Elliott Cresson Medal
The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. The endowed award was to be "for some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship." The medal was first awarded in 1875, 21 years after Cresson's death.
The Franklin Institute continued awarding the medal on an occasional basis until 1998 when they reorganized their endowed awards under one umbrella, The Benjamin Franklin Awards.
List of recipients.
A total of 268 Elliott Cresson Medals were given out during the award's lifetime.
References.
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Franklin Institute
Science museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States. Its chief astronomer is Derrick Pitts.
History.
19th century.
On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. The opening was chronicled by "The Literary Chronicle for the Year 1824":
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />With a view further to develop the resources of the union, increase the national independence, call forth the ingenuity and industry of the people, and thereby increase the comforts of the community at large.
Begun in 1825, the institute was an important force in the professionalization of American science and technology through the nineteenth century, beginning with early investigations into steam engines and water power. In addition to conducting scientific inquiry, it fostered research and education by running schools, publishing the influential "Journal of The Franklin Institute", sponsoring exhibitions, and recognizing scientific advancement and invention with medals and awards.
20th century.
In the late 20th century, the institute's research roles gave way to educating the general public through its museum. The Bartol Research Foundation of the Franklin Institute, founded in 1924 to conduct research in the physical sciences, now is part of the University of Delaware and named Bartol Research Institute. The Franklin Institute Laboratories for Research and Development operated from the Second World War into the 1980s.
Many scientists have demonstrated groundbreaking new technology at the Franklin Institute. From September 2 to October 11, 1884, it hosted the International Electrical Exhibition of 1884, the first great electrical exposition in the United States. The world's first public demonstration of an all-electronic television system was later given by Philo Taylor Farnsworth on August 25, 1934.
The first female member, Elizabeth Skinner, was elected to membership in 1833. The Franklin Institute was integrated in 1870, when Philadelphia teacher and activist Octavius Catto was admitted as a member.
The institute's original building at 15 South 7th Street, later the home of the (now-defunct) Atwater Kent Museum, eventually proved too small for the institute's research, educational programs, and library. The Institute moved into its current home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the intersection with 20th Street, in 1934. The new facility was intended from the start to educate visitors through hand-on interactions with exhibits: "Visitors to this museum would be encouraged to touch, handle, and operate the exhibits in order to learn how things work." Funds to build the new Institute and Franklin Memorial came from the Poor Richard Club, the City Board of Trust, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc., and the Franklin Institute. John T. Windrim's original design was a completely square building surrounding the Benjamin Franklin Statue, which had yet to be built. Despite the effects of the Great Depression, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial, Inc. raised $5 million between December 1929 and June 1930. Only two of the four wings envisioned by Windrim were built; these face the Parkway and share design elements with other cultural and civic structures around Logan Circle.
On March 31, 1940, press agent William Castellini issued a press release stating that the world would end the next day. The story was picked up by KYW, which reported, "Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. Scientists predict that the world will end at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke. Confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city." This caused a panic in the city which only subsided when the Franklin Institute assured people it had made no such prediction. Castellini was dismissed shortly thereafter.
21st century.
On December 21, 2017, during a party hosted by the museum, a partygoer with his companions slipped into a closed-off exhibit of ten Terracotta Army warriors on loan from China. After his companions left, the partygoer broke off and stole a thumb from one of the warriors. Law enforcement agents later recovered the stolen thumb. The vandalized cavalryman is valued at US$4.5 million, and is considered a "priceless part of China's cultural heritage". The vandalism stoked outrage in Chinese media, such as Xinhua. The Franklin Institute blamed its external security contractor, and stated it had reviewed its security measures and procedures to prevent such situations from recurring. The defendant was charged both with theft, and with concealment of an item of cultural heritage.
The defense argued that the defendant was being "overcharged" under statutes applicable to professional art thieves. An April 2019 trial ended in a hung jury with seven of the 12 jurors in favor of acquittal. A February 2020 retrial was postponed due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the institute housed the work of Dyymond Whipper-Young as she broke the Guinness world record for the "world's largest drawing by an individual".
Capital campaign.
In 2006, the Franklin Institute began fundraising activities for the Inspire Science! capital campaign, a $64.7 million campaign intended to fund the construction of a building addition, new exhibits, and upgrades and renovations to the existing Institute building and exhibits.
In 2011, the Franklin Institute received a $10 million gift from Athena and Nicholas Karabots towards the Inspire Science! capital campaign. This gift is the largest gift in the institute's history, and put the Franklin Institute within $6 million of the $64.7 million capital campaign goal. The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion will house not only a $10 million multiroom exhibit on neuroscience, but also a conference center, classroom space, and additional room for traveling exhibitions.
The Science Center.
The most recognizable part of the Franklin Institute's Science Center is the Franklin Institute Science Museum. In the spirit of inquiry and discovery embodied by Benjamin Franklin, the mission of the Franklin Institute Science Museum serves to inspire an understanding of and passion for science and technology learning. Among other exhibits, the Science Museum holds the largest collection of artifacts from the Wright brothers' workshop.
Other attractions.
The Science Center includes many pertinent attractions that are not museum exhibits. The Budd BB-1 "Pioneer" flying boat, in front of the museum, was the world's first stainless steel airplane, built by Philadelphia-based Edward F. Budd Manufacturing Corporation, and has been on display since 1935.
A mock-up which would eventually become the Lunar Module in the Apollo space program, first shown on display in the 1966–67 World's Fair, held in the New York Hall of Science, is also located on the grounds. (See .)
Theaters.
In 1933, Samuel Simeon Fels contributed funds to build The Fels Planetarium, only the second built in the United States after Chicago's Adler Planetarium. Fully reconstructed in 2002, the Planetarium's new design includes replacement of the original 40,000-pound stainless steel dome, originally built in 1933. The new premium dome is lighter and is in diameter. It is the first of its kind in the United States. The planetarium is also outfitted for visitors who are hearing impaired.
The Tuttleman IMAX Theater is an IMAX dome theater that is 180° encompassing and tilted at 30 degrees. The seating places the audience up in the dome which is over across and 4.5 stories tall. In addition, the theater has 20,000 watts of amplifier power and over 50 speakers. The theater was closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, and did not reopen with the rest of the museum. In November 2023, the Franklin Institute confirmed that the theater would remain closed permanently, citing that it was financially unviable and had outdated equipment, and that the museum would be investing in other new exhibits instead.
