Hi there
The Jessup Blair House is the focal point of Jessup Blair Park located
at 900 Jessup Blair Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland. Here is a photo
of this American Classic built in 1850:
http://www.mc-mncppc.org/parks/park_of_the_day/park_images/Jessup-Blair-02.jpg
From "MNCPPC: Park a Day: Jesup Blair Local Park" - You will find
additional information about the park including directions and a map.
The Blair House was given to the state of Maryland in the early 1930s
in the will of Violet Blair Janin. The State accepted the property,
together with all terms and conditions. The Maryland-National Capital
Park and Planning Commission was authorized to provide for the
perpetual maintenance of the property as "a park open to the public."
This park and house may now be in some danger as there is a move to
expand the Montgomery College Campus into areas which are now part of
the park. The controversy arises due to the possible destruction of
ancient trees during the course of expansion. These trees were of
great value to Violet Blair Janin and the expansion, according to some
local groups, would have an adverse impact on the mansion itself.
In this website, you will be able to read the findings of Maryland
State Attorney General, J. Joseph Curran, Jr. regarding the property.
- It is a PDF file.
www.oag.state.md.us/Opinions/2002/02-002.pdf
If you do not have Acrobat Reader, here is a cache of the web page in
HTML:
http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:eHjTp_3iQI8C:www.oag.state.md.us/Opinions/2002/02-002.pdf+Jesup+Blair+House&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8
According to the Montgomery Preservation Inc., a nonprofit
organization dedicated to "promoting the preservation, protection and
enjoyment of Montgomery County's rich architectural heritage and
historic landscapes" - The house is one of the 11 most endangered
sites in Montgomery County for 2002.
www.peerlessrockville.org/documents/
newsletters/2002-06_newsletter.pdf - A PDF file. - HTML version as
cache
http://216.239.53.100/search?=cache:evlVIgCcjhoC:www.peerlessrockville.org/documents/newsletters/2002-06_newsletter.pdf+Jesup+Blair+House&hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8
The website is "Peerless Rockville."
For additional history of the family, you may go to the website of
Historical Society of Washington, D.C. | Family Papers:
http://hswdc.org/Do_Research/Research_Collections/Family_Papers.asp
Scroll down to "Blair-Janin family. Papers, 1850-1933" and click on
the link "MS 410." While all the papers are not published online, you
will find the identification and bin numbers, scope and content in an
11 page PDF document which in this case has no HTML cache I could
find. - If you do not have PDF capability, I will quote the "notes"
paragraph so that you will have some idea what is there:
"Notes: Prominent family of Washington, D.C., and New Orleans, La.
Correspondence, legal papers, financial records, organizational
records, business papers, genealogical material, invitations, date
books, recipes, programs, a list of slaves, newsclippings, maps,
memorabilia, and photographs. Includes the papers of Thomas Sidney
Jesup; Mary Jesup Blair; Julia Clark Jesup; Violet Blair Janin,
including records of the National Society of the Children of the
American Revolution and the National Society of Colonial Dames; Albert
Covington Janin; and Jesup Blair. Includes material relating to Violet
Blair Janin's investments; Washington, D.C., society; the practice of
law in New Orleans, La., and Washington, D.C.; a proposed "Gulf-Ship
Canal" between Florida and Louisiana; the sale of land scrip in
Louisiana; a paternity scandal involving Jesup Blair; the operation of
Mammoth Cave, Ky.; and Blair House. In part, in French and Swedish."
I hope the above will be of help.
Search - Google
Terms - Jessup Blair House, Blair family history, Silver Spring
Maryland, Montgomery County Maryland
If I may clarify anything before you rate the answer, please ask.
Cheers and Season's Greetings
digsalot |
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
27 Dec 2002 08:05 PST
Thank you for you indepth and long e-mail which seem to be very
informative. However I have some other questions to ask you and I hope
you won't mind answering them
So you say that the MNCPPC got the home from the will of Violet Blair
Janin OK So, I guess that means that she was the last person to live
in the home, right ?
Whom was she married to and can you possiblity tell me how she is
related to Francis Preston Blair Lee, who I know spent much of his
child life living in the home. If you could get a website or link
that would show this informtion I would greatly appreciate it. Also
can you find out for me, what is the home used for now.
Thank you-
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
27 Dec 2002 08:33 PST
Hello - I just found your clarification request and am headed out the
door for the next few hours. If I may have your indulgence, I will
jump on this as soon as I return.
digs
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
27 Dec 2002 13:11 PST
Violet Blair was married to Albert Janin in 1874. She was a niece of
Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and grand niece of Francis Preston Blair.
The next few paragraphs are quoted from the book "Love and Power in
the Nineteenth Century: The Marriage of Violet Blair" by Virginia
Jeans Laas.
