James Blair (1656 – 18 April 1743) was a clergyman in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. He was also a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
and an educator, best known as the founder of the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...
in
Williamsburg, Virginia.
Youth and education
James Blair was born
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, possibly in Edinburgh or in Banffshire. His parents were Peter Blair, minister of
St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, and Mary Hamilton Blair. He was educated at
Marischal College
Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...
,
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
and the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where he received a Master of Arts degree.
After completing his education, in 1679 he was ordained in the
national Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
(known officially at this time as the ''Kirk of Scotland'', see
kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk' ...
). During the entire 17th century the Kirk had been experiencing passionate internal conflicts between
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
s and
Episcopalians (see, for example, the
Bishops' Wars). The Episcopalians were in the ascendancy during this period and the Church of Scotland was briefly aligned with the Church of England during the reign of
Charles II of Scotland. Charles was a strong opponent of Presbyterianism and throughout his lifetime worked to reassert the strength of the Anglican Church.
In 1681, Blair, aligned with the Episcopalians, was deprived of his parish in Edinburgh due to the conflict within the Episcopal movement between those supporting the Roman Catholic Church and those advocating a continued independent Episcopal national church. Blair relocated to London later that year.
Missionary to the Virginia Colony
In London, 1685, he was ordained in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, and at the request of
Henry Compton, the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
(responsible for the colonies), Blair travelled to the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
with a mission to "revive and reform the church in the
Virginia Colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
." His initial assignment was to serve as rector of the
Parish of Henrico at
Varina. He developed good relationships with prominent
political families, such as the
Harrison family. He married Sarah Harrison, daughter of Benjamin Harrison Jr., on 2 June 1687.
When John Clayton,
Commissary in the Virginia Colony for the Bishop of London, returned to England after just two years of service, Blair succeeded him, making him the colony's highest-ranking religious leader, a position that he would hold for 54 years.
College of William & Mary
The leaders of the Virginia Colony had long wanted school to give their sons higher education, as well as to educate the natives. An attempt to establish a permanent university at
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at Jamest ...
for these purposes around 1618 failed after the
Indian Massacre of 1622
The Indian massacre of 1622, popularly known as the Jamestown massacre, took place in the English Colony of Virginia, in what is now the United States, on 22 March 1622. John Smith, though he had not been in Virginia since 1609 and was not an e ...
wiped out the entire settlement, which was not rebuilt.
Almost 70 years later, with encouragement from the Colony's
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...
and other prominent individuals, Blair prepared a plan, believed by some historians to be modelled after the earlier one from Henricus, and returned to England in 1691 to petition the monarchy for a new college. The Powhatan people had been largely decimated and reduced to reservations after the last major conflict in 1644, but the religious aspiration to educate them into Christianity was nevertheless retained, perhaps as a moral incentive to help gain support and approval in London. Moreover, the school would serve to train clergy born in the colonies for service among their neighbors.
The trip to London proved successful. Blair was supported in his efforts by
John Tillotson
John Tillotson (October 1630 – 22 November 1694) was the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury from 1691 to 1694.
Curate and rector
Tillotson was the son of a Puritan clothier at Haughend, Sowerby, Yorkshire. Little is known of his early youth ...
, who was the
Archbishop of Canterbury. (Protestants King
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and Queen
Mary II of England were reigning joint monarchs of Britain, having just deposed Catholic
James II of England
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
in 1688 during the
Glorious Revolution.) In 1693, a charter was granted for
The College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...
in Virginia, named to honour both monarchs. Blair was made
president of the new school for life. He served for 50 years, from 1693 to 1743, and remains the
longest serving president of the college and the
sixth longest serving college president in US history.
After Blair returned to Virginia, the trustees of the new college bought a parcel of from Thomas Ballard for the new school. The location chosen was at
Middle Plantation, a high point on the
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the n ...
so named because it was equidistant from the
James and
York Rivers. Middle Plantation had served as a defensive location during periodic conflicts with the Native Americans since its establishment in 1632. Blair established his home at nearby
Rich Neck Plantation
Rich Neck Plantation was located in James City County, Virginia in the Colony of Virginia.
History
Rich Neck Plantation (not to be confused with Richneck Plantation in nearby Warwick County), was established around 1632 as part of the community ...
.
The college was given a seat in the House of Burgesses. Financial income was to come by taxation of a penny per pound on tobacco exported from
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and Virginia to countries other than England, and from other similar sources, such as an export duty on
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
s and animal skins. The new school opened in temporary buildings in 1694. Properly called the "College Building," the first version of the
Wren Building was built at Middle Plantation beginning on 8 August 1695 and occupied by 1700. Today, the Wren Building is the oldest academic structure in continuous use in America. (Incidentally, it is called the "Wren Building" because tradition has it that the building was designed by the famed English architect
Sir Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
who had designed
St Paul's Cathedral in London. His actual involvement with the College Building completed in 1700 is disputed by some historians.)
Capital of Virginia, Williamsburg
The State House at
Jamestown burned for the third time in 1698, and as it had in the past, the legislature again took up temporary quarters at Middle Plantation. On 1 May 1699, Blair and five students of the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...
appeared before the
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...
to suggest that they designate Middle Plantation (soon to be renamed
Williamsburg in honour of King William III), as the new capital of Virginia. A month later, the legislators agreed.
