Theodorick Bland, of Westover Plantation

Theodorick Bland is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society
http://www.jamestowne.org/qualifying-ancestors.html

"S.M. Prudentis & Eruditi Theodorici Bland Armig qui obit Aprilis 23rd ad, 1671 Aetatis 41 Cujus vidua Moestissima Anna Filia Richard Bennett Armig: hoc Marmor Posuit"

Family links:
Spouse: Anne Bennet Bland (1641 - 1687)*

Children:
Richard Bland (1665 - 1720)*

• Calculated relationship

Burial: Westover Plantation Charles City Charles City County Virginia, USA

Maintained by: Barbara Bland Originally Created by: kimshockey (reb) (inacti... Record added: Jul 05, 2003 Find A Grave Memorial# 7656543

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Abridged from Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodorick_Bland_of_Westover

Theodorick Bland (January 16,1629 – April 23, 1671), also known as Theodorick Bland of Westover, was a Virginia politician, merchant and planter. He was the father of Richard Bland, the grandfather of Richard Bland II, the great-grandfather of Congressman Theodorick Bland https://www.geni.com/path/Theodorick-Bland-of-Westover-Plantation+is+related+to+Congressman-Theodorick-Bland-Jr?from=6000000008482732061&path_type=blood&to=6000000002331747107 , and the great-great-grandfather of John Randolph of Roanoke.

Born in England, he served as his family's business agent in Spain and the Canary Islands in his early twenties. He moved to the colony of Virginia in 1653, to replace his brother Edward, who had died. He represented Charles City County in the 1660 House of Burgesses session, serving as Speaker.

Bland was one of sixteen children, and the youngest of nine sons, born to John and Susan Bland. He married Anne Bennett, the daughter of Governor Richard Bennett, and they had three sons:

Sir John Pawlett, by deeds of lease and release, demised most of Westover Plantation in 1665 to Bland for £170. Bland lived on the property until his death in 1671 and was buried in the chancel of the original Westover Church which he helped build. His eldest son, Theodorick, inherited the land and joined with his brother, Richard, in its ownership. The brothers eventually conveyed 1,200 acres of the property to William Byrd I in 1688 for £300 and 10,000 pounds of tobacco and cask.

Although the original church has since fallen down, Bland lays buried in the graveyard near Walter Aston and Captain William Perry. In November, 1687, Bland's wife, Anne, died in Warton Creek, Maryland.

Children of Theodorick Bland and Anne Bennett:

• Theodorick Bland (born 1663); he married Margaret Man and had two sons, John and Theodorick.
• Richard Bland (born August 11, 1665); he married twice. He first married Mary Swan and had seven children, who all died in their infancy. After Mary's death, Bland's second marriage was to Elizabeth Randolph, the daughter of William Randolph I. The couple had five children including Richard Bland II and Theodorick Bland of Cawsons.
• John Bland (born February 8, 1668); he married twice. He first married Mary Breckon, then had at least three children with his second wife, Elizabeth: Richard, John (who was the grandfather of Chancellor Theodorick Bland), and Anna.

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https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Bland_Theodorick_bap_1630-1672

Theodorick Bland was the Speaker of the House of Burgesses (1660) and a member of the governor's Council (1662–1672). Probably born in London, he was educated there and lived for several years in Spain, where his family worked in the wine business. Bland had moved to Virginia by 1653 to take control of family land and was elected to the House of Burgesses, representing Charles City County, in 1660. That year he presided over two sessions as Speaker, helping to navigate Virginia through the political uncertainty that surrounded the end of the Commonwealth and the restoration of Charles II. Elected again to the House in 1661 and 1662, this time from Henrico County, he was not reelected Speaker, and in 1662, the governor, Sir William Berkeley, appointed him to the governor's Council. He died in 1672 and was buried at Westover, his estate in Charles City County.

