William Beverley

William Beverley was a prominent 18th-century legislator, civil servant, planter, and landowner in the Colony of Virginia.

Born in Virginia in 1696, Beverley was the son of planter and historian Robert Beverley, Jr. (c. 1667–1722) and his wife Ursula Byrd Beverley (1681–1698), thus he was the scion of two prominent Virginia families. Beverley was the nephew of Peter Beverley (1668–1728), Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and the grandson of wealthy Virginia planter William Byrd I (1652–1704) of Westover Plantation. Beverley's mother died at the age of 17, and he was sent to England where he received his education.

Following his education, Beverley undertook a career in public service. He served as the Clerk of Court for Essex County (1716–1745) and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses representing both Orange County (1736–1738) and Essex County (1742–1749). Beverley also served on the Virginia Governor's Council in 1750.

Beverley inherited an extensive estate following the death of his father in 1722 and amassed significant landholdings throughout Virginia, from which he received revenue from tobacco production and 119 tenancies. His development of the "Beverley Manor" land tract of 118,941 acres (481.34 km2) in present-day Augusta County spurred further settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Beverley was selected by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron to serve as a commissioner on an expedition with Peter Jefferson to establish the Fairfax Line boundary of the Northern Neck Proprietary.

William Beverley was born in 1696, the only child of Robert Beverley, Jr. (c. 1667–1722) and his wife, Ursula Byrd Beverley (1681–1698). Robert Beverley, Jr., of Beverley Park plantation in King and Queen County, was a wealthy planter who participated in the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition and was the first native-born historian of colonial Virginia. William Beverley's father Robert wrote History of the Present State of Virginia in 1705, the first known history of Virginia to be compiled. Beverley's uncle Peter Beverley (1668–1728) served as Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesss.His mother Ursula Byrd Beverley was the daughter of William Byrd I (1652–1704) and Maria Horsmanden Byrd of Westover Plantation. Ursula was affectionately known as "Little Nutty" to her family.William Beverley's mother Ursula died on October 31, 1698 shortly before the age of 17, and was interred at Jamestown.Through his paternal grandmother, Margaret Boyd Beverley, William Beverley was a great-grandson of Scottish noble James Boyd, 9th Lord Boyd (died 1654). Following the death of his mother, Beverley was sent to England where he received his education.

Following the completion of his education, Beverley returned to Virginia and undertook a career in public service. He served as the Clerk of Court for Essex County for 29 years (1716–1745), during which time, the first Essex County courthouse was located on Beverley's Blandfield estate. Beverley concurrently served as a justice in Essex County from 1720 until 1740. In addition to his civil service to his native county, he was a prominent member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, and was elected to represent Orange County (1736–1738) and Essex County from (1742–1749). During his first term as a burgess for Orange County, Beverley served alongside Robert Green. Beverley represented Essex County alongside James Ganett until 1747, after which he served alongside William Daingerfield until 1749. Beverley received an appointment to serve as the County Lieutenant and commander-in-chief of the county militias of Augusta and Orange counties in 1741, which was qualified in Orange County court on November 3, 1741.In 1750, Beverley was appointed to a seat on the Virginia Governor's Council, the upper house of Virginia's colonial legislature, where he replaced John Custis IV, father-in-law of Martha Dandridge Custis.Beverley's appointment to the Governor's Council fulfilled an ambition his father had been unable to achieve.

Following the completion of his education, Beverley returned to Virginia and undertook a career in public service. He served as the Clerk of Court for Essex County for 29 years (1716–1745), during which time, the first Essex County courthouse was located on Beverley's Blandfield estate. Beverley concurrently served as a justice in Essex County from 1720 until 1740. In addition to his civil service to his native county, he was a prominent member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, and was elected to represent Orange County (1736–1738) and Essex County from (1742–1749). During his first term as a burgess for Orange County, Beverley served alongside Robert Green. Beverley represented Essex County alongside James Ganett until 1747, after which he served alongside William Daingerfield until 1749. Beverley received an appointment to serve as the County Lieutenant and commander-in-chief of the county militias of Augusta and Orange counties in 1741, which was qualified in Orange County court on November 3, 1741. In 1750, Beverley was appointed to a seat on the Virginia Governor's Council, the upper house of Virginia's colonial legislature, where he replaced John Custis IV, father-in-law of Martha Dandridge Custis.Beverley's appointment to the Governor's Council fulfilled an ambition his father had been unable to achieve.

