V

        CHAUNCEY BUCKLEY BLAIR, son of Samuel and Hannah (Frary) Blair, was born in Blandford, Massachusetts, June 18, 1810, and removed to Cortland, New York, with his family in 1814. He remained in this town until he was eleven years of age, when he returned to Blandford, where he made his home with an uncle, aiding the latter upon his farm and remaining in his native place until he had attained his majority. He then returned to Cortland and made his home with his own immediate family until 1835.

        The lure of the West being at this period extremely strong, he decided to seek his fortune in that newer territory, and in the spring of 1835 he commenced to locate and to sell lands in in the States of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. While he brought to this new work no business experience from past endeavor, he, however, carried into it a decidedly strong character, a determination to work hard and to succeed and a body physically equipped to endure hardship and tenacious struggle. The public land office of the day furnished but imperfect maps of this newly opened territory and he explored its vast expanse on horseback, gaining close knowledge of the property to be sold, and in the next two years, until 1837, his "land office business" succeeded and brought to him considerable profit. Presidential proclamation at this time withdrew these lands from public sale and he was cut off from this line of operation.

        His ready ability enabled him to turn to an entirely new field, and in the fall of 1837 together with his brother, Lyman, he associated himself with the grain business of Michigan City, under the firm name of C. B. & L. Blair. Michigan City was then the only shipping point to the eastern markets, and the operations of the firm spread over considerable distance, and at one time the company owned the largest warehouse in the state of Indiana, it being the only one equipped to both receive and to forward products. In the furtherance of their very considerable business, C. B. & L. Blair built the first bridge pier on the east side of Lake Michigan and from that point shipped grain to the east, being pioneer shippers. Sill alert to open new methods of easy transportation, Chauncey B. Blair secured a charter and built a plank road, thirty miles long, so that inland transportation from the lake would be facilitated. In connection with this operation Mr. Blair started what was to be his greatest life work, for in the building of this plank road, notes were issued on the stock of the corporation. and a banking business was started, which business was to later prove to be his greatest interest and his most successful life pursuit. Of this early banking company he was made president, and the notes issued by it known as the "Union Plank Road Company" were accepted throughout the Northwest by all State banks and finally were redeemed in gold, and so highly were they rated that at the end of the War of the Rebellion they were promptly honored when they were presented for payment, though during that long period they had been held in the South.

        At the same time that these vaious interest were engaging his attention, Mr. Blair likewise entered into the railroad business in a small way. He was one of the first incorporators of the Northern Indiana Railroad Company, which, with its swifter transportation was the first to impair the usefulness of the plank road which he first had found so valuable. The Northern Indiana later consolidated with the Michigan Southern. His banking interests likewise were furthered, for he became associated with the State Bank of Indiana. When it was rechartered, under the name of the Bank of the State of Indiana, he bacame most actively interested in the La Porte branch, of which he afterwards became president.

        In 1861 he came to the city of Chicago and his wider and more influential activity in financial and banking circles began. His first venture here was in the acquisition of an interest in a private bank, which he held until 1865; his next the organization of the Merchants National Bank of Chicago, which started its business at No. 36 South Clark Street, with a paid up capital of $450,000. The officers were: President, Chauncey Buckley Blair; cashier, Henry B. Symond. That these enterprises greatly prospered is shown by the fact that directly previous to the "Great Fire in 1871," its capital was $650,000, its surplus $300,000, its deposits $1,149,756. The great calamity, of course, made unusual demands upon the bank's resources, but although nearly every other Chicago financier advised against it, Mr. Blair pursued the course of immediate and full payment to all depositors of the bank. This was of inestimable value to the city of Chicago, since at the time of the crisis, its credit stood in great jeopardy and the amounts paid by Mr. Blair succeeded in establishing the city's credit upon a firm basis. All over the country his action was acclaimed and admired. Again, when the aftermath of financial depression, consequent upon the great disaster, brought to the city another slump in credit because of its inability to collect its taxes for the years 1871-72-73-74, and the consequent business depression, Mr. Blair once more came to the rescue. With firm faith in Chicago's ability to reestablish itself and a strong sense of his own duty to aid in this time of need, he made large advances, and he, together with a few others succeeded in again saving the city's credit. That this is not too high praise, is shown by the fact that in the panic of 1873 when the banks of Chicago favored taking the stand of suspended payments which the banks of Boston, New York, and other large cities had already taken, Mr. Blair at a meeting of the Clearing House stood firm upon his announcement that he proposed to meet all demands. Other bankers were convinced and followed the same course, and events proved that the crisis had been met and passed without serious harm. Chicago's credit was more firmly established than before.

