Hon. Oscar E. Bland

The subject of this biography, a worthy product of Greene county, was born on the parental farm in Richland township, November 21, 1877. Senator Bland is the youngest of three sons born to Joseph and Arminda (Shipman) Bland, both natives of Greene county. Joseph Bland was born October 8, 1846, and his wife's birth occurred on the 21st of February, of the same year. They spent their productive years on the farm, which they still own in Richland township, but at present are living retired in Linton, enjoying a well-earned respite from active labors. Both the Bland and Shipman families, as here represented, came to Indiana from North Carolina, where their Welsh ancestors first located on American soil. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Robert Bland, was a Union soldier during the Civil war, and died a few years after his discharge, resumably from the effects of disease contracted in the army. Richard Shipman, the maternal grandfather, was also a soldier for the preservation of the Union, but did not long survive the close of the war.

Oscar E. Bland, whose name heads this article, was reared to farm life, dividing his youthful days between working on the farm and attending the district schools. When he had outgrown the latter, he took a course in the Linton high school, supplementing this with a course at Valpraiso University, and finished his classical work at Indiana University. He also took a law course in the same institution, and was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Linton in 1901. After six years of successful practice alone, in order to accommodate the increasing patronage of the office, he formed a partnership with Henry Moore, Esq., of Bloomfield, under the firm title of Moore & Bland, and offices are conducted both at the county seat and in Linton. The Bloomfield office is conducted by Mr. Moore, and that at Linton, by Mr. Bland and his associate, R. H. Neeley, Esq. Mr. Bland is a successful and thoroughly capable lawyer and has established a large and lucrative practice. He is not only well-versed in the intracies of his profession, but he is one of the most talented and versatile lawyers in the county, both in office counsel and before the bar. He has few peers as a campaign orator, and his services are in demand on all occasions of educational politics. He was a stalwart Republican, thoroughly in touch with the administration at Washington, and a zealous supporter of President Roosevelt's attitude on questions of public policy.

Mr. Bland was elected to the state senate in 1906, and represents the counties of Greene, Monroe and Owen. He was the champion of the two-cent railroad fare bill, which he introduced in the senate, and this, and a few minor meaasures, was the key-note of his campaign. He also introduced the miners' wash-house bill and championed it to a final issue.

Mr. Bland was married June 18, 1902, to Josephine, daughter of Dr. Jesse and Mary Hanna, of Linton. The family are prominent in the social affairs of Linton, and widely and favorably known throughout the county, and senatorial district. They have one daughter, Helen, aged five years, in 1908.

Mr. Bland is a young man of bright prospects for future prominence and usefulness. Few men at the age of thirty have attained to the degree of public esteem and confidence accorded to Oscar Bland. At the threshhold of vigorous young manhood, the possibility for future development is not merely conjectural.

He is an ardent participant in athletic sports, and enjoys the solitude of the wilderness in the hunting season, usually making a trip, annually, to the Rockies or elsewhere, in the search for "big game." Recently on his return from one of these exursions he brought with him two fine elkheads, which he presented to the local lodge, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In consideration of this very appropriate gift, and also a means of showing appreciation of the generous donor, the society voted him an honorary life membership. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, and Sigma Nu Greek letter fraternity.

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"Biographical Memoirs of Greene County, Ind. with Reminiscences of Pioneer Days", B.F. Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1908, pages 975-977.

Last updated 8.11.2009