A Raymond Blair.. a gentle man
This webpage was copied from the
Ancestral Trails Historical Society
website, with permission.
By Paul W. Urbahns
EDITOR
The obituary read: Arnold Raymond Blair, 92, of Louisville, passed away Monday, December 16, 2002, at
Westminster Terrace. He was born in Kewanee, IL, but was raised in Edmonson County, KY. He was a retired General Electric
employee and a World War II Army Air Corps and Korean War Air Force veteran. Arnold was a member of Highland Park Masonic
Lodge #865 and an avid genealogist. Mr. Blair is survived by his wife, the former Jane Sandmeyer, and two sons, David E.
and Stephen A. Blair. Funeral: 1 p.m. Thursday at Nunnelley Funeral Home, 4327 Taylor Blvd. Burial: Resthaven Memorial Park.
Visitation: 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. Wednesday. Memorials: Kosair Charities, Masonic Home of Kentucky and Highland Park Masonic Lodge.
It was shocking to me, and probably anyone who had known this gentleman, or spent anytime in conversation with him.
For those who did not have the opportunity to meet Mr. Blair, the words of Ann Sipes summed up his personality
very well when she emailed me about his death. Ann wrote, “He was a dear man, was president of ATHS several terms, was a faithful
member for many, many years, was a charter member if my memory serves me right.”
“A Dear Man” best serves my memory of Mr. Blair. He loved history and was willing to help most anyone. Ann failed to mention that he
loved to share genealogy with others. He was a Sharing Man is another good description of Mr. Blair.
A RAYMOND BLAIR (LEFT) AND ROGER GLEITZ CA 1985.
ALL PHOTOS FROM ANCESTRAL TRAILS RESEARCH LIBRARY COLLECTION
In addition to being one of the founders of Ancestral Trails, he also helped found the Edmonson County Historical
Society and the restarted Blair Family Society which as a national membership, and functions very much on its own now days.
This is true about the various organizations Mr. Blair was instrumental in establishing. They all maintain their existence and in at
least two cases thrive even though Mr. Blair has not been actively involved for several years. He set them on a firm foundation.
His unselfishness is best described at the Blair Family website where they describe the reestablishment of the organization in these words.
“The original Blair Society for Genealogical Research was organized in 1925 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Its accomplishments included collecting
and preserving the extensive correspondence of Dr. Eleanor Moore Heistand-Moore with Blairs all over the world, and publishing a quarterly
newsletter, The Blair Magazine, from 1925-31. The Society flourished for several years, but fell on hard times during the Great Depression.
People simply could not afford the $2.00 annual dues. The last known correspondence of the original Society was dated 26 July 1937, calling
for a meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania. No one knows if that meeting actually took place. Some dedicated members continued their personal
correspondence for a few more years in the faint hope of eventually reviving the Society, but after their death the Society records were
stored away and soon forgotten.
Raymond Blair, of Louisville, Kentucky, placed an advertisement in Everton's Genealogical Helper in 1976, for the purpose of
corresponding with Blair family researchers. He received a reply from a lady who said that she had purchased at an auction several boxes of
old Blair records. She had no personal interest in genealogy and offered them to Mr. Blair, who purchased them sight unseen. After several
years of studying these fragile old records, he decided that they must be shared with other Blair researchers. In 1982, he placed another
advertisement in the Genealogical Helper, calling for the reconstitution of the Blair Society for Genealogical Research. This advertisement
was answered by William E. Osborne, of St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Osborne had some administrative experience, and with Mr. Blair, laid the
groundwork for the reorganization. The official birth date of the reorganized Society was 1 February 1983.”
Those fragile Blair family records could have ended up in a dumpster someplace if Mr Blair had not acted. And that would be a third word for
Mr. Blair. A Man of Action. Not in the James Bond sense, but he would recognize a need and go to work on it. A good example is the first
cemetery book on Edmonson county was compiled by Mr. Blair with some help from park rangers at Mammoth Cave reservation since it took over
a large part of the Edmonson County he knew and loved as a child.
So it’s with pride that we claim A. Raymond Blair as one of our own, and a gentleman (with the accent on gentle) that will be greatly
missed by all those who knew him.
To his family, wife Jane and the children. Thanks for sharing this fine man with others. By his deeds, he has planted roots, which will
grow and bear fruit for many years to come.
Ancestors of Arnold Raymond Blair
Prepared by Paul W. Urbahns, from materials on file at Ancestral Trails Historical Society Research Library, Vine Grove, Ky.
Generation No. 1
1. Arnold Raymond Blair, born January 22, 1910 in Kewanee, Ill.; died December 16, 2002 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky. He was the son of 2. Sylvester Blair and 3. Capernie Dossey. He married (1) Jane D. Sandmeyer November 28, 1941. She was born December 09, 1920 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky..
Generation No. 2
2. Sylvester Blair, born July 07, 1878 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died April 13, 1913 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky.
