Editing James G. Blaine (section)

=== Family and childhood ===
James Gillespie Blaine was born January 31, 1830, in [[West Brownsville, Pennsylvania]], the third child of Ephraim Lyon Blaine and his wife Maria (Gillespie) Blaine. He had two older sisters, Harriet and Margaret.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=6|Russell||2p=5}} Blaine's father was a western Pennsylvania businessman and landowner, and the family lived in relative comfort.{{sfn|Crapol|p=1}} On his father's side, Blaine was descended from [[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]] settlers who first emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1745.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=1}} His great-grandfather [[Ephraim Blaine]] served as a Commissary-General under [[George Washington]] in the [[American Revolutionary War]].{{sfn|Muzzey|pp=2–3}} Blaine's mother and her forebears were [[Irish Catholic]]s who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1780s.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=5|Russell||2p=5}} Blaine's parents were married in 1820 in a [[Catholic]] ceremony, although Blaine's father remained a [[Presbyterian]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=5|Russell||2p=5}} Following a common compromise of the era, the Blaines agreed that their daughters would be raised in their mother's Catholic faith while their sons would be brought up in their father's religion.{{sfnm|Rose||1pp=30–31|Muzzey||2p=5}} James Blaine's cousin, [[Angela Gillespie]], was a nun and founded the American branch of the Sisters of the Holy Cross.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVLOhGt1BX0C&q=james+blaine+sister+nun&pg=RA1-PA34 |title = Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary|isbn = 9780674627345|last1 = James|first1 = Edward T.|last2 = James|first2 = Janet Wilson|last3 = Boyer|first3 = Paul S.|year = 1971| publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref> In politics, Blaine's father supported the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]].{{sfn|Rolde|p=28}}

Blaine's biographers describe his childhood as "harmonious," and note that the boy took an early interest in history and literature.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=12–14|Russell||2p=8|Crapol||3p=2}} At the age of thirteen, Blaine enrolled in his father's alma mater, Washington College (now [[Washington & Jefferson College]]), in nearby [[Washington, Pennsylvania]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=4, 14|Russell||2p=8}} There, he was a member of the [[Literary societies at Washington & Jefferson College#Washington Literary Society|Washington Literary Society]], one of the college's debating societies.{{sfn|McClelland|p=127}} Blaine succeeded academically, graduating near the top of his class and delivering the salutatory address in June 1847.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=15|Russell||2pp=9–10}} After graduation, Blaine considered attending [[Yale Law School]], but ultimately decided against it, instead moving west to find a job.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=16–17|Russell||2p=12}}