He attended the county schools, and Elliott Academy at Kirksville, Kentucky.
Blackburn moved to Lexington, Kentucky in 1919 and continued in the insurance and brokerage business.
Blackburn was appointed a member of the Kentucky Board of Agriculture in 1926 and served until 1928.
He resumed his former activities in the oil business and resided in Lexington, Kentucky until his death there on September 20, 1935.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress