Jean Francois, a
descendant of a Norman warrior was awarded the Barony of Blare between 1165 and
1190.
William Francis de Blare b. abt
1155 had at least one son also named William. This William inherited the title
upon his father’s death date not known.
William de Blair, Blair of Blair b. abt
1180, had two known sons, Sir Bryce b. 1226 and a younger son, David b.
after 1226.
Sir Bryce inherited the Blair of
Blair title upon the death of William de Blair. Sir Bryce had no sons and
the title was passed to his brother, David. Records show that when executed, Sir
Bryce was 70 years old, placing his birth year as 1226
David de Blair (Blair of Blair) b.
abt 1230, had one known son, Roger de Blair who became Blair of Blair upon the
death of his father.
Roger de Blair b. probably abt 1265 was
also a supporter of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Robert the Bruce, King
Robert I of Scotland, knighted Sir Roger de Blare for his services at the Battle
of Bannockburn. Sir Roger de Blare's wife, Marie Muir was of the Rowallan
family. Sir Roger de Blare's wife's sister married King David II, thus Sir Roger
de Blair and King David II were brothers-in-law.
Roger de Blair had two known sons, Hugh
and John. Hugh had at least one son, James who inherited his rights. (Don’t know
what happened to Hugh.) (Note: During the Scottish rebellion against
English King Edward I, there was a John Blair that was Chaplain for the army of
William Wallace. It is not known where this John Blair fits in the family. Might
this be John, the son of Roger de Blare?)
James Blair, Blair of Blair, b. abt 1293
had a son named James, his heir.
James Blair b. probably abt 1330, son of
above mentioned James inherited his father’s rights. Apparently he had no sons.
Upon his death, the title went to his nephew John.
John Blair, Blair of Blair, b. abt
1440 had an only son named John who became Blair of Blair on the death of his
father.
John Blair, Blair of Blair b. abt
1502, married Lady Elizabeth Montgomery who was the daughter of Hugh, First Earl
of Eglinton and had at least one son named John b. 1547, d. 1609.
This John Blair b. 1547 married
Grizel Sempill, daughter of Lord Robert Sempill. They had five sons; John who
married Isobel daughter of Thomas Lord Boyd but believed by some researchers to
have had only female progeny, Bryce b. abt 1573 who succeeded to the estate on
his father’s death in 1609, Alexander who married Elizabeth Cochrane (then
changed his name to William Cochrane in order to inherit the Cochrane estate.
His son, also named William was 1st Earl of Dundonald).
(The above named John Blair, Blair of Blair, is the ancestor of
participant #4816 in the Blair DNA test. Participant
#4816 DNA is listed in Group 1 of the survey and matches this author and
several of our relatives.)
Bryce Blair, b. abt 1573 heir of
John Blair, married Annabell Wallace and had two sons, Bryce b. abt 1600 and
John b abt 1625.
There is
record of a Bryce (Brice) Blair, b. abt 1599/1600 whose ancestry is cloudy.
According to some sources he is the son of John and Isobel Boyd Blair.
Some researchers believe he was heir to the title but for some reason was passed
over by his uncle Bryce. In 1624, this Bryce married a farmer's daughter, Ester
Peden. They became Covenanters (Reformed Presbyterian) and fearing for their
lives fled to Ireland in 1626. They settled in Larne on the Irish coast
and remained in Ireland the rest of their life. Some of their descendants are
buried in Raloo Cemetery in Ireland.
Sir Bryce Blair b. abt 1600 married
Marian Dundas in 1618 and was knighted by King Charles I. Sir Bryce Blair had
only one son who died young. The title of Blair of Blair was passed on to his
uncle, John.
John Blair b. abt 1625 married Lady Jean
Cunninghame, daughter of William, Earl of Glencairin and had at least one son,
William, Lord of Blair.
A third line of the Blair family began
early in the 18th century with the marriage of Lady Jean Blair,
daughter of Sir James Blair of Dunskey to Sir James Hunter of Hunterston. James
Blair of Dunskey had no male heir to inherit his properties. On Lady Jean’s
marriage her husband adopted the name of Hunter-Blair in order to inherit the
estate thereby establishing the Hunter-Blair line of the family.
