Hyrcanus Blackman (1847-1921)

    A prominent businessman, political figure, and lumber merchant active in the Washington Territory, Hyrcanus Blackman was born on January 4, 1847, in Bradley, Maine, one of six children born to Adam and Mary Howard Blackman. He received his education in the public schools of Maine and later went on to study at the Westbrook Seminary for a time. The Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties notes that Blackman later graduated from the Charles Wells Business College in New Haven, Connecticut. Following his graduation, Blackman taught school for a short period but eventually joined his two older brothers Alanson and Elhanan in the manufacture of lumber. Hyrcanus married on May 17, 1870, in Maine to Ms. Ella Knapp, with whom he would have two children, Clifford (born 1884) and Eunice (born 1887).
   Born into a family long active in the Maine lumber industry, Hyrcanus and his two brothers migrated from their native Maine to the Washington Territory in 1872, eventually settling in the county of Snohomish. It was here that the three Blackman brothers soon began plotting their business future, and within a few years of their resettlement had built up a very lucrative lumber and logging business. This business eventually grew to include a large sawmill and a mercantile store, the latter being under the supervision of Hyrcanus. 
  

           From Volume II of The History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington (1889).

   While the two older Blackman brothers were the prime movers in this burgeoning logging industry, it was Hyrcanus alone who became active in politics in the territory. In 1878 the county of Snohomish elected him to the Washington Territorial Legislature. In addition to his burgeoning political career, Hyrcanus also began to develop his own business interests in the county, building his own general store in the mid-1880s and later constructing the luxurious Penobscot Hotel in 1888.
   In 1890, Blackman's political star rose again when he was chosen as the first Mayor of the city of Snohomish (which had incorporated itself as a city that same year). Research on his term notes that he served until December 1890, when the new city elected Emory Ferguson. Although some sources list Blackman as the Snohomish's "inaugural" mayor, other sources record the aforementioned Ferguson as the first true holder of the office. 
  Throughout the remaining years of his life, Blackman continued with his earlier business interests in the Snohomish area. He briefly returned to political life in 1904 when he served as a delegate from Washington to the Democratic National Convention that nominated Alton B. Parker for the presidency. Hyrcanus Blackman died at his mansion in Snohomish on June 1, 1921, at age 74 and was survived by his wife Ella, two children, and brothers Alanson and Elhanan. He was later interred at the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in Snohomish. In addition to the above, Blackman's unusual first name stems from a long-forgotten King of Judea and a Jewish priest named Hyrcanus. As an emperor, Hyrcanus was condemned to death by Emperor Herod in 30 B.C.