Blackburn was born on October 1, 1838, near
Spring Station, Kentucky. He attended Sayres Institute in
Frankfort and graduated from
Centre College in
Danville in 1857. He studied law in
Lexington and was admitted to the bar in 1858. He practiced in
Chicago until 1860 when he returned to
Woodford County, Kentucky, and entered the
Confederate Army as a private in 1861. Loosely associated with the free-silver wing of the Democratic party, he was well known nationally and his name was placed in nomination for the presidency in 1896. ==References==