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Note: 1. Archibald Blackshear had no children. 2. Occupation Lawyer. A. B. University of Ga. L.L.B. Lumpkin Law School, University of Ga. Athens. Editorial from the Augusta Chronicle at the time of his death "The death of Mr. Archibald Blackshear, City Attorney, which occurred yesterday afternoon is a distinct loss to the City, a distress to a large circle of friends and a sorrow to the numerous members of his family. He was always active in civic affairs, having served notably as Chairman of the Red Cross Chapter, in Augusta during the world war. There are many instances of his service as a lawyer without a penny in which he took a deep and determined interest in his clients. He served city Council as attorney with an unusual degree of courage and fidelity. There never was a breath of suspicion upon his integrity nor a charge against his ability nor an intimation of unworthiness. His character was without reproach. He bore his failing forces with a rare courage. To those who saw him struggling against an ever-encroaching weakness of body that even affected his speech and walk, he showed the courage of one who stood four-square, and took the blow without flinching and without complaint. He never said one word to distress his family or discourage his friends. Such courage is rare and may well serve as an example to those who are inclined to deplore their condition and bemoan their fate. The passing of such a splendid man is like the falling of a great tree upon the mountain -- it leaves a vacancy in the sky." Excerpt from news article in Augusta Herald (Newspaper) 28 March 1929 "As the president of the Board of Directors of the Associated Charities, now the Family Welfare Association, Mr. Blackshear fathered the Juvenile Court in Richmond Co., Realizing the need of a Court here where children would be treated, not as criminals, but as potential citizens in whom the opportunity for good still flourished, he induced the Board of Directors to urge the Grand Jury to recommend a juvenile court for this County. This was done, and the result was the establishment of the present Family Relations Court which irons out difficulties in the lives of children too young to face trial in the larger courts."
In a book titled “Georia and Georgians”, found in the Macon, Ga public library in Apr 1998, we read “Col Archibald Blackshear, To attain a high place in one of the learned professions, like that of law, requires strong mentality and force of character not possessed by the average individual. That these qualities are the heritage of the subject of this memior, Col. Archibald Blackshear, is sufficiently indicated by hs career as one of the leading members of the bar in the City of Augusta. In Knight’s ‘Georgia Landmarks, Memorials and Legendss,’ volume 2, it is shown that the Blackshear family, and the Floyd family, with which it is closely connected by intermarriage, were closely asssociated with the early history of the state, Andrew Blackshear coming here in 1878 from South Carolina. He had acquired fame as a soldier in the Revollutionary army and was a noted Indian fighter and frontiersman, taking a brave and useful part in the defense of the early settlemlents. It was he who divided and separated the Indian reservations in the southern part of Georgia from the part occupied by the whites, and a county was named Blackshear in his honor. Another county, Floyd, was named in honor of his brother-in-law, who was a man of no less renown as a pioneer.
The father of the subject of this sketch, James Everett Blackshear, was born in Lawrence County, Georgia, whense he later removed to Savannah, where for many years he was engaged in the naval stores business. During the war period he enlisted from Dublin, Georgia, in Company 62 of Georgia Volunteers, being then only sixteen years old, and served till the close of the war, as a non-commissioned officer. He was one of three survivors, of an entire regiment after a battle in which all the rest of the command were killed. His death took place in Effingham County, February, 1896 when he was forty-nine years old. His wife, a native of South Carolina, is living at the age of sixty-five years. Their family numbered six children, namely: A. Laura E., who is unmarried and resides in Athens,Georgia, where she is secretary of the Young Woman’s Christian Association; Everett, who is a physician in Citra, Florida, Sterlin H., who is in the railroad service as a rate expert, and is located at El Paso, Texas; Floyd H., a daughter, who married Mr. J. V. Rogers, of Demorest, Georgia; Hinton J., employed in the legal department of the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad, being located at El Paso, Texas, and Archibald, lawer, of Augusta, Georgia.
Archibald Blackshear, who was the second born of his parents’ children, after attending the public schools of Augusta, became a student in the State University of Georgia, where he was graduated A.B. in 1899. In the following year he was granted the degree of LL. B. and began the practice of his profession in Augusta. His progress since then has been rapid and has carried him to a place well among the leaders of the bar in this part of the state, he being counsel for some of the largest business concerns in the city. He is a member of the county bar association, and chairman of the executive committee of the Augusta Bar Association. As a prominent citizen he has taken an active part in public life, having served as a representative in the city council from the Second Ward in 1906-07-08, and as reprenentative in the Sstate Legislature from Richmond County in 1911, his political record meeting with the approval of his constituents. Fraternally he is associated with the Masons (being a noble of the Mystic Shrine), the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Elks and Eagles, while other society affiliations include membership in the Country Club. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Col. Blackshear was married , December 11, 1912, to Miss Lucy Reece Allen, daughter of Maj. J.V. H. and Elizabeth E. Allen, well known and highly respected residents of Augusta. Her father made a name for himself in the Confederate military, service and was formerly mayor of Augusta. Colonel and MrsBlackshear have a fine and commodious residence in one of he most fashionable districts of Augusta, and are among the most popular members of society here.”
Cit. Family Records via A. Laura E. Blackshear (Sister) Athens, Ga. 1953.
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