Early in 2008, extensive renovation of the museum's auditorium was completed. Previously a lecture hall, the space was renamed Franklin Theater, and features 3-D and hi-def Blu-ray digital projection capabilities. The Franklin Theater shows educational films during daytime hours while also including mass release feature-length films.
Traveling exhibits.
In the past, the Science Center has hosted many traveling exhibits including "Storms", "Titanic", "Grossology", "Body Worlds", "Darwin", and "Robots". In the summer of 2007, the Franklin Institute hosted "Tutankhamun and The Golden Age of The Pharaohs," in the Mandell Center of the Franklin Institute Science Museum. The exhibit began its United States Tour in Los Angeles, and went to Fort Lauderdale, and Chicago, before coming to Philadelphia for its final American appearance. When the exhibit left Philadelphia on September 30, 2007, it traveled to London.
This exhibit was nearly twice the size of the original Tutankhamun exhibit of the 1970s, and contained 50 objects directly from Tut's tomb, as well as nearly 70 object from the tombs of his ancestors in The Valley of the Kings. The show also featured a CAT Scan that revealed what the Boy King may have looked like.
The Franklin Institute is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
The Franklin Institute is also a member of the Science Museum Exhibit Collaborative with the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History; the Museum of Science, Boston; COSI Columbus, formerly known as the "Center of Science and Industry" in Columbus, Ohio; OMSI in Portland, Oregon; the Science Museum of Minnesota in Saint Paul, Minnesota; and the California Science Center, formerly the California Museum of Science & Industry, in Los Angeles.
Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.
The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial features a high marble statue, sculpted by James Earle Fraser. Originally opened in 1938, the Memorial was designed by architect John T. Windrim and modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. The Hall is in length, width, and height. The domed ceiling is self-supporting and weighs 1600 tons. The floors, walls, columns, pilasters, and cornices are made of marbles imported from Portugal, Italy, and France.
The United States Congress designated the Hall and statue as the official Benjamin Franklin National Memorial on October 25, 1972 (Pub. L. ). The Memorial was dedicated by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in 1976.
On December 30, 2005, Congress authorized the institute to receive up to $10 million in matching grants for the rehabilitation of the memorial and for the development of related exhibits.
In the fall of 2008, the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial was re-opened after a summer-long restoration that included multimedia enhancements. Philadelphia's most famous citizen is featured in "Benjamin Franklin Forever", an hourly 3.5-minute multimedia presentation utilizing the entire rotunda.
Also noteworthy is the Franklin Institute's Frankliniana Collection, some of which is on rotating display in the Pendulum Staircase. Highlights include Franklin's 1777 Nini Medallion, the scale model of the bust from the statue in the Memorial, the figurehead of Franklin's bust from the frigate , his ceremonial sword used in the court of King Louis XVI, and the odometer that Franklin used to measure the postal routes in Philadelphia. Additionally, the institute's "Electricity" exhibition highlights one of Franklin's lightning rods, his electricity tube, a Franklin Electrostatic Generator, the 1751 publication of Franklin's "Experiments and Observations on Electricity", and Thornton Oakley's two 1940 historical murals of Franklin and the "Kite and Key" experiment.
"The Journal of The Franklin Institute".
In 1826, "The Journal of The Franklin Institute" was established to publish US Patent information and to document scientific and technological achievements throughout the nation. It is the second oldest continuously published scientific journal in the country, and is now primarily devoted to engineering and applied mathematics.
Awards.
Since 1824, the Franklin Institute has maintained the longest continuously awarded science and technology awards program in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. The first issue of the "Journal of The Franklin Institute", dated January 1826, makes the first written reference to these awards. Before 1998 several medals were awarded by the Franklin Institute, such as (year indicates when the award was first presented): the Elliott Cresson Medal (1875), the Edward Longstreth Medal (1890), the Howard N. Potts Medal (1911), the Franklin Medal (1915), the George R. Henderson Medal (1924), the Louis E. Levy Medal (1924), the John Price Wetherill Medal (1926), The Frank P. Brown Medal (first awarded in 1941), Stuart Ballantine Medal (1947), and the Albert A. Michelson Medal (1968). Past winners include Henry Ford, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marie Curie, and Thomas Edison.
In 1998 all of the endowed medals were reorganized as the Benjamin Franklin Medals. Multiple medals are given every year, for different fields of science and engineering. The fields awarded today are "Chemistry", "Computer and Cognitive Science", "Earth and Environmental Science", "Electrical Engineering", "Life Science", "Mechanical Engineering" and "Physics". In the past also the fields "Earth Science", "Engineering" and "Materials Science" were rewarded.
Additionally since 1990, the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science (Bower Science Award) and the Bower Award for Business Leadership have been awarded annually. They are funded by a $7.5 million bequest in 1988 from Henry Bower, a chemical manufacturer in Philadelphia. The Bower Science Award contains $250,000 of cash, one of the largest amounts for a science award in the US.
The institute's Committee on Science and the Arts determines the winners of these awards. Recipients and related information can be found in the laureates database.
Informal science learning research.
The Franklin Institute also undertakes research in informal science education. Areas of special strength are educational technology, school partnerships, and youth leadership. In addition, the center has built a substantial portfolio of unique online resources of the history of science, including online exhibits on Ben Franklin and the Heart, as well as resources on the Wright Aeronautical Engineering Collection.
The Franklin Institute is a member of the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net).
Programs.
Science Leadership Academy.
Opening in September 2006, The "Science Leadership Academy" is a partnership between the Franklin Institute and the School District of Philadelphia.
Teacher professional development.
The Franklin Institute offers summer institutes and school year mini-courses for K-8 teachers, in collaboration with the School District of Philadelphia and Curriculum & Instruction Office.
Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science.
"Partnerships for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science", or PACTS, is a year-round program of science enrichment, career development, and leadership opportunities for diverse middle- and high-school students in the Philadelphia Region. PACTS students use hands-on science workshops, field based research, field trips, and laboratory experiments to learn how science affects their everyday lives.
Girls at the Center.
