Thomas Rainey Blair, Sr

In 1843 Thomas Rainey Blair crossed the plains from Missouri to Oregon by horseback. He was one of the very earliest pioneers in that part of Polk County, OR, and made a choice selection of Donation Claim Land. He engaged in farming and stock-raising. He was an expert timber worker, being a genius for using the chalk line and broad ax to prepare hand hewn timbers for pioneer barns and homes. He taught school at the old Buell Home on Mill Creek Site. After teaching at Buell he married Emeline Buell. They filed on a half section of donation land each. At one time the Elkhorn post office was located in the family home with Thomas Rainey Blair as the postmaster. He also held the office of Justice of the Peace. Thomas Rainey and Emeline (Buell) Blair had 9 children, three of which died as infants. Thomas Rainey Blair served in Garrison's Company during the Cayuse War which was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and the Americn settlers. The immediate start of the conflict occurred in 1847 when the Whitman Massacre took place and 14 people were killed in and around the Whitman Mission.

BLAIR Submitted by Jon Ridgeway Thomas Rainey Blair, b. October 18, 1818 in Hampshire Co., (West) Virginia, was an orphan at 9, believed to have been raised by two aunts. No record of his parents names, but census records state his father was born in Ireland. He married Emeline Buell, pioneer of 1847, (b. Feb 25, 1829) in Polk Co., Or. on June 11, 1850. He served as justice of the peace, postmaster, and school director. He died March 16, 1884, and is buried with his wife in the Blair/Ridgeway cemetary on a bluff above Mill Creek, north of Buell.

The settler's oath signed by Thomas Rainey Blair for Donation Land Claim #3317 states he arrived in Oregon 20 October 1845, and began residing on his DLC on 25 Jun 1848. His obituary in Pacific Christian Advocate, April 3, 1884, states that he emigrated to Missouri in 1839 and from thence to Oregon in 1845. He is listed in the book The Brazen Overlanders of 1845 by Donna Wojcik, as being a part of the wagon train leaving St. Joseph, Mo., led by Wm G. T'Vault. Other references to him include History of Oregon by HH Bancroft; a booklet The Blair Family by Thomas E. Blair, 1946 ; Oregon Historical Quarterly (OHQ) Vol. 31, pg 305, Vol. 47, pg 448, Vol 54, pg 338, ; The Sheridan Sun January 31, 1980; Polk Co. census records 1850-1880. There are several conflicting stories and records about T.R. Blair, with family tradition long holding he had come to Oregon in 1843. Ref. the Blair family history by Bernice Blair Ehrlich, the Sheridan Sun article on pages 37A and 38, September 23, 1937, reprinted January 31, 1980, by Gordon Ridgeway. The Oregon Historical Quarterly (OHQ), V. 31, Pg. 305, describes the linch-pin wagon which "brought the Blair family across the plains in 1847." OHQ V. 54, Pg. 338 describes the wagon in the collection of the society as "our covered wagon, the running gears of which brought the T.R. Blair family to Oregon in 1845." However, these records were not contemporary. While 1845 seems the best verified date, the family tradition could still be true that he came by horseback in 1843 and returned to get an ox team and wagon. Solitary riders were more likely to be left out of the records of a train, which tended to list the man leading each wagon. However, the 1843 pioneers were conscious of their place in history, and took care to list names.

Other records of T.R. Blair include: A) Pg 288, History of the Pacific NW-Oregon and Washington, lists Thomas R. Blair in Garrison's Company during the Cayuse War. B) Census records for Polk Co., Or. for 1850-1880. C) The Brazen Overlanders of 1845, pg. 386 & elsewhere. D) Oregon Historical Quarterly (OHQ) V.31, pg. 305; V. 47, pg. 448; V. 54, pg. 338.] Buried in Blair Cemetery - Died March 16, 1884, Aged 65 Ys, 4 Ms 27 ds

Buried in Blair Cemetery: Emeline, Wife of Thos R. Blair -- Died July 6, 1877, aged 48 Ys, 4 Ms, 11Ds Emeline (Buell) Blair was the daughter of Elias and Sarah (Hammond) Buell, pioneers of 1847. The town of Buell was named for Elias, the captain of his 1847 wagon train. By marriage, the Buells are connected to these families: Blair, Carey, Conner, Findley, Hinshaw, McKune, Rowell.