Timothy Beach Blackstone (March 28, 1829 – May 26, 1900) was an American railroad executive, businessman, philanthropist, and politician. He is descended from

William Blaxton Reverend William Blaxton (also spelled William Blackstone) (1595 – 26 May 1675) was an early English settler in New England and the first European settler of Boston and Rhode Island. Biography William Blaxton was born in Horncastle, Lincolns ...

, an early settler of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. He worked in the railroad industry for most of his life after dropping out of school. At the time of his death, his estate was worth US$6 million ($ million today). Blackstone served as president of the

Chicago and Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

from 1864 through 1899, was a founding president of the

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

, and served one term as mayor of

La Salle, Illinois LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over , the city's boundaries have grown t ...

. He was the benefactor of the

James Blackstone Memorial Library James Blackstone Memorial Library is a public library located in Branford, Connecticut. It is commonly referred to as the Blackstone Library or the Branford Library. The library was commissioned by Timothy Blackstone as a memorial to his father, J ...

in Branford, Connecticut, and his widow donated the

Blackstone Memorial Library T. B. Blackstone Memorial Library is a building that is part of the Chicago Public Library System and is named after Timothy Blackstone. The building was designed by Chicago architect Solon S. Beman. It is now known as the Chicago Public Li ...

to the

Chicago Public Library The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, two regional libraries, and branches distributed throughout the ...

in 1902, the first dedicated branch of the Chicago Public Library system. The Blackstones also funded Blackstone Hall for the

Art Institute of Chicago Building The Art Institute of Chicago Building (1893 structure built as the ''World's Congress Auxiliary Building'') houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is part of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community are ...

, and his mansion became the site of the

Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Nation ...

and the

Blackstone Theatre The Merle Reskin Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the Blackstone Theatre it was built in 1910. Renamed the Merle Reskin Theatre in 1992, it is now part of DePaul Unive ...

Early life

Blackstone was born in

Branford, Connecticut Branford is a shoreline New England town, town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, about east of downtown New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. The population was 28,273 at the 2020 United Sta ...

, the sixth child, and fourth son, of James Blackstone and Sarah Beach. His father, James, served in the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

representing the sixth district. James had also served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

and the Connecticut militia. The family is descended from

, an English settler who arrived in New England in the seventeenth century and became the first European settler in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Ida Hinman.
Biography of Timothy B. Blackstone
" Methodist Book Concern Press, 1917.

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family i ...

, an English

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

, is a distant cousin. Health issues caused Blackstone to drop out of school in 1847, and he began working for

Roswell B. Mason Roswell B. Mason (September 19, 1805January 1, 1892) served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1869–1871) for the Citizens Party. Early life Mason was born on September 19, 1805, in New Hartford, New York to Arnold Mason and Mercy Coman. His mo ...

, surveying the

New York and New Haven Railroad The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...

(NY&NH). He only worked on the NY&NH for a year before becoming an assistant

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

on the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad. Again, he only remained with the firm a short time before leaving for the

Vermont Valley Railroad The Vermont Valley Railroad was a line in Vermont and New Hampshire, running from Brattleboro to the Vermont-New Hampshire line at Windsor, now part of the Connecticut River Line. Hugh H. Henry (1814-1869) of Chester, Vermont was an original in ...

. In 1851, Roswell invited Blackstone to supervise construction of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

between Bloomington and

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

. Blackstone accepted the job and moved to

Career and life

Blackstone was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of LaSalle in 1854 and served a single term, his only foray into politics. After leaving office, he returned to working on railroads, first as chief engineer of the

Joliet and Chicago Railroad The Joliet Subdivision is a railroad subdivision of the Canadian National Railway in the Chicago metropolitan area. The 33-mile route runs from Joliet, Illinois to Chicago's Bridgeport, Chicago, Bridgeport neighborhood, largely paralleling the ro ...

