William Byrd III
William Byrd III | |
---|---|
Born | William Byrd III September 6, 1728 |
Died | January 1 or January 2, 1777 (aged 48) Charles City, Colony of Virginia, British America |
Resting place | Old Westover Church cemetery |
Education | Middle Temple |
Occupation(s) | Plantation-Enslaver, Soldier, Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses |
Spouse(s) |
Eliza Carter
(m. 1748; died 1760)Mary Willing |
Children | 15, including Charles Willing Byrd |
Parent(s) | William Byrd II Maria Taylor Byrd |
Relatives | William Byrd I (grandfather) |
Military career | |
Allegiance | British America |
Service/ | Second Virginia Regiment |
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars | French and Indian War |
Colonel William Byrd III (September 6, 1728 – January 1 or January 2, 1777) was an American planter, politician and military officer who was a member of the House of Burgesses.[1]
Career
He was son of
William Byrd III had a reputation as a notorious gambler.[2] He initiated what was said to have been the first major horse race in the New World, involving fellow Virginia planters John Tayloe II, Francis Thornton, and Samuel Ogle & Benjamin Tasker Jr. of Maryland.
After he squandered the Byrd fortune on building a magnificent mansion at Westover Plantation, gambling, and bad investments, Byrd parceled up much of the land he had inherited from his father and sold it off to raise money to pay his debts. He also sold the enslaved African laborers who had worked on his estate plantation.
Although his sale of property in assets of land, and enslaved, generated a huge sum, it still was not enough to pay off his creditors. Later, Byrd resorted to a lottery, the prizes of which would come from his estate, Belvidere, at the falls of the James River. However the lottery failed to generate sufficient revenue.[3]
Marriage and family
In 1748, Byrd married Elizabeth Carter, daughter of
The 10 children of his second marriage (to
- Maria Horsmanden Byrd
- Evelyn Taylor Byrd
- Charles Willing Byrd (died as child)
- Abby Byrd
- Anne Willing Byrd
- William Boyd Byrd
- Charles Willing Byrd
- Dorothy Byrd (died as child)
- Jane Byrd
- Richard Willing Byrd
References
- ^ Evans, Emory G. "William Byrd (1728–1777)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ^ "A gambler's tale: The son of Richmond's founder had quite a life - and death". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- OCLC 20263021. At Google Books.
- ^ "A gambler's tale: The son of Richmond's founder had quite a life - and death". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
External links
- William Byrd III at History.org
- William Byrd III at Find a Grave