Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established in 1619, became a bicameral institution.
William Randolph I was a planter, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia who played an important role in the development of the colony. Born in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire, Randolph moved to the colony of Virginia sometime between 1669 and 1673, and married Mary Isham a few years later. His descendants include many prominent individuals including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Paschal Beverly Randolph, Robert E. Lee, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Randolph, John Randolph of Roanoke, George W. Randolph, and Edmund Ruffin. Due to his and Mary's many progeny and marital alliances, they have been referred to as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia".
John Holloway was a politician and lawyer in the British colony of Virginia. He served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses 1720–34, as treasurer of the colony 1723–34, and was the first mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia 1722–23.
John Robinson, Jr. was a politician and landowner in the British colony of Virginia. Robinson served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses from 1738 until his death, the longest tenure in the history of that office.
Colonel Thomas Ballard was a prominent colonial Virginia landowner and politician who played a role in Bacon's Rebellion. He served on the Governor's Council 1670–79 and was Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses 1680–82.
Thomas Stegg was a Virginia merchant and politician. He was the first Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1643 session, when the Burgesses first met as a separate lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. He was the grandfather of William Byrd I through his daughter Grace Stegge Byrd.
Ambrose Harmer was a Virginia landowner and politician. An opponent of Governor Sir John Harvey, he served on the Council 1639–41 under his successor, Sir Francis Wyatt. He served in the House of Burgesses 1645–46, and was Speaker in the 1646 session.
Captain Thomas Harwood was a Virginia soldier, landowner and politician. He served multiple terms as a burgess in the 1630s and 1640s, and was "one of the chieff of the Mutinous Burgesses" who expelled Governor Sir John Harvey in 1635. He was Speaker of the House of Burgesses 1647–49, and was named to the Council shortly before his death in 1652.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward Major was a Virginia soldier, landowner and politician.
Thomas Dew was a Virginia landowner and politician.
Lieutenant Colonel Walter Chiles was a Virginia politician and merchant. He moved to Virginia around 1638, and served as a burgess on and off from 1642 to 1653, representing Charles City County and later James City County. He also served on the Governor's council in 1651, but was removed the following year because of his involvement in illegal trading with the Netherlands. He was elected Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses at the July 1653 session, but the governor forced his resignation the following day.
William Whitby was a Virginia politician and landowner. He served as a burgess 1642–44, in the early stages of the English Civil War, and again from 1652–55, after Virginia surrendered to Parliamentary control. During the 1640s he was a justice of the Warwick County court. He served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses in the 1653 session, following the one-day speakership of Walter Chiles.
Francis Moryson was an English soldier who became a Virginia colonial official and agent. A Royalist in the English Civil War, he emigrated to the Virginia Colony, where he held several posts before returning to England and becoming the colony's agent, and finally briefly served on the commission investigating Bacon's Rebellion.
Henry Soane (1622–1661) was a Virginia politician and landowner. He emigrated to Virginia around 1651, settling in James City County along the Chickahominy River. He served in the House of Burgesses 1652–55, 1658, and 1660–61, and was its Speaker in 1661. He was married to Judith Fuller, which whom they had five children. The progenitor of a political dynasty that spanned two centuries, Soane is the great-great grandfather of President Thomas Jefferson.
Robert Wynne (1622–1675) was a Virginia politician and landowner. He was one of the men representing Charles City County in the House of Burgesses from 1658 until 1675, and in 1658 and during the Colony's "Long Parliament" fellow burgesses selected him as their Speaker 1662–74. This was the second longest tenure of any Speaker.
Col. Augustine Warner Jr. was a Virginia politician, planter, and landowner. He served in the House of Burgesses 1666–77 and was its Speaker in two separate sessions in 1676 and 1677, before and after Bacon's Rebellion. He then served on the Governor's Council from about October 1677 until his death.
Thomas Godwin was a Virginia politician and landowner. He served in the House of Burgesses 1654–55 and 1659, and was its Speaker in the June 1676 session that preceded Bacon's Rebellion.
Francis Dade, was a Virginia soldier, politician and landowner. A English Royalist who emigrated to Virginia some time after the death of Charles I. In Virginia he officially used the name "John Smith" when he served as one of the two delegates representing tiny Warwick County and as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1658. He died at sea in 1662 or 1663.
