Blair was born in
Ulster, Ireland on June 14, 1712, to William Blair. He immigrated to the
colonies in his youth. He was educated in 1730–1735 under Reverend
William Tennent at the
Log College, the first
theological seminary serving
Presbyterians in North America located in what is now
Warminster, Pennsylvania (then known as Neshaminy). He was licensed to preach by the
Presbytery of Philadelphia on November 9, 1733, and
ordained in September 1737. In the spring of 1734, he was asked to preach in the
New Jersey towns of
Millstone,
Cranberry,
Middletown, and
Shrewsbury. He accepted the position in Middletown and Shrewsbury in September of that year. While in New Jersey, he was an original member of the
Presbytery of New Brunswick. In June 1735, Blair married Frances van Hook, daughter of Judge Lawrence van Hook and Johanna (Smith) van Hook, who was the daughter of Hendrick Barents Smith of New York City. In 1739, he was called to Fagg's Manor, Pennsylvania but deferred to the Presbytery which advised him to accept. He returned to Pennsylvania 1739 and founded the Faggs Manor Presbyterian church and associated
classical school in
Londonderry Township. Many prominent Presbyterian clergy were trained there, including
Samuel Davies who became the fourth President of the
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). It was during this time that Blair participated in the "
New Side" of the division of the Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania during the Great Awakening, embracing the revivals.. Blair's sermons, such as "A Perswasive to Repentance" are full of dense expressive figures, balanced argumentation and dialogic interludes. In his revival preaching, Blair aims at evoking negative emotions towards sinful laxness and presenting the Great Awakening as a breakthrough in the history of colonial America. Blair became ill while traveling to meet with the trustees of the College of New Jersey. He died in Faggs Manor on July 5, 1751, and is buried in the church cemetery. ==Legacy==