"Everyone thinks I am throwing myself away to marry you," wrote Violet
Blair to her future husband, Albert Janin, one month before their
wedding in 1874 ...Violet Blair was a member of Washington, D.C.'s
social elite. Her grandfather was Thomas Sidney Jesup, who served as
quartermaster general of the Army from 1818 until his death in 1860;
her grandmother, the sister of George Rogers Clark. Violet's father,
who died when she was a small child, left his widow and orphaned
children under the protection of the powerful Blair family of
Maryland. Violet's uncles included Montgomery Blair, Abraham Lincoln's
postmaster general, and Francis Preston Blair, Jr., who served as a
general in the Union Army."
"...her relatives complained that men trailed young Violet wherever
she went, and she complacently recorded in her diary a dozen marriage
proposals from impressive young men, including veterans of both sides
of the recent Civil War. Her family and friends had a right to be
shocked when she chose to marry Albert Janin, a young lawyer from New
Orleans who was lacking in family background, talent, ambition, good
looks, and good sense."
"...Violet's power within her marriage derived from Albert's weakness.
Constantly broke, sponging on Violet's family and his own, continually
involved in foolish get-rich schemes, Albert barely escaped disgrace.
Violet recognized that she had married a "Colonel Sellers": her
husband was like the dubious hero of the Twain-Warner novel, _The
Gilded Age_."
"After the Janins' one baby died at birth, Albert and Violet lived
separate lives, rarely residing in the same town for the rest of their
long marriage. Violet refused to leave her mother's house in Lafayette
Square and the round of social engagements that consumed her life, and
Albert preferred to live in New Orleans. By May, 1894, Violet noted in
her diary that she had not seen her husband in more than a year: "It
is sad, this unwedded married life--.... At least we do not bore each
other and we make no scandals." So they continued until death (that of
Albert) finally severed their marriage in 1928; Violet lived on, an
aged but still beautiful doyenne of Washington society, until 1933."
So, from the above, it would seem she never lived in the house in
Silver Spring at all.
"Isolated by her own choice from the great, raucous carnival of
late-nineteenth century America, with neither love nor work to occupy
her days, Violet spent her life in social engagements and
unconsummated flirtations. The only person she seems to have truly
cared for was her mother, Mary Jesup Blair. She used her diary to
congratulate herself on being born a Blair, possessed of "high birth
and blood, unusual learning,... acknowledged beauty and a spotless
reputation" and to vent her anger against immigrants: "I would stop at
nothing to rid my country of these vermin." If as Laas suggests,
Washington high society was dominated by women like Violet Blair, then
it was indeed provincial, insular, and mediocre. The most significant
thing Violet ever accomplished was to leave her money to the National
Cathedral when she died."
I apologize for the amount that is quoted, but it could make more
sense to the answer than I could by trying to paraphrase it and lose
all the 'color.' Besides, the website states clearly: "This work may
be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to
the author and the list." Well, I'm certainly non-profit.
You can find more here including a number of reviews of the book:
http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~shgape/reviews/br-laas.html
"H-SHGAPE Book Reviews: Laas, Love and Power in the Nineteenth
Century: The Marriage of Violet Blair"
Whether the house has any use other than park offices (or even that )
I have been unable to find though I will keep looking.
Cheers
digs
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
29 Dec 2002 13:58 PST
I have been unable to come up with anything new about what the house
is being used for as of now. It may very well be that the house is
closed until either the controversy about redoing the park or the
actual redo is completed.
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
30 Dec 2002 09:20 PST
Thanks for your indepth e-mails. My next question to you is the
following. I would think that thier must be a locate organization
which would have some information about this house in thier
collection. Don't you think so. What do you think is the best source
to use to possiblity get an answer to my question.
"Where can I learn more information about the Silver Spring, MD Jesup
Blair house"
Thanks again-
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
30 Dec 2002 11:12 PST
I would suggest contacting them directly. The email address is (
mcp-feedback@mncppc-mc.org )
http://www.mc-mncppc.org/parks/park_of_the_day/apr/parkday_apr19.shtm
The Montgomery County Planning Board
In fact, I will send an email myself and see what I can come up with.
Cheers
digs
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
02 Jan 2003 06:47 PST
This arrived back today - so things are still in the works.
Cheers
digs
RE: Jesup Blair House
Date:
Thu, 2 Jan 2003 09:40:37 -0500
From:
"MCP-Feedback" <MCP-Feedback@MNCPPC.ORG>
To:
"R***** P******" <******************>
Hello:
I'm forwarding your question onto our Historic Preservation department.
