William Matthews Blackford (August 19, 1801-April 14, 1864), banker and journalist, served as United States charge d'affaires at Bogota, New Grenada (now Colombia), 1842-1844, and raised five sons who fought in the Confederate Army. William Matthews studied law and in 1825 moved to Fredericksburg to practice. That same year, on October 12, he married Mary Berkeley Minor (December 2, 1802-September 15, 1896), daughter of John Minor of Fredericksburg and an active participant in the colonization movement. In October 1828, the young lawyer purchased and began editing the Political Arena, a Whig newspaper in Fredericksburg and gradually discontinued the practice of law. When his friend, President John Tyler, in 1842, appointed him to the diplomatic post in New Grenada, Blackford sold the paper. His family now included seven children but only his son "Willey" accompanied him to South America. Blackford returned to the U. S. in 1845 and the following year the family moved to Lynchburg where he edited the Lynchburg Virginian, another whig organ. He sold his interest in this paper in 1850 to become the Lynchburg postmaster. The Democratic victory in the election of 1852 left him jobless again but his effective work in securing for Lynchburg a branch of the Exchange Bank of Richmond resulted in his appointment as Cashier of the new bank, a position he held for the remainder of his life. During the Civil War he served as financial agent at Lynchburg for the Confederate government. An Episcopalian, he regularly attended St. Paul's Church in Lynchburg and took an active part in church affairs. For additional information about William Matthews Blackford and his family see the following book: Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory the Story of a Virginia Lady, Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford, 1802-1896, Who Taught Her Sons to Hate Slavery and to Love the Union (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1954) by L. Minor Blackford.

Info from FAG member:Ray (#47188697)