James W. D. Bland
| James W. D. Bland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the Charlotte and Prince Edward Counties district | |
|
In office October 5, 1869 – April 27, 1870 | |
| Preceded by | F. N. Watkins |
| Succeeded by | John T. Hamlett |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1838 Prince Edward County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died |
April 27, 1870 Richmond, Virginia |
| Occupation | Carpenter, Cooper |
James W. D. Bland (1838 – April 27, 1870) was a nineteenth-century African-American politician and carpenter from Virginia. After the Civil War, he was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 and then to the Virginia State Senate.[1]
Early life
Bland was born free in Farmville, Virginia, in Prince Edward County. His father Hercules Bland had bought his mother Mary and freed her so that their children would be born free.[2]
James Bland learned to read and write in the home of the former owner of his mother, Alexander Bruce. Bland was probably apprenticed to Bruce as a carpenter before working in his father’s cooper shop making hogsheads for tobacco.[3]
Career
Bland was probably apprenticed to Bruce as a carpenter before working in his father’s cooper shop making hogsheads for tobacco.[4]
Following the American Civil War, Bland married in 1867 at the age of twenty nine.[5]
In 1867, Bland was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868. A Republican, he was one of two delegates elected from the southside Piedmont convention district made up of Prince Edward and Appomattox Counties, along with a white Republican.[6] While a staunch defender of constitutionally guaranteeing the black franchise, Bland also sought to restore the vote to ex-Confederates.[7]
Following the Convention, Bland was elected to the Virginia Senate, for the session of 1869/70.[8]
Though Bland bought no property during his lifetime, at his untimely death in 1870, his wife immediately bought three lots in Farmville for one thousand dollars.[9]
Death
James W. D. Bland died in 1870 in the disastrous collapse of the Capitol killed him along with sixty others. The General Assembly provided for funeral expense, sent a delegation to attend Bland’s services in Farmville and presented his widow with a formal resolution of condolence. The Richmond and Petersburg press at the time lamented the passing of the most able member of the African-American race sitting in the state legislature.[10]
References
- ↑ Cynthia Miller Leonard, Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1978) pp. 506, 511
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
- ↑ Pulliam 1901, p. 141-142
- ↑ Tartar 2013, p. 238
- ↑ Swem 1918, p. 348
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
- ↑ Jackson 1945, p. 3-4
Bibliography
- Jackson, Luther Porter (1945). Negro Office-Holders in Virginia, 1865-1895. Guide Quality Press, Norfolk, Virginia. ASIN B004U2S45M.
- Pulliam, David Loyd (1901). The Constitutional Conventions of Virginia from the foundation of the Commonwealth to the present time. John T. West, Richmond. ISBN 978-1-2879-2059-5.
- Swem, Earl Greg (1918). A Register of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1776-1918, and of the Constitutional Conventions. David Bottom, Superintendent of Public Printing. ISBN 978-1-3714-6242-0.
- Tartar, Brent (2013). The grandees of government: the origins and persistence of undemocratic politics in Virginia. University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-3431-0.