Early in the 17th
century many Scots left Scotland, settling in Ireland. One of these Scots was a
James Blair in abt 1615. Bryce Blair went from Ayrshire to Ballycarry, Ireland
abt 1625/1626, John Blair is shown living in Larne, Ireland in 1654, Major James
Blair was living in County Antrim in by 1689 who had three sons, William Henry,
James and Colin. William Henry, son of Major James Blair, was married to Jane
Agnew abt 1732 and had a son named James. He had no children by his second wife
but did have two sons by his third wife Charity Jones named Alexander and
William Henry Jr. A Samuel Blair, b.
1667 and d. 1754 is buried in Raloo Cemetery in Northern Ireland. Also buried
there is a William Blair, b. 1715 and d. 1788.
These Blairs are believed to be
descendants of Bryce and Ester Peden Blair. It is interesting to note that
several descendants of Bryce & Ester buried at Raloo Cemetery have the Blair
of Blair Coat of Arms on their tombstone.
In the mid 1700’s many of the
Scot-Irish left Ireland for America for various reason such as search for new
land and escape from religious persecution (many were Reformed Presbyterians and
were unpopular with the Catholic Irish).
Late in the 17th
century a James Blair, D. D. was appointed commissary of the churches in
Virginia. He settled in Henrico County and later moved to Jamestown. He married
Sarah Harrison and had no sons. This James founded William and Mary College with
funds provided by King William III and Queen Mary II. He left his properties to
Dr. Archibald Blair, his nephew who was known to be in York County, Va. His
first wife is not known but there was a son named John. Secondly Archibald
married Elizabeth (?) and had two daughters.
John Blair, son of an
immigrant Archibald Blair married Mary Monro in 1727 and had the following:
Christian, Mary (died young) John, Mary, Sarah (also died young) another
Sarah, James, Archibald, Anne and Elizabeth.
By 1700 a Captain William Blair
was living in Boston. He was the father by his wife, Ann Clark of a son
named William.
John Blair, probably an immigrant
from Scotland, was the father in the year 1716 of a son named Alexander, who
made his home in Cumberland, Pa. This Alexander had a brother named William,
whose records are not available. He (Alexander) married Elizabeth Cochrane in
1753 and was the father by her of eight children, John, Thomas, William,
Alexander Jr., Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret and Benjamin. Of these, John married
Susannah Ewing in 1777 and had issue in Pennsylvania and Kentucky of William,
James, John, Samuel, George, Susannah and Michael; Thomas married Elenor Evans
and left issue in Pennsylvania; William was married in 1781 to Catherine Evans,
of Cumberland County Pa., and removed with her to Iowa; Alexander Jr. married
Sarah Ralston and died in Barren County, Ky. Benjamin died in Indiana.
(A descendant of the above Alexander & Elizabeth Cochrane
Blair is in the Blair DNA test. He also descends from Blair of Blair and
is a distant cousin of the Blairs of Alabama.)
A DNA study was begun
in mid 2002. This study shows the Blairs of Pike County, Alabama are descendants
of the Blairs of Blair.
In 1877 a descendant
of a John Blair family from South Carolina, Solomon D. Blair, married Rhody
(Rhoda Elma) Pugh, a descendant of King Edward III of England.
John Blair of Pike County, Alabama
John Blair, according
to his grave marker, was born March 15th, 1800 in Newberry District of South
Carolina. It is known that John was in Henry County, Alabama as early as 1828.
Another family, John Stephens from North Carolina, was in the same vicinity of
Henry County as John. John Blair was a Justice of the Peace in Henry County.
There is record of
William and George Blair receiving land patents in 1766 in
Granville District.
George was 16 years old in1766,
placing his birth year about 1750. He received 100 acres of land in Belfast
Township, Granville District. This George has been fully researched and appears
to be the younger brother of William Blair, also receiving 100 acres of land in
1766.
William was 27 years old
when he received a land patent for 100 acres of land in the Belfast Township,
Granville District in 1766. This places his birth year as about 1739. In as much
as he received a grant for 100 acres indicates he was not married at the time of
the grant. Both William and George are shown on the tax records of Newberry
District, SC in 1789. No relationship to John Blair has been established.
