William Jasper BLACKBURN, Congress, LA (1820-1899)
BLACKBURN, William Jasper, a Representative from Louisiana; born on the Fourche de Mau, Randolph County, Ark., on July 24, 1820; received his early education from his mother; moved to Batesville in 1839 and learned the printerâs trade; moved to Little Rock in 1845, to Fort Smith in 1846, and to Minden, La., in 1849, where he established the Minden Herald; moved to Homer, La., and established the Homer Iliad in 1859; member of the State constitutional convention in 1867; county judge of Claiborne Parish, La., for four years; upon the readmission of the State of Louisiana to representation was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth Congress and served from July 18, 1868, to March 3, 1869; was not a candidate for renomination in 1868; member of the State senate 1874-1878; returned to Little Rock, Ark., in 1880; published the Arkansas Republican from 1881 to 1884 and the Free South from 1885 to 1892; died in Little Rock, Ark., November 10, 1899; interment in Mount Holly Cemetery.
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present