, which would eventually become the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Blackstone became president of the Joliet and Chicago Railroad in 1861, and he kept the line solvent while other divisions were filing for bankruptcy. When the system was reorganized, he was named president of the board of directors for the company, serving with John Drake.Berger, Miles L., ''They Built Chicago: Entrepreneurs Who Shaped a Great City's Architecture'', Bonus Books, Inc., Chicago, 1992, p. 155., . Although Blackstone served with the Alton Railroad for more than a quarter century, he refused a salary. When the directors voted to pay him $10,000 per year, he turned it down. In addition to his employment and activities with the railroads, Blackstone was the first president of the company that controlled the

.Peggy Sullivan, "Naming the Branches," ''Journal of the Caxton Club'', June 2006, p.1. Although Blackstone had refused a salary from the railroad, he was an investor in it. In 1899, a competing group of investors headed by

E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...

wanted to purchase the Alton Railroad but Blackstone disapproved of the sale. After many months of wrangling, Blackstone transferred all of his stock in the company to the United States Trust Company and resigned as president, effective April 1, 1899. This action allowed the Harriman-led group to assume control of the line. In 1868, Blackstone married Isabella Farnsworth Norton, the daughter of a successful businessman from

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

. Blackstone died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on May 26, 1900, in Chicago, Illinois. His funeral was held at the Second Presbyterian Church and was then transported to Norwich, Connecticut for burial.

Blackstone Mansion

Blackstone built a 19th-century

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

for himself at 252 Michigan Avenue in Chicago in what is now the

Historic Michigan Boulevard District The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th (1100 south in the street numbering system) or Roosevelt ...

. The property later became the site of the

and the

. Following the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

in 1871, he invited his friend John Crerar to stay with him, which Crerar did for twelve years. Crerar donated the

John Crerar Library The John Crerar Library is a research library, which after a long history of independent operations, is now operated by the University of Chicago. Throughout its history, the library's technology resources have made it popular with Chicago-area b ...

and Blackstone continued to donate funds toward the maintenance of the building throughout his life. The Crerar Library has now merged with the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Bequests

Blackstone donated a library of 5,000 books and a building to the city of Branford, Connecticut with the only stipulation that it be named in honor of his father. A

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

was devised for the library by the

Connecticut State Legislature The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

vesting control of the library in a self-perpetuating board of trustees consisting of six residents of Branford and the librarian of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. The building was designed by Chicago architect

Solon Spencer Beman Solon Spencer Beman (October 1, 1853 – April 23, 1914) was an American architect based in Chicago, Illinois and best known as the architect of the Urban planning, planned Pullman, Chicago, Pullman community and adjacent Pullman Company factory ...

. The library was constructed from 1893–96. In 1904, Isabella Blackstone donated the T.B. Blackstone Memorial Branch Library to the city of Chicago. Located at the intersection of Blackstone Avenue, Lake Park Avenue, and Forty-Ninth Street, the library is modeled after the James Blackstone Library in Branford, Connecticut. Blackstone Avenue running along the 1436 east block from 4900 south (starting behind Blackstone Library) to 10350 south is named after him.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Blackstone Avenue", p. 12, Loyola University Press, 1988, Also, the Blackstone's funded Blackstone Hall in the Art Institute of Chicago Building. The two-story ground level gallery was added next to the east wall of the original building for display of architectural and sculptural casts. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' published details of his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

. When Blackstone died, his will directed the disposition of his assets that amounted to US$6 million ($ million today). Of that total, $375,000 was bequeathed to relatives and $250,000 to public institutions (

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

, Chicago Orphan Asylum, Home for the Friendless at Chicago, St. Luke's Hospital, Passavant Memorial Hospital, Chicago Relief and Aid Society, $25,000 each and James Blackstone Memorial Library Association, $100,000). The remainder went to his widow. Blackstone was also a close associate of his cousin,

William Eugene Blackstone William Eugene Blackstone (October 6, 1841 – November 7, 1935) was an American evangelist and Christian Zionist. He was the author of the Blackstone Memorial of 1891, a petition which called upon America to actively return the Holy Land to the ...

References

External links

James Blackstone Memorial Library

Official Chicago Public Library T.B. Blackstone Memorial Branch Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackstone, Timothy B. 1829 births 1900 deaths People from Branford, Connecticut People from LaSalle, Illinois Mayors of places in Illinois Alton Railroad 19th-century American railroad executives Businesspeople from Chicago American Zionists American railway civil engineers Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois