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James Blair (abt. 1640 - 1706)

James Blair
Born about in Aghadowey, Antrim, Irelandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of
Husband of — married about 1670 in Aghadowey, Antrim, Irelandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 65 in Massachusettsmap
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Profile last modified | Created 19 Aug 2012
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Biography

1. Marriage - 1660, Aghadowey, Antrim

2. James Blair erected a stone in Aghadowey churchyard to the memory his wife, Rachel Boyd, ;who died March 10, 1700. They had a son who married Isabella Rankin, daughter of David Rankin, who came from Scotland in 1685 and died in Aghadowey in 1750, aged eighty-four as is cut on his tombstone.

From "The Blair Family - From Scotland, to Ireland, to America", author unknown

James Blair was born September 1640, Scotland or Ireland; d. 10 Mar 1706. James married Rachel Boyd, who was born about 1644, in either Scotland or Ireland. Rachel died in Aghadowey, Ulster, Ireland on 10 Mar 1700. James erected a huge stone in the Aghadowey churchyard in Rachel’s memory, which still stands today.

During the siege of Londonderry in 1688-89, James’ wife Rachel, along with their children, evaded the King James army when the King burned their home. All Scot-Irish families, such as James and Rachel, went to Londonderry where they were besieged for over three months. Thousands died of starvation, illness and from the bombardment of cannons. In some instances, entire families were wiped out.

When the siege ended the Blair men returned to their homes to rebuild, but the peace of their earlier years had departed. Promises made were not kept and the future was bleak, holding no promise for their children. As "dissenters" they were at liberty to follow their own form of worship, yet they were obliged to pay tithes to the Church of England. Their land was held by lease from the Crown and not in individual right; they were Protestants in the midst of a Roman Catholic population, whose hearts smoldered with the fires of revenge.

Shortly after the death of his wife, James attentions were turned to New England by a Presbyterian minister who lived in the region. Encouraged by his account of the civil and religious liberty enjoyed in the American colonies, a group of Ulster Scots decided to leave Ireland and go to Massachusetts. There were at least 120 families who decide to leave Ireland for America. James left Londonderry, Ireland, in 1718 with his three sons and their families, and his brother, Abraham, and Abraham's family. They arrived in Boston Massachusetts on 4 August 1718, at the foot of State (then King) Street, Boston.

James Blair, and others who arrived at Boston from Ireland, presented a petition to the General Court of Massachusetts Bay, for a tract of land for a township in the unimproved lands. They settled at Nutfield about the beginning of April, 1719. They changed the name to Londonderry very soon after the settlement.

The Ulster Scots knew what they were coming to in Massachusetts. They were welcomed by the powers that be at the time, to be used as a buffer between the ruthless Indians and the prosperous settlements in Boston and the outlying communities. They knew that they were being used, but felt it was a worthwhile journey, as they might finally have a place of their own, and be under no oppression, to observe their religion as they saw fit. 

Eventually they settled in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and joined the church there. The church voted on April 9, 1731, to become a Congregational church and they felt betrayed, so they stopped attending and finally were excommunicated. The Blairs, along with their Ulster Scot friends (a total of 78 families) moved on to New Glasgow (later renamed Blandford) Massachusetts, to create their own town at last.

Sources

  • Brainerd, Dwight. Ancestry of Thomas Chalmers Brainerd (Montreal, Quebec, 1948) Page 38
  • Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection-Marriages [database on-line], Provo, UT
  • US and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index 1500's-1900's
  • Bolton,Charles Knowles, Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America
  • Blair Family of New England==Compiled for Mr. William Blair, Chicago, by Miss Emily Wilder Leavitt.




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Comments: 5

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Blair-7850 and Blair-817 do not represent the same person because: born in different centuries
posted by David Blair
This profile was recently linked to Blair-842, a James Blair who lived in central and western North Carolina. Is there any evidence that this was in fact his son? (Or alternatively, that they were NOT father and son? For example, documentation that Blair-817's son James lived in Massachusetts, was born before 1700, or married someone different? ) I would like to remove this link since I think it is incorrect, but I will leave it in place for now pending further discussion.
Blair-3870 and Blair-2763 appear to represent the same person because: clear duplicate
posted by Stephanie Stults
Blair-3870 and Blair-817 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, same spouse, live in same area, ours take later DOD.
posted by Marty (Lenover) Acks
S W
James was living in Aghadowey (pronounced Ak-ah-dooey), Ireland in 1760, when he married his “childhood sweetheart”, Rachel Boyd, daughter of James Boyd, 9th Lord of Boyd of Kilmarnock and Catherine Creyke. James and Rachel had at least three sons: William, born about 1862; Robert, born about 1863; and John, born about 1685.

James and his brother Abraham owned a bleach green in Aghadowey, called Ballydwitt that was “within calling distance” of the church at Aghadowey.

James’ wife, Rachel Boyd, died 10 March 1770, at the age of 56. James erected a large stone in the Aghadowey churchyard in her memory, which still stands today.

In 1718, James left Ireland with his three sons and their families, brother Abraham, and Abraham's family. They arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on 4 August 1718

posted by S W

B  >  Blair  >  James Blair