- Charles Willing Byrd
-
Charles Willing Byrd (July 26, 1770 – August 25, 1828) was an early Ohio political leader and jurist. He was the son of Colonel William Byrd III and Mary Willing Byrd. He was also the grandson of William Byrd II, who is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia.
Contents
Early life
Charles Willing Byrd was born on July 26, 1770 in Westover, Charles City County, Virginia to the wealthy and powerful Byrd family of Virginia founded by William Byrd I (Charles William Byrd's great-grandfather) who received a 1,200-acre (4.9 km2) grant on October 27, 1673 on an area of the James River that would later become the site of Richmond, Virginia. Charles' mother made sure that her son received a good education after his father, William Byrd III, committed suicide in January 1777 when Charles was only seven years-old. Charles was sent to live in Philadelphia with his uncle, Thomas Powell, who was a member of the Society of Friends and a professor at The College of William & Mary. He read law under Gouverneur Morris while in Philadelphia to become a lawyer.[1] He was accepted into the bar after completing his schooling in Philadelphia in 1794.
Legal and political career
After being accepted by the bar, Charles then became the Kentucky land agent for financier Robert Morris (most famous for financing the revolution), where he was responsible for maintaining, selling, and acquiring real estate for Morris.[2][3][4] While in Kentucky, he met and married Sarah Waters Meade, who was the daughter of his father's friend Col. David Meade on April 6, 1797. After completing his remaining business, he returned to Philadelphia to open a law practice that same year.[3][5] In 1799, Charles moved to the Northwest Territory, where due to his legal background, he quickly became involved in government affairs.
Secretary of Northwest Territory
When Captain William Henry Harrison resigned his seat as Secretary of Northwest Territory after the territorial legislature sent Harrison to the House of Representatives as a non-voting delegate, Byrd was appointed by President John Adams on October 3, 1799, and took his oath of office before Governor St. Clair on February 26, 1800.[6] During the time Charles was acting as secretary of the Northwest Territory, he also served as a Hamilton county delegate to the 1802 Ohio Constitutional Convention.[7][8]
Territorial Governor
1803 signature
When President Thomas Jefferson removed Arthur St. Clair from the office of Territorial Governor, Charles became acting governor as well as secretary of the territory on November 22, 1802. Charles stayed as Secretary of the Northwest Territory intil Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803 and stayed as Territorial Governor until Edward Tiffin was duly elected governor of the state of Ohio on March 3, 1803.[6][9]
Federal Judge
On March 1, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson nominated him to be the first Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio,[5] a new seat created by 2 Stat. 201. Byrd was confirmed by the United States Senate, and received his commission, on March 3, 1803. The first Court sat in the statehouse at Chillicothe, Ohio on June 6, 1803. The court in its first session participated in the aftermath of the trial of Aaron Burr. The indictment charged Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, with commencing an expedition to wage war against Spain via Mexico, but the charges were eventually dropped in 1819.[10] Another of the notable cases of this court was Osborn v. Bank of the United States, which arose out of the attempt of the Ohio Legislature to tax out of existence the bank's branches in Cincinnati and Chillicothe by imposing an annual $50,000 tax on each.[11] The case reached the United States Supreme Court and the tax was held invalid following the case of McCulloch v. Maryland. Charles remained on the court until the day of his death on August 25, 1828.[12]
Family life
On June 8, 1807, the Charles and his wife purchased from their brother-in-law, General Nathaniel Massie, a tract of 600 acres (2.4 km2) in Monroe Township, Adams County, Ohio, known as Buckeye Station and Hurricane Hill. The Byrds' home sat on a ridge overlooking Kentucky and the Ohio River. After Sarah's death on February 21, 1815, Judge Byrd moved to Chillicothe where he lived and worked for a year before moving to West Union, Ohio.[13]
While residing in West Union, he met and married Hannah Miles (died August 14, 1839)on March 8, 1818. From his diary, Judge Byrd showed an extreme consciousness on matters of physical health and religion. Charles purchased an area called "Sinking Spring" in Highland County because he believed the waters there possessed medicinal properties conducive to health and longevity. He guarded the diets of his family and himself. By his place at the dining table, Byrd kept a small silver scale, upon which he weighed every article of food allowing a certain quantity of fat, sugar and phosphates with each portion given to himself and his family. Charles along with at least one of his sons had a deep interest in the Shakers movement, giving them significant amounts of money.
