404:
established as a trading center, and the colony's government offices relocated there around 1699. Dr. Archibald Blair remarried twice, first when this man was still a boy to Sarah Archer Fowler, a widow who probably helped raise this boy as well as bore four daughters who reached adulthood, married and became
Archibald Blair's heirs. They included Sarah Blair who married Wilson Cary, Ann Blair who married Peter Whiting, Elizabeth Blair who married John Bolling and later Richard Bland, and Harrison Blair who became the third wife of Dr. George Gilmer. After Sarah's death Archibald remarried, to the twice widowed Mary Wilson Roscoe Cary, the daughter of burgess William Wilson and who had outlived burgesses William Roscoe as well as Miles Cary II (who died in 1709). as well as practiced as a doctor and operated an in Williamsburg. Archibald also joined with his brother James Blair and Philip Ludwell, who jointly owned a retail store in Williamsburg, which is discussed below, since upon coming of age, this man would succeed his father as its manager. This John Blair graduated from the College of William and Mary around 1707 and remained in Williamsburg his whole life.
400:. Rev. James Blair soon married a daughter of a leading family, but had no children, so after his brother Archibald and this boy emigrated to the colony, and the son was educated and married, he and his family ultimately became that cleric's principal heirs. Only one of Archibald and James's sisters (Christian Blair (1665–1725)) also emigrated to Virginia (after marrying Rev. John Munroe, who accepted a post at St. John's Parish in King William County). Ultimately, this man would marry his cousin Mary, daughter of that Rev. John Monroe. The middle brother, John Blair (c. 1662 – after 1689) remained in Scotland, where he became an apothecary in Edinburgh and a burgess of that city in 1683 and Scotland's postmaster general in 1689. Some of his children also became merchants, including grandsons (by sons Peter the skinner and another Archibald) John Blair (died 1757) and another James Blair. Those men worked for years in Virginia as employees and at least the former became trading partner of this man.
714:), survived their father, who died October 3, 1761. On December 31, 1774, she remarried, to Colonel R. Burwell, who died January 30, 1777. Her third marriage was on June 2, 1795, to Mr. R Prescott who died June 2, 1795. Her sisters Sarah Archer Blair and Ann Blair and brother Archibald Blair also died as children, but the next Sarah Blair (1737-1799) married Wilson-Miles Cary. One of their youngest daughters received the name Agan (
545:
and taxes on exported tobacco, then a major component of
Virginia's agricultural production. Blair successfully improved procedures and records to prevent the evasion of paying quitrents. However, in his final years the efficacy of the office was poor, probably due to his failing health and the death
395:
had previously graduated from that university and been ordained a minister, but emigrated to
Virginia around 1685 because he refused to sign a loyalty oath required by the Scots parliament. In Virginia Rev. James Blair would become the leading representative of the Church of England for five decades,
746:
John Blair Sr. died in
Williamsburg on November 5, 1771, and was buried in Bruton Parish churchyard. In addition to his children and grandchildren, Blair's diary survived him. According to that, he loved gardening and maintained a garden with flowers, vegetables, and a fruit tree orchard. His family
477:
Blair was elected to the House of
Burgesses from Jamestown for the 1734 session, succeeding his father, whose term had begun in 1728 and who died in 1733. In the next session, which began in 1736, the citizens of Williamsburg elected Blair as their representative, though he was replaced by John
403:
Dr. Archibald Blair immigrated with this son to the
Virginia colony in the 1690s, possibly following his wife's death, since no re record exists of her emigration. Due to unhealthy circumstances at Jamestown, particularly during summers, Williamsburg (at first called "Middle Plantation") was
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in
February 1745 that he be appointed to fill a vacant seat. However, the king had already named Blair to fill a different vacancy on November 15, 1744. He was seated on August 6, 1745. He became the council's senior member or president in 1757 and served four times as Virginia's
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house. This man managed the store for many years, probably succeeding his
Edinburgh-born cousin of the same name. Blair was also a partner with John Blair Jr. (the son of a cousin) in another store from 1740 to 1759. Blair owned two of the largest taverns in the colony, the
524:
Although appointed for life, he resigned on
October 15, 1770, after the death of governor Berkeley. In poor health himself, he did not want to serve as acting governor again for the fifth time. He died the following year. Blair having a large family to support, the Council
722:. Another daughter was Elizabeth (Betsy), who married Captain/Commander/Admiral Thompson. His younger son Dr. James Blair studied medicine in Scotland, married Catherine Eustace in 1771 and shortly thereafter separated from his wife and died the next year. This led to a
445:
rivers. Upon receiving his inheritance from Rev. James Blair in 1743, this John Blair bought a plantation south of
Taskinas Creek on the York River about ten miles downstream of its confluence with the Mattaponi River, which he operated using enslaved labor.
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who was elected Burgess in 1753 –1754. Their next two children, Mary and James, never reached adulthood, then a second daughter Mary (1734-1799), survived at least two husbands, as well as continued the family line. On December 6, 1753, she married Colonel
391:, Scotland. Archibald Blair was the youngest of the couple's three sons, had graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1685 (having studied medicine) and probably married this man's mother shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, his eldest brother Rev.
