"Bland was born into slavery, probably in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, to Frederick Bland and Nancy Yates Bland. After the Civil War, the family moved to Petersburg, Virginia, where Frederick Bland worked as a shoemaker and preacher. Bland learned the shoemaker's trade from his father, and attended a local night school organized by Northerners for African Americans. He married Nancy Jones of Petersburg on December 18, 1872; two years later, they moved to City Point, Virginia, where he worked as a shoemaker. The couple had nine children."
"Bland became involved in local politics in the 1870s. At a mass meeting of black Republicans in 1879, Bland gave a speech advocating an alliance with the Readjuster party led by William Mahone. With the support of the Readjusters, Bland was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates that year, defeating incumbent Robert E. Bland to represent Prince George and Surry Counties. He served on the Committee on Executive Expenditures and the Committee on Schools and Colleges, and was a delegate to the Virginia Republican Party convention in 1880.
"After being re-elected in 1881, he served on the Committee on Agriculture and Mining, the Committee on Claims, and the Committee on Retrenchment and Economy. During that session, black Republicans passed legislation to create a state college and an insane asylum for Virginia's African Americans and increase funding for black public schools. Their success was followed by white backlash; in 1883, Conservatives launched a white supremacy campaign which helped them regain a majority in the Virginia General Assembly.
Bland was nevertheless re-elected that year and served on the Committee on Propositions and Grievances, the Committee on Enrolled Bills, and the Committee on Officers and Offices at the Capitol. After serving his third term, he yielded his seat to Republican William Faulcon but remained active in local politics.
Later years "Bland spent the rest of his life in Prince George County. He worked as a teacher, minister, shoemaker, and keeper of the Jordan Point Lighthouse, near City Point, Virginia. Around 1900, he moved to a farm, where he died of nephritis on February 13, 1927. He was buried at Providence Cemetery (now People's Memorial Cemetery) in Petersburg, Virginia.
"In 2012, Virginia state senator Jennifer McClellan introduced a bill (VA HJR64) to "Recognize and celebrate the outstanding service of the African American men elected to the Virginia General Assembly during Reconstruction, on the occasion of the Sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 2013." The bill recognized Bland along with Samuel P. Bolling, Daniel M. Norton, and other notable African-American legislators.
"In 1954, the Edward D. Bland Courts housing project in Hopewell, Virginia, was named in his honor."
-- from African-American Leaders during and following the Reconstruction era
Wikipedia
"More than 1,500 African American officeholders served during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877) and in the years after Reconstruction before white supremacy, disenfranchisement, and the Democratic Party fully reasserted control in Southern states."
"Historian Canter Brown Jr. noted that in some states, such as Florida, the highest number of African Americans were elected or appointed to offices after the end of Reconstruction in 1877...until before 1900."
"U.S. Senate
Blanche Bruce – Mississippi 1875–1881
P. B. S. Pinchback – Louisiana 1873, elected but the Senate refused to seat him (also Louisiana Lt. Governor, Louisiana Senate, acting Louisiana Governor, Louisiana Constitutional Convention)
Hiram Rhodes Revels – Mississippi 1870 (also Mississippi Secretary of State)
"U.S. House of Representatives
Main articles: First generation of African-American House members, 1870–1893 and List of African-American United States representatives
Richard H. Cain – South Carolina 1873–1875, 1877–1879 (also South Carolina Senate, House, Constitutional Congress)[2] Henry P. Cheatham – North Carolina 1889–1894
Robert C. De Large – South Carolina 1871–1873 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, and State Land Commissioner)
Robert B. Elliott – South Carolina 1871–1874 (also South Carolina House, South Carolina Attorney General, South Carolina Constitutional Convention, South Carolina Senate, city council)
Jeremiah Haralson – Alabama 1875–1877 (also Alabama Senate and Alabama House)
John Adams Hyman – North Carolina 1875–1877 (also North Carolina Senate and North Carolina Constitutional Convention)[2] John Mercer Langston – Virginia 1890–1891 (also U.S. Minister to Haiti)
Jefferson F. Long – Georgia 1871
John R. Lynch – Mississippi 1873–1877, 1882–1883 (also speaker of the Mississippi House)
John Willis Menard – Louisiana, 1868 elected but not seated
Thomas E. Miller – South Carolina September 24, 1890 – March 3, 1891 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina House, and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)
George W. Murray – South Carolina 1893–1897
Charles E. Nash – Louisiana 1875 –1877
James E. O'Hara – North Carolina 1883–1887 (also North Carolina House)
....
Joseph H. Rainey – South Carolina 1870–1879 (also South Carolina Senate and South Carolina Constitutional Convention)
Alonzo J. Ransier – South Carolina 1873–1875 (also South Carolina Lt. Governor and Constitutional Convention)
James T. Rapier – Alabama 1873–1875 (also Alabama Constitutional Convention)
Robert Smalls – South Carolina 1875–1879, 1882–1887 (also South Carolina Senate, South Carolina House, and Constitutional Convention)
Benjamin Sterling Turner – Alabama 1871–1873
Josiah T. Walls – Florida 1871–1876 (also Florida House, Florida Senate, and Florida Constitutional Convention)
George Henry White – North Carolina 1897–1901 (also North Carolina House and North Carolina Senate)[2] Alabama
Between 1868 and 1878, more than 100 African Americans served in the Alabama Legislature.
