Bland was probably apprenticed to Bruce as a carpenter before working in his father’s cooper shop making hogsheads for tobacco.

[2] Bland was probably apprenticed to Bruce as a carpenter before working in his father’s cooper shop making hogsheads for tobacco.

[3] While a staunch defender of constitutionally guaranteeing the black franchise, Bland supported restoring the vote to ex-Confederates.

The Richmond and Petersburg press at the time lamented the passing of the most able member of the African-American race sitting in the state legislature.

In 1873, Bland's co-delegate at the Constitutional Convention, Edgar Allan was elected to the Virginia Senate, representing Prince Edward, Amelia, and Cumberland Counties.