"Girls at the Center" is a partnership between the Franklin Institute and the Girl Scouts of the USA provided girls and their families a chance to learn about science together. Over 100 sites participated in the program, with over 70 of the sites still active today. Girls at the Center provided activities for the girls to do with their families at home, as well as projects to be completed on site, all culminating in a year-end party.
References.
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Elliott Cresson
American philanthropist (1796–1854)
Elliott Cresson (March 2, 1796 – February 20, 1854) was an American philanthropist who gave money to a number of causes after a brief career in the mercantile business. He established the Elliott Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute in 1848, and helped found and manage the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, today's Moore College of Art and Design. Cresson was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and a strong supporter of the Philadelphia branch of the American Colonization Society, a group fighting slavery that relocated former slaves and free African Americans to colonies in Liberia. Cresson was called "the most belligerent Friend the Society ever had."
Early career.
Cresson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1796, the first child of John Elliott Cresson and Mary Warder Cresson. The infant Cresson represented the seventh generation of Cressons born in the United States. John Elliott Cresson died in 1814, and Elliott Cresson continued to reside, unmarried, at 730 Sansom Street with his widowed mother until his death.
In 1818, Cresson's uncle Caleb Cresson, Jr. gave him control of the very prosperous mercantile business he had built up. In 1824, Cresson left the business to pursue philanthropic goals.
Liberia.
Cresson was interested in the idea of moving freed slaves and African-American citizens to Africa, an idea shared for a few years in the late 1820s by Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Cresson felt that ex-slaves, surrounded as they were by white people of greater means, found it too difficult to lift themselves up. His belief was that new circumstances among a primarily black culture would effect a beneficial change in character for the former slaves. Cresson joined the Philadelphia organization known as the Young Men's Colonization Society, a branch of the American Colonization Society, and soon became its strongest, most active member. Beginning in 1830, Cresson saw in the national organization's finances a lack of accountability and rising debts, and he warned them against such fiscal folly.
In 1832–1833, Cresson traveled to England to promote the cause. He joined in an effort by the Philadelphia and the New York City auxiliaries to act more independently. The Philadelphia group founded Port Cresson (today Buchanan, Liberia) with the intent that the newly established black settlers would control the Saint John River and thereby stop the flow of some 1200 slaves per month. Cresson traveled to Liberia in early 1833 to help establish the colony, sent on his way by a poem from Lydia Sigourney which finished with:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Sad Afric's hand hath bound thee,
    Among her jewels rare;—
Her talisman is round thee,
    Her tearful, grateful prayer.
Go forth—God's peace possessing!
    To all mankind a friend;—
Full be thy cup of blessing,
    Where'er thy wanderings tend!
By 1833, Garrison was decrying the efforts of the American Colonization Society, saying it was just a perpetuation of slavery. Cresson worked to stop the damage caused by Garrison's reversal, and wrote Garrison directly on two occasions. In spite of his efforts, Cresson was partly blamed for the withdrawal of some Southern state auxiliaries from the national organization.
The Port Cresson colony was attacked in 1835 by Bassa tribesmen who were incited by Spanish slave traders. All the buildings were destroyed, 20 of 126 colonists were killed, and the rest escaped to the nearby colony of Edina. A month later, a new colony was established at Bassa Cove.
By the efforts of Cresson and his New York counterpart, the American Colonization Society went through a reorganization, with fiscal responsibility first on the list of changes. Cresson traveled the South in the late 1830s to promote colonization of Liberia, and wrote in 1840 that the whole region, particularly Kentucky, seemed ready to send its slaves to Liberia. Emancipation of slaves was seen to be wholly contingent upon their removal from the United States. Slaveholders expected compensation for losing workers.
Franklin Institute.
In late 1824, Cresson was nominated and elected to the Franklin Institute, becoming a life member. In 1846, he announced his intention to create a Medal fund. In 1848, Cresson gave $1,000 to establish the Elliott Cresson Medal, a gold medal awarded "for some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship." The medal was first awarded in 1875, to six firms or persons.
Silver medals were proposed by Cresson in 1850, to be awarded in 1851 to the largest producers in the Pennsylvania colonies of Liberia of coffee, sugar, palm oil, and cotton. The Franklin Institute adopted the award, but no such medals were ever given out.
Women's college.
In 1850, Sarah Worthington King Peter wrote to the Franklin Institute about her drawing class of some 20 young women becoming a "co-operative, but separate branch" of the Institute. The Franklin Institute established and supervised the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1850 to 1853. A group of 17 men were designated the incorporators of the school in 1853. Cresson was among these 17 directors and was elected president at the first meeting. Cresson's enthusiastic work on behalf of the school was cut short by his death. The school flourished and was renamed Moore College of Art and Design in 1989.
Other interests.
Cresson wrote to James Madison in 1829 to ask a favor. The ex-president, 79 years old and the last of the Founding Fathers, wrote back to comply with the request for a "sample of my handwriting" and to supply Cresson an autograph each of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Cresson subscribed to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, a special library collection. He bought stock in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Cresson bequeathed to the city of Philadelphia a trust fund designated for planting and renewing shade trees, "excluding such foreign trash as the Lombardy Poplar, Ailanthus, paper Mulberry & similar Exotics."
Legacy.
Cresson died at age 58 in Philadelphia on February 20, 1854, of gangrene. He was buried at The Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia. The town Cresson, Pennsylvania was named in his honor.
Cresson gave artist Thomas Sully $500 in his will; Sully had painted two portraits of Cresson, one in 1824 and another in 1849. Sully painted a copy of the 1849 portrait one year after Cresson's death. Another beneficiary in Cresson's will was William Bacon Stevens, the rector of St. Andrew's Church in Philadelphia, and the former state historian of Georgia. Others in the will included three sons of Cresson's sister Sara and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
The Franklin Institute continued awarding the Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, for distinguished work in science until 1998 when they reorganized their endowed awards under one umbrella, The Benjamin Franklin Medals. A total of 268 people or groups were given the award during its lifetime.
References.
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Cresson, Pennsylvania
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Cresson is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cresson is east of Pittsburgh. It is above in elevation. Lumber, coal, and coke yards were industries that had supported the population, which numbered 1,470 in 1910. The borough is part of the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area, although state and local sources list it as part of the Altoona area due to being much closer to that city. The population of Cresson at the 2010 census was 1,711.