Senate of Virginia
James W. D. Bland – Prince Edward County 1869 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)
Cephas L. Davis – Mecklenburg County 1879
John M. Dawson – Charles City, Elizabeth City, James City, Warwick, and York counties 1874–1877
Joseph P. Evans – Petersburg 1874
Nathaniel M. Griggs – Prince Edward County 1887–1890
James R. Jones Mecklenburg County – 1875–1877 and 1881–1883
Isaiah L. Lyons – Surry, York, Elizabeth City, and Warwick counties 1869–1871
William P. Moseley – Goochland County 1869–1871 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)
Francis "Frank" Moss – Buckingham County 1869–1871 (also Virginia House and Virginia Constitutional Convention)
Daniel M. Norton – James City and York counties 1871–1873 and 1877–1887 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)
Guy Powell – Nottoway, Lunenburg and Brunswick counties 1875–1878
John Robinson – Cumberland County 1869–1873 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)
William N. Stevens – Petersburg 1871–1878 and Sussex County 1881 (also Virginia House)
George Teamoh – Norfolk County 1869–1871 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)
"Virginia House of Delegates
William H. Andrews – Surry County 1869–1871 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention)[126] William H. Ash – Amelia and Nottoway counties 1887 Briton Baskerville, Jr. – Mecklenburg County 1887[126] Edward David Bland – Prince George and Surry counties 1879–1884 Phillip S. Bolling – Cumberland and Buckingham counties; elected in 1883 but was ruled ineligible[126] Samuel P. Bolling – Cumberland and Buckingham counties 1883–1887[126] Tazewell Branch – Prince Edward County 1874–1877 William H. Brisby – New Kent County 1869–1871[126] Goodman Brown – Prince George and Surry counties 1887[126] Peter J. Carter – Northampton County 1871–1878 Matt Clark – Halifax County 1874[126] George William Cole – Essex County 1879[126] Asa Coleman – Halifax County 1871–1873 Johnson Collins – Brunswick County 1879 Aaron Commodore – Essex County 1875–1877 Miles Connor – Norfolk County 1875–1877[126] Henry Cox – Chesterfield and Powhatan counties 1869–1877 Isaac Dabbs – Charlotte County 1875–1877 McDowell Delaney – Amelia County 1871–1873[126] Amos Andre Dodson – Mecklenburg County 1883 Shed Dungee – Cumberland and Buckingham counties 1879–1882[126] Jesse Dungey – King William County 1871–1873[126] Isaac Edmundson – Halifax County 1869–1871[126] Ballard T. Edwards – Chesterfield and Powhatan counties 1869–1871[126] Joseph P. Evans – Petersburg 1871–1873 (also Virginia Senate) William D. Evans – Prince Edward County 1877–1880[126] William W. Evans – Petersburg 1887[126] William Faulcon – Prince George and Surry counties 1885–1887[126] George Fayerman – Petersburg 1869–1871[126] James A. Fields – Elizabeth City and James City counties 1889 Alexander Q. Franklin – Charles City County 1889[126] John Freeman – Halifax County 1871[126] William Gilliam – Prince George County 1871–1875 James P. Goodwyn – Petersburg 1874[126] Armistead Green – Petersburg 1881–1884[126] Robert G. Griffin – James City and York counties 1883[126] Nathaniel M. Griggs – Prince Edward County 1883 (also Virginia Senate) Ross Hamilton – Mecklenburg County 1869–1882, 1889 Alfred W. Harris – Petersburg 1881–1888 H. Clay Harris – Halifax County 1874–1875[126] Henry C. Hill – Amelia County 1874–1875[126] Charles E. Hodges – Norfolk County 1869–1871[126] John Q. Hodges – Princess Anne County 1869–1871[126] Henry Johnson – Amelia and Nottoway counties 1889–1890[126] Benjamin Jones – Charles City County 1869–1871[126] James R. Jones – Mecklenburg County 1885–1887 (also Virginia Senate) Peter K. Jones – Greensville County 1869–1877 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention) Robert G. W. Jones – Charles City County 1869–1871[126] Rufus S. Jones – Elizabeth City and Warwick counties 1871–1875[127] William H. Jordan – Petersburg 1885–1887[126] Alexander G. Lee – Elizabeth City and Warwick 1877–1879[128] Neverson Lewis – Chesterfield and Powhatan counties 1879–1882[126] James F. Lipscomb – Cumberland County 1869–1877[126] William P. Lucas – Louisa County 1874–1875[126] John W. B. Matthews – Petersburg 1871–1873[126] J. B. Miller Jr. – Goochland County 1869–1871[126] Peter G. Morgan – Petersburg 1869–1871 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention and city council) Francis "Frank" Moss – Buckingham County 1874 (also Virginia Senate and Virginia Constitutional Convention) Armistead S. Nickens – Lancaster County 1871–1875 Frederick S. Norton – James City and Williamsburg counties 1869–1871[126] Robert