Byrd Spilman Dewey

Byrd "Birdie" Spilman Dewey (née Julia Bird Spilman; February 16, 1856 – April 1, 1942) was an American author, land investor, and co-developer of the Town of Boynton. She lived in Florida from 1881 until her death in 1942. In the period between 1889 and 1895 she published a series of articles in Good Housekeeping, mostly short stories on a variety of moral and home topics.

In 1891, Dewey became the first columnist in Guy Metcalf's newspaper The Tropical Sun. She began publishing her weekly column "The Sitting Room" in April 1891 and wrote the column through September 1891. Her byline for the columns was "Aunt Judith". She also signed several poems, short stories, advice columns, and recipes with the initials J. S. The column featured housekeeping advice, philosophy on family and married life, and recipes suited for the tropical household.

In 1896, she published her first work under her own name in the Lake Worth Historian, a publication produced by the pioneer women of Lake Worth as a fundraiser for the Royal Poinciana Chapel.