The location was named in 1854 as a memorial to philanthropist Elliott Cresson. Railroads, beginning with the Allegheny Portage Railroad, fueled the growth of the area. Many famous Pittsburgh businessmen, including Charles M. Schwab, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Clay Frick, maintained summer residences in the area.
The borough was incorporated in 1906, along with neighboring Sankertown.
Geography.
Cresson is located in eastern Cambria County at (40.462631, -78.586319), atop the Eastern Continental Divide, the height of land between the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and the Ohio River valley. The Little Conemaugh River rises in Cresson, flowing southwest to form the Conemaugh River, which in turn flows to the Kiskiminetas River, then the Allegheny River, the Ohio River, and finally the Mississippi. The north side of Cresson, meanwhile, drains north to Clearfield Creek, a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, leading to Chesapeake Bay. Blair Gap, at the eastern edge of the Allegheny Plateau and east of town, is the location of the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, where the first railroad (a portage railway) crossed the Allegheny Mountains.
Cresson is bypassed to the south and east by U.S. Route 22, a four-lane expressway, with access from two exits: Pennsylvania Route 53 (Second Street) on the south, and the Admiral Peary Highway (former US 22) on the east. Altoona is to the northeast via US 22 and Interstate 99, while Ebensburg, the Cambria County seat, is to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.
History.
Mountainhouse era.
One of the first buildings in the area which would become Cresson was the Mountainhouse Hotel. The Queen Anne style structure was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1881, sold to the Cresson Springs Co., and demolished in 1916. It was hoped to attract visitors from Pittsburgh and Johnstown looking for clean air and "therapeutic" mineral springs. Although itself unsuccessful, it led to the development of several other hotels, companies, and the town itself.
The area is currently known as the "Mountainhouse Grounds" to local residents and is in the midst of development. Several of the original cottages still stand, including those of Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Jones.
Stereographs of R.A. Bonine.
Photographer R.A. Bonine of Altoona took several stereographs of the Cresson area, including the Mountainhouse during the 1870-1880s. The following were included in his series "Views Among the Alleghenies".
Demographics.
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As of the census of 2000, there were 1,631 people, 726 households, and 426 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 786 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.90% White, 0.12% African American, 0.37% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 726 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $26,293, and the median income for a family was $34,900. Males had a median income of $30,972 versus $21,853 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,562. About 13.7% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
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Cresson Traveling Scholarship
The Cresson Traveling Scholarship, also known as the William Emlen Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, is a two-year scholarship for foreign travel and/or study awarded annually to art students at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Awarded for excellence, the prize was funded by Emlen and Priscilla Cresson in memory of their son William Emlen Cresson, an Academy alumnus who died in 1868 at the age of 23. He had been a child prodigy painter who began exhibiting at the Academy at the age of 11.
The first Cresson Traveling Scholarships were awarded in 1902. Initially, they were $1,000 one-year scholarships, renewable for a second year, and sometimes beyond. Multiple awards were given in painting, along with one in sculpture and one in architecture. Awards in illustration were added later.
Cresson European Scholarships of $5000 for summer travel, were also awarded annually. These were not as prestigious as the two-year scholarships, with which they are often confused.
Laura Wheeler Waring, the first African-American woman to win a Cresson Traveling Scholarship, was studying in Paris in 1914 when World War I broke out. Subsequent winners were allowed to postpone their travel until the conflict was over.
Scholarship winners.
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State Correctional Institution – Cresson
Correctional facility in Pennsylvania, US
State Correctional Institution – Cresson was a medium-security, all male correctional facility, located off U.S. Route 22, about 10 miles west of Altoona along Old Route 22 in the Western part of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
On January 8, 2013, state officials announced the prison would be closed. The prison closed June 30, 2013, and the land was put up for sale by the state.
Creation of SCI-Cresson.
Under Executive Order of then-Governor Dick Thornburgh in January 1983, This facility, formerly the Lawrence Frick State Hospital for the mentally ill, was to be transferred to the Bureau of Corrections for its use. The construction/renovation process at Cresson was allocated at $20.6 Million. Construction/renovation began in 1984, and the design of the new housing units for inmates was prototyped in future institutions across the Commonwealth. The activation team was created in the fall of 1986. SCI-Cresson opened in 1987, becoming a medium-security correctional facility for men.
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Samuel M. Vauclain
Samuel Matthews Vauclain (May 18, 1856 – February 4, 1940) was an American engineer, inventor of the Vauclain compound locomotive, and president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He was awarded the John Scott Award and the Elliott Cresson Medal by The Franklin Institute in 1891. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for arming the United States Army during World War I. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1899.
Railroads.
Vauclain served an apprenticeship in the machine shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. When he was 24, he was sent to inspect locomotives at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In those days, machining was a manual job with the machining done by hammers, files and chisels with the men's own hands. Vauclain's hands were left in a permanent clutching position from endless hours of chipping and filing metal. He became general foreman of Baldwin's 17th Street Shops in 1883, and quickly moved up through the company, as plant superintendent in 1886, then general superintendent. He joined the board of directors in 1896, became vice-president in 1911, senior vice-president in 1917, president from 1919 to 1929, and chairman of the board from then until his death. He was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal by The Franklin Institute in 1891. At the same time, the Franklin Institute selected Vauclain for the John Scott Award funded by the City of Philadelphia.
During World War I, Vauclain helped organize the Munitions Standards Board. He then served as chairman of the special advisory subcommittee on plants and munitions for the War Industries Board. In 1919, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the War Department.
He helped professor Thomas Garrigue Masaryk legions especially in Russia in 1918.
Personal life.
Samuel Vauclain was born in Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Andrew Constant Vauclain and Mary Ann Campbell Vauclain. In 1879, he married Annie Kearney; they had six children.
Vauclain was a Republican, and served as a delegate from Pennsylvania's 7th District to the 1920 Republican National Convention, which nominated Warren G. Harding for president.
In 1923, he and several Baldwin officials took a trip around the Middle West in which he gave eight speeches in eight different cities.
Vauclain died following a heart attack, in Broadlawn, his home at Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
References


Holley, New York
Holley is a village in the town of Murray in Orleans County, New York, United States. The population was 1,811 at the 2010 census. According to the 2020 census, the population decreased to 1,754. It is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History.
