Blair was a manager of the mercantile house in Williamsburg known as Dr. Blair's Store, of which his father was the largest shareholder, until Archibald Blair died in 1733. For about fourteen years during the 1740s and 1750s Blair was a partner of John Blair Jr., the son of a cousin, in another Williamsburg store. The names of John Blair and John Blair Jr. often appear together in the records of York County. Blair also owned several valuable properties in Williamsburg, including the Raleigh Tavern, which he rented to a succession of tavern keepers and sold in 1742, and the Chowning Tavern, which he owned from 1726 to sometime before 1739. In 1745 Blair and seventeen other men received a grant for one hundred thousand acres of land on the Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers.
Blair served on the committee of three councilors and six burgesses appointed in 1745 to revise the laws of Virginia. He also belonged to a committee that oversaw the rebuilding of the Capitol after it burned in 1747, to another appointed in 1763 to correspond with Virginia's London agent, and to the board of trustees of the public hospital for lunatics established in 1769. Blair had the unique distinction of participating in bricklaying ceremonies for both of the Capitol buildings erected in Williamsburg.
Time Line
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1687 - Around this year, John Blair is born in Scotland to Archibald Blair and his first wife.
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1715 - Either John Blair (ca. 1687–1771) or a namesake cousin is named keeper of the royal storehouse in Williamsburg.
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August 17, 1724 - John Blair takes the oaths of office as justice of the peace for York County. He holds the office until 1745.
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1726 - John Blair buys Chowning Tavern, a property in Williamsburg he continues to own until sometime before 1739.
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1726 - In about this year, John Blair marries his first cousin Mary Munroe. They will have at least eight daughters and four sons.
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February 5, 1727 - John Blair is appointed naval officer for the upper district of the James River. He holds the position until 1728.
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August 15, 1728 - John Blair is appointed deputy auditor general of Virginia, a position he holds until his death in 1771.
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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.
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1734 - John Blair succeeds his father, who died in 1733, as burgess for Jamestown.
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1736–1740 - John Blair serves as burgess for Williamsburg.
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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.
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April 22, 1741 - John Blair begins service as clerk of the governor's Council.
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October 15, 1741 - John Blair ends his service as clerk of the governor's Council.
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1742 - John Blair sells Raleigh Tavern, a property in Williamsburg that he had rented to a succession of tavern keepers.
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1744 - Beginning as early as this year, John Blair serves as a vestryman of Bruton Parish.
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November 15, 1744 - King George II names John Blair to the governor's Council.
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1745 - John Blair and seventeen other men receive a grant for one hundred thousand acres of land on the Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers.
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1745 - John Blair serves on the committee of three councilors and six burgesses appointed to revise the laws of Virginia.
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February 1745 - 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.
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August 6, 1745 - John Blair takes his seat on the governor's Council, serving until 1770.
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1747 - John Blair sits on a committee that oversees the rebuilding of the Capitol after it burns.
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1749 - By about this year, John Blair is a churchwarden for Bruton Parish.
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1751 - John Blair (ca. 1687–1771) is probably the John Blair who serves as mayor of Williamsburg.
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August 1757 - John Blair becomes the senior member, or president, of the governor's Council.
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1758 - John Blair serves on the board of visitors for the College of William and Mary, which was founded by his uncle, James Blair.
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January 12, 1758 - With the departure of Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, John Blair, president of the governor's Council, becomes acting governor of Virginia.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1763 - John Blair, president of the governor's Council, is appointed to a committee to correspond with Virginia's London agent.
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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.
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March 1768 - Following the intentions of Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier, who has recently died, Acting Governor John Blair calls the General Assembly into session.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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November 5, 1771 - John Blair dies in Williamsburg and is buried in Bruton Parish churchyard.
References
Further Reading
Cite This Entry
- APA Citation:
Van Horne, J. C., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. John Blair (ca. 1687–1771). (2017, February 23). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Blair_John_ca_1687-1771.
- MLA Citation:
Van Horne, John C. and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "John Blair (ca. 1687–1771)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, 23 Feb. 2017. Web. READ_DATE.
First published: July 29, 2010 | Last modified: February 23, 2017
Contributed by John C. Van Horne and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.