Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Blair, Austin

BLAIR, Austin, governor of Michigan, b. in Caroline, Tompkins eo., N. Y., 8 Feb., 1818 ; d. in Jackson, Mich., G Aug.. 1894. He was educated at Union college, being graduated in 1889, studied law, and removed to Michigan. He was county clerk of Eaton county, member of the legislature in 1846, and prosecuting attorney of Jackson county from 1852 till 1854. He was state senator from 1854 till 1856, and from 1861 till 1865 was governor of the state, in which office he was active in his support of the national government. In 1866 he was elected as a republican to congress, where he was a member of the committees on foreign affairs, rules, and militia, and was twice re-elected in succession, serving on the committee on land-claims. In 1878 he resumed law practice in Jackson, Mich.