Born in Woodford Co., Oct.1, 1838, he graduated from Centre College & studied law in Lex.; admitted to the bar in 1858. He served as a lt. col. in the Confederate Army & settled in Arkansas in 1865, where he was a lawyer and planter. After returning to Ky. in 1868, he served in the Ky. Legislature (1871-75) & the U.S. Congress (1875-85).
Reverse Description:
Blackburn served as a U. S. Senator (1885-97, 1901-07) before Pres.T.
Roosevelt appointed him as first governor of the Panama Canal Zone in 1907. He resigned in 1909 and returned to Woodford Co. He died on Sept. 12, 1918 and is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery. The younger brother of Ky. Gov. Luke Blackburn, he lived here from 1881-99.