Gary Goodwin
Web Coordinator
M-NCPPC
-----Original Message-----
From: R***** P****** [mailto:***************]
Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 2:22 PM
To: MCP-Feedback
Subject: Jesup Blair House
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
06 Jan 2003 12:18 PST
This just arrived
R** P******
Sorry it's taken so long to reply to your inquiry. The Jesup Blair
House is part of a public park managed by the Maryland-National
Capital Park and Planning Commission. The current use of the house is
as a transitional housing facility for women with children. It is
designated as a county historic site on the Master Plan for Historic
Preservation and has also been determined to be eligible for the
National Register of Historic Places.
The Jesup Blair House, originally known as The Moorings, was built
about 1850. It was a summer residence for members of the
distinguished Blair family, including Postmaster General Montgomery
Blair (1860s). The cubic, two-story frame house incorporates
sophisticated elements of Federal and Greek Revival architectural
styling, including a louvered cupola and elaborate front entrance with
pilasters.
Clare Lise Cavicchi
Historic Preservation Planner
Montgomery County Dept of Park and Planning
M-NCPPC
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
07 Jan 2003 10:05 PST
Thank you for everything that you have told me as of yet it has been
very helpful.
However I am wondering if you are interested in helping me a little
further. I would like to find out more about Violet Jessup Blair
herself and her family. I know that I can read the book called "the
love and marriage of Jessup Blair" But I am looking for more
information about the family came from and who her sibling were. Can
you possibility see what you can find out and let me know.
I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you.
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
07 Jan 2003 10:58 PST
I'll see what I can do. I'm enjoying this and it has rapidly turned
into one of my favorite questions. There is a lot of "color" there
and the people involved are quite interesting. When I read Violet's
self description in the diary excerpt, for some reason I immediately
thought of the character "Blanche" on the "Golden Girls." Everything
except for the "no scandal" part, that is.
cheers
digs
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
15 Jan 2003 14:40 PST
Still looking. I didn't know there were so many Violet Blairs, Violet
J. Blairs, Canadian military troops named V. Blair, Violet Blairs from
San Francisco, from New England and Chicago and those are from the
"free" geneologies. There are "pay for geneological information"
sites but am avoiding those.
Not giving up yet.
Cheers
digs
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
16 Jan 2003 04:49 PST
Yes, I am still looking for more information about Violet Jessup Blair
(Janin). and her family. I would be very curious to know more about
her as a resident of the area. What other information can you provide
me about her and her family.
Speciality I am looking for information about her life and times
surrounding the Jessup Blair house where she spent her summers at.
Thank you.
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
16 Jan 2003 11:46 PST
Well you do have me hooked on this question. It is almost becoming a
hobby. As I said, I'm not giving up. As soon as I know the answers
so will you.
Thanks for your patience.
digs
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
03 Feb 2003 08:09 PST
I haven't heard back from you in a while. Just want to be sure that
you are still working on getting my answer for me about the Blair
family. Please respond I want to hear back from you soon.
Thank you
Stephenh-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
03 Feb 2003 14:33 PST
After continuing to search online, I have given up and actually
ordered the book "Love and Power in the Nineteenth Century: The
Marriage of Violet Blair" - The store didn't have it in stock and have
located a used copy in Maryland if it is still available. I sent a
check to the store, which is in Columbus, about 80 miles from here.
The seller wants prepaid. If the book is still available when Cols.
gets my check, they will notify me. It has been less than a week
since this process was undertaken and the check didn't go out till
Saturday. They should get it today or tomorrow. I want the book for
my own collection as well as finding additional information for you.
digs
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
06 Feb 2003 23:16 PST
I missed that particular copy of the book. It was gone before my
check got to Columbus. When they offered to return the money, I told
them to keep it to apply toward the next copy they found. It wasn't
exactly a 'best seller' so copies are fairly far between it seems.
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
stephenh-ga
on
28 Feb 2003 05:26 PST
Please respond back to me if you can.
Thank you for your help, it has been very helpful but I am wondering
if you would mind trying to find out where Violet Blair (Janin) is
buried. Since you aren't local I don't know if you can find a picture
of her grave. It would be fantastic if you could. If you could, I
wish that thier would be somehow I can reward you for your research
but I assume that might be impossible.
But do let me know and we will go from thier.
Thank you
Stephenh-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
digsalot-ga
on
28 Feb 2003 10:14 PST
I will see what I can do. I have already gone through the
Political-graveyard site and found nothing there except there seem to
be several Blairs who's burial site is unknown. The name Janin is not
there at all. I do not have the book yet. It is published by
University of Arkansas and to put it bluntly, I'm not going to pay the
price for a 'new' copy. They still have it on the list of used books
to search for at the bookstore in columbus. I have not forgotten you.
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