James Blair
James Blair was a prominent Scottish clergyman in the Church of England, born in the mid-seventeenth century. He began his education at Marischal College in Aberdeen before matriculating at the University of Edinburgh, where he earned his M.A. in 1673. After being ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1679, Blair served as the rector of Cranston until 1682, when political pressures led him to oppose an oath associated with the accession of James II. Seeking new opportunities, he traveled to Virginia in 1685 to help revitalize the Church of England in the American colonies. In 1687, he married Sarah Harrison and later returned to England to secure a charter for a college, which resulted in the founding of the College of William and Mary in 1693, where he served as president for life. Blair was also a lifelong member of the Virginia council and contributed to the political discourse of his time through his writing, including the 1727 work "The Present State of Virginia." His life and work reflect the complexities of colonial religious and political life in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
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James Blair
Clergyman
- Born: Between May, 1655, and May, 1656
- Birthplace: Scotland
- Died: 1743
- Place of death: Virginia
Biography
Born in the mid-seventeenth century in Scotland, James Blair was a clergyman for the Church of England. At the age of twelve, Blair attended the preparatory grammar school at Marischal College in Aberdeen. He matriculated at the University of Edinburgh in 1669. In 1673, Blair took his M.A. and was ordained into the Church of Scotland in 1679. He served as rector of Cranston in the diocese of Edinburgh until 1682, when he refused to sign an oath that was one of the Stuart efforts to disarm Scottish opposition to the accession of James II.
Blair traveled to the colony of Virginia in 1685 at the request of London’s bishop and was charged with rejuvenating the Church of England in the British colonies. In 1687 he married Sarah Harrison, daughter of Colonel Benjamin Harrison. In 1691, James Blair returned to England to gain permission to start a college, and in 1693 he received a charter to found the College of William and Mary. Appointed president for life of the College of William and Mary, he was also a lifelong member of the Virginia council. In 1727, James Blair wrote The Present State of Virginia and the College with Henry Hartwell and Edward Chilton, a book significant for its descriptions of the state’s emerging political views.