continued to hold until 1719 or 1720. From 1695 until 1699, Peter Beverley also served on the committee to revise the colony's laws, and when that ended, became the clerk until 1705. Meanwhile, on October 20, 1698, the statehouse burned, and he and his half-brother Robert saved and then re-organized the public records. In 1700, voters in Gloucester County elected Peter Beverley as one of their representatives in the House of Burgesses. He won re-election and would serve until 1714. Also, members of the body elected him as its speaker on December 7, 1700 (defeating two other candidates) and he served in that post until replaced by Benjamin Harrison in October 1705. Although no record exists as to whether Harrison defeated Beverley in that contest, Beverley again won election as speaker on October 25, 1710, and continued in that position until the end of the 1714 session. In 1715, he was elected to the House of Burgesses in order to represent the College of William and Mary (on whose Board of Visitors he had long served), rather than nearby Gloucester County. However, after the House of Burgesses met, on August 13, 1715 it declared that election improper and unseated Beverley. However, Beverley continued to act as the colony's Treasurer until 1723. In March 1716, the William & Mary College board, which appointed surveyors for the colony, appointed Beverley as the colony's deputy surveyor general. The following summer, for about a year, Beverley also served as auditor general of the royal revenue. In 1718, Governor Alexander Spotswood had many disagreements with members of his Advisory Council, whose members previous governors had appointed and who normally served for the remainder of their lives. Gov. Spotswood proposed to replace four recalcitrant Councilors with Peter Beverley and three other men. However, the appointments required approval of the Board of Trade in London. On April 9, 1719, the Board of Trade approved Peter Beverley's appointment to replace William Byrd (1674-1744), but Byrd petitioned to retain his seat, and the petition was granted. Thus, on May 31, 1720, the Board of Trade instead approved Beverley's appointment to succeed a Councilor who had died, John Smith. Beverley was sworn in on October 31, 1720 and served until his death. Death and legacy Beverley's exact location and date of death were not recorded, although he was present at the Council meeting of December 11, 1728, and Governor William