The village of Holley was incorporated in 1850. Originally named Saltport, the name was changed to honor Myron Holley, a commissioner of the Erie Canal.
In 2002, A major chemical spill known as the Diaz pipeline incident occurred at the Diaz chemical production plant after a pipeline from a reactor vessel bursted, contaminating 31,000 tons of concrete and scrap metal as well as multiple houses, temporarily rendering Holley a ghost town.
The village of Holley hosted an annual "Hazzard County Squirrel Slam," from 2006 until the last event in 2016, a squirrel hunt that raises funds for the village's fire department. The event went off without incident for six consecutive years until the 2013 edition drew the sudden ire of a coalition of wildlife rehabilitators, animal rights activists and gun control advocates. Approximately 30 people stood outside of the Holley Fire Department to protest the event. Protests also occurred in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Several lawsuits to stop the event took place, none of which were successful. Due to the controversy, the "Squirrel Slam" hasn't taken place since 2016.
Geography.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land.
Holley is located on the Erie Canal.
The village is located at the junction of east-west highway New York State Route 31 (West Albion Street and State Street) and north-south highway New York State Route 237 (North and South Main Street).
It is located approximately 21 miles from Rochester NY.
Economy.
Holley's main economy is farming based, due to the lack of trade in the area, as well as the growing townships nearby, such as Brockport and Albion. The town has small shops and businesses, including a dance studio, Kyokushin Karate dojo, a pizzeria, a diner and gas station.
Education.
There are two public schools in Holley: Holley Elementary School and Holley Junior/Senior High School. These two schools are located in close proximity to each other in the northeastern portion of the village.
Residents of the Holley School district currently pay the highest rate of school taxes in the county. The older high school, located in the center of town, was closed in 1976 due to a growing population that needed a larger facility and one closer to athletic fields. This building is now considered a historical landmark.
Demographics.
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As of the census of 2000, there were 1,802 people, 788 households, and 464 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 846 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.95% White, 1.22% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.61% of the population.
There were 788 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $36,367, and the median income for a family was $49,200. Males had a median income of $31,019 versus $23,077 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,388. About 7.6% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
References.
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William W. Blair
American RLDS Church leader (1828–1896)
William Wallace Blair (October 11, 1828 – April 18, 1896) was an apostle and a member of the First Presidency of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church).
Blair was born in Holley, New York. In 1839, his family moved to LaSalle County, Illinois. In 1851, Blair encountered missionaries from the Latter Day Saint movement. On October 8, 1851, Blair was baptized by William Smith, the younger brother of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.
In 1852, Blair became somewhat disenchanted with William Smith and some of his associates when he "learned that some of the leading elders were walking in unrighteousness". Blair investigated and temporarily aligned himself with Charles B. Thompson's Baneemyites, but ultimately decided that it "was not the work of God."
In 1855, Blair aligned himself with John E. Page and Hazen Aldrich, who were claiming to have reorganized the true Church of Christ. However, in late 1856, Blair aligned himself with Latter Day Saints, including William Marks, Jason W. Briggs, and Zenas H. Gurley, who were teaching that a "reorganization" of Joseph Smith's church needed to be effected under Smith's son Joseph Smith III. On April 7, 1857, Blair was re-baptized into this "reorganization" by Gurley. The following day, he was ordained as a high priest and on October 7, 1858, at a church conference in Zarahemla, Wisconsin, Blair was ordained an apostle of the reorganization and he became a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles.
On October 8, 1860, shortly after the RLDS Church was formally organized, Blair was assigned as a missionary to Nauvoo, Illinois, Far West, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Blair was a successful missionary and baptized many individuals into the RLDS Church.
On April 10, 1873, Blair was chosen by prophet–president Joseph Smith III to be his first counselor in the First Presidency. He served in this capacity until his sudden death while traveling home to Lamoni, Iowa from a church conference in Kirtland, Ohio.
Blair was married to Elizabeth J. Doty and was the father of seven children.
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W. Robert Blair
American politician
William Robert Blair II (October 22, 1930 – January 18, 2014) was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman.
Early life.
William Robert Blair II was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on October 22, 1930. He was graduated from West Virginia University in 1954, with A.B. and LL.B. degrees. He then served in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps for two years at Chanute Air Force Base. He moved to Park Forest, Illinois in 1957. He became active in local Will County politics as a member of the Will County Public Building Commission and a precinct committeeman the Will County Republican Central Committee. During his early legal career, he served as house counsel for Swift & Company and as a partner of Wood & Blair, while also serving as President of Fairfax Realty Company.
Illinois House of Representatives.
The 1960 reapportionment process was stalled by partisan gridlock. Subsequently, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered an at large election for all 177 members of the Illinois House in 1964. Voters were given ballots three feet long. Blair was one of fifty-nine Republicans elected to 177 seats. Blair was a and served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 to 1975.
After a 1965 Illinois Supreme Court Case to resolve the redistricting issue, Blair's home was drawn into the 41st district which consisted of Wheatland, DuPage, Plainfield, Lockport, Homer, Troy, Joliet, New Lenox, Frankfort, Manhattan, Green Garden, Monee, Crete, Wilton, Peotone, Will, Washington, townships in Will County. Blair was elected as one of the district's three representatives alongside William G. Barr and John J. Houlihan.
He served as speaker during the 77th and 78th Illinois General Assemblies. He was not reelected in the 1974 general election. After his time in the legislature, he served as a public member of the Illinois Transportation Study Commission.
Post-legislative career.
In 1978, he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Illinois Comptroller. Blair ran against John W. Castle, director of the Department of Local Government Affairs for Governor James R. Thompson. Thompson, who had convinced Castle to run for Comptroller instead of Treasurer, endorsed Castle leading Blair to criticize Castle for an inability to do the job independently. With more than 52% of the vote, Castle defeated Blair in the Republican primary. In 1982, he ran for the Republican nomination for Illinois Treasurer. He lost the primary to Peoria businessman John Dailey.
Blair died January 18, 2014.
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Blairsville, Indiana
Blairsville is an unincorporated area in Robinson Township, Posey County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.
 the U.S. Census Bureau had established a census-designated place for this settlement.
History.
Blairsville was laid out in 1837 by Stephen Blair, and named for him. A post office was established at Blairsville in 1838, and remained in operation until 1902. With the construction of the railroad in 1880, business activity shifted to nearby Wadesville, and the town declined.
