John Insley Blair
From: "Christine Beegle" c.beegle@hotmail.com
My name is Christine Beegle of the Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee. I am trying to find out if the CPRR might have any records regarding whether railroad baron John I. Blair, namesake of our town, attended the ceremony of the joining of the Central Pacific Rail Road and the Union Pacific Railroad in May 1869.
It is stated ... that he received one of the seven watch fob spike souvenirs. However, we are trying to determine if he actually attended the ceremony. He would have traveled a great distance from his home state of New Jersey to Utah for the ceremony. He was an avid train traveler, but the [Promontory Summit, Utah, May 10, 1869 Golden Spike] ceremony was about 3 months after the death of his eldest daughter. So far we haven't been able to find any record by newspaper report and when calling the NPS Golden Spike National Historic Site, they stated that they did not have his name on record as a dignitary in attendance.
John I. Blair was instrumental in completing the Iowa portion of the Chicago Iowa & Nebraska Rail Road among many other railroad ventures. ...
—Christine Beegle, Chairperson, Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee
My name is Christine Beegle of the Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee. I am trying to find out if the CPRR might have any records regarding whether railroad baron John I. Blair, namesake of our town, attended the ceremony of the joining of the Central Pacific Rail Road and the Union Pacific Railroad in May 1869.
It is stated ... that he received one of the seven watch fob spike souvenirs. However, we are trying to determine if he actually attended the ceremony. He would have traveled a great distance from his home state of New Jersey to Utah for the ceremony. He was an avid train traveler, but the [Promontory Summit, Utah, May 10, 1869 Golden Spike] ceremony was about 3 months after the death of his eldest daughter. So far we haven't been able to find any record by newspaper report and when calling the NPS Golden Spike National Historic Site, they stated that they did not have his name on record as a dignitary in attendance.
John I. Blair was instrumental in completing the Iowa portion of the Chicago Iowa & Nebraska Rail Road among many other railroad ventures. ...
—Christine Beegle, Chairperson, Blairstown Historic Preservation Committee
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 7:41 AM
5 Comments:
Found only brief references to John I. Blair who built the Sioux City and Pacific Railroad.
Chicago & North Western Historical Society Magazine,, fall 1997 Issue, article about John Insley Blair, "The Man Whose Name was Blair" by Joe Follmar.
From: "Kyle Wyatt" kylekwyatt@gmail.com
The question would be who is Blair reputed to have received a portion of the watch fobs from? Leland Stanford (President of the Central Pacific, who "drove" the spike), or David Hewes (who gave the spike)? My understanding is that these two split the sprue from the last spike and had the results made into watch fobs and rings. Did Blair have connections with either one of these?
—Kyle Wyatt
From: "Christine Beegle" c.beegle@hotmail.com
Thank you very much for this research. It looks like I have my work cut out for me in finding an account of his presence at the ceremony, if he attended at all. ...
—Chris Beegle
From: "Christine Beegle" c.beegle@hotmail.com
Thank you [Kyle Wyatt] for this communication. I do not know if Mr. Blair had relations with Stanford or Hewes, but it is something that (with time) could be researched. Our local Blairstown newspaper was not started until 1877. One of the area newspapers had an account of the ceremony and John I. Blair's connection to the Iowa RR, but did not state if he had attended the ceremony.
Thank you again for investigating.
—Chris Beegle
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