        Chauncey Buckley Blair held the office of president of the Merchants National Bank until 1891, the year of his death. He was succeeded by his son, Chauncey Justus Blair. The sound and strong principle upon which Mr. Blair, during his incumbency as president, used as the underlying foundation of his financial policy, was its holding of large cash resources. In proportion to its liabilites these were greater than any other bank, possibly save one, that of the Chemical National Bank of New York.

        Devoted to his family and absorbed in his detailed business interests, Mr. Blair had little time for activity outside these circles. In politics his inclination was, generally speaking, for the Republican party, but he did not mix in political affairs. He never became a member of any church, but was a regular attendant at Trinity Episcopal Church.

        Mr. Blair died January 30, 1891. Few individuals can be credited with such diverse and far-reaching contributions to the common life and to the upbuilding of a municipality as was this man of conservative yet daring nature. Brave in a time of crisis, he met seeming disaster with clear-headed and keen foresight coupled with consistent fair-mindedness and honest action. Helpful and considerate in his strength as all truly great, he was friend to many within the inner circle of his home and in the wider life of his community. Upon his passing many hastened to pay him tribute, and we quote somewhat from the local press of that day.

        From the "Chicago Post", January 30, 1891:

        Mr. Blair was a man of the old style. Wholly unassuming, positive in his convictions, ready to give his last dollar to meet a bit of paper or an obligation in which honor was involved in the faintest degree; his whole business career was one of protest against the rapid methods adopted by men of fewer years and less honor. The writer recalls a remark made to him by the deceased in 1877: "Don't try to argue with me about silver. It will never do for a medium of exchange beyond the fractional part of a dollar."

        Under the heading of "One Model Citizen," the "Chicago Times," of January 31, 1891, reports "The Eventful Career of a Man Who Had the Welfare of Chicago at Heart":

        Passing away at the ripe age of eighty-one years, the career of Chauncey B. Blair, so long identified with the largest financial interest of the city, becomes in its personal phases one of great interest to the citizens of Chicago.

        Always a busy man, and altogether a business man, Mr. Blair had in his long life neither the time nor the inclination for else than the advancement of constantly increasing commercial interests. He threw his whole energies into his work... He was eminently conservative in all his ideas and most closely allied with the customs of the more rigid past... Unostentations generosity to the deserving was a characteristic of Mr. Blair. It had always been his custom to care for the sick among the employees of his large bank, aiding the families in their illness and helping to bury their dead. At Christmas they were all remembered with gifts of money, which were distributed according to the needs rather than with regard to position or the salary earned.

        Many of those in humbler and more obsucre walks of life came to do last honor to this preeminently great man. Again using the words of one who witnessed these last tributes to devotion and homage:

        They had evidently been among the many to whom Mr. Blair had shown kindness in life. Their sorrow was touching. No demonstration was made beyond the fact that they wept, an evidence of feeling men rarely show.-"Chicago Tribune," February 2, 1891.

        Chauncey Buckley Blair married, in Michigan City, Indiana, June 11, 1844, Caroline Olivia De Groff, daughter of Amos and Harriet (Sleight) De Groff, who was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, August 7, 1822, and died in Chicago, December 5, 1867. (See De Groff VII.)

Children:

1. Chauncey Justus, born in Michigan City, April 6, 1845; married, October 26, 1882, Mary Anne Italia Mitchell. He died May 10, 1916.
2. Harriet Olivia, of whom further.
3. George Griffin, born in Michigan City, March 15, 1849, died June 9, 1870.
4. William Stinson, born in Michigan City, December 20, 1850, died March 5, 1874.
5. Henry Augustus, born in Michigan City, July 6, 1852; married, February 19, 1878, Grace Elizabeth Pearce.
6. Watson Franklin, born in Michigan City, January 29, 1854, died February 7, 1928; married, November 15, 1883, Alice Rose Keep.

(Leavitt: "The Blair Family in New England," pp. 96-98. "Chicago: Its History and Its Builders," pp. 524-27.)