1.
Governor of Virginia
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The Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The current holder of the office is Terry McAuliffe, who was sworn in on January 11,2014 and his term will expire on January 13,2018. McAuliffe is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the office on November 5,2013, candidates for governor must be United States citizens who have resided in Virginia and been a registered voter for five years prior to the election in which they are running. The candidates must be at least 30 years of age, Virginia governors are not allowed to serve consecutive terms, therefore, they cannot stand for reelection at the end of their term, as per the 1830 state constitution. However, a governor is permitted to run for a second term in a future election. Only two governors since 1830, William Smith and Mills Godwin, were elected to additional terms, the governor is the head of government in Virginia. At the beginning of regular session, he or she must report the state of the Commonwealth to the Virginia General Assembly. He or she must convene the legislature when two-thirds of each house calls for a special session. The governor must ensure that the laws of the Commonwealth are faithfully executed by either signing, or allowing it to come into law, or vetoing and they are responsible for the safety of the state, as they serve as commander-in-chief of the Virginia Militia. The governor has the power to submit recommendations and to call special sessions when he finds them necessary. All bills must be sent to the governor before becoming law, the governor may sign the bill, let it sit unsigned for seven days, after which it becomes law, or veto the legislation. After a veto, the returns to its house of origin. The governor also has the power to use a line-item veto and he may send legislation back to the legislature with recommendations and amendments. The legislature must either approve the changes by a majority in each house or override the veto with a majority in each house. The governor is commander-in-chief of Virginias militia forces, the governor may also communicate with other states and foreign powers. The governor has the power to fill vacancies in positions unless the position is appointed by the legislature, the governor may commute fines or sentences and issue pardons. The governor may also restore voting rights and overturn other political penalties on individuals, the position of Governor of Virginia dates back to the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown. The Virginia Company of London set up a government run by a council, the President of the Council basically served as governor
2.
James Patton Preston
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James Patton Preston was a U. S. political figure who served as Governor of Virginia. James Patton Preston was born at Smithfield Plantation, in what is now Blacksburg and he attended the College of William and Mary from 1790 to 1795, and managed his familys estate. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he served for four years the Virginia State Senate and he joined the United States Army for the War of 1812, serving as Lieutenant Colonel and second in command of the 12th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to Colonel of the 23rd Infantry Regiment in August 1813, after the war Preston returned to the House of Delegates. After leaving office, Preston served as Postmaster of Richmond before retiring to his estate and he died at Smithfield Plantation on May 4,1843 and was buried in the estates cemetery. Preston County, West Virginia was formed in 1818 and named in his honor, also named for him is a residence hall at William and Mary. His father was Colonel William Preston and his mother was Susanna Smith, Preston was married to Ann Taylor, with whom he had three children. Their son William Ballard Preston served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, during the American Civil War William B. Preston was a Senator in the Congress of the Confederate States, James Patton Preston was the brother-in-law of John Floyd and the uncle of James McDowell and John Buchanan Floyd. James Patton Preston at Find a Grave “Memoirs of Letitia Preston Floyd, written Feb.22,1843 to her son Benjamin Rush Floyd, by Letitia Preston Floyd, archival Records A Guide to the Governor James Patton Preston Executive Papers, 1816–1819 at The Library of Virginia
3.
James Pleasants
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James Pleasants, Jr. was an American politician who served in the U. S. Senate from 1819 to 1822 and was the 22nd Governor of Virginia from 1822 to 1825. Pleasants was born at “Cold Comfort, ” in the Colony of Virginia on October 24,1769 and he pursued classical studies and graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Amelia County, Pleasants was the son of James Pleasants and Ann Randolph, the daughter of Isham Randolph of Dungeness and granddaughter of William Randolph. Pleasants was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1797–1802, on January 30,1811, he was appointed to the Court of Appeals but resigned almost immediately. Pleasants served as chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy and he was also chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs. He was chosen as Governor of Virginia, serving 1822–1825, Pleasants was a delegate to the State constitutional conventions in 1829 and 1830. He retired and lived on his estate, “Contention, ” near Goochland, Goochland County, Virginia and he was buried on his estate. His brother-in-law and law partner, Eugene C, Massie, named his son James Pleasants Massie, after Pleasants. The name has been handed down, now to a total of four generations. His son John Hampden Pleasants founded the Richmond Whig newspaper, married twice, a Guide to the Governor James Pleasants Executive Papers, 1822–1825 at The Library of Virginia United States Congress. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
4.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
5.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
6.
