Maria Taylor Byrd (November 10, 1698 – ) was a prominent colonial woman who managed her and her husband William Byrd II's Westover Plantation during his periods of absence. During their lifetimes, William Byrd III and Maria Taylor Byrd's holdings increased to 179,423 acres of land and hundreds of enslaved people. After he died, she was to manage the estate only until her son William Byrd III

came of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

, but he had married and decided to live with his wife at the family's Belvidere plantation instead. Byrd then continued to manage Westover through her son's first marriage and until her death. She oversaw the plantation's activities, its workers, household duties, and the care and upkeep of the property on the plantation.

Early life

Maria Taylor Byrd was born on November 10, 1698. She was the eldest daughter and a co-heiress of a gentleman from

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, England, Thomas Taylor. Her sister Anne married Captain Francis Otway. She had a good education and was well-read. Upon learning of her skill with languages, William Byrd II wrote her a letter written in Greek: "When indeed I learned that you also spoke Greek, the tongue of the Muses, I went completely crazy about you". She was a writer of

Belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

. She had a copy of ''The Works of Mr Abraham Cowley Consisting of Those which were formerly printed: and Those which he Design'd for the Press'' of

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

. It was rare for a woman of the Thirteen Colonies to own such a book.

Marriage

On May 9, 1724, she married William Byrd II, the only son of William Byrd I in London. It was his second marriage. William Byrd II was educated in London, England and was there from 1697 to 1705 and then 1715 to 1726. A member of the wealthy planter class, he was one of the richest men in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

. In 1726, they sailed to Virginia and settled at the Westover Plantation. In the 1720s and 1730s, Virginia's elite class began to "cultivate a sense of civilized living and grace," according to scholar Peter Martin. The Byrds relied on Westover to produce wealth and afford them a lifestyle befitting their class. According to biographer Kathleen M. Brown, it provided them a "personal arena for mastery" that did not require them to perform manual labor themselves. Meat, vegetables and fruit were produced at Westover. They had domestic slaves. A white woman called "Nurse" and Anaka, an enslaved women, cared for the children. Two other bondswomen, Moll was a cook and Jenny took care of household duties. They had children: Anne Carter, Ann Gathright, Maria Taylor Carter, Colonel William Byrd III, and Jane Page.

Manage estate

Byrd managed the estate while her husband was away. She oversaw the work of employees and enslaved people, settled household matters, and oversaw growing and harvesting the farm's produce, including wheat. The Byrd's property included 179,423 acres of land and hundreds of enslaved people. Her husband described running the plantation: After her husband died in 1744, she became the owner of Westover and its enslaved workers, and became a prominent property owner in the colony, until her only son William Byrd III

at 21, according to the terms of the willf. He was 15 when his father died. William Byrd III did not take over Westover when he came of age. He and Elizabeth Hill Carter were married in 1748 and lived at Belvidere, another Byrd estate, in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Byrd had some disputes with her daughter-in-law. Byrd continued to manage Westover. In her letters to her son, Byrfd told him of decisions she made and sometimes sought his advice, such as questions she asked him about the windmill, purchasing and maintaining horses, and agriculture. The mansion was destroyed by a fire in 1748 or 1749, which required rebuilding of the house. Since this was during the period that William Byrd III lived at Belvidere, it is assumed that Byrd oversaw the reconstruction of the Westover mansion. She coordinated work that continued into 1761 when brick walls of two gardens were replaced. In 1756, William left his wife and children at Belvidere and fought in the French and Indian War under

Lord Loudoun General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (5 May 1705 – 27 April 1782) was a Scottish nobleman and British army officer. Early career Born in Scotland two years before the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, in which his father Hugh ...

. At that time, he was said to have repudiated his wife and had decided not to return to her. He put the running of Belvidere in the hands of his friends. During his five-year absence from his family, his wife died in 1760. In 1761, William married

Mary Willing Mary Willing Byrd (September 10, 1740 – March 1814) was an American planter. She was the second wife of Colonel William Byrd III, a Colonial American military officer at the time of the American Revolution and son of the founder of Richmond, Vir ...

and they began living at Westover in 1762. After William Byrd III took ownership of Westover, William Byrd II's will allowed her to live at Westover for the remainder of her life and to receive 200 pounds sterling each year as long as she was unmarried. However, she was involved in the oversight of Westover until her death. Her son took over management of Westover and he managed the estate poorly and became deeply in debt by the time of his death in 1777. His wife Mary Willing Byrd inherited the estate and ran it successfully.

Death

Maria Taylor Byrd died on August 28, 1771 at Westover Plantation. She is buried at Westover Plantation.

References

External links

Recovering William Byrd's Library:
The First Virginia Library History Award (virginialibrariesjournal.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Maria Taylor Created via preloaddraft 1698 births 1771 deaths 18th-century women landowners People from Kensington People from Charles City County, Virginia American planters Maria Taylor Byrd Colonial American women British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies