John Bland

John Bland

John Bland
Person	John Bland
Title
First name	John
Middle name(s)
Last name	Bland
Suffix
Spouse of
Widow of
Occupation	Merchant
Secondary shorebased occupation
Mariner occupation
Associated with ship(s)
Training	Not apprentice
Is apprentice of
Was apprentice of
Had apprentice(s)
Citizen	Unknown
Literacy	Signature
Has opening text	John Bland
Has signoff text	Jo: Bland
Signoff image	(Invalid transcription image)
Language skills	English language
Has interpreter
Birth street
Birth parish
Birth town
Birth county
Birth province
Birth country
Res street
Res parish	Saint Olave Hart Street
Res town	London
Res county
Res province
Res country	England
Birth year	1617
Marriage year
Death year	1680
Probate date	June 23, 1680
First deposition age	37
Primary sources
Act book start page(s)
Personal answer start page(s)
Allegation start page(s)
Interrogatories page(s)
Deposition start page(s)	HCA 13/68 f.558v Annotate
Chancery start page(s)
Letter start page(s)
Miscellaneous start page(s)
Act book date(s)
Personal answer date(s)
Allegation date(s)
Interrogatories date(s)
Deposition date(s)	Nov 17 1649, Jan 24 1653
How complete is this biography?
Has infobox completed	Yes
Has synthesis completed	No
Has HCA evidence completed	No
Has source comment completed	No
Ship classification
Type of ship	N/A
Silver Ship litigation in 1650s
Role in Silver Ship litigation	None

Biographical synthesis

John Bland (b. ca. 1617; d. 1680).

A kinsman of the Hamburg merchant Dirick Dobler the elder. Specifically, John Bland was the cousin german of Dirick Dobler the elder through John Bland's mother. His mother is identified in an online genealogical source as Susanne De Dobbeler, who was married to John Bland (b. 1572; d. 1632), a London grocer, with extensive interests in Virginia. Susanne De Dobbeler (b. ca. 1590, Hamburg; d. 1665, London) is claimed to be the daughter of Dietrich De Dobbeler (b. ca. 1540; d, 1614) and Maria Le Brun, her father Dietrich, gaving moved from the Spanish Netherlands to Hamburg.

Dirick Dobler the younger, son of his eponymous father, lodged in London at John Bland's house, until he went to Nantes, at the request of his father, to conduct his father's business there.

Resident in 1649 and 1654 in the parish of Saint Olave Hart Street.

The will of John Bland, merchant of London, was proved on June 23rd 1680.

Evidence from High Court of Admiralty

November 1649

Thirty-five year old John Bland deposed on November 17th 1649 in the High Court of Admiralty. He gave his occupation as merchant and was resident in the parish of Saint Olaves Hart Street.

January 1654

Thirty-seven year old John Bland deposed on 24th January 1654 in the High Court of Admiralty. He was examined on an allegation in the cause of "The clayme of Dirrick de Dobler and others for their goods in the shipp Justice".

The case concerned the goods of Dirick de Dobler (al.t Dirrick Dobler), a Hamburg merchant, and others, in the ship the Justice.

John Bland was requested by Michael Heytman, master of the ship the Justice, to read Heytman's deposition to him in Dutch (probably meaning High Dutch or German). Heytman had made this deposition at Falmouth, on the seizure of his ship. Heytman told Bland that the deposition " was not truly sett downe" regarding his statement about ownership of the goods on his ship.

Comment on sources

1632

PROB 11/161/453 Will of John Bland, Grocer of City of London 20 April 1632

1680

PROB 11/363/239 Will of John Bland, Merchant of London 23 June 1680

Undated

Neville Williams, 'The Tribulations of John Bland, Merchant: London, Seville, Jamestown, Tangier, 1643-1680', in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Vol. 72, No. 1, Part One (Jan., 1964), pp. 19-41
- article based on inventory, TNA, E 154/4/17

A John Bland, with a putative birth year of 1612, is identified by a genealogical source. This source states that he was son of John Bland, a grocer of London and of Susanna De Dobbeler. He was married to Sara, and was father of Giles Bland.