Richard Whiting Blue (September 8, 1841 – January 28, 1907) was a farmer, teacher, lawyer, judge, state senator, and U.S. Representative. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He lived in Virginia and then Kansas. Born near Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), Blue worked on a farm in the summertime and studied in the select schools of that locality during the winter season. He attended Monongalia Academy, Morgantown, Virginia, in 1859 and Washington (Pennsylvania) College until his enlistment, on June 29, 1863, as a private in Company A of the

3rd West Virginia Infantry Regiment The 3rd West Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On May 23, 1863, it was converted to a mounted infantry by Brigadier General William W. Averell. The regiment was immedia ...

, during the Civil War. He became second and then first lieutenant of the company. Honorably discharged May 22, 1866, at

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

, when he returned to Grafton, West Virginia. He taught school. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in Virginia, and commenced practice in

Linn County, Kansas Linn County (county code LN) is a county located in east-central Kansas and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,591. Its county seat is Mound City, and its most populous city is Pl ...

, in 1871. Probate judge of Linn County 1872-1876. County attorney 1876-1880. He served as member of the State senate 1880-1888. Blue was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress. He engaged in the practice of law until his death in

Bartlesville Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The ...

, Washington County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, January 28, 1907. He was interred in Pleasanton Cemetery, Pleasanton, Kansas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue, Richard Whiting 1841 births 1907 deaths Kansas state court judges Republican Party Kansas state senators Union Army officers Politicians from Parkersburg, West Virginia People of West Virginia in the American Civil War Military personnel from West Virginia People from Grafton, West Virginia Kansas lawyers Washington & Jefferson College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges