Inscription
Here lies buried The Reverend and the Honourable James Blair, A. M., who was born in Scotland, was educated in the College of Edinburgh, and emigrated to England, and thence to Virginia, in which Colony he spent fifty-eight years as an Evangelist, Deacon, and Priest of the Church of England, and fifty-four years as Commissary of the Bishop of London. He was the Founder and first President of William and Mary College, a member of the Council, and, subsequently, its President; and, as such, in the absence of the representative of the King, the Governor of the Colony. He sustained his various offices with the approbation of his fellow-men, while he illustrated in his life those graces which adorn the Christian character. He had a handsome person, and in the family circle blended cheerfulness with piety.He was a generous friend of the poor, and was prompt in lending assistance to all who needed it. He was a liberal benefactor of the College during his life; and, at his death, bequeathed to it his library, with the hope that his books-which were mostly religious-might lead the student to those things that pertain to salvation. He dird on the - day of the Calends of May, {August, rather} in the year 1743, aged eighty-eight years, exhibiting to the last those graces which make old age lovely, and lamented by all, especially by his nephews, who have reared this stone to commemorate those virtues which long survive the marble that records them. *from "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia" by Bishop Meade @1891 pg 486-488.
