All Topics  
William Byrd I

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

William Byrd I
 
 
  Topics William Byrd I Topic Home

William Byrd I (1652 – April 12, 1704) was a native of Shadwell
Shadwell

Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the west and Limehouse to the east....
, London, England. His father, John Byrd (c. 1620-1677) was a London goldsmith.

William Byrd came to Virginia in the late 1660s. On October 27, 1673, he was granted on the James River. Byrd became a well-connected fur trader in the Richmond, Virginia area. Byrd's land became (after his death) the site of modern day Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
. About 1673, he married Maria Horsmanden, a native of Hampton, Kent, England.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'William Byrd I'
Start a new discussion about 'William Byrd I'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


William Byrd I (1652 – April 12, 1704) was a native of Shadwell
Shadwell

Shadwell is an inner-city district situated within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets located on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping to the west and Limehouse to the east....
, London, England. His father, John Byrd (c. 1620-1677) was a London goldsmith.

William Byrd came to Virginia in the late 1660s. On October 27, 1673, he was granted on the James River. Byrd became a well-connected fur trader in the Richmond, Virginia area. Byrd's land became (after his death) the site of modern day Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
. About 1673, he married Maria Horsmanden, a native of Hampton, Kent, England. They would become the parents of a son, William Byrd II
William Byrd II

William Byrd II was a planter and author from Charles City County, Virginia, Virginia. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia....
, and three daughters.

In 1676, Byrd was a sympathizer of Nathaniel Bacon
Nathaniel Bacon

Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy colonist of the Virginia Colony, known as the instigator of Bacon's Rebellion of 1676, which included a variety of people from the frontier: yeomen, free blacks and slaves....
 in Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion

Bacon's Rebellion was an rebellion in 1676 in the Virginia Colony, led by Nathaniel Bacon , a wealthy colonist. It was the first rebellion in the Thirteen colonies in which discontented frontiersmen took part; a similar uprising in Maryland occurred later that year....
, but probably took no active part in the rebellion. Byrd later allied himself with the Governor and became a prominent citizen.

Also in 1676, Byrd established the James River Fort on the south bank of the James River in what is now known as the Manchester District of Richmond.

Byrd was active in Virginia politics, serving many years on the council of the Virginia House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses

The Virginia House of Burgesses was the first elected lower house in the legislature in the New World established in the Colony of Virginia in 1619....
.

He died on April 12, 1704, at his plantation home of Westover
Westover Plantation

Westover Plantation is located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. It is located on State Route 5 , a scenic byway which runs between the independent cities of Richmond, Virginia and Williamsburg, Virginia....
, in Charles City County, Virginia
Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. state – officially, "Commonwealth " – of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 6,926....
.

External links