John Wilford Blackstone Jr.

John Wilford Blackstone Jr. (December 22, 1835 – October 22, 1911)[1] was an American farmer, lawyer, politician, and judge. A Republican, he represented Lafayette County for one term each in the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly. He also served two four-year terms as County Judge for Lafayette County.

The Honorable John W. Blackstone Jr.
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 12th district
In office January 1, 1880 – January 1, 1882
Preceded by	Joseph B. Treat
Succeeded by	Archibald N. Randall
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Lafayette 2nd district
In office January 1, 1879 – January 1, 1880
Preceded by	Bernard McGinty
Succeeded by	Bernard McGinty
District Attorney of Lafayette County
In office January 1, 1873 – December 31, 1874
Preceded by	Joseph H. Clary
Succeeded by	James R. Rose
County Judge of Lafayette County
In office January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1869
Preceded by	L. P. Higbee
Succeeded by	Philo A. Orton Jr.
Personal details
Born	December 22, 1835 White Oak Springs, Michigan Territory
Died	October 22, 1911 (aged 75) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery Shullsburg, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ellen E. Hardy ​ (m. 1861)​
Children	Roccey (Prince) Jessie Edna Blackstone ^(b. 1867; died 1931) John Wilford Blackstone III Ralph Hardy Blackstone ^(b. 1880; died 1956)
Mother	Catherine (Tomlinson) Blackstone
Father	John Wilford Blackstone
Alma mater	Beloit College Brown University
Profession	lawyer, judge

Biography

Born in White Oak Springs (then part of the Michigan Territory) Blackstone read law with John K. Williams and was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1861. He was elected County Judge in Lafayette County that year, commencing his term in January 1862. He served two terms before losing re-election in 1868. In 1873, he returned to office as District Attorney.[2][3]

He served in the Wisconsin State Assembly in the 1879 session and in the Wisconsin State Senate for the 1880 and 1881 sessions.[2] He also worked as an agent of the Bureau of Pensions for three years. Later in life, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his daughter, Roccey, resided. He died there in 1911.

Personal life and family

Blackstone is a direct descendant of William Blaxton (Blackstone), one of the first colonists of the Plymouth Colony, and the first English resident at Boston (1623) and Rhode Island (1635). The name "Blackstone" appears on many landmarks of New England due to his noteworthy ancestor.[2][3]

His father was John Wilford Blackstone, Sr., one of the early pioneers of Lafayette County, who served in the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature and was a judge for Iowa County during the time it was organized under the Michigan Territory.[2][4]

John W. Blackstone Jr. married Ellen E. Hardy, of Platteville, Wisconsin, on June 20, 1862. They had at least four children:[3]

• Roccey, who married and moved to Minneapolis
• Jessie, who became principal of the Prescott School in Anaconda, Montana
• John III, who became editor and publisher of the Southwestern Local in Shullsburg
• Ralph, who became a freight conductor on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad

References

1. 'John Wilford Blackstone,"Minnesota Death Records, 1866-1816,"
2. Butterfield, Consul Willshire (1881). History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin. Chicago: Western Historical Co. pp. 492–493, 653–654, 735. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
3. "John Wilford Blackstone". Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette Wisconsin. Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1901. pp. 345–347. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
4. The Blackstone Family

External links

• Judge John Wilford Blackstone, Jr at Find a Grave