Bland was the son of John Bland and Susanna de Deblere Bland. He was born probably in London, where he was christened on January 6, 1630, in the parish of Saint Antholin, Budge Row. His father died in April 1632, after which his elder brother John Bland assumed direction of the family's extensive commercial interests. As a young man Theodorick Bland resided for several years in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, where the family engaged in the wine trade. In the mid-1640s he succeeded his brother Edward Bland as the family's agent in the Canary Islands, and following Edward Bland's death by May 1652, Bland moved to Virginia to take control of the large landed property that the family owned there. His name first appears in Virginia records as foreman of a Surry County jury on November 3, 1653.

Bland soon moved to Berkeley Hundred, in Charles City County, and in September 1656 he was one of three men recommended for appointment to the county court. Bland also became a vestryman of Westover Parish and served as churchwarden in 1663. Sometime in 1660 he married Anna Bennett, daughter of Richard Bennett, who had been governor of the colony between 1652 and 1655. They had three sons. In April 1665 Bland purchased Westover plantation for £170 from its English owner, Sir John Pawlett.

Bland was elected in 1660 to represent Charles City County in the House of Burgesses. He was elected Speaker of the House on March 13, 1660, and presided over the two sessions of the assembly that met that year. During the first session, the assembly arranged for the peaceful transfer of the colony's allegiance from the Protectorate to the Crown. The political situation in England was unclear. Oliver Cromwell had died, and Richard Cromwell had abdicated, but so far as the Virginians knew the exiled son of King Charles I had not yet reclaimed the throne. The House of Burgesses therefore declared itself to be "the supreame power of the government of this country … until such a comand and comission come out of England as shall be by the Assembly adjudged lawfull." Following careful preliminary negotiations, in which Bland took no part, Sir William Berkeley accepted an offer to serve as interim governor until the situation in England was settled. The assembly met again on October 11, by which time Charles II had been restored to the throne and had recommissioned Berkeley as governor of the colony.

Bland represented Henrico County in the House of Burgesses during the March 1661 and March 1662 sessions, but he was not reelected Speaker. Probably between June 2 and September 12, 1662, Berkeley appointed Bland to the governor's Council. The loss of the Council records for the first eight years of Bland's tenure makes assessment of his service impossible, but he regularly attended its sessions during 1670 and 1671, and considering his family connections and his status as a major landowner and merchant, Bland's opinions undoubtedly carried weight.

Bland died probably on April 23, 1672. He was buried on the grounds of the Westover estate, and his widow later had a stone placed over his grave. The date of death on the stone is April 23, 1671, but Bland went to his last recorded Council meeting on November 24, 1671, and on May 16, 1672, the General Court described him as deceased. Because his three sons were all under ten years of age, his elder brother John Bland, still the head of the family, sent his own young son, Giles Bland, to the colony to manage the family's Virginia properties.

Time Line

January 6, 1630 - Theodorick Bland is baptized in London.

April 1632 - John Bland, the father of Theodorick Bland, dies. His son, also John Bland, assumes direction of the family's extensive commercial interests.

Mid-1640s - Theodorick Bland succeeds his brother Edward Bland as the family's agent in the Canary Islands. November 3, 1653 - Theodorick Bland's name first appears in Virginia records, as the foreman of a Surry County jury.

September 1656 - Theodorick Bland is one of three men recommended for appointment to the Charles City County court.

1660 - Theodorick Bland and Anna Bennett marry. They will have three sons.

March 13, 1660 - Theodorick Bland is elected Speaker of the House of Burgesses. He presides over two sessions during the year.

March 1661–March 1662 - Theodorick Bland represents Henrico County in the House of Burgesses during the two March sessions of the General Assembly.

June 2–September 12, 1662 - Sometime during this period Governor Sir William Berkeley appoints Theodorick Bland to the governor's Council.

1663 - Theodorick Bland serves as a churchwarden in Westover Parish, in Charles City County.

April 23, 1672 - Theodorick Bland dies. He is buried on the grounds of Westover, in Charles City County.

• Residence: Charles City County
• Residence: London
  • Reference: Biographical Summaries of Notable People - SmartCopy: Sep 14 2022, 23:36:09 UTC