346:(the successive seats of the colony's government), before being appointed to the Governor's Council. There he served for more than 25 years, including four times becoming acting governor during changes of the royal governors and while governor
618:. The response was the speedy appointment of Berkeley as new governor with instructions to quash such protests of the crown's authority over the colonies. Blair also urged Virginia's clergy to raise money to aid the victims of a fire in
775:. The stone steps were imported from England. His Taskinas plantation passed to his son John Blair Jr., who was not a hands-on manager, but passed it on to his son in law Rev. James Henderson. It is now part of
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was in the New York and Georgia colonies. Nonetheless, this John Blair, the earliest of the four men of the name serving in the Virginia General Assembly, may be best known either as the nephew and heir of Rev.
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In 1768, Fauquier had intended to call the Assembly into session. After Fauquier died, Blair, again acting Governor, followed through with a session that closed in April at which time he sent to the king and
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Harmer for the 1742 session, possibly because his nomination for Governor's Council was in process, as discussed below. While in office, Blair helped oversee the colonists' defense from attacks by
387:. His Scottish grandfather, Rev. Peter Blair, was minister at St. Cuthbert's parish in Edinburgh, married Mary Hamilton in 1654 and in his final years served as the rector of Jedburgh parish in
433:, renting them to tavern keepers. He owned Chowning from 1726 to around 1738, and sold Raleigh in 1742. In 1745, Blair and 16 other investors obtained a 1,000-acre (400 ha)
960:
Jerome D. Traver, Uncovering the Past at Taskinas Plantation: the Eighteenth Century Estate of John Blair Jr. (May 2003: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation) p.
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established in 1769. Blair was the only participant in the bricklaying ceremonies for both of the Williamsburg Capitol buildings (in 1699 or 1701 and 1752 or 1754).
482:. From April 22, 1741, to October 15, 1741, he served as clerk of the Governor's Council. During part of that time, his uncle James Blair was the acting governor.
93:
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According to a much older and generally less accurate biographer, this man was born in the Virginia colony and only served as acting governor twice. See
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of Virginia on August 15, 1728). He served as deputy Auditor General until his death in 1771, while simultaneously holding various other positions.
1164:
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now considered him qualified for a seat on the upper house of the colonial legislature, the Virginia Governor's Council and recommended to the
897:
Daphne Gentry and Brent Tarter, The Blair Family of Colonial Williamsburg, Magazine of Virginia Genealogy (May 1994) Vol.32 No. 2 pp. 102-105
710:, and while several of her children died as infants, son George Braxton IV and daughter Elizabeth (who would marry Henry Whiting and move to
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685:
Blair married his first cousin Mary Munro about 1726. Munro, the daughter of the Reverend John and Christina Monro of St. John's Parish,
689:, was born circa 1708 and died in 1768 They had ten children, including eight daughters. Their fourth child and eldest surviving son,
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Holding the position for 43 years, he was responsible for certifying the accuracy of official government revenue accounts, including
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The history of the Blair, Banister, and Braxton families before and after the revolution: With a brief sketch of their descendants
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Blair served on a 1745 committee to revise the laws of Virginia, on a committee that oversaw the 1748–1753 rebuilding of the
479:
906:
Linda H. Rowe, Archibald Blair (1665-1733), Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Library of Virginia 1998); vol. 1, pp. 535-536
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in September to December. The final time was after Fauquier's death on March 4, 1768, until the arrival of his replacement,
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756:
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Dewey, Frank L (January 1981). "Journal Article Thomas Jefferson and a Williamsburg Scandal: The Case of Blair V. Blair".
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Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) p. 74 and note
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Blair's public career may have begun in 1715, when he (or a cousin with the same name) was appointed keeper of the
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767:. The house is one of the oldest in Williamsburg, and was reconstructed in 1937. It features typical
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arrived. The second time was in September and October 1761 when Fauquier was consulting with General
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on March 31 requesting that Virginia raise an additional regiment for offensive operations in the
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lawsuit between his estate and wife (Blair v Blair), involving his brother John as executor and
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Until his death in 1733, Blair's father, Archibald, in addition to his medical practice and
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as Davies advanced the cause of religious and civil liberty and preached to religious
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after it burned in 1747, and on another in 1763 to correspond with Virginia's
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in Williamsburg. Blair took the oaths of office as a justice of the peace for
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1104:"The Scandalous Divorce Case that Influenced the Declaration of Independence"
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Blair having inherited approximately £10,000 from his uncle James, Governor
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in New York. In 1763, Blair was acting governor when Fauquier was in the
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as well as the minister in the colony's capital, and helped re-found the
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of his assistant. Blair's son became the next deputy auditor general.
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on August 17, 1724 (serving until he was sworn in as a member of the
598:, which was approved. Also approved was the issuance of £32,000 of
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During his first term as acting governor in 1758, he addressed the
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He is likely the John Blair who was Williamsburg's mayor in 1751.
