William Blair, son of Robert and Isabella (Rankin) Blair, was born in Aghadowy about the year 1718.[1] He began his active career by making extensive purchases of land, as early as 1744, at which date he gave his residence as Worcester, Mass. In 1750, he was recorded in Leicester, Mass. His land transactions covered tracts in Wester, Worcester, and Blandford Mass., and in Voluntown, Conn., in which latter place a large body of his fellow countrymen had settled.
He held the rank of captain in the force which was sent in 1745, for the capture of Louisburg...
Nova Scotia proved very attractive to the New England soldiers, and "in the fall of the year 1759, twenty men came up to the Bay of Fundy, from New England to Truro and Onslow, to begin preparations for a settlement. Most of these had been in Nova Scotia and assisted in subduing and driving out the old French settlers. One of these was William Blair." ...
William Blair of Worcester, married in Leicester Mass., February 21, 1744-5, Jane Barnes of Leicester; he died in Onslow, Nova Scotia, August 4, 1791. They had children:
Susan, born 1744-5
Sarah, born 1746
Hannah, born 1747
William, born 1749
Dorothy, born 1753
Rebecca, born 1757
John, born 1758
James, born 1766
Elizabeth, born 1768
Sources
↑ Leavitt, Emily Wilder, The Blair Family of New England, David Clapp & Son, Boston, 1900, Pgs. 42-3.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
Blair-3868 and Blair-839 appear to represent the same person because: Same name parents, DOB and DOD. Difference in birth location should be noted in biography