Dr. Grady Early, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, taught math and computer science at Texas State University for 29 years, serving briefly as interim chair of the newly-formed Computer Science department. After retirement, Early began researching his family history and gained some familiarity with various research tools: ancestry, familysearch, newspapers, San Marcos Record archives, findagrave and many more. This made it easy for him to segue into the histories of non-family members, which is how he began to write a story about Southwest Texas Normal in San Marcos, also known as San Marcos Normal, which is now Texas State University. This series will highlight the first staff at Southwest Texas Normal.
John Edward Blair was Editor-in-Chief of the Theme Department, an agent for Shakespeare, Longfellow & Co and a retail dealer in English and American literature and rhetorical goods.
Blair was born in Jackson County, Ohio, a scant four months after Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox. Ohio was a staunch supporter of the Union; it was the third largest supplier of soldiers to the Union army. Nevertheless, its southern border with Kentucky resulted in divided loyalties. Blair’s home was only about 25 miles from Ohio’s southwestern border with Kentucky. Blair has been called “an unreconstructed Confederate” but was probably more in tune with states’ rights than with war.
Blair’s initial education was in Ohio; he received a B.S. degree from Southwestern Normal School in Lebanon, Ohio; then a B.A. from North Texas State Normal and a master’s from Southern Methodist University.
After teaching in Ohio for two years, Blair was GTT — Gone to Texas, but he kept up with his old school. In a letter describing commencement exercises, he noted that Cincinnati Mayor Amor Smith had addressed those Texans among the graduates by saying, “I believe that if in your hearts there is a lingering respect for the Stars and Bars, it is blended within your love for the Stars and Stripes.” Reconstruction, indeed.
Blair’s first teaching assignment in Texas in 1887 was in Stranger, which resided in Falls County, about 35 miles southeast of Waco. By 1889, he had moved on to Marshall where he met and married Ethel Turner. While there, he participated in a seance, whether as a believer or observer is unknown.
Blair gained a reputation as an electrifying speaker. In 1891 at the summer normal in Marshall, Blair was in “the midst of a brilliant speech” when lightning struck the electric light wires, followed them into the opera house, and exploded in a large ball about four feet from Blair with the loudness of about a .38 caliber pistol. The audience dispersed. Blair’s speech fell victim as did a violin solo, another speech and the reading of various resolutions. Damage to people or property was not reported.
It is not surprising, then, that in 1891, Blair moved first to Mexia, then to the superintendency in Temple in 1893.
In 1901, Blair resigned from Temple for a “similar position” at Denton. In 1903, he accepted Tom Harris’ call to the department of English at the soon-to-be SWTN in San Marcos with assistants Lillie Shaver and Kate White. In 1904, he was pressed into service as secretary at a meeting to discuss ways and means of promoting San Marcos as an educational point and as a place for a summer normal.
In 1906, Blair became Tom Harris’ vice-principal, but that did not slake Blair’s wanderlust. In 1908, he left to be superintendent for Corsicana but did not sever all ties; in 1912, he was back, teaching in the summer session of the SWTN. He also taught at the University of Texas’ summer normals from 1913 to 1920. He left Corsicana in 1921 and moved back to Denton to teach at North Texas State Teachers College. There, in 1934, Ethel died.
In 1941, Blair retired from active teaching and died in 1942. Both John and Ethel are buried in Marshall, Ethel’s home town.
Blair was remembered as a quiet, genteel man with a love of literature.
The information about his grave can be found at findagrave # 45313659.
Editor’s Note: In the previous editions of this series the name of the school was edited to Southwest Texas State Normal based on information found online. However, according to official records found through Early’s research, the official name of the school was Southwest Texas Normal.
