I NEVER KNEW THIS!! Blair, Francis Preston 1791–1876, American journalist and politician, b. ABINGDON, Va. Through the Frankfort, Ky., journal Argus of Western America, which he edited with Amos Kendall, Blair was an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson. At William T. Barry's suggestion, he traveled to Washington and established the Washington (D.C.) Globe in Dec., 1830, which exerted great political influence as the Jacksonian “court journal” until 1841. Along with Kendall, Blair also was one of the leading members of the Kitchen Cabinet. In Washington he also founded the Congressional Globe (now the Congressional Record ), in which the daily proceedings of Congress were recorded. When James K. Polk became President, Blair, a Van Buren Democrat, was forced to sell his interest in the Washington Globe to Thomas Ritchie. Later, because of his antislavery views, Blair was one of the founders of the Republican party, and he presided over its first national convention in 1856. In 1865 he engineered the futile Hampton Roads Peace Conference. An influential adviser to President Lincoln during the early years of the Civil War, he eventually returned to the Democratic party because he was opposed to radical Republicanism. The first Blair in America is thought to be Commissary James Blair, who arrived in Virginia in 1685, and founded William & Mary College, the first university in America. Prominent Blairs in American history include: John Blair, signer of the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court Justice; Francis Preston Blair, newspaper editor and advisor to five Presidents; Francis P. Blair, Jr., Civil War General, U.S. Senator, and candidate for Vice President; Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General under President Lincoln; Austin Blair, Governor of Michigan during the Civil War and U.S. Congressman; John Insley Blair, a railroad magnate and philanthropist; and Andrew Blair, Canadian Statesman. Blairs have settled all over the world.