Please turn your device to landscape view for wide tables like those below.
Edward David Bland
Member From: 1879 - 1883
- Birth Date: October, 1848 Birth Place:Dinwiddie County, Virginia
- Death Date: February 13, 1927
- Gender: Male Race: African American
- Spouse: Nancy Jones (m. December 18, 1872)
- Children: 9
- Religion:
- Education:
- Military Service:
- Occupation/Profession:
-
Additional Info Links:
Encyclopedia Virginia Biography
Bio from Virginia's Martin Luther King Jr. Commission
- Additional Info: Edward David Bland was born a slave probably in Dinwiddie County in 1848. Mr. Bland, the son of Frederick Bland, a shoemaker and minister, came to Petersburg following the American Civil War and attended night school. About 1874 he moved to City Point, in Prince George County, where he worked as a shoemaker. Mr. Bland represented Prince George and Surry Counties in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1879 to 1884, where he served three terms and was a member of the House Committees on Executive Expenditures, on Schools and Colleges, on Agriculture and Mining, on Claims, Retrenchment and Economy, on Propositions and Grievances, on Enrolled Bills, and on Officers and Offices at the Capitol. Mr. Bland died in 1927 and is interred at the People's Memorial Cemetery in Petersburg.
Charles Gee replaced Edward D(avid) Bland in the extra session held in 1884
- Bio: Edward D. Bland served three terms in the House of Delegates and played a role in maintaining the volatile coalition between the Republicans and Readjusters. Bland was born a enslaved and eventually settled in Prince George County as a shoemaker. Known for his speaking, he became involved in local Republican politics. He advocated the alliance between his party and the Readjusters, and he ran for the General Assembly in 1879 with nomination of the former and de facto backing of the latter. The unwieldy partnership dominated Virginia politics for four years, and Bland won reelection in 1881 and again in 1883 even though a white supremacy campaign helped cause the Readjusters to collapse. He declined reelection for a fourth term, but remained a Republican organizer in the area. He died on his farm in Prince George County in 1927. In 1954, a housing project in Hopewell was named in his honor.
| Session | District | District Number | Party | Leadership | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1879-1880 | Prince George and Surry | Republican | Agriculture and Mining Committee (Dates Unknown) Claims Committee (Dates Unknown) Enrolled Bills Committee (Dates Unknown) Executive Expenditures Committee Officers and Offices at the Capitol Committee (Dates Unknown) Propositions and Grievances Committee (Dates Unknown) Retrenchment and Economy Committee (Dates Unknown) Schools and Colleges Committee |
||
| 1881-1882 | Prince George and Surry | Republican | Agriculture and Mining Committee Claims Enrolled Bills Committee Executive Expenditures Committee Officers and Offices at the Capitol Committee Propositions and Grievances Committee Retrenchment and Economy Committee Retrenchment and the Economy Schools and Colleges Committee |
||
| 1883-1884 | Prince George and Surry | Republican | Agriculture and Mining Committee Claims Committee Enrolled Bills Committee Executive Expenditures Committee Officers and Offices at the Capitol Officers and Offices at the Capitol Committee Propositions and Grievances Committee Retrenchment and Economy Committee Schools and Colleges Committee |
*The information within this interactive and searchable application has been researched extensively by the House Clerk’s Office. As with any historical records of this age and breadth, there may be discrepancies and/or inconsistencies within records obtained from a variety of credible sources. Any feedback is encouraged at history@house.virginia.gov.