Richard Bland (burgess)

Richard Bland (August 11, 1665 – April 1720),^{[nb 1]} sometimes known as Richard Bland of Jordan's Point^{[nb 2]}, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses,^[3] the father of Richard Bland,^[4][5] the son of Theodorick Bland of Westover,^[4] and the grandson of Richard Bennett, an elected Governor of the Colony of Virginia during the English Commonwealth period.^[4] Bland was also a county commissioner, a visitor to The College of William & Mary,^[3] and is noted in the church records as a member of the Vestry of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg Virginia which authorized in 1710 the building of the present Church structure. When his father died in 1671, Bland's brother, Theodorick inherited Westover Plantation and joined with Richard in its ownership.^[5] The brothers eventually conveyed 1,200 acres of land in Charles City County to William Byrd I in 1688 for £300 and 10,000 pounds of tobacco and cask.^[5] Richard Bland then established the Jordan's Point Plantation across the James River in Prince George County, where he died in 1720.^[6]

Ancestry and family ties

Bland was the second of three sons born to Theodorick Bland of Westover and Anna Bennett, the daughter of Governor Richard Bennett.^{[2][4][nb 3]} His brothers were the surveyor Theodorick Bland and John Bland, who was the great-grandfather of Chancellor Theodorick Bland of Maryland.^[1] Bland married Mary Swan and had seven children who all died in their infancy.^[2] His first wife died in September, 1700, and on February 11, 1701, he married Elizabeth Randolph, the daughter of William Randolph, and had five children:^[2]

• Mary Bland (born August 21, 1704) married Henry Lee I and had four children, including Henry Lee II who was the father of Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee III and the grandfather of Robert E. Lee.^[2][7]
• Elizabeth Bland (born May 29, 1706) married Colonel William Beverley, the son of Robert Beverley, Jr., and had four children.^[2]
• Anna Bland married twice.^[2] She had three children with her first husband, Robert Munford, and had two children with her second husband, George Currie.^[2]
• Theodorick Bland married Frances Bolling, the daughter of Drury Bolling, and had five children, including Congressman Theodorick Bland.^[2]
• Richard Bland (born May 6, 1710) married Anne Poythress and had twelve children.^[2][4] According to Lyon Gardiner Tyler, his second marriage was to Martha Macon and his third marriage was to Elizabeth Blair.^{[8][nb 4]}

Bland's many notable descendants include, in addition to his son and namesake, Roger Atkinson Pryor^[9] and Joseph Pembroke Thom, a Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates.^[3]

Preceding her husband in death, Elizabeth Randolph Bland died January, 1720.^[1][2]

Ancestry

Notes

1. ↑ The specific date of death has been given as April 6, 1720,^[1] April 10, 1720,^[2] and April 11, 1720.^[3]
2. ↑ Richard Bland's son, Richard Bland, is also referred to in some sources as Richard Bland of Jordan's Point.
3. ↑ Some references spell Anna Bennett's name as "Anne".^[2]
4. ↑ Reports differ regarding the names or number of subsequent wives. According to Earl Gregg Swem, Bland's second wife was Elizabeth Harrison but notes that other accounts said she was Elizabeth Bolling, the daughter of John Bolling Jr. and Elizabeth Blair.^[4] Tyler initially reported that Martha Massie married Theodrick Bland after the death of William Massie.^[5]

References

External links

• Find A Grave