By 1800, a William Blair was
living in Newberry District, South Carolina. The 1800 census lists a William
Blair with wife and a male in the right age bracket to be his son David.
William’s wife was Jane. They had one known son named David. In the 1810 census
William is no longer listed. David shows up in this census with two sons, a
daughter, wife and an older male in the household at the age that would indicate
this was William. The 1820 census does not show either William or David. David
was married to a Caty (Catherine?) maiden name and date unknown.
Estate papers of a William
Blair in 1815 names Jane Blair as administrator. She renounced such duty as did
a David Blair, son of said William. It appears as though William died in 1814 or
1815. Nothing else is found in the census records on William or David.
David appears to have died
prior to 1820 (based on his disappearance from the 1820 census in Newberry
District).
There is a diary written by
Paul Morris as told to him by his grandmother, Roxanna Blair Morris. Roxanna was
the daughter of a William Blair that lived in Clayton, Alabama in the 1830’s.
William is the son of David Blair and had an older brother named John.
This diary states that
following David’s death his wife “Caty” remarried a man named “Cor” (Cory?)
Williams. The two sons, John and William did not get along with their step
father and ran away from home, ending up in Henry County, Alabama with William
later being found in what is now Barbour County, AL. There is a marriage record
of both men marrying in Henry County, John Blair married Cedena Stephens on
February 14th, 1828 and William married Elizabeth Bishop in 1831. It is believed
that Cedena was the daughter of John Stephens.
In 1831, according to the diary, William
visited with his brother John in Henry County, there met and married Elizabeth
Bishop. John was already married and had a small son. There is no further
mention of John Blair in the diary. This bit of information would fit with John
being married to either Cedena or Kitty Ann. John did have a small son about two
years old at that time.A descendant of this William Blair b. 1805 in Newberry
District, SC participated in the Blair surname DNA test. This test shows that
William Blair and John Blair also born in Newberry District in 1800 were
related.The John Blair shown on the 1830 Census of Henry County, Alabama is our
ancestor. Based on the census record and the location of John as a Justice of
the Peace, he was living near Gordon in present day Houston County.
(Photo was taken in the Blair-Bishop Cemetery in Barbour County by T.
W. Blair, Jr. during a cleaning session. in 2006 done by T. W. Blair, Sr, Louise
Blair, wife of T. W. Sr. and T. W. Blair, Jr.)
There is record of a John W.
Stephens, living near John Blair. John Stephens and his wife Sarah migrated to
Henry County, Alabama from North Carolina prior to the 1830 census and had the
following known children: Kitty
Ann, Julia Ann, John W. jr., Anna Jane, James E., Sarah Jane, Needham, Mary Jane
and Samuel. This listing of names comes from the probate papers of John, sr.
John Stephens died on 6 September 1 1841 and Jane died 23 October 1860. It is
believed that the first wife of John Blair, Cedena Stephens, was also a daughter
of John Stephens. Prior to 1840, John Stephens and family settled in Pike County
probably before 1835. John Blair followed soon after and is found on the 1840
Pike County census living in the same
general area as John Stevens (Stephens?).
There is record of a land sale by John W. Stephens to John Blair in Pike County
on Oct 8th, 1839 consisting of “eighty and 03/100 acres”. The location of the
land is almost unreadable. John Stephens’ daughter, Mary Jane, comes into play later on. John Blair and his
first wife, Cedena, had a son born 6 December 1828 named William Solomon Blair.
There is a family story regarding a bear attacking and killing Cedena Stephens
Blair sometime after the birth of William as she was herding in the cows for
milking.. There is no written record of the attack and no knowledge of Cedena’s
burial site. (The photo on left tells of the settlement of Scots
in the Wiregrass region of central Alabama.)
Carving out a homestead in the wilderness
was not an easy task and especially for John with a motherless young son. John
then married Kitty Ann Stephens, daughter of John Stephens living near him.
The date of the marriage is not known as no record has been found of this
marriage. Kitty Ann gave John eleven more children. The marriage must have
been prior to 1832 as his second son named John was born that year. This would
also support the diary statement that John was already married and had a small
son. It is my belief, although speculative, that John and William were
brothers and their father was David Blair, son of the William Blair in
Newberry County.
John & Cedena
Stephens Blair had one known child:
1. William Solomon Blair, son of John and Cedena Stephens Blair, was born 6
December 1828.
