James Blair | |
|---|---|
 Oil painting of James Blair byCharles Bridges from William & Mary | |
| 1st President of the College of William & Mary | |
| In office 1693–1743 | |
| Succeeded by | William Dawson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1656 |
| Died | 18 April 1743 (aged 86–87) |
| Spouse | Sarah Harrison |
| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen University of Edinburgh |
| Signature |  |
James Blair (1656 – 18 April 1743) was a Scottish-born clergyman in theChurch of England. He was also amissionary and an educator, best known as the founder of theCollege of William & Mary inWilliamsburg, Virginia.[1]
James Blair was born inScotland, possibly in Edinburgh or in Banffshire. His parents were Peter Blair, minister ofSt Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, and Mary Hamilton Blair. He was educated atMarischal College,University of Aberdeen and theUniversity of Edinburgh, where he received a Master of Arts degree.[1]
After completing his education, in 1679 he was ordained in thenationalChurch of Scotland (known officially at this time as theKirk of Scotland, seekirk). During the entire 17th century the Kirk had been experiencing passionate internal conflicts betweenPresbyterians andEpiscopalians (see, for example, theBishops' 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 ofCharles 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.
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In London, 1685, he was ordained in theChurch of England, and at the request ofHenry Compton, theBishop of London (responsible for the colonies), Blair travelled to theNew World with a mission to "revive and reform the church in theVirginia Colony." His initial assignment was to serve as rector of theParish of Henrico atVarina. He developed good relationships with prominentpolitical families, such as theHarrison 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.[2]
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 atHenricus for these purposes around 1618 failed after theIndian massacre of 1622 wiped out the entire settlement, which was not rebuilt.
Almost 70 years later, with encouragement from the Colony'sHouse of Burgesses 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.[3]
The trip to London proved successful. Blair was supported in his efforts byJohn Tillotson, who was theArchbishop of Canterbury. (Protestants KingWilliam and QueenMary II of England were reigning joint monarchs of Britain, having just deposed CatholicJames II of England in 1688 during theGlorious Revolution.) In 1693, a charter was granted forThe College of William & Mary in Virginia, named to honour both monarchs. Blair was madepresident of the new school for life.[2] Blair's receipt of the charter was commemorated in 1772 byThomas Pingo's design for theBotetourt Medal's reverse.[4] He served for 50 years, from 1693 to 1743, and remains thelongest serving president of the college and thesixth longest serving college president in US history.
After Blair returned to Virginia, the trustees of the new college bought a parcel of 330 acres (1.3 km2) from Thomas Ballard for the new school. The location chosen was atMiddle Plantation, a high point on theVirginia Peninsula so named because it was equidistant from theJames andYork 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 nearbyRich Neck Plantation.
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 fromMaryland and Virginia to countries other than England, and from other similar sources, such as an export duty onfurs and animal skins. The new school opened in temporary buildings in 1694. Properly called the "College Building," the first version of theWren 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 architectSir Christopher Wren who had designedSt Paul's Cathedral in London. His actual involvement with the College Building completed in 1700 is disputed by some historians.)
The State House atJamestown 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 theCollege of William & Mary appeared before theHouse of Burgesses to suggest that they designate Middle Plantation (soon to be renamedWilliamsburg 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 toRichmond for security reasons at the outset of theAmerican Revolution.
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. Theseparation of church and state became a fundamental political concept in Virginia only after theAmerican Revolution. 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 thetyranny 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, and two Lieutenant Governors who were serving in the absence of the Royal Governor:Francis Nicholson andAlexander Spotswood.[1]
He was also the Rector ofBruton Parish Church in Williamsburg from 1710 until his death. Blair organised the construction of the second church building, which began in 1711.[5] The building was restored in the early 20th century under then-rectorW.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 toColonial Williamsburg's greatest benefactor,Standard Oil fortune heirJohn D. Rockefeller Jr. and his family.
In 1722, Blair publishedOur Savior's Divine Sermon on the Mount, a five-volume collection of his sermons from 1707 to 1721. WithHenry Hartwell andEdward Chilton, Blair wroteThe Present State of Virginia and the College, which was published in 1727.
Blair died of a gangrenous rupture on 18 April 1743.[1] He was buried next to his wife Sarah (née Harrison) Blair (d.1713) atJamestown Island.Preservation Virginia 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 ofJamestown 2007, which celebrated the settlement's 400th anniversary.
probably no other man in the colonial time did so much for the intellectual life of Virginia.
— Moses Coit Tyler, professor of American history,Cornell University[2]
During theColonial period, Blair was instrumental in reviving and reforming theChurch of England in Virginia.
Blair's contributions to education in Virginia are recognised not only at the College of William & Mary, whereBlair Hall is named for him, but also in the naming of various schools, includingJames Blair Middle School inJames City County, Virginia, (formerly James Blair High School) andJames Blair Middle School inNorfolk, 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 avictory shipJames Blair in his honour.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Blair, James".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
