Theodorick Bland

Theodorick Bland (January 16, 1629 – April 23, 1671), also known as Theodorick Bland of Westover, was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia who served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses, as well as in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. The founder of the Bland family of Virginia, his son and grandson of the same name also served in the Virginia General Assembly before the American Revolutionary War, and later descendants sharing the same name would become a federal judge and congressman. Early and family life Born in London, the ninth son of prominent merchant John Bland (1573-1632) and his wife Susan. Although his father died when he was a boy, his eldest brother John Bland (d.1680) succeeded their father as head of the family's mercantile firm. His birth family included sixteen children. Bland received a private education appropriate to his class. Career Merchant, tax collector and planter