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John Blair Sr. (abt. 1687 - 1771)

John Blair Sr.
Born about in Scotlandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and [mother unknown]
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 84 in Williamsburg, Williamsburg City, Virginia, Colonyof Virginiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 7 Mar 2014
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The Birth Date is a rough estimate. See the text for details.

Biography

U.S. Southern Colonies Project logo
John Blair Sr. was a Virginia colonist.
John Blair Sr. (abt.1687-1771) is a Five-Star Profile

Birth Date pure guess-timate.

John was born in 1687. John was the son of Archibald Blair by his unknown first wife.[1]


John married his cousin Mary Munro(1708-1768) about 1726. They had at least twelve children listed on Mary's profile.[1]

John Blair died in Williamsburg on November 5, 1771, and was buried in Bruton Parish churchyard. [1]

The Blair family from it's first arrival in the Colony of Virginia, were notable members of the colony. Archibald Blair the father was a physician and member of the house of Burgesses. John Blair's son John was a signer of the Constitution and a justice of the Supreme Court. Several of the family were clergymen and James Blair, John's uncle, was the founder of the College of William and Mary.


Timeline copied from Encyclopedia Virginia John C. Van Horne and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. There is more to be read in the original article.

1715 - Either John Blair (ca. 1687–1771) or a namesake cousin is named keeper of the royal storehouse in Williamsburg.

August 17, 1724 - John Blair takes the oaths of office as justice of the peace for York County. He holds the office until 1745.

1726 - John Blair buys Chowning Tavern, a property in Williamsburg he continues to own until sometime before 1739.

February 5, 1727 - John Blair is appointed naval officer for the upper district of the James River. He holds the position until 1728.

August 15, 1728 - John Blair is appointed deputy auditor general of Virginia, a position he holds until his death in 1771.

1733 - Archibald Blair, brother of James Blair and father of John Blair, dies. Blair and his son had partnered in a Williamsburg business known as Dr. Blair's Store.

1734 - John Blair succeeds his father, who died in 1733, as burgess for Jamestown.

1736–1740 - John Blair serves as burgess for Williamsburg.

1740–1759 - For about fourteen years during this period John Blair partners with John Blair Jr., the son of a cousin, in a Williamsburg store.

April 22, 1741 - John Blair begins service as clerk of the governor's Council.

October 15, 1741 - John Blair ends his service as clerk of the governor's Council.

1742 - John Blair sells Raleigh Tavern, a property in Williamsburg that he had rented to a succession of tavern keepers.

1744 - Beginning as early as this year, John Blair serves as a vestryman of Bruton Parish.

November 15, 1744 - King George II names John Blair to the governor's Council.

1745 - John Blair and seventeen other men receive a grant for one hundred thousand acres of land on the Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers.

1745 - John Blair serves on the committee of three councilors and six burgesses appointed to revise the laws of Virginia.

February 1745 - Virginia governor William Gooch recommends that John Blair be appointed to a vacant seat on the governor's Council. A recent inheritance has raised Blair's estimation in the governor's eyes, but Gooch does not know the king has already named Blair to the Council.

August 6, 1745 - John Blair takes his seat on the governor's Council, serving until 1770.

1747 - John Blair sits on a committee that oversees the rebuilding of the Capitol after it burns.

1749 - By about this year, John Blair is a churchwarden for Bruton Parish.

1751 - John Blair (ca. 1687–1771) is probably the John Blair who serves as mayor of Williamsburg.

August 1757 - John Blair becomes the senior member, or president, of the governor's Council.

1758 - John Blair serves on the board of visitors for the College of William and Mary, which was founded by his uncle, James Blair.

January 12, 1758 - With the departure of Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, John Blair, president of the governor's Council, becomes acting governor of Virginia.

March 31, 1758 - In response to an address by the acting governor, John Blair, relaying the ministry's request that Virginia raise an additional force for offensive operations against the French in the Ohio Valley, the General Assembly votes to create a second regiment.

June 5, 1758 - With the arrival of the new lieutenant governor, Francis Fauquier, John Blair, president of the governor's Council, ends his service as acting governor of Virginia.

September–October 1761 - John Blair, president of the governor's Council, serves as acting governor of Virginia while the lieutenant governor, Francis Fauquier, is in New York to consult with General Jeffrey Amherst during the French and Indian War.

1763 - John Blair, president of the governor's Council, is appointed to a committee to correspond with Virginia's London agent.

September–December 1763 - John Blair, president of the governor's Council, serves as acting governor of Virginia while the lieutenant governor, Francis Fauquier, is in Georgia.

March 1768 - Following the intentions of Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier, who has recently died, Acting Governor John Blair calls the General Assembly into session.

March 4, 1768 - After the death of Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier, John Blair, president of the governor's Council, begins service as acting governor of Virginia.

April 1768 - Acting Governor John Blair transmits to London the General Assembly's addresses to the king and Parliament challenging the asserted right of Parliament to tax the colonies. The ministry is so offended that a new governor, Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, is speedily appointed and sent to Virginia.

October 26, 1768 - With the arrival of the new Virginia governor, Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, John Blair, president of the governor's Council, ends his service as acting governor.

1769 - The public hospital for lunatics is established and John Blair, president of the governor's Council, is appointed to sit on its board of trustees.

October 15, 1770 - In ill health, John Blair ends his twenty-five years' service on the governor's Council. He resigns rather than serve as acting governor upon the death, also on this day, of Governor Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Virginia-Humanities, "Encyclopedia Virginia" John Blair (ca. 1687–1771); alternate link
  • William and Mary College, 1897; William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Volume 5 pgs. 279-281 .
  • Find a Grave, database and image: memorial page for Rev John Blair Sr. (1687–5 Nov 1771), Find A Grave: Memorial #84636753, citing Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery, Williamsburg, Williamsburg City, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Gloria Lowrey (contributor 47504707).




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John:

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Rejected matches › John Blair (1726-)