Virginia's 21st congressional district
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Virginia Congressional District 21 is an obsolete congressional district. It was eliminated in 1843 after the 1840 U. S. Census and its last Congressman was Lewis Steenrod. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
7.
Wilson Cary Nicholas
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Wilson Cary Nicholas was an American politician who served in the U. S. Senate from 1799 to 1804 and was the 19th Governor of Virginia from 1814 to 1816. Nicholas was born in Williamsburg in the Colony of Virginia and later attended the College of William, Nicholas served as a lieutenant in the Albemarle County Militia during the American Revolution. After the war, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1784–1789, said Nicholas, The conventions which shall be so called will have their deliberations confined to a few points, no local interest to divert their attention, nothing but the necessary alterations. They will have advantages over the last Convention. No experiments to devise, the general and fundamental regulations being already laid down, during the years 1794–1800, Nicholas served again in the State house of delegates. He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses and served from March 4,1807, Nicholas was chosen to be Governor of Virginia and served in that position 1814–1817. Nicholas also served as president of the Richmond branch of the Second Bank of the United States and his speculations in western lands put him in serious debt during the Panic of 1819. Having convinced Thomas Jefferson to endorse two of his notes for $10,000 each, he also plunged Jefferson into debt and he died at Tufton, near Charlottesville, Virginia. Nicholas was interred in the Jefferson burying ground at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Wilson Cary Nicholas married Margaret Smith of Baltimore. His brother George was married to Margarets sister Mary, Margaret and Mary Smith were the sisters of Samuel Smith and Robert Smith. The children of Wilson Cary Nicholas and Margaret Smith included, Mary Buchanan, Charlotte G. Jane Hollins, John Smith, Jane Hollins Nicholas was the wife of Thomas Jeffersons grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph. Nicholas County, West Virginia was formed in 1843 and named for him, also named for him is a residence hall at William and Mary. Media related to Wilson Cary Nicholas at Wikimedia Commons United States Congress, biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Wilson Cary Nicholas at Find a Grave Archival Records A Guide to the Governor Wilson Cary Nicholas Executive Papers, 1814–1816 at The Library of Virginia
8.
Virginia House of Delegates
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The Virginia House of Delegates is one of two parts in the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years, unlike most states, these take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, the Speaker is almost always a member of the majority party and, as Speaker, becomes the most powerful member of the House. The House shares legislative power with the Senate of Virginia, the house of the Virginia General Assembly. The House of Delegates is the successor to the Virginia House of Burgesses. The House is divided into Democratic and Republican caucuses, in addition to the Speaker, there is a majority leader, majority caucus chair, minority leader, minority caucus chair, and the chairs of the several committees of the House. Through the House of Burgesses, the Virginia House of Delegates is considered the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World, originally having 22 members, the House of Burgesses met from 1619 through 1632 in the choir of the church at Jamestown. From 1632 to 1699 the legislative body met at four different state houses in Jamestown, the first state house convened at the home of Colonial Governor Sir John Harvey from 1632 to 1656. The burgesses convened at the state house from 1656 until it was destroyed in 1660. Historians have yet to identify its location. The House has met in Virginias Capitol Building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, the legislative body met from 1788 to 1904 in what is known as today the Old Hall of the House of Delegates or commonly referred to as the Old House Chamber. The Old House Chamber is part of the original Capitol building structure and it measures 76 feet in width and is filled today with furnishings that resemble what the room would have looked like during its time of use. There are many bronze and marble busts of historic Virginians on display in the Old House Chamber, including, George Mason, George Wythe, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and Meriwether Lewis. From 1904 to 1906, University of Virginia graduate and architect John K. Peeples designed, the General Assembly members and staff operate from offices in the General Assembly Building, located in Capitol Square. Prior to 1788 the House of Delegates met in the Colonial Capital of Williamsburg, in 1999, Republicans took control of the long-time Democratic House of Delegates for the first time since Reconstruction. The annual salary for delegates is $17,640 per year, each delegate represents roughly 83,000 people. Candidates for office must be at least 21 years of age at the time of the election, residents of the districts they seek to represent, and qualified to vote for General Assembly legislators. The regular session of the General Assembly is 60 days long during even numbered years and 30 days long during odd numbered years, the House has 14 standing committees
9.