It is believed that Kitty Ann Stephens Blair
is the mother of the other eleven
children:
1.
John Blair, Jr., born 25 July1832, married Malinda Burgess, d. 9 July
1884.
2. Leonard
M. Blair, born February 26th, 1834, married Mary C.
Walters
3.
Zephaniah C. Blair, born 5 December 1836, married Mary Ann Herring,
4.
Needham Blair, born 17 December 1838, married Samantha
Mancil
5. Levi
Blair, born August 9th, 1840, died from typhoid fever in Civil
War.
6. Sarah
Blair, born 8 April 1842, appears to have never
married.
7. Mary
Blair, born 13 March 1845, married John Chandler, d. 1890
8.
K. Nollie Blair, born 2 February 1846, married Martha
Herndon.
9. Nancy Blair, born 23 December 1848, married George W.
Mancil.
10. Thaddeus
Blair, born 5 March 1851, married Sarah E.
Fossett.
11.
Roxey Ann Blair, born 9 June 1853, married James Swanner.
John continued to purchase
land in various parts of Pike County. By the 1860’s John had more than six
hundred acres of land, some of it in the vicinity of the present location of the
Pike Pioneer Museum on US Highway 231 about two miles NW of Troy. He is believed
to have been living on a plantation near Brundidge that year. On the 1860 slave
schedule he is shown owning 15 slaves living in two houses. This is where he was
living when an outbreak of smallpox hit that area. There is an stinging article
in the newspaper stating that he had refused to allow a slave woman of his who
had previously had smallpox and therefore immune to the disease to help nurse
the sick in the Brundidge area.
During the years prior to the
Civil War, John would become one of the leading citizens in the Pike County
community. He was elected Justice of the Peace in Pike County in 1835. He is
known to have been a member of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church in 1842 and was
serving as Church Clerk in 1844. He was elected Pike County Treasurer in 1848
and served in that position until 1854. He was considered a wealthy man.
Then came the Civil War. Six
of John’s sons served in the Confederate Army; John, Jr, Leonard, Zephaniah,
Levi, Needham and K. Nollie. Levi died in Charlottesville, Virginia from typhoid
fever shortly after enlisting. He never fought a battle. Leonard died in 1862
(It's likely that Leonard also died from typhoid. Both are buried at Beulah
Cemetery in Troy. The other four survived, married and raised families.
John, Jr. married Malinda Burgess
and most likely lived in Pike County the rest of his life. He and Malinda had
the following children: . Leonria Larentine Blair, b. 1857, John W. Blair, b.
1860 d. 1914, Levie Lonzar Blair, b.1861 d. 1907, Mattie Lee Blair, b. 1862 d.
1954, William Mike Blair, b. 1865 d. 1943, Mollie Lee Blair, b. 1867 d. (?) and
Major Lee Blair, b. 1869 d. 1931. Major Lee Blair is not to be confused with
Major Clifton Blair, son of John Lambertine Blair and grandson of Leonard
Blair.
Leonard married Mary C. Walters prior to the 1860 census. They had two
children, John Lambertine and Levi who died at about one year
and is buried in Beulah Cemetery. Mary Walters was the daughter of John Walters
(Waters) whose wife was Sarah Stephens, daughter of John Stephens and sister of
Kitty Ann Stephens
Blair. This is based on the probate papers of John Stephens
that lists “John Waters, husband of Sarah Waters, daughter of John Stephens”.
The 1850 census of Pike County lists a John Waters with wife, Sarah (annotated
by Dorothy Folmar: Sarah Stephens) and children Martha, Mary, Ketchum (Kitsey
Ann?), Joel, Sarah and Susan. The 1860 Pike census lists a John Walters with
wife, Sarah and children Kitsy Ann (Ketchum?), Joel, Sarah, Susan,
John
F., James F, William J. and Julia Ann. Ages of John Walters (Waters),
Sarah and the children match from census to census. Obviously, this is the same
family. (photo is l. to r.: James C. Blair, descendant of
Leonard Blair; his wife Marjorie Taylor Blair; Gladys Blair Wilson & Joe
Blair, both descendants of William Solomon Blair.)
