W. Jasper Blackburn

William Jasper Blackburn
Mathew Brady photo circa 1868
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 5th district
In office
July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869
Preceded byDistrict established
Succeeded byFrank Morey
Member of the Louisiana State Senate from Claiborne Parish
In office
1874–1878
Mayor of Minden, Louisiana
In office
May 1855 – May 1856
Succeeded byA. B. George
Personal details
Born(1820-07-24)July 24, 1820
Randolph County, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedNovember 10, 1899(1899-11-10) (aged 79)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting placeMount Holly Cemetery
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations
Democratic
OccupationNewspaper publisher and printer
(1) Publisher Blackburn switched his party affiliation to Republican because he opposed slavery and the secession of the Confederate States of America.

(2) Blackburn was spared conviction — and automatic execution — by a one-vote margin of charges that he printed counterfeit Confederate currency.

(3) After the return of Democratic Redeemer government in Louisiana in 1878, Blackburn soon returned to his native Arkansas, where he published the short-lived Arkansas Republican newspaper.

(4) Blackburn served in the United States House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate as a Republican; earlier he was a Democratic mayor of Minden, Louisiana, from 1855 to 1856.

(5) Blackburn launched the first paper to bear the name Minden Herald.

William Jasper Blackburn (July 24, 1820 – November 10, 1899) was an American printer, publisher and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from northwestern Louisiana from July 18, 1868, to March 3, 1869. A Republican during Reconstruction, he was elected to the Louisiana State Senate, serving from 1874 to 1878.[1]

  1. ^ "Blackburn, William Jasper". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2015.