University of Virginia Library

BLAIR J. FISHBURNE

Blair J. Fishburne was born in Big Lick, Virginia,
and is one of the very few young men who has seen the
development of Roanoke from a small village to a
proud city of nearly
forty thousand souls.
During his lifetime he
has figured to a greater
or less degree in the
manufacturing,
commercial, and legislative
life of Roanoke.
He is a son of Reuben
H. and Emma Virginia
(Phillips) Fishburne. In
his youth he attended
the public schools of
Roanoke, after which he
went to Randolph
Macon Academy at
Front Royal, Virginia.
Upon his return home
from school, he gained
considerable business experience
in connection with R. H. Fishburne & Company,
manufacturers of smoking tobacco.

In 1905 he became identified with the S. P. Hite
Company, Incorporated, being elected Secretary and
Treasurer and in January, 1910, he was also made Manager.

In 1907 he was elected by the City Council to fill
the unexpired term of his uncle, James A. Fishburne,
in that body, and was reölected by the people of Highland
Ward, in 1908 for a term of four years, which he
is now serving.

He is Vice Chairman of the committees on Accounts
and Sewers. Mr. Fishburne is a director of the Southwest
Virginia Trust Company, a strong financial institution
of the city, a director of the First National
Bank of Rocky Mount, Virginia, and President of the
Crystal Investment Corporation. As a member of
the Roanoke Council of the United Commercial Travelers,
he was Secretary for eight years, and for three
years was Grand Treasurer of the division, comprising
the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland,
and the District of Columbia, both of which
positions he relinquished at the end of his last terms by
refusing reölection. He is a member of Lakeland
Lodge of Masons, and of Murray Chapter, R. A. M.;
also an enthusiastic member of the Roanoke Gun Club,
and a member of the Country Club. He is an active
member of Greene Memorial Methodist Church, a
member of the Board of Stewards, a former President,
and still an active member of the Young Men's Baracca
Class in the Sunday School

In his boyhood he made a trip to Europe and the
Holy Land and has since traveled extensively in
America.