Thomas M. Blackstock

Thomas M. Blackstock (January 12, 1834 – February 27, 1913) was a Scotch-Irish American immigrant, businessman, and Republican politician. He was co-founder and president of the Phoenix Chair Company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and served three years as mayor of Sheboygan in the 1870s and 1880s.

Biography

Blackstock was born in County Armagh, in what is now Northern Ireland. His father died when he was three years old. They stopped briefly in Canada before arriving at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in the Spring of 1849.

He was initially employed at a hotel, but soon went to work at Dr. J. J. Brown's drug store, where he remained until 1856. From 1856 to 1861 he was employed as superintendent of the construction of the Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Plank Road.

In 1875, he became involved in the organization of the Phoenix Chair Company and was named the first secretary of the company. A year later, he was elected president and general manager of the company.

Through his business success, he came to own substantial real estate in the city and formed the South Sheboygan Land Company to manage the property. which is now listed on U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Thomas and Bridget Blackstock were childless, but around 1890 adopted three of Bridget's brother's children, Mary, Nellie, and Annie, after the death of their mother.