Senate of Virginia
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The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing a number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor presides daily over the Virginia Senate. In the Lieutenant Governors absence, the President pro Tempore presides, the Senate is equal with the House of Delegates, the lower chamber of the legislature, except that taxation bills must originate in the House, similar to the federal U. S. Congress. Members of the Virginia Senate are elected every four years by the voters of the 40 senatorial districts on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November, the last election took place in November 2015. There are no limits for Senators. In the 2007 Virginia state elections, the Democratic Party reclaimed the majority in the Senate for the first time since 1995, the Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time in history after a January 1998 special election. The 2011 elections resulted in a 20–20 split between the parties, but as the tie breaker was Republican Lt, Governor Bill Bolling, the Republicans effectively regained control. The Democratic majority would prove short-lived, however, as Senator Phil Puckett resigned, effective June 8, the Republicans solidified their majority following a Special Election win on August 19,2014, which increased their total number of seats to 21. The Senate of Virginia was created by the 1776 Constitution of Virginia, along with the House of Delegates, the Senate comprised a new bicameral legislature designed to replace the colonial Virginia House of Burgesses, which formally dissolved on the sixth of May,1776. Pursuant to the original Virginia Constitution, the Senate was only permitted to file amendments, accordingly, the Senate had far less power than the House, until the revised Virginia constitution of 1851 allowed the Senate to propose new laws. The annual salary for senators is $18,000 per year, to qualify for office, senators must be at least 21 years of age at the time of the election, residents of the district they represent, and qualified to vote for General Assembly legislators. The regular session of the General Assembly is 60 days long during even numbered years and 30 days long during odd numbered years, the Senate of Virginia has 10 Standing Committees and a Committee on Rules. The Senate of Virginia has its own coat of arms designed and granted by the College of Arms in England, the coat of arms also makes up the official seal of the Virginia Senate. It bears no resemblance to the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia and this is not to be confused with the Seal of the London Company, for other than both devices displaying a quartered shield, there is little resemblance between them. The Senates arms have a shield in the center which is divided into four sections by a red cross, in each quarter are smaller shields representing the arms of four countries that contributed settlers to Virginias most early waves of European immigration. An ivory gavel emblazoned on the arm of the red cross represents the Senate as a law making body. The cardinal and dogwood depicted are Virginias official state bird and tree, the ribbon contains the Latin motto of the Senate, Floreat Senatus Virginiae, which means May the Senate of Virginia flourish
10.
Tuckahoe (plantation)
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Tuckahoe, also known as Tuckahoe Plantation, is located on Route 650 near Manakin, Virginia overlapping both Goochland and Henrico counties, six miles from the town of the same name. Built in the first half of the 18th century, it is an example of a colonial plantation house. Thomas Jefferson is also recorded as having spent some of his childhood here and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969. Construction of the home began by Thomas Randolph around 1714, william Randolph, Thomas son, built a two-story, four room home in 1733 around the existing structure. This wing features pine and black walnut paneling with exquisite carvings and moldings, william then added a center hall and south wing, creating a unique H-shaped, which were completed by 1740. William and his wife, Maria Judith Page, had three children, two daughters and a son, but his wife died in 1744, william Randolphs cousin Jane married Peter Jefferson, and they were close friends. The Jeffersons moved from Shadwell in Charlottesville to Tuckahoe Plantation with their four daughters, the Jeffersons lived in the H shape home with their own five children and the three Randolph orphans until 1752. During the seven years of the Jefferson residency, young Thomas was tutored in a schoolhouse with his sisters. Jefferson directed the activities of the plantation and its seven overseers, in 1792, Thomas Mann Randolph III was born. To the dismay of Randolph Jr. Randolph III inherited Tuckahoe, since then, it has continued to be privately owned. The house is occupied by owner/manager Addison B. Thompson. The grounds are open for self-guided tours, the house is open for private tours by appointment and may also be rented for private events. The two-story wood structure sits in its spot, the only Randolph home to not be relocated. The structure forms an H, with wings mirroring each other, the entrances to the house are reached by flights of stairs and two porches. The stoop is covered by a pediment supported by simple wooden posts and is framed by a wooden railing. To either side of the entrance is a pair of windows as well as a window over the entrance. Each two-sashed window contains 9 panes of glass, the gabled roof rests on a simple cornice line with dentil moldings. A large brick chimney rises from either side of the home, vA-712, Tuckahoe Plantation, River Road, Richmond vicinity, Manakin vicinity, Goochland County, VA,8 measured drawings
Media related to Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. at Wikimedia Commons
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.
