My Genealogy Hound

EUGENE BLAIR, a well known citizen and business man near Hatboro, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, belongs to an old family of Scotch ancestry. He was born in Moreland township, adjacent to Hatboro, June 7, 1858. He was reared as a farmer, and also learned the milling trade. He was educated in the public schools of the vicinity. He is the son of David T. and Mary C. (Krusen) Blair, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania.

David T. Blair (father) was a son of William R. Blair, of Cambridge, Maryland, who was born in 1788 and came to Pennsylvania with the family in 1795. They located in Bucks county, where William R. grew to manhood.

William R. Blair (grandfather) was a son of John Blair, of Scotch-Irish nativity. He came to America during colonial days and assisted in throwing off the yoke of Great Britain during the war for Independence, serving in the army in the Revolutionary conflict. He held the rank of brigadier-general, and was a paymaster in the army. He was faithful to the cause of the struggling colonies, being endowed with a large share of the patriotism which was so conspicuous a trait in the Scotch-Irish character. After the Revolutionary war he located in Maryland, at Cambridge, where he engaged in merchandising, and died previous to 1795. He held lands which were allotted to him by the government, the title of which he entrusted to other parties for location and identification and which was ultimately lost sight of. His wife, Jean Ramsey, was a native of Bucks county, whose family bought land directly from William Penn, and were among the early settlers of that county. They had three children, William, of Warwick township, Bucks county; Jane, who married Robert Ramsey; and Nancy, who did not marry. Robert Ramsey was reared in Bucks county and became very prominent. He was quite a politician and represented the county in the state legislature several terms. Later he served two or three terms in the United States congress. When President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill for rechartering the United States Bank, Ramsey left the Democratic party and became a Whig, that party afterwards electing him to congress, so that he served through the choice of both political parties.

William R. Blair (grandfather) married Mary, daughter of James Thomas, a prominent hotel keeper at Chalfont, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, during the Revolutionary war and later. William R. Blair was a carpenter and later in life a farmer, and a respected member of the community. He affiliated with the Presbyterian church. His children: Jane, died unmarried; David T., father of Eugene Blair; John, who resides at Topeka, Kansas, at the age of eighty-four years; James T., deceased, a blacksmith; Mary, died unmarried; Rachel, Mrs. J. Alter. William Ramsey, a brother of Jean, served through the Revolutionary war. He was a courier, and crossed the Delaware river with messages, crossing over the ice when it was so thin that he was obliged to carry a rail, so that in case he broke through it would keep him from sinking.

David T. Blair, father of Eugene Blair, married September 3, 1857. He remained in Bucks county until 1858, and located in Montgomery county. In 1864 he returned to Bucks county. In 1876 he returned to Montgomery county and purchased the farm and mill property on which he remained during the rest of his life. The mill was built in the year 1827, and was originally run by water power, although steam was ultimately used. The mill is yet in good condition. Politically he was a Democrat. During his residence in Bucks county he often served as a delegate to conventions. He was over six feet in height, and stout in proportion. He affiliated with the Presbyterian church. He died at the homestead, May 19, 1891. His wife survived him and died October 10, 1896. She was the daughter of James Krusen, of Northampton township, Bucks county, the family being descended from Hollanders. The father of James Krusen was Derrick Krusen. The family as a rule were farmers, and members of the Reformed church. James Krusen died in Bucks county. His children: Mary C., mother of Eugene Blair; Anna (Mrs. H. Addis); Francis, a farmer in Bucks county.

The children of David T. Blair: Eugene, subject of this sketch; H. Craig, born January 25, 1862, died July 5, 1892, unmarried; Lynn, born February 15, 1865, died January 10, 1867. The mother was a Presbyterian in religious faith.

Eugene Blair, being the only surviving heir of his parents, remained at the farm and mill. Politically he is a Democrat, but does not aspire to public office.