# David Blakeley *American newspaper editor, businessman and Minnesota politician (1835–1896)* David Blakeley (December 7, 1835 – November 7, 1896), whose surname also appears as Blakely, was a newspaperman, businessman and politician. In Minnesota he held two offices in succession: chief clerk of the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] for two terms, from 1861 to 1862, and then third [[Minnesota Secretary of State]] for two terms, from 1862 to 1866.[^1] In the secretary of state's office he followed [[James H. Baker (politician)]] and was succeeded by [[Henry C. Rogers (politician)]].[^1] Blakeley trained as a printer in Vermont and came to the [[Minnesota Territory]] in 1856. There he founded newspapers in Bancroft Township, Austin and Rochester before entering state politics.[^1] After leaving the newspaper business in 1880, he worked as band manager for Patrick Gilmore and John Philip Sousa.[^1] ## Early life Blakeley was a native of Binghamton, New York, born December 7, 1835. While he was still a small child, his family relocated to East Berkshire, Vermont, where he learned printing.[^1] In 1856 he settled in Bancroft Township, then within Mower County and now part of Freeborn County, and started a newspaper there.[^1] The Bancroft venture did not succeed. He then went to Austin, Minnesota, where he founded the *Mower County Mirror* and held the local post of Recorder of Deeds.[^1] He moved on to Rochester, Minnesota, in 1859 and founded the *Rochester City Post*.[^1] ## Printing career Blakeley and his brothers were each active in printing and editing Minnesota newspapers, among them the *Rochester Post*, the *St. Paul Pioneer Press* and the *Minneapolis Tribune*.[^1] The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] credits Blakeley and his brothers Amherst W. Blakeley and Clarence Blakeley with combining the *St. Paul Pioneer* and the *St. Paul Press* in 1875 to create the *St. Paul Pioneer Press*.[^1] The source also records that in 1865, during a period of residence in Illinois, he bought the *Chicago Evening Post* and improved it.[^1] He went on to own and run the Blakely Printing Company, which was based in Chicago.[^1] ## Politics Blakeley sought election as chief clerk of the Minnesota House of Representatives beginning in 1860. He won the post and held it for the 3rd and 4th sessions of the [[Minnesota Legislature]], from 1861 to 1862.[^1] He was the Republican candidate in the 1863 election for Minnesota Secretary of State. Running against Democrat Amos Coggswell, he received 60.73 percent of the vote, a margin of 21.46 percentage points.[^1] The same source dates his tenure as secretary of state to 1862–1866.[^1] ## Later life Blakeley left newspaper work in 1880 to concentrate on managing the bands of Patrick Gilmore and John Philip Sousa.[^1] The New York Public Library holds a substantial collection of papers and archival material on his work with Sousa and Gilmore from 1892 to 1896.[^1] Several weeks before his death, he suffered a head injury in a bicycle accident in Bradford, Vermont. While on tour in New York, he died suddenly at Carnegie Hall on November 7, 1896. He was buried in Bradford.[^1] ## Personal life In 1858 Blakeley wed Adeline "Addie" Low, a Vermonter. They had four children.[^1] ## In popular culture Thomas Browne Henry played Blakeley in *Stars and Stripes Forever*, a 1952 American biographical film.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *David Blakeley* (revision 1379945098, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Blakeley's birth, printing and newspaper career, House chief clerkship and Secretary of State tenure, 1863 election result, band management, death, family and film portrayal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blakeley