Norton – Elizabeth City and York counties 1869–1872, 1881 Alexander Owen – Halifax County 1869–1871[126] Littleton Owens – Princess Anne County 1879–1882[126] Richard G. L. Paige – Norfolk County 1871–1875, 1879–1882 William H. Patterson – Charles City County 1871–1873 Caesar Perkins – Buckingham County 1869–1871, 1878–1888, 1887 Fountain M. Perkins – Louisa County 1869–1871[129] John W. Poindexter – Louisa County 1875–1877[126] Joseph B. Pope – Southampton County 1879[126] Guy Powell – Brunswick County 1881 (also Virginia Senate) William H. Ragsdale – Charlotte County 1869–1871[126] John H. Robinson – Elizabeth City and James City, and York counties 1887[126] R. D. Ruffin – Dinwiddie County 1875[126] Archer Scott – Amelia and Nottoway counties 1875–1877, 1879–1884[126] George L. Seaton – Alexandria County 1869–1871[126] Dabney Smith – Charlotte County 1881[126] Henry D. Smith – Greensville County 18790[126] Robert M. Smith – Elizabeth City and Warwick counties 1875–1877[126] William N. Stevens – Sussex County 1869–1879 (also Virginia Senate) John B. Syphax – Arlington County 1874 Henry Turpin – Goochland County 1871 John Watson – Mecklenburg County 1869 (also Virginia Constitutional Convention) Maclin C. Wheeler – Brunswick County 1883[130] Robert H. Whittaker – Brunswick County 1875–1877 Ellis Wilson – Dinwiddie County 1869–1871[126] Virginia Constitutional Convention William H. Andrews – Surry County 1867–1868 (also Virginia House)[127] James D. Barrett – Fluvanna County 1867–1868[127] Thomas Bayne – Norfolk 1867–1868 James W. D. Bland – Prince Edward County 1867–1868 (also Virginia Senate)[127] William Breedlove – Essex County 1867–1868[127] John Brown – Southampton County 1867–1868[127] David Canada – Halifax County 1867–1868[127] James B. Carter – Chesterfield and Powhatan counties 1867–1868[127] Joseph Cox – Richmond 1867–1868[127] John Wesley Cromwell – Clerk of the Virginia Constitutional Convention 1867 Willis Augustus Hodges – Princess Anne County 1867–1868 Joseph R. Holmes – Charlotte and Halifax counties 1867–1868 Peter K. Jones – Greensville and Sussex counties 1867–1868 (also Virginia House) Samuel F. Kelso – Campbell County 1867–1868[127] Lewis Lindsey – Richmond 1867–1868[127] Peter G. Morgan – Petersburg 1867–1868 (also Virginia House and city council) William P. Moseley – Goochland County 1867–1868 (also Virginia Senate) Francis "Frank" Moss – Buckingham County 1867–1868 (also Virginia House and Virginia Senate) Edward Nelson – Charlotte County 1867–1868[127] Daniel M. Norton – Yorktown 1867–1868 (also Virginia Senate) John Robinson – Cumberland County 1867–1868 (also Virginia Senate) James T. S. Taylor – Albemarle County 1867–1868[127] George Teamoh – Portsmouth 1867–1868 (also Virginia Senate) Burwell Toler – Hanover County 1867–1868 John Watson – Mecklenburg County 1867–1868 (also Virginia House)[127] Federal offices P. H. A. Braxton – collector at the United States Custom House in Westmoreland County (also constable) William Breedlow or Breedlove – postmaster of Tappahannock March 3, 1870 – March 13, 1871[11] Robert H. Cauthorn – postmaster of Dunnsville September 21, 1897 – October 24, 1901[11] James H. Cunningham – postmaster of Manchester September 20, 1869 – August 1, 1872[11] William Henry Hayes – postmaster of Boydton June 17, 1889 – March 25, 1893[11] John T. Jackson Sr. – postmaster of Alanthus March 23, 1891 – January 31, 1940[11] William H. Johnson – postmaster of Baynesville November 29, 1893 – October 23, 1897[11] Wade H. Mason – postmaster of Bluestone March 13, 1890 – November 14, 1902[11] Isaac Morton – postmaster of Port Royal March 2, 1870 – October 29, 1872[11] Daniel A. Twyman – postmaster of Junta August 12, 1898 – October 23, 1898
Local offices
P. H. A. Braxton – King William County constable 1872 (also U.S. Custom House collector)
Peter G. Morgan – Petersburg city council (also Virginia House and Virginia Constitutional Convention)
V. Cook Nickens – constable of Leesburg Magisterial District 1873
...........
"Further reading
Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878.
Montgomery: Richard Bailey Publishers, 1995. ISBN 978-0962721809
Brown, Jr., Canter. Florida's Black Public Officials, 1867–1924. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998. ISBN 9780817309169 Gibbs, Mifflin Wistar. Shadow and Light: An Autobiography. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-8032-7050-3 Southern Black Leaders of the Reconstruction Era. Howard N. Rabinowitz, editor. University of Illinois Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0252009723"
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