From the middle of the seventeenth century until ratification of the
Constitution of 1830, every county in Virginia was entitled to elect two
members of the lower house of the assembly, the House of Burgesses
through 1775 and the House of Delegates from 1776 through 1830. At those
elections, each adult white male who owned enough property in the county
could vote for two candidates. The cities of Williamsburg and Norfolk
each elected one burgess or delegate, and until the Constitution of 1776
went into effect the president and professors of the College of William
and the residents of Jamestown each elected one burgess. Cities that
were incorporated after the American Revolution then gained the right to
return one or more delegates.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
[log in to unmask]

Please note the new e-mail address.

Please visit the Library of Virginia's Web site at
http://www.lva.virginia.gov