He was the son of 4. John Edward Blair and 5. Catherine Jane Houchin. He married 3. Capernie Dossey.
3. Capernie Dossey, born April 24, 1878 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died September 08, 1954 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky. She was
the daughter of 6. Parker Murphy Dossey and 7. Alice Holman.
Child of Sylvester Blair and Capernie Dossey is:
1 i. Arnold Raymond Blair, born January 22, 1910 in Kewanee, Ill.; died December 16, 2002 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky; married
Jane D. Sandmeyer November 28, 1941.
Generation No. 3
4. John Edward Blair, born February 03, 1850 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died April 28, 1902 in Edmonson County, Ky.
He was the son of 8. James Riley Blair and 9. Ellen Purna Houchin. He married 5. Catherine Jane Houchin.
5. Catherine Jane Houchin, born Abt. 1854 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died Abt. July 1911 in Edmonson County, Ky.
She was the daughter of 10. Jesse Houchin and 11. Mary Peterson Davis.
Child of John Blair and Catherine Houchin is:
2 i. Sylvester Blair, born July 07, 1878 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died April 13, 1913 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky;
married Capernie Dossey.
6. Parker Murphy Dossey, born October 07, 1849 in Warren County, Ky.; died July 20, 1913 in Edmonson County, Ky. He married
7. Alice Holman.
7. Alice Holman, born April 13, 1853 in Warren County, Ky.; died May 23, 1923 in Edmonson County, Ky.
Child of Parker Dossey and Alice Holman is:
3 i. Capernie Dossey, born April 24, 1878 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died September 08, 1954 in Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky;
married Sylvester Blair.
Generation No. 4
8. James Riley Blair, born February 29, 1824 in Warren County, Ky.; died January 10, 1923 in Breckinridge County, Ky.
He was the son of 16. Henry Brown Blair and 17. Mary Pace. He married 9. Ellen Purna Houchin.
9. Ellen Purna Houchin, born Abt. 1813 in Warren County, Ky.; died 1863 in Edmonson County, Ky.. She was the daughter of 18.
John D. Houchin.
Child of James Blair and Ellen Houchin is:
4 i. John Edward Blair, born February 03, 1850 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died April 28, 1902 in Edmonson County, Ky;
married Catherine Jane Houchin.
10. Jesse Houchin, born August 09, 1812 in Warren County, Ky.; died May 12, 1895 in Edmonson County, Ky.
He was the son of 18. John D. Houchin. He married 11. Mary Peterson Davis September 23, 1840.
11. Mary Peterson Davis, born May 01, 1816 in Virginia; died April 04, 1891 in Edmonson County, Ky.
Child of Jesse Houchin and Mary Davis is:
5 i. Catherine Jane Houchin, born Abt. 1854 in Edmonson County, Ky.; died Abt. July 1911 in Edmonson County, Ky;
married John Edward Blair.
Generation No. 5
16. Henry Brown Blair, born May 15, 1801 in Warren County, Ky.; died Abt. 1864 in Missouri. He was the son of 32.
John Blair and 33. Elizabeth Brown. He married 17. Mary Pace.
17. Mary Pace, born 1795 in Virginia; died Unknown in Edmonson County, Ky..
Child of Henry Blair and Mary Pace is:
8 i. James Riley Blair, born February 29, 1824 in Warren County, Ky.; died January 10, 1923 in Breckinridge County, Ky;
married Ellen Purna Houchin.
18. John D. Houchin, born 1788 in Amherst County, Va.; died April 27, 1873 in Edmonson County, Ky.. He was the son of 36.
John Houchin and 37. Patty Alford. He married 1st Polly Blair, 2nd wife was Nancy Hall.
Child of John Houchin and Nancy Hall is:
9 i. Ellen Purna Houchin, born Abt. 1813 in Warren County, Ky.; died 1863 in Edmonson County, Ky.; Stepchild; married
James Riley Blair.
Child of John Houchin and Polly Blair is:
10 ii. Jesse Houchin, born August 09, 1812 in Warren County, Ky.; died May 12, 1895 in Edmonson County, Ky.; Stepchild;
married Mary Peterson Davis September 23, 1840.
Generation No. 6
32. John Blair He married 33. Elizabeth Brown.
33. Elizabeth Brown
Child of John Blair and Elizabeth Brown is:
16 i. Henry Brown Blair, born May 15, 1801 in Warren County, Ky.; died Abt. 1864 in Missouri; married Mary Pace.
6. John Houchin, born 1725; died Abt. 1765. He married 37. Patty Alford.
37. Patty Alford
Child of John Houchin and Patty Alford is:
18 i. John D. Houchin, born 1788 in Amherst County, Va.; died April 27, 1873 in Edmonson County, Ky; married (1) Polly Blair.;
married (2) Nancy Hall July 24, 1824.
This webpage was copied from the Ancestral Trails Historical Society website, with permission.
