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- Hugh Drysdale was lieutenant governor of Virginia, ruling the colony in the absence of Governor George Hamilton, first earl of Orkney, from 1722 until his death in 1726. Born in Ireland and educated in Dublin and at Oxford, Drysdale served in the English army and probably saw action in Portugal early in the War of Spanish Succession (1701? 1714). He retired in 1722 and likely knew Orkney [George Douglas-Hamilton, Earl of Orkney] , a leading military man and a member of the official household of George I. Through this connection, Drysdale was appointed lieutenant governor of Virginia and impressed the Council of State with his "Courteous disposition." He called the General Assembly in 1723 and amid fears of an insurrection proposed reforms to laws related to crimes committed by slaves. Taking the side of planters, Drysdale also approved a bill aimed at raising the price of tobacco. He failed, however, at reforming land office practices that had allowed the former governor Alexander Spotswood to accumulate large quantities of land. Shortly after calling a second assembly in 1726, Drysdale died in Williamsburg.
- (Research):An assertion made late in the nineteenth century that they had a daughter who married into the Herndon family of Virginia has not been documented, and inasmuch as neither Drysdale nor his widow mentioned children in their wills, it is unlikely that they had any who survived.
1672? 1673 In one of these two years, Hugh Drysdale is born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, the son of an Anglican clergyman.
May 8, 1688 Hugh Drysdale matriculates at Trinity College, Dublin.
February 1692 Hugh Drysdale enters Queen's College, University of Oxford.
1694 With the appellation gentleman, Hugh Drysdale is commissioned an ensign and embarks on a career in the army.
1701? 1703 Hugh Drysdale serves in the English army in Ireland.
1709? 1713 Hugh Drysdale is a major in the English army and second in command of a marine regiment under a nephew of the duke of Marlborough.
1722 By this year, Hugh Drysdale is retired from the English army and married to a woman named Hester.
April 3, 1722 Hugh Drysdale is appointed lieutenant governor of Virginia after the king's ministers decide to replace Alexander Spotswood.
September 27, 1722 Hugh Drysdale takes the oaths of office as lieutenant governor of Virginia in Williamsburg, and with his wife Hester takes up residence in the governor's palace.
May 1723 Lieutenant Governor Hugh Drysdale summons the General Assembly and proposes reforms to the militia laws and the laws governing crimes committed by slaves, which help calm fears following rumors of an insurrection.
May 1726 Lieutenant Governor Hugh Drysdale summons the General Assembly for a second time for the dispatch of largely routine business.
July 22, 1726 Lieutenant Governor Hugh Drysdale dies in Williamsburg. He is buried in the yard of Bruton Parish Church there.
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