D. B. Blair

Born in Strachur on Loch Fyne in Argyllshire, Scotland, Duncan Black Blair was the son of John Blair and Catherine MacGregor. He studied at Edinburgh University, was licensed to preach in 1844, and moved to Barney's River in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, in 1846, where he was ordained on October 29 of that year.

From 1850 to 1890, he served the Free Church congregation at Barney's River. The church was later named Blair Presbyterian Church in his honor. He married Mary Sibella of Brolas, Mull, in 1851, and they had six children. Mary died in 1882, and Blair died in 1893; he was buried at Laggan in Pictou County.

Blair was known not only as a minister but also as a writer and scholar. Archival and library records connect him with works including Gospel Sonnets and The Psalms of the Apocalypse (1893), and a historical record from Nova Scotia says he was regarded in his day as the best Gaelic scholar in North America.