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ministers licensed in Virginia. This was not popular with the
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Blair was born in Scotland around 1687, the only known son of
888:, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) vol. 1, pp. 66-67
861:"Dictionary of Virginia Biography John Blair (ca. 1687–1771)"
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upper district naval officer (serving until he became deputy
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shop was the largest shareholder of Dr. Blair's Store, a
359:, where many descendants would be educated) or father of
326:– November 5, 1771) was a merchant and politician of the
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house, originally built circa 1747 and now known as the
701:. Their eldest daughter, Christian (1727–1784), married
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1126:
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558:to preach in Williamsburg, one of the first non-
529:the king to grant Blair a pension. The king and
1019:Brinkley, M. Kent; Chappell, Gordon W. (1996).
505:, from January 12, 1758, to June 5, 1758, when
1077:The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
1083:(1). The Virginia Historical Society: 44–63.
622:(then under British rule) that destroyed the
677:of the College of William and Mary in 1758.
1155:Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
718:for Anna) (1746-1813), and married Colonel
942:. The University of North Carolina Press.
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734:as council. Some considered this matter a
610:the assembly's challenges, led by speaker
407:
858:
669:, from around 1744 or earlier, and was a
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1001:. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company.
1165:Politicians from Williamsburg, Virginia
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501:. The first was after the departure of
19:For other people named John Blair, see
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859:Van Horne, J.C. (February 23, 2017).
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1160:College of William & Mary alumni
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757:National Register of Historic Places
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1108:Journal of the American Revolution
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330:. He served in both houses of the
300:Member Virginia Governor's Council
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614:of Parliament's right to tax the
1185:Merchants from colonial Virginia
795:Another source says 12 children.
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602:to fund defenses of the colony.
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367:, Virginia judge and finally as
1170:Burials at Bruton Parish Church
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699:United States Supreme Court
673:about 1749. He was also a
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398:College of William and Mary
373:United States Supreme Court
357:College of William and Mary
338:, he initially represented
262:College of William and Mary
44:Virginia Governor's Council
21:John Blair (disambiguation)
10:
1201:
1145:House of Burgesses members
995:Horner, Frederick (1897).
936:Rouse, Jr., Parke (1971).
466:in 1745) and in 1727 as a
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303:Acting Governor Virginia
939:James Blair of Virginia
626:convent and 88 houses.
624:Congregation Notre-Dame
408:Businessman and planter
537:Deputy Auditor General
294:Deputy Auditor General
202:Williamsburg, Virginia
1180:Scottish slave owners
1150:Colonial Williamsburg
865:Encyclopedia Virginia
777:York River State Park
765:Colonial Williamsburg
761:living history museum
651:hospital for lunatics
596:French and Indian War
521:on October 26, 1768.
334:. As a member of the
751:, is now located on
291:Justice of the Peace
886:Lyon Gardiner Tyler
687:King William County
515:Province of Georgia
1140:Colony of Virginia
661:Blair served as a
630:Other civic action
564:established church
550:Governor's Council
427:Sir Walter Raleigh
336:House of Burgesses
328:colony of Virginia
120:Colony of Virginia
112:House of Burgesses
71:Colony of Virginia
63:House of Burgesses
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695:associate justice
647:Board of Trustees
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355:(who founded the
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868:. Retrieved
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150:Succeeded by
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101:Succeeded by
94:John Clayton
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67:Williamsburg
51:
25:
1135:1771 deaths
588:Ohio Valley
468:James River
460:York County
393:James Blair
353:James Blair
324: 1687
249:James Blair
218:Nationality
177: 1687
138:Preceded by
105:John Harmer
89:Preceded by
1129:Categories
1113:January 8,
1042:0879351586
1031:. p.
948:B000SJKEDQ
803:References
693:became an
608:Parliament
592:New France
568:dissenters
527:petitioned
435:land grant
429:) and the
418:mercantile
414:apothecary
379:Early life
317:John Blair
277:politician
268:Occupation
257:Alma mater
229:Mary Munro
32:John Blair
759:district
663:vestryman
543:quitrents
340:Jamestown
285:Known for
245:Relatives
132:1734-1735
128:In office
116:Jamestown
83:1736-1740
79:In office
56:1740-1771
52:In office
1048:March 5,
870:March 5,
716:Scottish
616:colonies
578:Governor
560:Anglican
274:Merchant
234:Children
221:American
187:Scotland
1089:4248451
755:in the
736:scandal
697:of the
675:visitor
636:Capitol
480:Indians
439:Potomac
437:on the
371:of the
251:(uncle)
179: (
1087:
1039:
946:
226:Spouse
1085:JSTOR
783:Notes
724:dower
342:then
114:from
65:from
1115:2023
1050:2017
1037:ISBN
944:ASIN
872:2017
730:and
494:king
441:and
192:Died
181:1687
170:Born
763:of
665:of
375:).
1131::
1106:.
1081:89
1079:.
1052:.
1035:.
1033:20
1007:^
977:^
965:^
920:^
863:.
811:^
779:.
738:.
642:.
574:.
321:c.
174:c.
118:,
69:,
1117:.
1091:.
950:.
874:.
319:(
183:)
23:.
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