William Byrd II (March 28, 1674 – August 26, 1744) was a Virginian planter, slave owner, lawyer, surveyor and writer. Born in the English colony of Virginia, Byrd was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, Byrd returned to Virginia in 1705. He served as a member of the Virginia Governor's Council from 1709 to 1744. Byrd was also the London agent for the House of Burgesses in the 1720s. His life showed aspects of both the British colonial gentry and an emerging American identity.[1]
Byrd led surveying expeditions of the border of Virginia and North Carolina. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia.[1] Byrd expanded his plantation holdings and commanded county militias during his life. His enterprises included promoting Swiss settlement in mountainous southwest Virginia and iron mining ventures in Germanna and Fredericksburg.[1] A member of the Royal Society, Byrd was an early advocate of variolation to counter smallpox.[1]
He may be best known for his writings in his diary and the narratives of his surveying, some of which have been published in American literature textbooks.[1] Byrd recorded his exploits, which are notable for its openness on matters of sex and punishment of his slaves.[2]
^ abcdeLong, Thomas. "William Byrd (1674–1744)". Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
^Malcolmson, Cristina (December 4, 2018). ""The Fairest Lady": Gender and Race in William Byrd's "Account of a Negro-Boy that is dappel'd in several Places of his Body with White Spots" (1697)". Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies. 18 (1): 159–179. doi:10.1353/jem.2018.0006. ISSN 1553-3786. S2CID 166096874.
WilliamByrdII (March 28, 1674 – August 26, 1744) was a Virginian planter, slave owner, lawyer, surveyor and writer. Born in the English colony of Virginia...
House of Burgesses. He was son of WilliamByrdII and Maria Taylor Byrd, and the grandson of WilliamByrd I. Byrd inherited his family's estate of approximately...
of Samuel Argall, governor of Virginia. WilliamByrd I and his wife would become the parents of WilliamByrdII and three daughters. Their daughter, Ursula...
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Maria Taylor Byrd (November 10, 1698 – August 28, 1771) was a prominent colonial woman who managed her and her husband WilliamByrdII's Westover Plantation...
warehouse in what is now the 'Pocahontas' neighborhood of Petersburg. WilliamByrdII of Westover Plantation is said to have remarked that Major Bolling...
wife of Colonel WilliamByrd III, became Mary Willing Byrd upon their marriage on January 29, 1761. William's father, WilliamByrdII, founded Richmond...
account by WilliamByrdII of the surveying of the border between the Colony of Virginia and the Province of North Carolina in 1728. Byrd's account of...
River that would later become the site of Richmond, Virginia. Byrd's son WilliamByrdII of Westover Plantation who inherited the land was an American...
Anglo-Virginian planter WilliamByrdII. While she travelled to Dublin with Edward Southwell, the Secretary of State for Ireland, Byrd wrote a series of letters...
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that Colonel WilliamByrdII made a survey of the border between Virginia and North Carolina, guided by Ned Bearskin, a Saponi hunter. Byrd noted several...
the river was first recorded by WilliamByrdII in 1728, during an expedition to survey the Virginia border, though Byrd did not explain the reason for...
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discovering the swamp's lake, which was subsequently named for him. In 1728, WilliamByrdII, while leading a land survey to establish a boundary between the Virginia...
Charles Carter (1707–1764) married Mary Walker, then Anne Byrd (daughter of Col. WilliamByrdII), then Lucy Taliaferro (who survived him). Ludlow Carter...
Evelin died in 1696 while Frances married John Custis and Lucy married WilliamByrdII, both in 1706. He also had children with two mistresses: the first...
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