An interesting court case
was located in the Pike County Court. When John’s son Leonard married he gave
the new couple a fourteen-year-old slave girl as a present. Leonard was killed
in the Civil War and old John wanted his slave back. Leonard’s wife, Mary C.
Walters Blair refused. John took her to court but Mary won and kept the slave.
The court valued the slave at $1, 100.00 in February 1863. Mary sold her for $1,590.00 in late
March 1863.
Zephaniah married Mary Ann
Herring in 1865, moved to Texas and died there. They had three known children,
John, Joe and Mary. One event regarding the elder son of Zephaniah Blair
occurred in Harris County, Texas. The following information is excerpted from an
appeal of a murder conviction. “Marcellus Thomas was convicted of murder, and he
appeals. Affirmed.” “Appellant was convicted of the murder of John Blair, and
his punishment is death.” The murder took place on October 9th, 1905.
Needham is listed on the 1860
Pike County census with wife Samantha (Mancil) and are listed as “married within
year”. He is listed as being 21 years old and Samantha is 15. There were no
known children from this union. Amanda Thompson is listed as the mother of his
first known child, Lenerd. They are not listed on the 1870 Pike County census.
Apparently he moved to Texas before the birth of son Eddie and the 1870 Pike
County census. It is believed he made the run into Oklahoma Territory in April
1889 as he is on the 1890 census with three sons. No wife. The sons are Lenard
(Leonard?) born ca 1867 in Alabama, Eddie born ca 1870 Texas and James T. born
ca 1873 in Texas. No information available on what happened to his wife/wives.
He also had a daughter named Mollie who first married a Holt, first name not
known and secondly Will Dixon. Mollie is listed on the 1900 census of the
Chickasaw Nation with her second husband, Will Dixon. According to this census she was born in
Alabama. Some evidence exist that Mollie's family was at Wynnewood, Chickasaw
Nation in 1887. This information
was received from a descendant of Mollie Blair Holt Dixon and from the
genealogical society in Norman, OK.
Needham is buried in Shiloh
Cemetery South of Noble, Oklahoma. Noble is located approximately six miles
South of Norman. The date of birth and date of death on his stone is 16 Dec 1832
- 22 Dec 1907. (Pike County Alabama Census records lists his birth year as
1838.) Son Lenard is also buried there with dates 14 Oct 1867-05 Jul 1932. Mollie died shortly after 1900 in Indian
Territory and is supposedly buried in the cemetery at Whitebead without a
stone. No information yet found for
the other two sons.
Levi died from typhoid fever shortly after enlisting in the
Confederate Army. He is buried at Beulah Cemetery in Troy, Alabama.
Sarah, born 8 April 1842, appears to have never
married. She is found on the 1880 Pike County census living in the northeast
portion of the county listed as Sarah Blair. her father, John is shown living
with her.
Mary Blair, born 13 March 1945, married John Chandler in
Greenville, Alabama. Later they moved to Monroe County, Alabama.
Nollie Blair, the eighth child born to John Blair and
Kittie Ann Stephens, was born 2 February 1847 in Pike County
Alabama. He
married Martha Herndon on January 16, 1873. Martha was the daughter of
James Jefferson Herndon and Catherine Ann (Kittie)
Wilson. Nollie enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of 17.
His enlistment date was May 1, 1864 at Troy, Alabama in CO. I. 15th Alabama
Infantry. Following the close of the war, Nollie bought 40 acres of land from
his father for $300.00 on 11 May 1868 and sold 40 acres to Willis Wood for
$400.00 on August 18, 1870. Nollie is next found in the 1880 census of
Shelby County, Alabama with his wife Martha and four children. He then
moved moved to Arkansas sometime before 1885. There are several references
of him serving as a road overseer for Scott County, Arkansas. He purchased
several tracts of land in Scott and Logan County, Arkansas with the last being
in 1908. Nollie probably died before 1910 but no record has been found of
his death or where he is buried. Their children were: Kittie Isadora Blair b. 1874 died 1952
[Kittie was struck and killed by a motorcycle on her birthday in 1952], Mary E.
Blair, b. 1876 d. (?), James Blair, b. 1878 d. (?) and Babe Blair, b. 1880 d. (?). K.
Nollie Blair with wife and children. The photo is the only picture of any of "Old John's" kids located.
