Mary Willing Byrd (September 10, 1740 – March 1814) was an American planter. She was the second wife of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

William Byrd III Colonel William Byrd III (September 6, 1728January 1 or January 2, 1777) was an American planter, politician and military officer who was a member of the House of Burgesses. Early life He was son of William Byrd II and Maria Taylor Byrd, and t ...

, a

Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

n military officer at the time of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and son of the founder of

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 ...

. Her father,

Charles Willing Charles Willing (May 18, 1710 – November 30, 1754) was a Philadelphia merchant, trader and politician; twice he served as Mayor of Philadelphia, from 1748 until 1749 and again in 1754. Early life Charles Willing was born in Bristol, Engla ...

, was the

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

from 1748 to 1754, and her great-grandfather,

Edward Shippen Edward Shippen (1639, Methley, West Yorkshire, England – October 2, 1712, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was the second mayor of Philadelphia, although under William Penn's charter of 1701, he was considered the first. Early life Edward was bor ...

, was the second mayor of Philadelphia, from 1701 to 1703. Her husband committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in January 1777, leaving considerable

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

s. She managed his

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s, including

Westover Plantation Westover Plantation is a historic colonial tidewater plantation located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Established in c. 1730–1750, it is the homestead of the Byrd family of Virginia. State Route 5, ...

, in

Charles City County Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The ...

, in order to satisfy his creditors and still preserve some property for their ten children to inherit. She sold off some western lands, residences in Richmond and Williamsburg, and other property, but she was able to retain control of Westover, the major Byrd plantation in Charles City County. Although Byrd had many ties to the British and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

s during the

, she tried to remain neutral. After trying to recover property that had been seized by the British, she was charged in 1781 by the state of Virginia with trading with the enemy. Byrd defended herself eloquently in a letter to Governor

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

: "I wish well to all mankind, to America in particular. What am I but an American? All my friends and connexions are in America; my whole property is here—could I wish ill to everything I have an interest in?"Julian P. Boyd et al., eds., ''The Papers of Thomas Jefferson'' (1950– ), 4:691. Her trial was first postponed and ultimately never held. In 2007 Byrd was posthumously honored by the Library of Virginia's "

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

" program.

Children

Mary Willing Byrd had ten children: *Maria Horsmanden Byrd *Evelyn Taylor Byrd *Charles Willing Byrd (died as child) *Abby Byrd *Anne Willing Byrd *William Boyd Byrd *

Charles Willing Byrd Charles Willing Byrd (July 26, 1770 – August 25, 1828) was Secretary of the Northwest Territory, acting Governor of the Northwest Territory and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio. Educ ...

*Dorothy Byrd (died as child) *Jane Byrd *Richard Willing Byrd.

References

External links

Westover Plantation
*
Thomas Jefferson, letter to Mary Willing Byrd, October 24, 1779Mary Willing Byrd, portrait by John Wollaston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Mary Willing 1740 births 1814 deaths Shippen family American planters American slave owners People of Virginia in the American Revolution People from Charles City County, Virginia Artists from Philadelphia Women in the American Revolution

Mary Willing Byrd 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, ...

American people of English descent Burials in Virginia

Children

Further reading

References

External links