Blairs of SC

My name is Andrew (Dru) Franklin Blair, III. I'm a descendant of Thomas Blair b. 1762 in Antrim Ireland, who settled with his family in the 1790s near the Broad River, which separates Fairfield and Newberry Counties in a region now known as Blair, SC. Thomas married Margaret Hussey then later, Rachel McGraw. Almost all of his descendants have been located and can be found on a tree constructed by my father and grandfather. Several names which continue to be popular with my family are James, John, Robert, Andrew, Lawrence and William.

According to Thomas Blair's youngest son, who lived until the late 1920's, a large group of Blairs arrived in Philadelphia, and made their way down through VA on their way to what is now know as Blair in Fairfield County (Camden District before 1800), SC. They settled on the Broad River in Western Fairfield county, and directly across the river in Eastern Newberry County (Old 96th District before 1800). Census Records show several Blairs living close to each other since before 1790:

Blairs of Fairfield and Newberry County, SC My name is Andrew (Dru) Franklin Blair, III. I'm a descendant of Thomas Blair b. 1762 in Antrim Ireland, who settled with his family in the 1790s near the Broad River, which separates Fairfield and Newberry Counties in a region now known as Blair, SC. Thomas married Margaret Hussey then later, Rachel McGraw. Almost all of his descendants have been located and can be found on a tree constructed by my father and grandfather. Several names which continue to be popular with my family are James, John, Robert, Andrew, Lawrence and William. According to Thomas Blair's youngest son, who lived until the late 1920's, a large group of Blairs arrived in Philadelphia, and made their way down through VA on their way to what is now know as Blair in Fairfield County (Camden District before 1800), SC. They settled on the Broad River in Western Fairfield county, and directly across the river in Eastern Newberry County (Old 96th District before 1800). Census Records show several Blairs living close to each other since before 1790:
	My watercolor painting of the General Store in Blair, Fairfield County, SC built in the1800s as it appeared in 1977. The Post office is the small attachment to the left of the building. The Broad River is on the other side of the trees in the background.
Wm Blair (William) The census indicates the possibility of several William Blairs. One had no wife, and is buried next to Thomas Blair at Salem Presbyterian Church near Blair, SC. His tombstone indicates he was born July 27, 1778 d Oct 6 1819, which does not correspond to the census dates. A possible explanation is that the dates from the original tombstones were not legible when they were replaced by my Grandfather, or this is a different William. This date also conflicts the census of 1820, which lists a William Blair Sr over 45 years old. This tree indicates the differences. Jas Blair (James) was listed in the 1778 SC Census and 1790 Camden District (Fairfield County) census. A James Blair appears in nearby York County in 1800, and Newberry County in 1810. Jno Blair (John) Like James, John is listed in the 1790 Fairfield County census. The name John appears in nearby York County in 1800 and is not seen again. He was born 1756-1776. David Blair (b.abt. 1780 died Sept 24, 1856 at 76) and Mary Blair are buried near Thomas Blair's grave. David does not appear on the Census until 1830, has a large family, and appears next to Adam Blair on the census. David Blair (b 1783-84) reportedly lived next door to Thomas, and is not on the early census, but his gravesite is next to Thomas and William. Recently I came across David's will at the SC Archives. He named his children: Adam B. Blair: died in Attala Co, Mississippi, on the Sept. 2, 1853 Sampson Blair: married Louisa and died in Wythe, Va. and had 7 children, some we have traced to 1910 Sarah Blair : married a Robinson James B. Blair: married Isabella Roberson and moved to Pickens CO, AL in 1839 Robert Blair: remained in Blair, SC through 1850 Ellen Blair: married Moses Cameron, and moved to Pickens CO, AL, possibly with your James B. Blair Mary Jane Blair: named after her mother David Blair Jr.: remained in Blair, SC through 1850 Thomas Ross b.1819 died 1849 Thomas Ross Blair: b 1819? died of unknown illness Nov 3, 1849 age 30 years Andrew Blair b 1806 44 m, Jane 46 f, Sterling W 22 m, Sarah L 16 f, Margaret R 14 f, Narcissa J 10 f , Naomi A 8 f, James McC, (possibly McConnell. Thomas' son and daughter each married a McConnell) 6 m, Andrew M 4 m , Elizabeth N 3 f .All born in Fairfield County. Andrew is not a direct descendant of Thomas. Adam Blair (b. 1740-1750 d after 1830) appears as Addy Blair in the 1810 Fairfield Census. He is listed next to David in the 1830 Fairfield census. He is old enough to be the father of all, but I can find little record of him beyond the census listing. Whether any of these Blairs are related to each other is not known, but due to their proximity in such a remote area, there is a good possibility that several of them are brothers or at least cousins. According to the census, many had large families. The children of Thomas remained in the area, but little is known about the children of the other Blairs. During Christmas 2003, I came across Dan Wilson's research showing a Salem Presbyterian Church document that noted James B. Blair and his wife Isa left for Alabama in August, 1839. Is it possible that the other Blair descendants moved to Alabama? There is also a church record of James B and Isa's daughter Nancy Jane Youngue Blair, born ?, 20,1838, baptized at Salem Church Feb 17, 1839. She was not indicated in the 1840 or 1850 Alabama census, and may have died as an infant.I also found the name Joseph Colvin Blair, baptized 1843 in the church records. In July 2004 I determined that David Blair was the father of James B Blair. According to the Alabama census for 1840 and 1850, James B. and Isabella (Roberson) Blair lived in Pickens County, AL. Children listed in 1850 were Simon 16, Ellen 14, Mary 9, William 6, Sarah 4, Elizabeth 2. I was able to locate a descendant, who informed me that James B. and Isabella later moved to Chickasaw Co., MS and are buried there. All of Thomas Blair's descendants are known. The remaining Blair's are not descended directly from Thomas, therefore come from another Blair household. It is possible that some of the Blairs in Newberry County are the descendants of the Fairfield Blairs. After all, many Blairs from my family owned land across the Broad river in Newberry County. However my 37-marker DNA test revealed that the relationship is very distant (I am participant 13050). Another James Blair (b 1790-1800) appears in the 1830 Newberry census, and his name is beside that of Jane Blair (b 1750-1760), possibly the widow of his father or uncle. By the 1840 Newberry census, a female (b. 1750-1760) is listed living in his household which is most probably also Jane Blair. On Jan 25, 2004, at the Newberry County, SC archives, my father found a record of the gravesite of William Blair and John Blair (born Oct 15, 1799- died Feb 21, 1848). He is going to visit the sites to see if he can glean more information. He also found a document of David Blair relinquishing rights to his father, William Blair's estate in 1819. This might be the William (b1780-d1819) that is buried in Salem Presbyterian Church cemetery. The parents of Thomas Blair remain a mystery. The LDS and Blairlin records list William Blair and Phoebe Harris as Thomas' parents, but DNA tests in Oct, 2003 disproved a direct relationship to those Blairs in Chester County, SC. According to the SC census records, there are a number of Blairs who remain unaccounted for, possibly having moved with their families to GA, AL, TN, or MS. Here is a census record from the 1790-1850, and a summary of missing Blairs from the Fairfield/Newberry County area. I have begun a tree denoting known and unknown Blairs from Fairfield county. Based on DNA results, I have compiled a page of Blair's who are related to me (DNA group one) through a common ancestor, and Blairs who are not related to me (all other DNA groups). Group One Groups 2 and up.
Thanks to Dan Wilson for his impressive volume of research on the Blair family.