Edward Major

Edward Major
6th Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses
In office 1652–1652
Preceded by	Thomas Harwood
Succeeded by	Thomas Dew
Personal details
Born	1615 England
Died	c. 1655 Nansemond County, Virginia
Residence	Nansemond County, Virginia
Occupation	Farmer

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Major (1615 – c. 1655) was a Virginia soldier, landowner and politician.

Life

Major was born in England around 1615. He moved to Virginia in 1635 and became a prominent farmer and militia leader in Nansemond County. He was a Burgess from Upper Norfolk Co. in 1645.^[1]

Major was closely associated with Puritan settlers in the colony, and was elected Speaker of the House of Burgesses in 1652, just after Virginia acceeded to the authority of Parliament following the execution of King Charles I.^[2]

Major married Susannah Aston, daughter of Lt. Col. Walter Aston and Hannah Jordan. After Edward Major's death, Susannah had married William Batt (William Batte) by December 4, 1656.^[3]

Notes

1. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 42, Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, page 394
2. Kukla, pp. 46-47
3. Charles City County Court Records

References

• Kukla, Jon (1981). Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Burgesses, 1643–1776. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library. ISBN 0-88490-075-4.