James Blair

Jacksonian Representative of South Carolina's 8th district

Congresses Served

House Terms

January 1, 1790 (44 years old)

Birthday

April 1, 1834

Death

Born in a settlement with parents who were immigrants from Ireland
Engaged in planting and served as the sheriff of his district
Owned slaves
Served as a United States representative for South Carolina in the Seventeenth Congress and then in the Twenty-first through Twenty-third Congresses
Resigned from the Seventeenth Congress before completing his term
Involved in a violent incident where he severely beat a newspaper editor, resulting in a fine
Described by John Quincy Adams as intelligent but ruined by intemperance and opium use
Died by suicide after reading a letter from his wife
Buried in Congressional Cemetery with a tombstone that notes his command as General of the South Carolina 5th Militia Brigade