Isaac Blackford was born on November 6th, 1786, in Bound Brook, New Jersey. He was the only child of Joseph and Mary Blackford. Joseph, a merchant and revolutionary war soldier, died in 1800 when Isaac was 14. His mother remarried Thomas Coon in 1801. Isaac's half-sister Charlotte was born in 1802.
Blackford attended Princeton and graduated in 1806. He studied law under his mentor and future father-in-law, Colonel George McDonald, for a year before accepting a position at a large firm in the area. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1810. Isaac married Caroline McDonald in 1820 and had a son, George Blackford. Caroline McDonald died shortly after George's birth in 1821. George Blackford died in 1846 due to medical complications in Kentucky. Isaac never remarried.
He left the Supreme Court in 1853. Two years later, he took a job as a justice in the Court of Claims in Washington, DC. He died on December 31st, 1859, due to complications from pneumonia. Blackford was transported back to Indianapolis with the help of his friend, an Indianapolis lawyer and land speculator, Calvin Fletcher. On January 12th, his body was placed on display in the Capitol and then buried in Greenlawn Cemetery on Friday, January 13th, in an iron coffin. His remains were moved to Crown Hill Cemetery in 1868, a few years after that cemetery opened.
]]>On Indiana University Indianapolis’ campus, on the Northeast Corner of Vermont and Blackford Street, there is an Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB) marker for Isaac Blackford. The longest-serving Supreme Court Justice in Indiana’s history, he worked to further education in Indiana through his involvement in Indiana University and the Historical Society.
The IHB was established in 1915 as the Indiana Historical Commission to celebrate the statehood Centennial. After the celebration, the Commission continued its efforts by collecting information about World War I. In 1925, the Indiana legislature voted to make the organization permanent and changed the name to the Indiana Historical Bureau. The IHB’s continues its mission of educating the public through markers, oral histories, and archaeological projects.
The Bureau encourages the public to apply for a marker making sure that each marker is factually accurate and effectively educates the public. Applicants are responsible for paying for the cost of the marker, usually through fundraising or grants. Text on the marker is limited, as each side of the marker only allows for a maximum of 350 characters, forcing the applicant to weigh each word.
The IHB marker was placed on the IU campus in 2011 to commemorate the life and achievements of Blackford, a member of the Indiana University Board of Trustees starting in 1838. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law in 1845 from IU.
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