Nancy married George W.
Mancil and moved to Texas. Following his marriage to Nancy Blair, George Mancil
left for Texas to find land for them to settle on. During the time he was there,
he robbed and killed a man. He then returned to Pike County, Alabama for a
period of time. Taking Nancy he returned to Texas, evading the law as well as he
could. The “Regulators” finally caught up with him and hung him without
trial.
Thaddeus Blair
married Sarah E. Fossett on 25 October 1874. They had the following known
children: John W. Blair, Della
Blair and Roseo Blair. Just where Thaddeus and Sarah lived and died is unknown
to the author.
Roxey Ann
married James Swanner, son of Canna and Mary Jane Stephens Stanley Swanner,
moved to Texas and died in Liberty Texas on 26 March 1907. James Swanner died
suddenly (probably from a heart attack) in 1925.
Where was John
Blair, Sr in 1870? John and his wife Kitty Ann Stephens Blair are not listed on
the 1870 Pike County, Alabama census. By the late 1860's, early
1870's at least five of John's children had moved to Texas. Perhaps he made the
trip with some of them, returning to Pike County prior to the death of Kitty Ann
in 1874. Kitty Ann Stephens Blair died June 16th 1874 and is buried in Beulah
Cemetery. Three months later, John married Mary Jane Stephens Stanley Swanner,
the mother of James Swanner that married Roxey Ann Blair.
In June 1875,
John’s home caught fire and burned completely. Nothing was saved. Any records
that might today help to establish his lineage and/or contribute to the history
of his family were gone forever. The following is quoted from the Troy Enquirer
dated 17 June1875: “We regret to learn that the residence of Mr. John Blair,
Sr., near this place, was destroyed by fire on Monday night last. Mr. Blair was
unable to save anything from the building. The Truck and Axe Co (colored) made
desperate efforts to reach the scene of action but from last accounts were stuck
in the bog”.
About the time of the fire, John
divorced Mary Jane. John was living with his daughter Sarah on the 1880 census. On October 2nd, 1881
John died at home from Apoplexy. The newspaper account of his death described
him an “an old and respected citizen of the county”. He is buried in Beulah Cemetery
overlooking South Three Notch Street near Kitty Ann. John Blair was a pioneer
that played a part in taming the wilderness of Southeast Alabama and making Pike
County what it is today. (Photo is the new marker for John Blair placed there
in 2004. Money was donated for the new stone by descendants at the 20th annual
Blair Reunion in Brewton, Alabama.)
William Solomon Blair
& Bentons
John
Blair’s eldest son, William Solomon, married Adeline (Adaline) Benton on August
21st, 1851.
Adeline
Benton’s earliest known ancestor is Job Benton, born 1744 in Bertie County,
North Carolina. Job’s first wife is unknown. Their children were Arthur, Francis
and an unknown son. Job then married Hannah Linch (Lynch) and had the following
children: Ann and an unknown son and daughter. Job died in Anson County, NC
in1824. He was a planter and a Revolutionary soldier.
Arthur
Benton, born August 31st, 1771 in Anson County North Carolina, married Margaret
Pinnery about 1797 in Brunswick County, NC. Their children were: Arthur, jr.,
Job, Allen Russell, Solomon, Samuel, William, Rebecca, Mary Polly, Lydia, Kipey
and Margaret.
Solomon
Benton, born 1801 in Brunswick County, North Carolina, married Dorcas Little,
born 1810 in Brunswick County, North Carolina. They had five children born in
North Carolina; Mary Frances, Thomas, Adeline, Jesse (died young), Terisa and
Arthur. Their sixth child, Nancy Jane, was born in Pike County following the
death of Solomon. The Solomon Benton family migrated to Pike County about 1838
along with her brother, Andrew Little’s family. Solomon and Dorcas were accepted
into membership of Beulah Primitive Baptist Church in 1838. Following the death
of Solomon in 1844, Dorcas then pregnant with Nancy Jane, married John Cartrett.
(The Cartrett name changed to Catrett in the next generation).
The Cartretts,
Littles and Bentons were neighbors and friends in North Carolina prior to
migrating to Pike County. Members of all three families arrived in Pike County
about the same time. Andrew Little who married Solomon’s sister, Margaret
Benton, made the trip to Pike County with Solomon and Dorcas. One of these
friends that came to Pike County was John Cartrett.