Blairsville contains the historic Blairsville Cemetery. A number of the interments are Civil War veterans.
The town of Blairsville is located on Big creek in Robinson township. It was named in honor of Stephen Blair who, in company with Ebenezer Phillips, laid out the town on the Fourth of July, 1837. It soon grew into prominence as a half way place on the Evansville and New Harmony stage road, besides it was fairly well located for the convenience of settlers in all directions from the town as a trading point.
Political speakings were held here quite often in the old days of the Whig and the Democrat. A joint discussion was held here during the campaign of 1842 between Robert Dale Owen, the Democratic candidate for Congress, and John W. Payne, the Whig candidate. Among the first residents of Blairsville were Stephen Blair, after whom the town was named, Ebenezer Phillips, who surveyed the town, Charles Kimball, a Robert Owen and later a Dr. Mitchell, Henry Theuerkauf and Henry Weber, shoemakers. Henry Newman was one of the first blacksmiths. Charles Kimball ran a horse feed mill. Dr. Owen refers to the areas surrounding Blairsville as "the mecca of geologists" due to the preservation of fossilized palm trees and Lepidodendron. John B. Gardner and John Becker were among the early successful merchants and business men. The extension of the Evansville & Terre Haute railroad through Wadesville in 1880 was a severe blow to Blairsville from which the town never recovered. For several years the population has been composed largely, if not entirely, of Germans. The importance of the town in 1842 may be judged by the fact that the following petitioned the "honorable board" for tavern licenses (which meant to sell whiskey also): J. H. Owens, Daniel Cox, William Watson, David R. Downen, M. Duty, Robert Stevens, William Dodge, Nelson Doty, Daniel Elkins, Benjamin Garris, Soren Sorenson, M. Watson, H. W. Young, William F. Phillips and Richard Ramsey.
Demographics.
The United States Census Bureau delineated Blairsville as a census designated place in the 2022 American Community Survey.'
Education.
Robinson Township is in Metropolitan School District of North Posey County.
South Terrace Elementary School is in Blairsville. The district was scheduled to begin building this school in fall 1957. 10 classrooms were planned to be built.
North Posey High School is the district's comprehensive high school.
References.
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William M. Blair
William McCormick Blair (May 2, 1884 – March 29, 1982), was an American financier.
Early life.
William McCormick Blair was born May 2, 1884, in Chicago.
His father, Edward Tyler Blair, was the son of William Blair, who founded the first wholesale hardware house in Chicago. Edward was a Yale graduate in 1879, who wrote several books including a history of the Chicago Club, and spent his life working in his father's firm. He was very wealthy, and employed four Swedish servants to manage the house while his children were growing up.
William McCormick Blair's mother, Anna Reubenia "Ruby" McCormick (1860–1917), was a daughter of the agricultural machinery manufacturer William Sanderson McCormick (1815–1865) and a member of the illustrious McCormick family. Her grandfather was Robert McCormick (1780–1846), who invented a mechanical reaper.
Education.
William graduated from Groton School in 1903, and received a BA from Yale University in 1907. At Yale, he was on the rowing crew and a member of the Skull and Bones society.
He later received honorary degrees from Northwestern University in 1964 and Lake Forest College.
Career.
Upon graduation he entered the Northern Trust Company of Chicago. Shortly after, he entered the bond brokerage firm, David Reid & Company. In 1909 he moved to Lee, Higginson and rose through the ranks, becoming managing partner of its Chicago office.
When it looked as if America would enter World War I in 1917, Blair was involved with the Four-Minute Men of Chicago, giving speeches during film intermissions. He was also active in the sale of War Bonds. When the Four-Minute Men were absorbed by the Committee on Public Information, he went to Washington, D.C., to be its director. Woodrow Wilson sent him a letter of thanks.
As the war came to a close he enlisted in the Army and trained in a New York base.
After the war, he continued with Lee, Higginson, but due to the underwriting of Swedish magnate Ivar Kreuger the firm went bankrupt.
In 1934, he was associated with Francis A. Bonner, who was also at Lee, Higginson. Together the two were organising a financial company of their own. Blair was left with no money after the collapse of Lee, Higginson, but he managed to obtain $50,000 from Joseph and Edward Ryerson of the Ryerson (company), John and Douglas Stuart of Quaker Oats and Roger Shepherd.
Their firm was opened on January 8, 1935, as Blair, Bonner & Company with an office in the Marshall Field Building at 135 South LaSalle Street in Chicago.
The firm specialized in financing homes in the midwestern United States. In its early days, it assisted the growth of the Household Finance Corporation, Continental Casualty and Continental Assurance.
In 1941, Bonner left the company, and it was renamed William Blair & Company. The firm was managed by five partners: William Blair, Wallace Flower, Donald Miehls, Lee Ostrander and Daniel Ritter.
Personal life.
Blair married Helen Hadduck Bowen (1890–1972), daughter of banker Joseph Tilton Bowen and Louise DeKoven Bowen (1859–1953). In 1912 her mother endowed the summer camp for poor children of Hull House known as the Bowen Country Club.
In 1946, Blair's sons, William McCormick Blair Jr., Edward McCormick Blair (born 1915) and Bowen Blair (born 1918) joined the firm. Blair Sr. stepped down as managing partner in 1961, and handed the reins over to son Edward. Bowen Blair died on September 11, 2009.
Edward retired in 1977 and died December 22, 2010.
The Blairs also had one daughter, Miss Helen Bowen Blair, who died on July 8, 1930, at the age of 17. She was thrown from her horse at Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, Illinois and suffered injuries from the runaway horse that caused her death.
Blair was a director of the Continental Casualty Co., the Continental Assurance Co. and the Peoples Gas Light and Coke Co. He was a Life Trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, a University of Chicago Life Trustee, Trustee of the Field Museum of Natural History, Trustee of Groton School, and Trustee of the Yale Alumni Board. Blair was also on the board of trustees at The Scripps Research Institute.
He remained a senior partner of William Blair & Company until his death. The firm stayed relatively small, and still had offices in the same building on LaSalle street.
He died March 29, 1982, at his home in Chicago.
Legacy.
