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Richard Whiting Blue

Politician. Republican. Born: September 8, 1841, Parkersburg, Virginia. Died: January 29, 1907, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Served in U.S. House of Representatives: March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897.

Born near Parkersburg in Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia), on September 8, 1841, Richard W. Blue worked on a farm in the summertime and, when time allowed during the winter months, studied in the local schools before attending Monongalia Academy, Morgantown, Virginia in 1859 and Washington College in Pennsylvania. Blue's study at the latter was interrupted by his enlistment, on June 29, 1863, as a private in Company A, Third Regiment, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry-subsequently promoted to second and then first lieutenant of the company. Honorably discharged on May 22, 1866, at Leavenworth, Kansas, Blue returned to Grafton, West Virginia, taught school, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Virginia. By 1871, he had removed Linn County, Kansas, where he commenced practicing law, served as county probate judge (1872-1876), county attorney (1876-1880), and as a member of the State senate for two terms, 1881-1889. Elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress in November 1894, Blue was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1896 (served, March 4, 1895-March 3, 1897), and subsequently engaged in the practice of law until his death on January 29, 1907, at Bartlesville, Oklahoma; interment was in Pleasanton Cemetery, Pleasanton, Linn County, Kansas.

Entry: Blue, Richard Whiting

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2011

Date Modified: May 2012

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.