House of Burgesses

The House of Burgesses was the name given to the lower house of the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. The name, House of Burgesses, over time came to represent the entire official legislative body of the Colony of Virginia, and later, after the American Revolution, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Governor's Council

The upper house was called the Governor's Council. Members of the first council were:

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• Samuel Macock
• John Pory
• Captain Nathaniel Powell
• Captain Francis West
• Reverend William Wickham
• John Pory (designated speaker)
• John Twine (clerk of the General Assembly)
• Thomas Pierce, Sergeant of Arms

Plantations and their representatives were:

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• for James City: Ensign William Spense and Captain William Powell
• for Charles City: Samuel Sharpe and Samuel Jordan
• for the City of Henricus: Thomas Dowse and John Plentine
• for Kiccowtan: Captain William Tucker and William Capp
• for Martin-Brandon, Captain John Martin's Plantation: Thomas Davis and Robert Stacy
• for Smythe's Hundred: Captain Thomas Graves and Walter Shelley
• for Martin's Hundred (also known as Wolstenholme): John Boys and John Jackson
• for Argal's Gift: Thomas Pawlett and Edward Gourgainy
• for Flowerdew Hundred: Ensign Edmund Rossingham and John Jefferson
• for Captain Lawne's Plantation: Captain Christophor Lawne and Ensign Washer
• for Captain Warde's Plantation: Captain John Warde and Lieutenant John Gibbes