Williamsburg served as the capital of Virginia for 81 years, until 1780, when the capital was moved to
Richmond for security reasons at the outset of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
Religious leadership, writing
James Blair served as a member and for a time, president of the Governor's Council in Virginia. As representative of the Bishop of London (of Oxford until 1675),
Henry Compton, Blair held great power and responsibility in Virginia. The
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
became a fundamental political concept in Virginia only after the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. In response to complaints about dissolute clergy in the colonies, Compton had instructed Lieutenant Governor Herbert Jeffreys to investigate the situation, and then had suspended or removed those found problematic, as well as instituted a procedure to issue certificates attesting to a clergyman's orthodoxy and character and urged colonial governors not to hire those lacking such certificates. The other initial problem Blair faced was that in 1697, only half of organised parishes had ministers. Six years later, with Compton's assistance nearly 80% of the approximately 50 parishes had clergy, although then additional parishes were chartered. Other efforts proved less successful. For instance, he managed to increase clergy stipends to 16,000 pounds of tobacco annually, amounting to a value of about 60 pounds sterling rather than the 80 he desired. Also, to his dismay, the colony's lay leaders refused to introduce ecclesiastical courts for moral offenses. Nonetheless, Blair worked to improve the moral condition of the people while he also defended them against the
tyranny
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...
of the royal governors. He had great influence in England, and reportedly was involved with the recall to England of one royal governor,
Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...
, and two Lieutenant Governors who were serving in the absence of the Royal Governor:
Francis Nicholson
Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, the ...
and
Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood (12 December 1676 – 7 June 1740) was a British Army officer, explorer and lieutenant governor of Colonial Virginia; he is regarded as one of the most significant historical figures in British North American colonial h ...
.
He was also the Rector of
Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...
in Williamsburg from 1710 until his death. Blair organised the construction of the second church building, which began in 1711.
The building was restored in the early 20th century under then-rector
W.A.R. Goodwin. This project inspired Goodwin to advocate further restorations of other buildings, and seek sources of funding to do so, which led him to
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...
's greatest benefactor,
Standard Oil fortune heir
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his family.
In 1722, Blair published ''Our Savior's Divine Sermon on the Mount'', a five-volume collection of his sermons from 1707 to 1721. With
Henry Hartwell and
Edward Chilton
Air Marshal Sir Charles Edward Chilton, (1 November 1906 – 4 August 1992) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command from 1959 to 1962.
RAF career
Educated at Portsmouth Grammar School, , Blair wrote ''The Present State of Virginia and the College'', which was published in 1727.
Death, burial at Jamestown
Blair died of a gangrenous rupture on 18 April 1743.
He was buried next to his wife Sarah (née Harrison) Blair (d.1713) at
Jamestown Island
Jamestown Island is a island in the James River in Virginia, part of James City County. It is located off Glasshouse Point, to which it is connected via a causeway to the Colonial Parkway. Much of the island is wetland, including both swamp and ...
.
Preservation Virginia
Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus o ...
now owns the original Jamestown site, including the church and cemetery. In 2005, the Cypher Society of the college announced it was taking responsibility for a site restoration and beautification of the Blair graves at Jamestown Island in anticipation of
Jamestown 2007, which celebrated the settlement's 400th anniversary.
Heritage
During the
Colonial period, Blair was instrumental in reviving and reforming the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
in Virginia.
Blair's contributions to education in Virginia are recognised not only at the College of William & Mary, where Blair Hall is named for him, but also in the naming of various schools, including James Blair Middle School in
James City County, Virginia
James City County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adj ...
, (formerly James Blair High School) and
James Blair Middle School in
Norfolk, Virginia.
In the Wren Building of the College of William & Mary, a large portrait of Blair is displayed in the Great Hall. A statue of him on the campus was dedicated for the college's 300th birthday in 1993.
In 1943, the United States commissioned a
victory ship
The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were sli ...
''James Blair'' in his honour.
See also
*
History of the Church of Scotland
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.
A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
*
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
Notes
Sources
*
Further reading
*
* Rouse, Parke. "James Blair of Virginia" ''Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church'' 43#2 (1974) pp. 189–19
in JSTOR* Rouse, Parke. ''James Blair of Virginia'' (1971), full biography
* Tarter, Brent. "Reflections on the Church of England in Colonial Virginia." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' 112.4 (2004): 338–371.
*
External links
James Blairat
Encyclopedia Virginia Virginia Humanities (VH), formerly the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, is a humanities council whose stated mission is to develop the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of the Commonwealth of Virginia by creating learning opportunities f ...
Colonial Williamsburg, Wren Building web pageBruton Parish'sHistory of the church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, James
1656 births
1743 deaths
Kingdom of Scotland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
Presidents of the College of William & Mary
17th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests
Virginia colonial people
People from Aberdeenshire
18th-century American Episcopal priests
Scottish Anglican missionaries
Scottish scholars and academics
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Burials at Jamestown Church
Virginia Governor's Council members
Anglican missionaries in the United States
University and college founders