doughty, Lubec, Maine, to Ladaura Parker, great granddaughter of William Isaac Blair, dated April 9, 1950.

[15] 1840 Federal Census for Ohio, Lake County, OH ; page 075, Township, Painesville Township; Record Type, Federal Population Schedule;  Database Oh1840 Federal Census Index;  ID# OHS4a231615.

[16] Scholtan, Mary, Email on 3/27/06.

[17] 1851 Canadian Census for New Brunswick, Saint John County, M 577 and M5221, Volume/page 2.

[18] Mitchell, Brian, Irish Emigration Lists, 1833-1839: Lists of Emigrants Extracted from Ordnance Survey Memoirs for Counties Londonderry and Antrim, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989), p. 36.

[19] Wikipedia, “Glynn”.

[20] Johnson, Daniel, Chairman of the Vital Statistics Committee, New Brunswick Vital Statistics from Newspapers, 1784-1815, Fredericton: New Brunswick Genealogical Society, Volume 9, 1985, page 25.

[21] Somerville, Graeme F., Some Burial Records of the Loyalist Burial Ground, Saint John, N.B., page 8.

[22] Johnson, Daniel, Irish Emigration to New England Through the Port of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, 1841-1849, page 218

[23] New Brunswick Vital Statistics from Newspapers, Volume 13, 1986, page 149.

[24] 1871 Canadian Census.

[25] 1871 Canadian Census Index, Electoral Sub-district of Bath, Electoral District Code: 063-H-2. page 27.

[26] Gibson, Arvin Stuart and Leanna McKay Masterson, The Gibsons of New Brunswick, Canada.

[27] Drouin, Gabriel, Drouin Collection, (Montreal: Institut Genealoguique Drouin), p. 62.

[28] New Brunswick Vital Statistics from Newspapers, Volume __, 198_, page 25.

[29] 1861 Canadian Census for Saint John County, Nos. 417-421.

[30] 1871 Canadian Census Index, Electoral Sub-district of Bath, Electoral District Code: 042-A-1-42. page 7.

[31] 1871 Canadian Census Index, Electoral Sub-district of Stanley, Electoral District Code: 025-D -2-29. page 02.

[32] 1871 Canadian Census Index, Electoral Sub-district of Hay, Electoral District Code: 025-B -1-52. page 02.

[33] Hale, R. Wallace, Early New Brunswick Probate Records 1785-1835, Heritage Books Inc, page 421-422.

[34] Irish Famine Migration to New Brunswick, 1845-1852, New Brunswick Provincial Archives, PANB Reference Num. MC2700 MS2a2.

[35] Port Returns (including Passenger Lists) 1816-1838, New Brunswick Provincial Archives, Reference Num. RS23E1/1838h14, Microfilm F9799.

[36] Index to New Brunswick Land Grants (1784-1997), New Brunswick Provincial Archives, Reference Num. RS686.

[37] 1840 Federal Census.

[38] 1850 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Dresden, page 263, microfilm page 526.

[39] 1860 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Dresden, page 4, microfilm page 1019.

[40] 1850 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Dresden, page 263, microfilm page 526.

[41] 1860 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Dresden, page 4, microfilm page 1019.

[42] 1850 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Dresden, page 263, microfilm page 526.

[43] Dixon, Ruth Priest, Indexes to Seamen’s Protection Certificate Applications and Proofs of Citizenship, Port of Bath, Maine, Record Group 36, Records of the Bureau of Customs, National Archives and Records Administration, (Baltimore: Clearfield Company), 1998, p. 92.

[44] 1850 Federal Census, Maine, Lincoln County, Lewiston, page 387, microfilm page 773.

[45] 1860 Federal Census, Maine, Kennebec County, Pittston, page 203.