WILLIAM WALLACE BLAIR

William Wallace Blair was an early settler of Decatur county and became well known here, especially in the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints, as he was a minister of that denomination and editor of the church paper published at Lamoni. He was the fifth son of James and Fannie (Hamilton) Blair and was born in the own of Holley, Orleans county, New York, on the 11^th of October, 1828. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent and both of his grandparents served in the Revolutionary war, while his father fought in the War of 1812. The latter removed with his wife to Orleans county, New York, from Blandford, near Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1838 the family home was established in Illinois, in the vicinity of what is now the city of Amboy. At that time there were few settlers in that part of the Prairie state and Chicago, one hundred miles distant, was for a number of years their nearest grain and stock market. As it was first of all necessary to break the virgin sod, to erect log cabins in which to live and to care for the crops, upon which depended the food for the family during the winter, it was several years before schools and churches were erected and the conditions of life were in all respects those of a pioneer region in the middle west.

William W. Blair grew to manhood in Illinois and as his strength increased assisted more and more in the improvement of the farm. In 1854 he left home and engaged in commercial pursuit at East Paw Paw, Lee county, Illinois. After passing through the financial crisis incident to the unexpectedly early close of the Crimean war he settled on a farm which he owned near Amboy but in April, 1859, he entered the active ministry of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and for twenty-six years labored in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Colorado. He met with success in his work and did much to further the growth of his church. In April 1885, he left the ministry and located at Lamoni, Iowa, where he was for many years identified with the editorial office of the Herald publishing house, the official church publishing house. He exerted a great influence through his connection with that concern, which publishes not only the Herald but also religious books, and gained a reputation as a clear and forceful writer. He believed that the power of the press was greater than that of the pulpit and it was for this reason that he abandoned the ministry and entered the publishing field. He was devotedly attached to his church and was at all times ready to defend it against unjust aspersions, the one object of his life being to promote its advancement. However, his complete loyalty to his church and the vigor with which he stood for his convictions did not mean that he felt any bitterness toward those who thought differently than he. On the contrary those who were associated with him found him a broad-minded and liberal man of progressive ideas who was at all times kindly, courteous and considerate of others.

On Christmas Day, 1849, Mr. Blair was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth J. Doty and they became the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters. Fannie C. died at Amboy in 1860 but the other children survive, namely: Charles E., who is manager of the Supply Store at Lamoni; Minnie B., the widow of D. F. Nicholson, who was one of the most active and most successful business men of Lamoni; George W., who is mayor of Lamoni and is also engaged in the real-estate business here; William A., who is the manager of a department store at Galien, Michigan; David H., who is connected with a large wholesale millinery house of Kansas City; and Fred B., who is manager of the electric light plant at Lamoni. The wife and mother died in June, 1912, and those who had been closely associated with her felt that her church and her community had lost one whom they could ill spare. She was a devout Christian and her unselfish love for others prompted her to assist those who needed aid and many remember her kindness with gratitude. He was an active worker in the church and was president of the Mite Society, an efficient organization of women whose purpose is to care for the poor and to supply funds for the prosecution of the work of the various departments of the church.

Mr. Blair gave his support at the polls to the democratic party but never aspired to pubic office. He was a man of much ability and energy and his influence was widely felt in his church and his demise, which occurred in 1886, was sincerely mourned.