University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Master's Theses Student Research 1993 Whither went the upstairs gentry? : the Colonial Council of Virginia from 1763 to 1776 Charles Stephen Weidman Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Weidman, Charles Stephen, "Whither went the upstairs gentry? : the Colonial Council of Virginia from 1763 to 1776" (1993). Master's Theses. Paper 1134. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. WHITHER WENT THE UPSTAIRS GENTRY ? The Colonial Council of Virginia from 1763 to 1776 By CHARLES STEPHEN WEIDMAN B.A., University of Vermont, 1970 J. D., Villanova University, 1973 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Richmond in Candidacy for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in History May, 1993 Richmond, Virginia LIBRA.RV UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND VIRGINIA 23173 ABBREVIATIONS EJC Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia EVB Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography JHB Journals of the House of Burgesses LJC Legislative Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia i i TABLE OF CONTENTS I . The Enigma . 1 II. The Perception of Decline ............... 12 III. The Heavy Shoes of Responsibility ....... 23 IV. The Power 39 A. Council Demographics ................ 39 B. Mr. Williamsburg .................... 44 c. The Two Brothers 53 V. The Glory . 65 A. The Force of 1749 66 B.