J. C. S. Blackburn

Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn (October 1, 1838 – September 12, 1918) was an American politician and lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. representative and senator from Kentucky and governor of Panama Canal Zone. A skilled and spirited orator, he was a prominent trial lawyer known for his skill at swaying juries.

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, the same year he married Theresa (Therese) Graham (1839–1886). 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.