Theodorick Bland

Theodorick Bland of Westover (1629–1671) was a prominent Virginia colonial politician who served as speaker of the House of Burgesses and founded a multigenerational political dynasty in colonial America. Born in 1629 into the influential Bland family of England, he was the son of John Bland, a London merchant with extensive transatlantic interests. Theodorick emigrated to Virginia in the mid-seventeenth century, where he quickly established himself as a major landholder and public figure along the James River. By the 1660s he had acquired the Westover plantation in Charles City County (later part of Prince George County), a substantial estate that became both his family seat and a center of political influence in the colony.

Bland’s education and early commercial experience were rooted in the mercantile world of his family, which facilitated his transition into the planter elite of Virginia. Through land acquisitions, marriage alliances, and his growing prominence in local affairs, he secured a place among the colony’s leading figures. His Westover plantation, strategically located on the James River, allowed him to participate actively in the tobacco economy and to engage in trade that linked Virginia to English markets. This economic base underpinned his entry into public life and helped sustain his family’s prominence for generations.

In his political career, Theodorick Bland of Westover rose to significant influence within the colonial government. He was elected to the House of Burgesses, the representative assembly of the Colony of Virginia, and ultimately served as speaker of the House of Burgesses, presiding over its deliberations during a formative period in the colony’s legislative history. As speaker, he played a central role in managing the legislative agenda and representing the interests of the colonial elite in their dealings with the royal governor and the Crown. His tenure coincided with a time of political tension and economic fluctuation in Virginia, and his leadership helped shape the institutional development of the colonial assembly.

Bland’s family life further cemented his legacy. He married into another prominent Virginia family, and his children inherited both his lands and his political connections. Among them was Theodorick Bland (1663–1700), known as Theodorick Bland the surveyor, who carried forward the family’s public service. The elder Bland’s death in 1671 at Westover ended his direct role in colonial affairs, but by then he had firmly established the Bland name as one of the leading dynastic houses in Virginia, with extensive holdings and a tradition of service in the colony’s governing institutions.

Theodorick Bland (surveyor) (1663–1700), the son of Theodorick Bland of Westover, was a Virginia colonial surveyor whose work contributed to the mapping and orderly development of landholdings in the colony. Born at Westover in 1663, he grew up within the planter aristocracy that his father had helped to solidify. His education and training prepared him for technical and administrative responsibilities at a time when accurate surveys were essential to resolving land claims, defining county boundaries, and supporting the expansion of settlement. As a surveyor, he was involved in delineating tracts along the James River and in other parts of Virginia, work that underpinned both private estates and public jurisdiction.

Through his marriage and family connections, the younger Theodorick Bland maintained and extended the influence of the Bland lineage. He managed and surveyed family lands and participated in the legal and administrative processes that governed property in the colony. His professional activities as a surveyor supported the continued prosperity of the Bland estates and helped position his descendants for further prominence. He died in 1700, but his role in preserving and organizing the family’s extensive holdings ensured that the Bland name remained central in Virginia’s political and social life.

The legacy of Theodorick Bland of Westover and Theodorick Bland the surveyor extended well beyond their lifetimes. Their descendants included Theodorick Bland of Cawsons (1708–1784), a Virginia colonial politician and grandson of Theodorick Bland of Westover, who continued the family’s service in the colonial legislature, and Theodorick Bland (congressman) (1742–1790), an American soldier and politician from Virginia and son of Theodorick Bland of Cawsons, who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and later in the United States Congress. Another descendant, Theodorick Bland (judge) (1776–1846), became an American jurist and diplomat from Maryland. Collectively, these successive generations of Theodorick Blands illustrate the enduring political and legal influence of a family whose origins in American public life trace back to the colonial leadership and landholding established by Theodorick Bland of Westover and the technical and administrative contributions of his son, Theodorick Bland the surveyor.