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Jul 28, 2021 · Blair was born on August 14, 1670, to wealthy Surry County planter, trader, and land speculator Benjamin Harrison II and his wife, Hannah Churchill Harrison. Benjamin Harrison II served in the House of Burgesses and on the . Blair was the oldest of six siblings, all of whom would make socially advantageous matches with other members of Virginia gentry families. Read more about: Blair, Sarah ...
Aug 4, 2021 · Learn about the life and marriage of Sarah Harrison Blair, a colonial Virginia woman who dared to break the law and the patriarchal norm by refusing to promise obedience to her husband. Discover how she challenged the social order and what became of her after her defiant act.
- The Mother-In-Law Tree of Jamestown Island, VA
- The History of Sarah Harrison and Dr. James Blair
- The Mother-In-Law Tree
- The Legacy of Sam Robinson
- The Future For The Blairs
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Jamestown Island is off Glasshouse Point, along the Colonial Parkway. It’s home to Historic Jamestown and the Jamestown Memorial Church. It’s here at the Church that visitors could come to see the legendary Mother-in-Law tree and hear the strange tale of familial obligation and young love.
Before Marriage
The new Jamestown Memorial Church was built in 1907 on top of the original 1617 church foundation. There’s a small cemetery behind the church, and among the interred deceased are James and Sarah Harrison Blair. Sarah was the daughter of Colonel Benjamin Harrison, owner of the Wakefield Plantation. She lived an entitled life as a gentleman’s daughter in a wealthy family. Known to be both beautiful and headstrong, Sarah had many suitors once she was old enough to marry. She was considered a goo...
During and After Their Marriage
Sarah was disowned by her family’s surviving members and forbidden from being buried in the Harrison plot in the Church’s cemetery. When she died in 1713 (without having children), she was buried in a stone crypt about six feet from her family’s plot. She was just out of arm’s reach of her parents and other relatives. Blair lived for another thirty years and became a prominent figure in Virginia history. He discovered plans to build a college for gentlemen and Native American’s to send their...
College Created
Blair used these plans to approach King William III and Queen Mary II in 1691 about funding the creation of a college in Williamsburg. Since he was a clergyman for the Church of England, he proposed the new school could train other clergymen and missionaries on both sides of the Atlantic. Ministers would use the school to educate and civilize the Native American boys into Christianity. The trip to London was successful. The letters were signed, and the College of William and Mary was chartere...
When Blair died in 1743, he was buried next to his wife and sweetheart Sarah. Their tombs only had a space of about a few inches between them. Jamestown Island was abandoned and allowed to become completely overgrown. The original church from the colony ended up crumbling into ruin. As nature took over, the graves were forgotten. Sometime in 1750 (...
When Jamestown Island was restored, the Memorial Church needed a sexton. In1922, Canadian native Sam Robinson was hired by Ms. Ellen Bagby and the Associate for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. He became the caretaker of the island in 1935. Sam was a likable and friendly man who loved history and was an excellent orator. He enjoyed teachin...
Some versions of the story refer to the tree as the “cursed tree” or “mother-in-law’s revenge.” The Park Service eventually was forced to cut down the tree. Strangely, a new sapling started growing in the same place! As of 2007, Park Rangers removed the second tree, and the graves were restored to their rightful places, side-by-side, together again...
Learn about the tragic love story of Sarah Harrison and Dr. James Blair, who eloped against their families' wishes and founded the College of William and Mary. Discover the legend of the Mother-in-Law Tree that grew between their graves on Jamestown Island.
A painted oval portrait of Sarah Harrison Blair, the wife of Reverend James Blair, dated around 1705. The portrait is signed by James Hargraves and shows her in a jeweled dress and a drape.
Spouse. Sarah Harrison. Alma mater. University of Aberdeen. University of Edinburgh. Signature. James Blair (1656 – 18 April 1743) was a Scottish-born clergyman in the Church of England. He was also a missionary and an educator, best known as the founder of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
This engraved portrait shows Sarah Harrison Blair, wife of James Blair, an Anglican minister and member of the governor's Council. The pair married on June 2, 1687, when Sarah was seventeen years old; during the wedding ceremony she refused to vow to obey her husband. The marriage was an unhappy one. This portrait appeared in John Fiske's two ...
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May 11, 2021 · This was duly recorded April 28, 1687. In spite of her promise and call upon the Almighty, two months after subscribing to that paper Sarah scrapped her promise and married Dr. James Blair, who becamae the founder of William and Mary College. It is this Sarah Harrison Blair whose tomb survives in the raised clutch of the Sycamore on Jamestown ...
