Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-03
sketch of His Career.

John Inslee Blair was born on August %
1902. at what was then a little settlement
In the woods two miles below Belvidere
n. j., on the Delaware river. His ancestors
were Scotch Presbyterians. The founder of
the family in this country was John Blair
who came from Scotland and settled in New
Jersey in 1920. He and his brother, Samuel
Blair, who came to this country year or
two later, were both clergymen and were
among those who procured from Governor
Belcher the original charter for Princeton
college. John Blair became the professor
of moral philosophy in the college and
Samuel Blair vice president and professor
of rhetoric. John l. Blairs grandfather,
Samuel Blair, a son of the Princeton profess
sor. was the manager and one of the owners
of the old oxford iron furnace in the center
of Warren county, n. j. The iron from
the furnace had to be shipped by Delaware
river boats Somebody had to attend to the
loading of the boats and the general ship
ping of the iron, and so Samuel Blair sent
his son, John l. Blairs father, 20 the point
on the Delaware river where the iron was
put on the boats. This was known as
Foul Rift
When John I. Blair was old enough he at
tended a school in the neighborhood for a
Jew winters. He far more interested,
however, in the busy life about the iron
furnace and the shipping place than in an
education. The one thing that he desired
was to make money. one day, shortly after
his 10th birthday. he said to his mother:
Mother, / have got seven brothers and
three sisters That's enough in the family
to be educated l am going to get rich"
The first money he earned was by trap
ping muskrats and rabbits and selling their
skins at 81 for sixteen. Before he was II
years old he was a clerk in the general
store of his cousin at Hope. At IA he was
considered the best storekeeper in that part
of the country. He thought he was him
self, and at II he owned a store of his own.
The store was situated on what was known
as Grand hill which is now within the
ronfnes of Blairstown. He took his cousin
John for a partner and they opened gen
eral store. 1t is said that the capital put
snto the business was $500. A couple OF
wears later Mr.. Blair borrowed some money
from his mother and bought out his cousin.
In two years he was able to keep clerk,
and he brought his brother, James, from
she home farm Two years later he started
n branch store at Marks borough, where he
made James his partner. Then he opened
another store at Johnsonburg and put
Robert another brother in his manager.
BY 1890 he had five general stores in opera
ton. The others were at Pauline ana
Huntsville. In each of these stores he had
some of his brothers or brothers-in-law en-
ployed
Starts Merchant
Mr. Blair laid the foundation OF his
fortune while a storekeeper, but 1t will be
MS n railroad man that he will be remem-
bered AS his business grew opportunities
for investing his money increased. In 1893
Mr.. Blair, through George w and Joseph
Scranton, became interested in the iron
mines of Pennsylvania. He became con-
vinced that there was money in iron. the
scranton brothers settled at SloCum, Pa,
and in 1916 Mr.. Blair money helped them
TO build a large rolling mill. This done,
Blair induced Moses Taylor, William r..
Dodge Gardner Colby, Israel D. Condlt'
christopher Robert, Marshall o. Robert and
Robert c. Winthrop to go into the iron
business Slocum became Scranton and
Scranton had to have an outlet for its
product Mr.. Blair and his associates
bought a road which led from Oswego, n.
Y, to Ithaca. 1t was a poor sort of affair
and Mr.. Blair insisted upon building 1t over
again. That was the beginning of his
career as a builder of railroads.
Since then he has built, either entirely
with his own capital or with the capital of
others associated with him wholly or in
part, nearly thirty railroads. These roads
include the Oswego Il Ithaca, Leggett
Cap Warren, sections of the Delaware
Lackaw anna & Western; the Lackawanna
& Bloomsbury, Burlington, Cedar Rapids "
Northern; part of the Union Pacific, Sioux
City & Yankton, Sioux Falls N Dakota
Chicago & Northwestern, Chicago & Pacihc'