Samuel Blair (1741 – September 1818) was an American

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

and the second Chaplain of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Early life

Blair was born in 1741 in Faggs Manor, near Cochranville,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

, the son of a Presbyterian minister also named Samuel Blair who died when the son was about ten years old. His mother was Frances van Hook, daughter of Judge Lawrence van Hook and Johanna (Smith) van Hook.

Education

His primary education was at his father's

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

school, the Faggs Manor Classical School. He went on to earn a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1760 and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1764 from

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

(now Princeton University), where he also tutored from 1761-1764. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Newcastle in 1764. He earned a

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1767 and a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1790.

Work

A conscientious and eloquent minister, he became pastor of the

Old South Church Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts, (also known as New Old South Church or Third Church) is a historic United Church of Christ congregation first organized in 1669. Its present building was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Charle ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1766. While traveling to Boston, he survived a shipwreck but became ill and lost his possessions including the sermons he had written. In the spring of 1769, he traveled to Philadelphia and became severely ill, believing he would not recover. Because of his poor health, and conflict with his church members regarding the

Half-Way Covenant The Half-Way Covenant was a form of partial church membership adopted by the Congregational churches of colonial New England in the 1660s. The Puritan-controlled Congregational churches required evidence of a personal conversion experience befo ...

, he resigned and was dismissed on October 10, 1769. He then moved to Germantown, Pennsylvania. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he was a chaplain of the Continental Army from 1775 until June 20, 1780. His rank as an officer made him eligible for membership in the Society of the Cincinnati. He was appointed the second Chaplain of Congress on December 10, 1790, a position he held for two years, until he was replaced by Ashbel Green on November 5, 1792. Blair was a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(elected in 1797) and died in Germantown in September 1818.

Family

Upon return to Pennsylvania in 1769, he married Susan Shippen, the daughter of William Shippen, a Philadelphia physician and delegate to the Continental Congress. They had two sons and three daughters. His wife died in 1821.

Published sermons

Blair published two sermons. One was a eulogy to Reverend

John Blair Smith John Blair Smith (June 12, 1756 – August 22, 1799) was born in Pequea, Pennsylvania Colony, the son of the Rev. Robert Smith, who ran a celebrated academy there. Like his older brother, John Blair Smith was valedictorian of the Class of 1773 a ...

who died in 1799.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Samuel 1741 births 1818 deaths American Presbyterian ministers Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives Harvard College alumni Princeton University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni