Durham, N. N. "Spokane and the Inland Empire; History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County Washington." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. p. 149. JOHN E. BLAIR John E. Blair, attorney at law in Spokane, was born in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of October, 1875, a son of Dr. John L. and Mary (Anderson) Blair. Under the parental roof he spent his boyhood days and in his native town acquired his early education which was supplemented by a course of study at Harvard University. He was graduated from the law department of that institution in the class of 1898, and immediately began the practice of his profession in Boston. After remaining in that city for two years he went to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he was a member of the faculty of the University of North Dakota in the law school. He made for himself a creditable place in the ranks of the faculty and was soon called to Stanford University as a lecturer in the law department of that institution. While there he made the acquaintance of his present partner, James T. Burcham, who was also a lecturer in the law department. They decided to give up their professorships and accordingly, in 1904, came to Spokane to engage in general practice. Mr. Blair is widely known for the care with which he prepares his cases. In no instance has his reading been confined to limitations of the questions at issue but has encompassed every contingency and provided not only for the expected but the unexpected as well which happens quite as frequently in courts as out of them. Since he has been a member of the legal fraternity of this city he has acted as assistant corporation counsel and later as corporation counsel. His ability also won public recognition when he was a member and secretary of the committee that drafted the new city charter which was adopted under the present commission form of government. Mr. Blair was married at Grand Forks, North Dakota, June 10, 1903, to Miss Elsie Mary Bushee, a daughter of Byron Bushee of that city. They have two sons, John E., Jr., and Robert Bushee. Mr. Blair is an independent in politics and his interest in the affairs of the community is that of a public-spirited citizen who realizes the opportunities for progress and improvement, and he labors to achieve what may be attained in this direction. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in April 2010 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.