Maria Taylor Byrd

Maria Taylor Byrd (November 10, 1698 – August 28, 1771) was an English-born woman who managed her and her husband William Byrd II's Westover Plantation during his periods of absence. During their lifetimes, William Byrd III and Maria Taylor Byrd's holdings increased to 179,423 acres of land and hundreds of slaves. After he died, she was to manage the estate only until her son William Byrd III came of age, but he had married and decided to live with his wife at the family's Belvidere plantation instead. Byrd then continued to manage Westover through her son's first marriage and until her death. She oversaw the plantation's activities, its slaves, household duties, and the care and upkeep of the property on the plantation.

Early life Maria Taylor Byrd was born on November 10, 1698. She was the eldest daughter and a co-heiress of a gentleman from Kensington, England, Thomas Taylor. Her sister Anne married Captain Francis Otway.

She had a good education and was well-read. Upon learning of her skill with languages, William Byrd II wrote her a letter written in Greek: "When indeed I learned that you also spoke Greek, the tongue of the Muses, I went completely crazy about you".

She was a writer of Belles-lettres. She had a copy of The Works of Mr Abraham Cowley Consisting of Those which were formerly printed: and Those which he Design'd for the Press of Abraham Cowley. It was rare for a woman of the Thirteen Colonies to own such a book.

Marriage

On May 9, 1724, she married William Byrd II, the only son of William Byrd I in London.

In 1726, they sailed to Virginia and settled at the Westover Plantation.

Manage estate

Byrd managed the estate while her husband was away. She oversaw the work of employees and enslaved people, settled household matters, and oversaw growing and harvesting the farm's produce, including wheat.

Her husband described running the plantation: quote|Like one of the patriarchs, I have my flocks, my bond-men, and bond-women, and every sort of trade amongst my own servants, so that I live in a kind of independence on every one, but Providence. How ever tho' this sort of life is without expense yet it is attended with a great deal of trouble. I must take care to keep all my people to their duty, to set all the springs in motion, and to make every one draw his equal share to carry the machine forward.|William Byrd II

William Byrd III did not take over Westover when he came of age. He and Elizabeth Hill Carter were married in 1748 and lived at Belvidere, another Byrd estate, in Richmond, Virginia. Byrd continued to manage Westover. In her letters to her son, Byrfd told him of decisions she made and sometimes sought his advice, such as questions she asked him about the windmill, purchasing and maintaining horses, and agriculture.

In 1756, William left his wife and children at Belvidere and fought in the French and Indian War under Lord Loudoun. At that time, he was said to have repudiated his wife and had decided not to return to her. He put the running of Belvidere in the hands of his friends. She is buried at Westover Plantation.