The children of Byrd's first marriage were Mary Powell Byrd, Kidder Meade Byrd, William Silonwee Byrd, Evalyn Harrison Byrd. The children of his second marriage were Jane Byrd and Samuel Otway Byrd. Judge Byrd died on August 25, 1828 at the age of fifty-eight and was interred at the old rural cemetery, Sinking Spring, Highland County, Ohio.[5]
References
- ^ Evans, Nelson Wiley; Emmons B. Stivers (1900). A History of Adams County, Ohio: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Including Character Sketches of the Prominent Persons Identified with the First Century of the Country's Growth .... E B. Stivers. http://books.google.com/books?id=8HwUAAAAYAAJ&q=Charles+Willing+Byrd#search_anchor. pp. 526-527; J. W. Klise stated that Byrd began his legal education with his uncle. J. W. Klise, ed., State Centennial History of Highland County, 1902; 1902. Reprint. Owensboro, KY: Cook & McDowell, 1980, p. 168.
- ^ Milligan, Fred J. (2003). Ohio's Founding Fathers. iUniverse. pp. 49. ISBN 0595293220. http://books.google.com/books?id=NPaBPe6wPfcC&pg=PA49&dq=Robert+Morris+Charles+Willing+Byrd. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ a b "Charles W. Byrd", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005
- ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (1952). Tyler's quarterly historical and genealogical magazine. s.n.. pp. 298. http://books.google.com/books?q=WILL+OF+ROBERT+MORRIS%2C+REVOLUTIONARY+WAR+FINANCIER+Found+in+McDowell+Co.%2C+Marion&btnG=Search+Books. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ a b c [1], Charles Willing Byrd (1770-1828) Bibliography
- ^ a b Burtner Jr., W.H.. "Charles Willing Byrd". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications 41: 237–240. http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohstemplate.cfm?action=detail&Page=0041237.html&StartPage=237&EndPage=240&volume=41&newtitle=Volume%2041%20Page%20237.
- ^ Judges of the United States. 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1983), 71.
- ^ "First Constitutional Convention, Convened November 1, 1802". Ohio Archaeological and Historical Publications V: 131–132. 1896. http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ohstemplate.cfm?action=detail&Page=0005131.html&StartPage=80&EndPage=132&volume=5&newtitle=Volume%205%20Page%2080.
- ^ Rush R. Sloane, "Organization and Admission of Ohio into the Union and the Great Seal of the State." in Ohio Centennial Anniversary Celebration, ed., E.O. Randall. (Columbus, Oh.: Ohio State Archaeological & Historical Society, 1903), 104-105.
- ^ United States v. Burr, CCKy, FedCas No. 14,692 [8 Nov 1806]; 25 Fed 1 (1896)
- ^ Osborn v. Bank of the United States, 22 U.S. 9 Wheat. 738 738 (1824)
- ^ Byrd mss., 1794-1881, Lilly Library Manuscript Collections, Indiana University
- ^ The house built in 1797 at Buckeye Station by Massie was sold to John Ellison August 15, 1817. Ibid., 53; Evans, A History of Adams County, Ohio, 527-528.
Sources
- Charles Willing Byrd at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Political offices Preceded by
William Henry HarrisonSecretary of Northwest Territory
January 1, 1800 – March 1, 1803Succeeded by
NonePreceded by
Arthur St. ClairGovernor of Northwest Territory
November 22, 1802 - March 3, 1803Succeeded by
NoneLegal offices Preceded by
Newly created seatJudge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Ohio
March 3, 1803 - August 25, 1828Succeeded by
William Creighton, Jr.Categories:- 1770 births
- 1828 deaths
- Byrd family of Virginia
- People from Charles City County, Virginia
- American people of English descent
- Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio
- Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802)
- Governors of Northwest Territory
- United States federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson
- Ohio politicians
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
