An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company, Spokane, WA. 1905, pages 373-374 CAPTAIN AMBY S. BLOWERS, well known and highly respected, is one of the leading business men and the mayor of Hood River. He is a merchant of experience and ability and has enjoyed a large patronage in his business in the years that have gone by, but at present he is not personally active in these relations, although interested in the Hayness Hardware Company of this town. He stands as one of the prominent men of Wasco county and has displayed integrity and stamina that commend him to all good people. Amby S. Blowers was born in East Otto, Cattaraugus county, New York, on December 31, 1845, and is the son of Asa S. and Charlotte (Heth), Blowers, natives respectively of Bennington, Vermont and Washington county, New York. The first Blowers who is recorded as visiting the New World is Thomas, who landed at Boston, in 1635, having sailed in the ship, Truelove from England. This patriarch's son, Thomas Blowers, Jr., was a ship master, and in partnership with his brother-in-law, Andrew Belcher, owned the ship, Adventure. Thomas Blowers, Jr., purchased a house and four and one-half acres of land at the corner of Brattle and Mason streets, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1672. There he died in June, 1709. His son, the third Thomas, graduated from Harvard in 1695 and was the second preacher at Beverly, Massachusetts. John Blowers, the son of this last named man, died at the siege of Louisburg, a lieutenant in the British army. Lieutenant Blowers' son, Sampson S., graduated from Harvard in 1763 and was for thirty-six years chief justice of Nova Scotia. His death occurred in Halifax, in 1842, being aged one hundred and one years. Six of this venerable jurist's brothers and cousins were patriots in Washington's army and displayed that true zeal and love of country which assisted so to win the day. One of these cousins, William by name, had a son named Solomon, who fought with eleven others of the Blowers family from New York state, in the war of 1812. Solomon Blowers married and raised a family, among which was Andrew Blowers, who in turn begat Asa S. Blowers, the father of our subject. Andrew Blowers was a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Asa S. Blowers, his son, was a prominent merchant and died when thirty-one. Our subject well remembers sitting on the knee of his great-grandfather, Solomon Blowers, when that patriot related the thrilling times of 1812 and subsequent years. Thus is traced a chain of patriots, pioneers, professional men, scholars and artisans, in whose breasts burned that love of country which inspired the action leading to independence and this great nation, that is calculated to stir the hearts of descendants, now remote, with true pride for their forefathers and a determination to achieve also, things worthy to be remembered by those yet to come. The full record of the family is given in Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of New England Families, and they were among the prominent ones of colonial days. Captain Blowers' maternal grandfather, Jacob Heth, came from a prominent old southern family, which traces its early ancestrage to the rugged bills of Sotia. His daughter, the mother of our subject, is still living in Minnesota, advanced in age. At Preston, Minnesota, on April 18, 1866, Mr. Blowers married Miss Ellen L. Damon, a native of Vermont. She comes from a prominent New England family and has one sister living, Lucinda, the widow of David Reed, at Granger, Minnesota. She also has one brother, Alonzo M., at Hebron, Illinois. Mr. Blowers has one sister, Anis, the wife of Joseph Fountain. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blowers: Lawrence, mentioned elsewhere in this work; Laura M., the wife of William Yates, the postmaster of Hood River; Charlotte E., wife of Charles Early, manager of the Mt. Hood Lumber Company, at Hood River; Amelia E., the wife of John R. Nickelsen, a blacksmith; Eva B., wife of William Haynes, a hardware merchant in Hood River; Samuel M., the partner of Mr. Haynes, in Hood River: Blanche and Aubry S., at home. Mr. Blowers is a member of the A.F. & A.M., the R.A.M., and the G.A.R., being officer of the day in the latter order. In December, 1862, Mr. Blowers enlisted in the Sixteenth United States regulars and served for four months. On October 19, 1863, he enlisted in Company A, Second Minnesota Cavalry, under Captain R.A. Fields. His honorable discharge occurred on April 3, 1866. He had participated in the heat of the great Civil War, and for one year after its close, he was detailed to fight Indians on the frontier and participated in the Black Hills struggle, being much of the time on scout duty. He was also at times in his career associated with the noted Buffalo Bill, Major William F. Cody. For twelve years in Minnesota, Mr. Blowers was county commissioner, and for four years he filed that important position in Wasco county. He is school director at this time and has been in that office since he was twenty-one. In December, 1904, Captain Blowers was chosen mayor of Hood River. He was mayor of New York Mills, Minnesota, and has been city councilman six years in Hood River. He is a stanch Republican, serves in both county and state conventions, and is an influential and active man. Captain Blowers organized Company D, Oregon National Guards, and held the office of captain for three years. In April, 1904, with his son. Samuel, and his son-in-law. William Haynes, he organized the Haynes Hardware Company and purchased the hardware business of E.E. Savage & Sons. They enlarged the business and are now handling a fine patronage. They expect in the near future to still further enlarge their business and will have one of the most complete stocks in this part of the state. Captain Blowers has a good interest in the business, but is not personally active in its operations. The splendid success he has achieved in the business world and the enviable standing he now enjoys indicate the manner of man and place him as one of the leading men of Wasco county. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.