Mary Eleanor Henley and David Ellmore Blair
DAVID ELLMORE BLAIR, son of EMMA ANN MCCLURE and EDGAR WILSON BLAIR, was born August 16, 1874 in Salina, Saline, Kansas,706 and died December 28, 1954 in Springfield, Greene, Missouri.4766, 706 He is buried in Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery, Joplin, Jasper, Missouri.706
He married MARY ELEANOR HENLEY in 1902.
Children of MARY ELEANOR HENLEY and DAVID ELLMORE BLAIR:
- HERBERT HENLEY BLAIR, b. July 23, 1903, Joplin, Jasper, Missouri;4760 m. FRANCES BUSH on May 23, 1936 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin4761; d. July 15, 1999.4760
- MABEL EMMA BLAIR, b. September 24, 1906, Missouri;56 m. GEORGE MARSHALL GANS on August 5, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri4767; d. October, 1979.56
- ELEANOR BLAIR, b. June 4, 1917, Joplin, Jasper, Missouri;4532 m. EDWARD O'KEEFE on June 12, 1943 in Springfield, Greene, Missouri4762; d. June, 1979.4532
Herbert
Mabel
Eleanor
Education
- David Ellmore Blair graduated from University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas in 1899.4766
Newspaper Articles
Jefferson City Post-Tribune, February 21, 19574765
Portrait of Blair To Supreme Court In Special Session
A portrait of former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Dave E. Blair was presented to the State's highest court yesterday during a special session.
Sponsored by the Jasper County Bar Association, the ceremony featured a presntation talk by Missouri Sen. Arkley Frieze of Carthage. The painting was a gift of the Blair family.
Served Three Courts
Blair is the only judge in Missouri history to be elected to all three of the state's judicial offices, having served on the Supreme Court, Springfield Court of Appeals and the Jasper County Circuit Court. Born in Salinas, Kan. in 1874, he began practicing law in Joplin in 1899, and became a circuit judge in 1908. Appointed to the Missouri Public Service Commission in 1917, Blair was elected to the Supreme Court in 1920, remaining there for 10 years. He became a judge in the Springfield court in 1940 and died in 1954.
Family Attends
His children, H. Henley Blair of Oklahoma City, Okla., Mrs. George M. Gans of Pensacola, Fla., and Mrs. Edward J. O'Keefe of Chicago attended the presentation with their families. Others present included Missouri Gov. James T. Blair, Jr., the judges from the Springfield Court of Appeals and Miss Edna D. Morris of Springfield, long-time secretary of Judge Blair's. The judge is not related to the state's present governor.
Arrangements for the portrait were made by Mrs. David E. BLair before her death in 1956. It was painted by Charles F. Galt of St. Louis.
Obituaries
Joplin News-Herald, December 29, 19544766
David E. Blair, Retired Judge, Is Dead at 80
Began His Career In Legal Profession Here 55 Years Ago
Judge David E. Blair, who began a career in the legal profession in Joplin 55 years ago that carried him to the presiding judgeship of the Missouri Supreme Court, died yesterday at his home in Springfield at the age of 80 years.
Death came to the former Joplin lawyer and Jasper county circuit judge less the four months after his voluntary retirement from the Springfield court of appeals upon which he had served since 1940. He died from a heart attack. The family home is at 1053 South Freemont avenue, Springfield. Mrs. Blair is a patient in Baptist Springfield hospital.
The body of the veteran jurist was received by the Herman Lohmeyer funeral home in Springfield to await funeral plans.
Thirty-three years of Judge Blair's long career were spent on the bench. He was proud of the distinction of having been the only lawyer in Missouri history ever to have been elected to three levels of judicial service—the circuit court, the appellate court and the supreme court.
Born August 16, 1874, at Salina, Kan., Judge Blair came to Joplin as a young attorney in 1899, the same year of his graduation from the University of Kansas law school. He soon became active in public affairs and in Republican politics, and in 1900 formed a law partnership with the late Perl D. Decker, who later was to become a distinguished congressman from southwest Missouri.
In 1908 Judge Blair was elected to the Jasper county circuit court. At 32 he was the youngest jurist in Missouri. He served eight years and then was appointed to the Missouri Public Service Commission.
In 1920 Judge Blair ran for and was elected to the Missouri Supreme Court. All judgeships then were filled by political election. During 10 years on the supreme bench he became presiding judge, serving with distinction. He was defeated for re-election in 1930.
RETURNED IN 1934
After a brief law practice in St. Louis, Judge Blair returned to Jasper county in 1931 to resume the practice of law following the death of Mr. Decker. He remained here until 1940 when he was elected to the Springfield Court of Appeals following the death of Judge Perry T. Allen. He also became the presiding judge of that tribunal and served on that court until last September when he retired voluntarily because of his age and failing health.
Judge and Mrs. Blair had considered returning to Joplin, but she has been ill for months and their plans had been held in abeyance.
Although during much of his long career Judge Blair did not retain a home in Joplin, he always called Joplin his home. He was widely known not only by the bar but by many district old-timers.
Surviving besides his widow are a son, H. H. Blair of Oklahoma City; two daughters, Mrs. Eleanor O'Keefe of Chicago and Mrs. Mable Ganns of Hawaii.
Census Records
| Date | Location | Enumerated Names |
|---|---|---|
| June 8, 18804752 | WaKeeney, Trego, Kansas |
|
| June 4, 1900722 | Joplin, Jasper, Missouri |
|
| April 16, 1910734 | Joplin, Jasper, Missouri |
|
| February 9, 19204758 | Jefferson City, Cole, Missouri |
|
| April 5, 19304759 | Jefferson, Cole, Missouri |
|
| April 15, 19402751 | Joplin, Jasper, Missouri |
|
