William Martin Blanding, the son of Eluna M. and Eliza Tuttle Blanding, was born in Lyme township, Huron County, Ohio, on January 30, 1829. When he was six years old, his family moved to Harford, Pennsylvania, where Blending received his education, being a graduate of Harford University. In 1850, he left Pennsylvania and settled in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. Here, on May 24, 1857, he married Eliza M. Tuttle, the daughter of Andrew L. and Lucy Bacon Tuttle. They had fourteen children.
During his lifetime, William M. Blending was very involved in surveying, lumbering, farming, and filled many positions of public trust and honor, including county commissioner, probate judge, county surveyor, school trustee, register of the United States Land Office, and president of the village of St. Croix Falls. On May 23, 1863, Blanding was appointed a lieutenant of the Frontier Rangers, Wisconsin Militia, by Governor Edward Salomon.
Judge Blending died on December 17, 1901.