In 1980, Blair guided the founding of the David Adler Music and Arts Center (formerly known as the David Adler Cultural Center) in Libertyville, Illinois. The center is located on the property that once was the home of the architect David Adler, who bequeathed it to the city. Blair had been the client, neighbor, and friend of Adler, and had recruited Adler to become a trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1925.
Adler designed a house for Blair on an estate they purchased in 1926 when the Crab Tree Farm of Henry Williams Blodgett in Lake Bluff, Illinois, was broken up by Scott Sloan Durand (1869–1949). Their garden was designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman. His son Edward also built a house on an adjacent parcel, designed by George Fred Keck. The family bought the rest of Crab Tree Farm in the 1950s.
The estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Illinois, on January 31, 2008.
It was later owned by John H. Bryan.
It is located at 982 Sheridan Road, .
He was decorated as a chevalier in the Légion d'honneur and as a commander in the Royal Order of Vasa.
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library holds the William McCormick Blair Collection, which consists of letters, news bulletins, pamphlets, publications, newspaper clippings and photographs related to Blair's service as the National Director of the Four Minute Men, a division of the Committee on Public Information during World War I.
References.
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Henry W. Blair
American military officer and politician
Henry William Blair (December 6, 1834 – March 14, 1920) was a United States representative and Senator from New Hampshire. During the American Civil War, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army.
A Radical Republican in his earlier political career, Blair later became associated with the moderate "Half-Breeds" who as a bloc pushed for civil service reform at the expense of racial and social equality efforts. In contrast to other Half-Breeds who exhibited coldness towards the plight of Southern African-Americans, Blair himself consistently fought to end racial disparities, and his efforts were considered decades ahead of his time.
Early life.
Born in Campton, New Hampshire, Blair lost his father at two and his mother at twelve. Raised by neighbors on a farm, he attended school when breaks from farm work permitted. Though he never went to college, in 1856, he began reading law with William Leverett at Plymouth, and was admitted to the bar in 1859 and became Leverett's partner.
Career.
Blair was appointed prosecuting attorney for Grafton County in 1860.
During the Civil War Blair was rejected by the fifth and twelfth regiments as physically unfit. In 1862, when the fifteenth regiment was formed, he raised a company, enlisted as a Private and was elected Captain. He was appointed Major by the Governor and his Council. After about a year at the front, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry. During his first battle service, the Siege of Port Hudson, he was wounded twice. After the discharge of his regiment in 1863, he was appointed deputy provost marshal and spent most of the remainder of the war at home as an invalid due to wounds and diseases contracted during the war.
Blair was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1866 and a member of the New Hampshire Senate from 1867 to 1868.
Elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses, Blair served as United States Representative for the state of New Hampshire from (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879). In 1876, he introduced the first prohibition amendment to be offered in Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1878 but was elected by the New Hampshire legislature to the U.S. Senate on June 17, 1879, for the vacancy in the term ending March 3, 1885, and served from June 20, 1879, to March 3, 1885. The State legislature not being in session, he was re-appointed on March 5, 1885, and elected on June 17, 1885, to fill the vacancy in the term beginning March 4, 1885, and served from March 10, 1885, to March 3, 1891. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1891. While in the Senate.
According to "The New York Times":
Similar to many Republicans at the time, Blair favored higher protective tariffs, the gold standard, and generous pensions for Union veterans of the Civil War.
During late 1882 and early January 1883, Blair attached an amendment to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act that prohibited hiring habitual drunkards to federal government positions, reflecting his effort to combat alcohol abuse. However, he did not vote on the final passage of the Pendleton Act.
He was chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor during the Forty-seventh through the Fifty-first Congresses. He proposed legislation to move control of education from the local level to the federal level during the 1880s. His proposed "Blair Education Bill" advocated federal aid for education and passed the Senate on three occasions, was endorsed by presidents, but never passed the House. Blair wrote to African-American leader Frederick Douglass:
Blair declined an appointment by President Benjamin Harrison as judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire in 1891, but accepted an appointment as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China on March 6, 1891. The Chinese Government objected to Blair because of his role in and abusive remarks pertaining to the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act and declared him "persona non grata". He subsequently tendered his resignation from the diplomatic post, which was accepted October 6, 1891.
Again elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1892, Blair served from March 4, 1893, to March 3, 1895, and was not a candidate for reelection in 1894. He engaged in the practice of law in Washington, D.C., until his death.
Personal life.
Blair was the son of William Henry Blair and Lois (Baker) Blair. He married Eliza Nelson on December 20, 1859, and they had one son, Henry Patterson Blair.
Blair died in Washington, D.C., on March 14, 1920 (age 85 years, 99 days). He is interred at Campton Cemetery, Campton, New Hampshire.
References.
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John Blair (pastor)
Irish American minister (1720-1771)
John Blair (1720 – December 8, 1771) was a Presbyterian minister, a Trustee, Professor, and Acting President of Princeton University. His brother Samuel Blair was a leader of the Presbyterian New Light religious movement. His nephew, Samuel Blair was the second Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives.
Life.
Blair was born in Ireland in 1720 to William Blair. He immigrated to the colonies in his youth. He was educated in under the Reverend William Tennent at the Log College, the first theological seminary serving Presbyterians in North America located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania (then known as Neshaminy). He later received a M.A. from the College of New Jersey in 1760.
He was licensed to preach by the New Side Presbytery of Newcastle. He was ordained December 27, 1742 as pastor of the Hopewell Church at Big Spring in Newville, the Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church in Letterkenny, and at Middle Spring Presbyterian Church in Southampton Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania until December 1748. The towns and churches were abandoned due to Indian conflict during the Indian Wars.
He then moved to Londonderry Township where his brother, Samuel Blair had founded the Faggs Manor Presbyterian church and associated classical school. He remained there after his brother's 1751 death and became pastor, and head of the school, until 1767.
He then moved to Princeton, New Jersey where the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) was located to accept a position of Professor of Theology that was funded by a bequeath of Rev Samuel Finley who died in 1767. He was also appointed Trustee, Vice-President, and acting president until appointed President John Witherspoon was able to arrive.
As the funds to support the Professorship were insufficient, and Witherspoon was able to teach and lead the college, it was agreed that Blair would resign as Professor. He then agreed to be pastor at the Good Will Church in Wallkill, New York where he remained until his death in 1771. He was buried at the cemetery of the church.
