Mary Willing Byrd
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Mary Willing Byrd (September 10, 1740 – March 1814) was an American planter. At twenty years of age, she became the step-mother of five children and managed the family and household at Westover Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia beginning her second year of marriage. Together Byrd and her husband, William Byrd III, had ten more children before he committed suicide in 1777. She determined what property to hold on to and what to sell of what she inherited so that she could pay off debts, preserve Westover Plantation, and retain some land for the Byrd children.
Mary Willing Byrd | |
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Born | Mary Willing September 10, 1740 |
Died | March 1814 (aged 73) |
Resting place | Westover Church, Charles City County, Virginia |
Spouse | William Byrd III (m. January 29, 1761, d. 1777) |
Children | 10, including Charles Willing Byrd |
Parent(s) | Charles Willing Anne Shippen |
Relatives | Thomas Willing (brother) Elizabeth Willing Powel (sister) Edward Shippen (great-grandfather) |
During the American Revolutionary War, British forces seized some of her property and when she tried to regain it, the State of Virginia accused her with dealing with the enemy. After she explained the situation in letters, the case was dropped and did not go to trial.