Beverley owned and operated a tavern at Caroline Court House in Caroline County. He also participated in trade with the West Indies region. In his correspondences with a Barbadian merchant in 1739, Beverley wrote: "I am very conveniently situated for the sale of Negroes, rum, sugar & Mollasses." Beverley sold Barbadian salt in Virginia and shipped Virginia maize to Barbados for sale. A partial inventory of Beverley's estate in 1745 listed 65 slaves on four plantations, cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses. In 1763, Beverley's son Robert reported that his father's estate earned "about £1800 Currency, all plantation expenses deducted."

In 1746, Beverley was selected by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron as a commissioner representing Lord Fairfax's interests during an expedition with Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson, through western Virginia to establish and mark the Fairfax Line boundary for the Northern Neck Proprietary. Beverley supervised the work of Jefferson and the other surveyors.The following year, Beverley and the other participants in the Fairfax Line expedition reconvened at Jefferson's Tuckahoe plantation to draft a map of the Northern Neck Proprietary boundaries, later known as the "Fry-Jefferson map."

Beverley married Elizabeth Bland (born May 26, 1706) around 1725. Elizabeth was the daughter of Richard Bland and Elizabeth Randolph Bland of Jordan's Point and the sister of statesman Richard Bland. Beverley and his wife had four children, one son and three daughters: Robert Beverley (1740–1800), Elizabeth Beverley Mills, Ursula Beverley Fitzhugh, and Anna Beverley. Beverley took an active role in the education of his children, and in 1750, he traveled to England to enroll his son, his nephew Robert Munford III, and another young man into Wakefield Grammar School.

Three of Beverley's children married into prominent Virginia families. His son Robert married Maria Carter, daughter of Landon Carter and Maria Byrd Carter of Sabine Hall, Richmond County. His daughter Elizabeth married James Mills, a merchant in Hobbs Hole; and his daughter Ursula married William Fitzhugh. His daughter Anna Beverley was unmarried at the time of his death in 1756.

Beverley was an Anglican, and maintained an intimate relationship with Anglican minister and parson Robert Rose of Saint Anne's Parish. His Blandfield estate was located within Saint Anne's Parish, and the Beverley family attended Anglican, and later Episcopal, services at a church near the estate. On April 3, 1750, Beverley provided a lot in Staunton for the erection of the Anglican Augusta Parish Church, which was completed in 1763 and succeeded by the current church on the site, Trinity Episcopal Church.

Following Beverley's death in 1756, his son Robert served as his designated "heir at law". His wife Elizabeth inherited all of his plantations in Essex County, including the Blandfield estate and all his "slaves, cattle, horses, hogs, and sheep" on those lands. Beverley divided up a large sum of his fortune to his children and their spouses. He bequeathed £500 to his daughter Elizabeth, and left Elizabeth's husband James Mills "Money & slaves" valued at £1,000. His daughter Ursula also received £500 and her husband William Fitzhugh was paid £1,000. His daughter Anna was unmarried at the time of Beverley's death, and his will instructed Robert to maintain his sister until either her marriage or her twenty-first birthday, at which time she was to be paid her inheritance. Beverley's son Robert inherited the remainder of his plantations and other lands, including the "Beverley Manor" land tract in Augusta County, which included lots within the town of Staunton. The Augusta County magisterial district south of Staunton is named Beverley Manor, a legacy of the "Beverley Manor" patent.Following his mother's death, Robert also inherited Beverley's Essex County properties, including Blandfield, where he built the present Georgian mansion on the site of his father's residence between 1769 and 1773.The Blandfield estate remained under the ownership of Beverley's descendants until its sale in 1983