Personal.
Blair was married to Elizabeth (Susan) Durburrow, a daughter of Philadelphia merchant John Durburrow. They had sons John Durburrow Blair (1759–1823) a 1775 Princeton graduate and theologian, and William Lawrence, a Princeton graduate and Kentucky lawyer, and daughter Rebecca who married William Linn.
References.
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Blairs Creek
Stream in the American state of Missouri
Blairs Creek is a stream in Crawford County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of Meramec River.
Blairs Creek has the name of a local family. The Blair Family was a late 19th and 1st half of the 20th century family of farmers and millers. The patriarch, William Samuel Blair, was a prominent Crawford citizen and his son, Charles Melvin Blair, purchased the farm on which Blairs Creek is located and empties into the Meramec river. He and his wife, Jennie, Mallow Blair, raised their family there in a house he built with his own hand. The Farm is often still referred to as "The Old Blair Homeplace".
References.
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John Blair Sr.
American politician (1687–1771)
John Blair (c. 1687 – November 5, 1771) was a merchant and politician of the colony of Virginia. He served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. As a member of the House of Burgesses, he initially represented Jamestown then Williamsburg (the successive seats of the colony's government), before being appointed to the Governor's Council. There he served for more than 25 years, including four times becoming acting governor during changes of the royal governors and while governor Francis Fauquier was in the New York and Georgia colonies. Nonetheless, this John Blair, the earliest of the four men of the name serving in the Virginia General Assembly, may be best known either as the nephew and heir of Rev. James Blair (who founded the College of William and Mary, where many descendants would be educated) or father of John Blair, Jr. (a lawyer who served in many governmental posts, including as a burgess, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Virginia judge and finally as associate justice of the United States Supreme Court).
Early life.
Blair was born in Scotland around 1687, the only known son of Archibald Blair. His Scottish grandfather, Rev. Peter Blair, was minister at St. Cuthbert's parish in Edinburgh, married Mary Hamilton in 1654 and in his final years served as the rector of Jedburgh parish in Roxburghshire, Scotland. Archibald Blair was the youngest of the couple's three sons, had graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1685 (having studied medicine) and probably married this man's mother shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, his eldest brother Rev. James Blair had previously graduated from that university and been ordained a minister, but emigrated to Virginia around 1685 because he refused to sign a loyalty oath required by the Scots parliament. In Virginia Rev. James Blair would become the leading representative of the Church of England for five decades, as well as the minister in the colony's capital, and helped re-found the College of William and Mary. Rev. James Blair soon married a daughter of a leading family, but had no children, so after his brother Archibald and this boy emigrated to the colony, and the son was educated and married, he and his family ultimately became that cleric's principal heirs. Only one of Archibald and James's sisters (Christian Blair (1665–1725)) also emigrated to Virginia (after marrying Rev. John Munroe, who accepted a post at St. John's Parish in King William County). Ultimately, this man would marry his cousin Mary, daughter of that Rev. John Monroe. The middle brother, John Blair (c. 1662 – after 1689) remained in Scotland, where he became an apothecary in Edinburgh and a burgess of that city in 1683 and Scotland's postmaster general in 1689. Some of his children also became merchants, including grandsons (by sons Peter the skinner and another Archibald) John Blair (died 1757) and another James Blair. Those men worked for years in Virginia as employees and at least the former became trading partner of this man.
Dr. Archibald Blair immigrated with this son to the Virginia colony in the 1690s, possibly following his wife's death, since no re record exists of her emigration. Due to unhealthy circumstances at Jamestown, particularly during summers, Williamsburg (at first called "Middle Plantation") was established as a trading center, and the colony's government offices relocated there around 1699. Dr. Archibald Blair remarried twice, first when this man was still a boy to Sarah Archer Fowler, a widow who probably helped raise this boy as well as bore four daughters who reached adulthood, married and became Archibald Blair's heirs. They included Sarah Blair who married Wilson Cary, Ann Blair who married Peter Whiting, Elizabeth Blair who married John Bolling and later Richard Bland, and Harrison Blair who became the third wife of Dr. George Gilmer. After Sarah's death Archibald remarried, to the twice widowed Mary Wilson Roscoe Cary, the daughter of burgess William Wilson and who had outlived burgesses William Roscoe as well as Miles Cary II (who died in 1709). as well as practiced as a doctor and operated an in Williamsburg. Archibald also joined with his brother James Blair and Philip Ludwell, who jointly owned a retail store in Williamsburg, which is discussed below, since upon coming of age, this man would succeed his father as its manager. This John Blair graduated from the College of William and Mary around 1707 and remained in Williamsburg his whole life.
Businessman and planter.
Until his death in 1733, Blair's father, Archibald, in addition to his medical practice and apothecary shop was the largest shareholder of Dr. Blair's Store, a mercantile house. This man managed the store for many years, probably succeeding his Edinburgh-born cousin of the same name. Blair was also a partner with John Blair Jr. (the son of a cousin) in another store from 1740 to 1759. Blair owned two of the largest taverns in the colony, the Raleigh Tavern (named after Sir Walter Raleigh) and the Chowning Tavern, renting them to tavern keepers. He owned Chowning from 1726 to around 1738, and sold Raleigh in 1742. In 1745, Blair and 16 other investors obtained a land grant on the Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers.
Upon receiving his inheritance from Rev. James Blair in 1743, this John Blair bought a plantation south of Taskinas Creek on the York River about ten miles downstream of its confluence with the Mattaponi River, which he operated using enslaved labor.
Public career.
Blair's public career may have begun in 1715, when he (or a cousin with the same name) was appointed keeper of the Royal Storehouse in Williamsburg. Blair took the oaths of office as a justice of the peace for York County on August 17, 1724 (serving until he was sworn in as a member of the Virginia Governor's Council in 1745) and in 1727 as a James River upper district naval officer (serving until he became deputy Auditor General of Virginia on August 15, 1728). He served as deputy Auditor General until his death in 1771, while simultaneously holding various other positions.
Blair was elected to the House of Burgesses from Jamestown for the 1734 session, succeeding his father, whose term had begun in 1728 and who died in 1733. In the next session, which began in 1736, the citizens of Williamsburg elected Blair as their representative, though he was replaced by John Harmer for the 1742 session, possibly