Sarah Harrison Blair was a member of the Virginia colonial elite who defied the standards of her time when she refused to vow to obey her husband during their wedding ceremony. Blair was the daughter of an influential Surry County family and the wife of James Blair, founder of the College of William and Mary. Born in 1670 to wealthy tobacco planter Benjamin Harrison II and his wife, Hannah Churchill Harrison, Sarah broke a prior engagement to marry Scottish-born Anglican minister Blair when she was seventeen. At their wedding, she reportedly repeatedly refused to vow to obey her husband. Their marriage brought James Blair into Virginia's powerful ruling class, and she was frequently caught in the crossfire of her husband's political battles and may have developed a drinking problem. Blair died in 1713 at the age of forty-two and was buried in the Jamestown churchyard.
Daughter of Benjamin Harrison II and Hannah Churchill of Surry
August 14, 1670
Sarah Harrison is born to wealthy Surry County planter, trader, and land speculator Benjamin Harrison II and Hannah Churchill Harrison.
April 28, 1687
Sarah Harrison contracts to marry William Roscow.
June 2, 1687
James Blair marries seventeen-year-old Sarah Harrison, of Surry County. At the wedding, she adamantly refuses to assent to the portion of the ceremony obliging her to obey her husband.
Other siblings are:
Henry 1679-?
Anne
Mary Margaret 1685-1727
Sarah Harrison Blair was a member of the Virginia colonial elite who defied the standards of her time when she refused to vow to obey her husband during their wedding ceremony. Blair was the daughter of an influential Surry County family and the wife of James Blair, founder of the College of William and Mary. Born in 1670 to wealthy tobacco planter Benjamin Harrison II and his wife, Hannah Churchill Harrison, Sarah broke a prior engagement to marry Scottish-born Anglican minister Blair when she was seventeen. At their wedding, she reportedly repeatedly refused to vow to obey her husband. Their marriage brought James Blair into Virginia's powerful ruling class, and she was frequently caught in the crossfire of her husband's political battles and may have developed a drinking problem. Blair died in 1713 at the age of forty-two and was buried in the Jamestown churchyard.
Daughter of Benjamin Harrison II and Hannah Churchill of Surry
August 14, 1670
Sarah Harrison is born to wealthy Surry County planter, trader, and land speculator Benjamin Harrison II and Hannah Churchill Harrison.
April 28, 1687
Sarah Harrison contracts to marry William Roscow.
June 2, 1687
James Blair marries seventeen-year-old Sarah Harrison, of Surry County. At the wedding, she adamantly refuses to assent to the portion of the ceremony obliging her to obey her husband.
Other siblings are:
Henry 1679-?
Anne
Mary Margaret 1685-1727
Family Members
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