The 1850 census of Pike County
lists John Cartrett as head of household, Dorcas and the Benton children still
at home. All Children listed in the household except Jesse are the children of
Solomon and Dorcas Little Benton. Also listed in the household is Mary Little,
age 97 and is believed to be Dorcas Little Benton Cartrett’s grandmother. John
is listed as being blind on the 1860 census. Dorcas is found on the 1870 census
living with her son, Thomas, and the 1880 census living alone, listed as Dorcas
Benton. Date of death and place of burial of Dorcas Little Benton Cartrett is
not known.
Two granddaughters of John
Cartrett married into the Register family, which is another line of research in
this book. Fannie, daughter of Jesse Catrett (Cartrett) married William J.
Register and secondly Thomas M. Taylor (also another line involved in this
research). Another daughter of Jesse Catrett, Callie, married Thomas Marion
Register. More data on these two lines later.
The children, all born in Pike
County Alabama, of William Solomon and Adeline Benton Blair were:
1. John
McDaniel Blair, born
3/5/1855
2.
Mary Jean Blair, born 6/11/1857 (died at
birth)*
3.
Solomon David Blair, born
2/11/1859
4.
Arthur Franklyn Blair, born 11/17/1860 (died at
birth)*
5.
Ida Blair, born
11/10/1863
6.
William Blair, born
2/10/1868
7.
Dorcas K. A. Blair, born
8/30/1869
8.
Juley V. A. Blair, born
8/11/1873
9.
Leonard L. Blair, born
4/10/1875
10.
Henry Oliver Blair, born 11/10/1876
*(Note: Information on Mary Jean and Arthur Franklyn is taken from a hand
written document copied from an old family bible. Recent check of the bible does
not have this page anymore.)
William owned and farmed
about 130 acres of land a short distance from Troy. His land was purchased from
his father, John Blair, sr. In the
1860 slave schedule he is shown owning one slave. Not much is known about this family’s life between
the Civil War and 1877. William died June 1st, 1877 leaving a widow and seven
children still at home. John McDaniel Blair, the eldest, was married by 1877.
According to his obituary, William was buried in the “old city cemetery”,
believed to be Beulah Cemetery on South Three Notch Street in Troy. However,
there is no marker there today and the grave location, if there, is unknown.
Photo on left is three of William Solomon Blair’s sons, Solomon David,
Leonard and Henry. Following the death of William, Adeline decided to move
the family to Texas. The lands in Pike County were beginning to be unproductive
due to poor farming practices. Fertile lands were opening up in Texas. The house
in Pike County was boarded up and the family boarded a train for Houston County,
Texas. John McDaniel Blair and his family made the trip with Adeline and his
siblings.
One “fireside story” that Solomon Blair liked to tell was as follows. His
mother, Adeline, had purchased a ticket for him to make the trip. Solomon, 18
years old at the time, did not want to go. He had a crush on Rhody (Rhoda Elma?)
Pugh. Adeline insisted and got Solomon on the train. Prior to departure, Solomon
slipped off, remained in Pike County to marry Rhody and then followed the family
to Texas. Solomon and Rhody’s marriage license shows only her initials. All
listings of her name, including grave marker, is Rhody. Some researchers believe
it to be Rhoda.
In Houston County the family acquired lands and began farming. It is not
known if they purchased, rented or
sharecropped. In addition to farming, John
McDaniel and Solomon began training as doctors. The family remained in Texas for
about 6 years during which time Adeline and Ida died from what is believed to
have been an overdose of quinine. William also appears to have died in Texas.
Solomon then moved most of the family back to Pike County and resumed farming
there. John McDaniel remained in Texas and became a country doctor. His
granddaughter Johnnie Blair Deen lives in Houston, Texas and is a contributor to
this booklet. (Photo is of John McDaniel and Nancy Jane Due Blair.)
Rhody was the daughter of
Wade Hezekiah and Hicksey Talbot Pugh. Hicksey was the daughter of Joel Talbot.
Joel was the son of Hezekiah and Catherine Beeman Talbot.
(Background music is
"Bravehart".)