Samuel Blair (1741 – September 1818) was an American

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

and the second

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Early life

Blair was born in 1741 in Faggs Manor, near Cochranville,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

, the son of a Presbyterian minister also named Samuel Blair who died when the son was about ten years old. His mother was Frances van Hook, daughter of Judge Lawrence van Hook and Johanna (Smith) van Hook.

Education

His primary education was at his father's

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

school, the Faggs Manor Classical School. He went on to earn a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1760 and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1764 from

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, ...

(now Princeton University), where he also tutored from 1761-1764. He was licensed to preach by the

Presbytery of Newcastle The New Castle Presbytery is a presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Its geographic area is the entire state of Delaware and the Maryland Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mos ...

in 1764. He earned a

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1767 and a

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

(Doctor of Divinity) from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1790.

Work

A conscientious and eloquent minister, he became pastor of the

Old South Church Old South Church (also known as New Old South Church or Third Church), is a historic United Church of Christ congregation in Boston, Massachusetts, first organized in 1669. Its present building at 645 Boylston Street was designed in the Gothic R ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1766. While traveling to Boston, he survived a shipwreck but became ill and lost his possessions including the sermons he had written. In the spring of 1769, he traveled to Philadelphia and became severely ill, believing he would not recover. Because of his poor health, and conflict with his church members regarding the

Half-Way Covenant The Half-Way Covenant was a form of partial church membership adopted by the Congregational churches of colonial New England in the 1660s. The Puritan-controlled Congregational churches required evidence of a personal conversion experience bef ...

, he resigned and was dismissed on October 10, 1769. He then moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, he was a chaplain of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

from 1775 until June 20, 1780. His rank as an officer made him eligible for membership in the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

. He was appointed the second Chaplain of Congress on December 10, 1790, a position he held for two years, until he was replaced by

Ashbel Green Ashbel Green (July 6, 1762 – May 19, 1848) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic. Early life and education Green was born in Hanover Township, New Jersey. He served as a sergeant in the New Jersey militia during the American Revo ...

on November 5, 1792. Blair was a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(elected in 1797) and died in Germantown in September 1818.

Family

Upon return to Pennsylvania in 1769, he married Susan Shippen, the daughter of

William Shippen William Shippen may refer to: * William Shippen (MP) (1673–1743), English Member of Parliament * William Shippen Sr. (1712–1801), American physician * William Shippen Jr. (1738–1808), his son, American physician * William Castlebury Shippe ...

, a Philadelphia physician and delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. They had two sons and three daughters. His wife died in 1821.

Published sermons

Blair published two sermons. One was a eulogy to Reverend

John Blair Smith John Blair Smith (June 12, 1756 – August 22, 1799) was born in Pequea, Pennsylvania, Pequea, Pennsylvania Colony, the son of the Rev. Robert Smith, who ran a celebrated academy there. Like his older brother, John Blair Smith was valedictorian o ...

who died in 1799.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Samuel 1741 births 1818 deaths American Presbyterian ministers Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives Harvard College alumni Princeton University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society