Call Number:

C0291

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 1 box
• 0.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Samuel Blair Sermons, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1766-1769 (inclusive)

Creator:

Blair, Samuel, 1741-1818

Form:

Commonplace books -- 18th century. and Sermons, American -- 18th century.

Abstract:

Consists mainly of holograph sermons, some complete, some fragmentary, of Samuel Blair (Princeton Class of 1760), who served as chaplain to Congress in 1790.

A member of the Princeton Class of 1760, Blair served as a tutor until 1764, publishing the first official historical account of the College, An Account of the College of New Jersey (1764). He became a popular Presbyterian clergyman in Boston and in Germantown, Pa., where he finally settled. During the American Revolution he served as chaplain to the American armies, and in 1790 when the federal capital moved to Philadelphia he was appointed chaplain to Congress.

The collection consists mainly of holograph sermons, some complete, some fragmentary, of Blair (Princeton Class of 1760), several of which are accompanied by fair copies in other hands. There is also a commonplace-book containing poetry and miscellaneous jottings, as well as a brief biography of Blair by an anonymous author.