Joseph Blair (Blais) was born April 2, 1846 in the town of Saint Marquerite, Dorchester County, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Jean and Elizabeth (Gosselin) Blais. Joseph was the youngest from a family of thirteen children. We know that seven of the children came to America: Eloise (married Tom Lemieux), Francois, Andre, Simeon, Nazaire, Jean Baptiste, and Joseph.

A French priest has told them about the great opportunities in America, especially the great lumber woods of Minnesota, and to help the nuns at Little Falls, Minnesota. Also, at that time, the U.S. Government let the settlers homestead 160 acres and encouraged everyone from other countries to develop America. It was these reasons they decided to leave Canada.

At the age of 19, Joseph and his brothers (Jean Baptiste, his wife and eight children, Simeon, his wife, and six children, and Nazaire left Quebec. It was in May 1866 when they arrived in Minnesota. With horses and covered wagons, they drove up to Morrison County from St. Paul, Minnesota over what was then known as the East Side Government Trail (because it was east of the Mississippi River). People did their crossing of the river at Little Falls by means of ferry boats. Many people were waiting to cross at Little Falls (now the Lindberg Park, boyhood home of the famous flyer Charles A. Lindberg). These government trails led to the north on through Fort Ripley, Milaca, or Detroit Lakes, etc.

They were detained for three days at Little Falls waiting to be ferried across the Mississippi. While waiting, they met the Wm Bain family who was also enroute to the Swanville area. The Bain's were a neighbor until the Blais were settled, at which time they moved on.

Between Little Falls and Swanville, it was wild and heavily timbered. There were only two families in this area, there were the Fornier and Don Campbell families.* The funds for the entire party amounted to $25.00. Fortunately, they arrived in the spring and that summer were able to live on basswood sprouts and basswood leaves, and pig weed supplemented by a little flour which they had carried in a bag from Little Falls. They went to work clearing a field and later putting up hay for the winter. During the haying season, Marguerite killed woodchucks with a club and this was added to the family bill of fare. However, it was necessary to reserve the meat portion for the men who were working in the meadow. The other members were content to feast on the soup obtained from boiling the meat. A little later, someone in that area had killed a deer and gave the family the forequarters. This constituted a feast that was never forgotten.

That autumn the family learned that some old discarded army rifles were stored at the courthouse at Fort Ripley. John Baptiste walked there and persuaded them to let them have one of them. They had more meat on the table, and sometimes, even plenty of it.

Jean Baptiste, Nazaire, and Joseph all homestead the land on both sides of the line between Todd County and Morrison County.

Joseph Blair had homestead farmland, which had the value of $200.00 (1870 census). On 16 June 1872, he married Ellen Marguerite Bodwain at Long Prairie, Todd County. Father Joseph Buhl was the priest and Joseph's brother; Nazaire was the best man.

They lived in Swanville where three of their children were born: Maggie, Joe, and Zeb. Around 1879, they moved to Verndale where Julia, Henry, Amelia (Jessie), and Mary were born.

In 1887 they moved to New Port, Oregon where Laura was born. I imagine they took the train out West. It was 1880 when the railroad was started and completed the next fall. They didn't stay in Oregon too long. They came back to Minnesota in 1890 and lived in Waterville Township from 1890 thru 1895.

They then moved on to Saber Lake, near Kilkenny, Minnesota. Joseph's sister Eloise (LeMieux) and brother Francois, lived near Shieldsville. Eloise and Francois then later moved to Faribault. Mina, Clara, and Lula were born while living in Kilkenny, Minnesota. Joseph farmed and did excellent carpentry work. In Waterville there still stands several homes that he built. Fred Hrdlichka said of Joseph that he was a religious man who walked seven miles to church on Sundays.

Joseph and Ellen left Minnesota and moved to Clear Lake, Wisconsin where he lived out the rest of his life. It was said that Joseph saw a quack doctor who gave him some medicine that made him sick instead of better. He was 64 years, 11 months when he died of apoplexy (stroke). Joseph was buried March 13, 1910 at St. Ann's Cemetery in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin.