A different type of writing was furnished by Reverend James Blair, founder of the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg and president of the second oldest educational institution in the United States for over fifty years. Reverend Blair wrote a scholarly article on the organization of churches in Virginia in an account called "Concerning the Church and Religion." Another minister, Reverend Hugh Jones, who held the position of professor of mathematics at the College of William and Mary and who had a strong personal interest in history, wrote "The Present State of Virginia" in 1724. His writing was characterized by seriousness of purpose, accuracy and keen observations. He later authored the first English grammar book written in America. When Robert Beverley, a native-born Virginian of Middlesex County, was visiting in London, he was asked by a London bookdealer to review a manuscript which had been submitted concerning the American colonies. Beverley disagreed with much of the information included in the manuscript and decided to write a book himself on Virginia. Consequently, he wrote "The History of Virginia." This book was considered such enjoyable reading that it was later published in French. Robert Beverley is considered the first Virginia formal history author. The man whose writings are usually classified as the best writings in Virginia before the Revolutionary Period was William Byrd II. He was born on a plantation along the James River and was sent to England for his education at the age of ten. He traveled in Holland, studied law and was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one. After returning to Virginia, he was elected to the Virginia Assembly. He built a beautiful home, Westover, became a leading figure in politics and in Virginia society and instituted a personal library in his home which exceeded 3,000 volumes, the largest library in the colonies. He returned to England as the legal representative of the Virginia Assembly where he enjoyed the companionship of the socially elite in England. When his father died, he returned to Virginia and inherited 25,000 acres, political supremacy and a high place in social circles. Byrd's writings did not appear publicly until more than two hundred years after his death. Three papers are believed to be his best literary achievements: "The History of the Dividing Line" (concerning the boundary line established between Virginia and North Carolina), "A Progress to the Mines" (concerning a journey to some iron mines) and "A Journey to the Land of Eden" (concerning a journey to the Dismal Swamp area). These chronicles were combined and included in the "Westover Manuscripts." Notes from Byrd's personal diary, which was kept in code and later translated by Mrs. Marion Tingling, have been published and reveal many human-interest incidents in his eventful life.