CHARLES WILLING BYRD
BY W. H. BURTNER, JR.
The second secretary and acting
governor of the
Northwest Territory, the first United
States judge for
Ohio district, has had almost nothing
printed of his life
and endeavors. Not ten lines can be
found in the his-
tories of Ohio.
His bones now lie forgotten in a little
township
cemetery back of the new school house
at Sinking
Springs, Highland County, Ohio. He was
born at West-
over, Charles County, Virginia, July
26, 1770. He
came to Kentucky in 1794 and achieved a
reputation as
a lawyer. On the resignation of William
Henry Har-
rison, secretary of the Northwest
Territory, Charles
Willing Byrd was appointed secretary on
October 3,
1779, and took his oath of office
before Governor St.
Clair, February 26, 1800. When St.
Clair was removed
from office by President Jefferson,
Byrd became acting
governor from November 22, 1802, until
March 3, 1803,
when Edward Tiffin was duly elected
governor of the
State of Ohio. Byrd was also a member
of the Con-
vention which framed the first
Constitution of Ohio.
At this time he was but 32 years old,
and was appointed
the first United States district judge
for Ohio.
Charles Willing Byrd evidently lived in
Cincinnati
at least three years, and probably
seven, before he
bought from his brother-in-law,
Nathaniel Massie,
Buckeye Station in June, 1807. Buckeye
Station was
(237)
238 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
one of the first frame houses built in
Ohio, and is still
standing on what is known as "Gift
Ridge," which has
a commanding view of the Ohio River and
is situated
some four miles east of Manchester. He
and his family
resided there for more than ten years
to August 15,
1817. There the wife who bore him four
children died
February 12, 1815, and is buried in an
unfenced field.
The location of the graves is marked by
a walnut stump.
After leaving Buckeye Station Judge
Charles Willing
Byrd went to West Union, and on March
8, 1818, mar-
ried Hannah Miles, who is buried beside
him in the little
graveyard at Sinking Springs, having
died on August
14, 1839.
It appears that Judge Byrd had great
faith in the
curative value of the water of Sinking
Springs, and pur-
chased a farm, which included the
spring. At this time
there is owned and occupied by Mr.
Cartwright of Sink-
ing Springs, a brick residence in perfect
repair adjoin-
ing the spring which is known as Ot
Byrd's house, and
is said to be more than one hundred
years old. Of the
antiquity of this house there can be no
doubt as the brick
work is of the kind in vogue during the
time of the
American Revolution. It is the largest
and finest house
in Sinking Springs and at the time of
its erection it was
undoubtedly the residence of a man of
wealth and dis-
tinction for those days.
The property of Mr. Cartwright also
includes the
spring so I think it is safe to
consider this house as the
one built by Judge Charles Willing
Byrd. (A tablet or
some marker ought to be attached to the
house, indicat-
ing its origin and ownership.) There
are also buried in
the graveyard alongside Charles Willing
Byrd, his and
Charles Willing
Byrd 239
Hannah Byrd's son,
Samuel O., who died April 4, 1869,
in his 45th year,
and Francis E., consort of Samuel
Byrd, who died May
30, 1851, in her 26th year. The
widow of Otway Byrd
and her children, are well re-
membered in Sinking
Springs, as Mrs. Byrd kept the
postoffice there for
several years, and the children at-
tended school in
that village. It is said that the widow
and the children of
Otway Byrd have all died, except
one who is living
near Dodge City, Kans. It is pos-
sible that Willie,
as he was locally known, had the family
name of Charles
Willing, and is still alive.
"In weed-grown
graves here and there,
Rest brave forbears
and women fair,
Deeds forgotten,
their graces gone,
Passed unnoticed by
surging throng."
Samuel O. Byrd Frances E. Chas. W. Byrd
Died Consort of Died
April 4, 1869 Samuel O. Byrd Aug. 25, 1828
45 Yrs. 10 Mos. 18
D. Died Aged
Son of May 30, 1851 58 Yrs. 1 Mo. 8 Dys.
C. W. & Hannah
Byrd Aged
26 Yrs. 1 Mo. 7 Dys.
Hannah Charles Willing (Byrd)
wife of Son of
Charles W. Byrd Samuel O. & Frances E. Byrd
Died Died
Aug. 14, 1839 May 10, 1840,
Aged Aged
49 Yrs. 8 Mo. 2
Dys. 1 Yr. 1 Mo. 13 Dys.
Hon. J. W. Watts,
Probate Judge of Highland
County, has sent me
the following memoranda:
In the Charles W.
Byrd estate, our file No. 68, there is a
memorandum of
instructions to Jacob Wickerham, the adminis-
trator, to secure a
copy of the will from the Mercer County Court,
Kentucky, and also
all other papers pertaining to the same. We
find no record of
the will in this Court, but a very interesting in-
ventory in the estate
was filed on the 11th day of May, 1829,
240 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
listing family silver, furniture, etc.
Secret Journal of Congress
in four volumes, and different law
books, and for instance, 15
silver spoons $45.00, I soup ladle
$7.00, etc.
In the estate of Charles Willing Byrd,
Joseph H. Long, Ad-
ministrator, we find nothing but bond
and letters of appointment.
File No. 730.
In the Trusteeship of Charles W. Byrd,
file No. 745, we find
nothing but the bond.
In the Estate of William Byrd, Alexander
Thompkins, Ex-
ecutor, our file No. 47, we find nothing of interest.
In the Estate of William O. Byrd,
Caroline H. Byrd, his
widow, Executrix, a will dated September
17, 1888, of consider-
able interest, was filed in this Court.
Our File No. 7851.
Item I gives and bequeaths to his son,
Charles Willing Byrd,
the old Byrd Family Bible, the old family silver knife
and fork,
the old history of Virginia and its
antiquities,--and all old papers
and letters, historical or otherwise,
pertaining to the Byrd family.
Also all my title and interest in the
Dismal Swamp Land Com-
pany in Virginia.
Item 2
gives and bequeaths to his daughter, Jane
Byrd, the
Family Bible that formerly belonged to
Robert Fulton -- a small
silver spoon marked "Otty" and
"the New Testament which was
a gift to me from my Aunt Jane
Long."
Item 3 gives and bequeaths to his
daughter, Evelyn Byrd,
certain articles including "My
small Family Bible."
And Fourth all the residue of the
estate, real and personal,
was devised and bequeathed to his wife,
Caroline H. Byrd.
Charles Willing Byrd was born at
Westover, Virginia, July
22, 1770. He was the son of William Byrd III and Mary Willing,
his second wife, daughter of Charles
Willing of Philadelphia.
Charles Willing Byrd married Sarah Meade
of Maycox
Landing, Virginia, which is about
opposite Westover. He was
appointed United States District Judge
of Ohio in 1803 and
served until 1828.
In 1820 Westover was sold and no members
of the Byrd
family were buried there after that
date.
Judge Charles Willing Byrd, his wife and
his son, I think,
are buried in the township cemetery at
Sinking Spring.
We are under obligations to our good
friend Morten Carlisle
for photographs which accompany this sketch.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the famous
explorer, and Gov-
ernor Byrd of Virginia are related to
Judge Charles Willing Byrd.
He was their great-great-grand-uncle.
Admiral Byrd is a de-
scendant of Thomas Taylor Byrd who was
the second son of
William Byrd III by his first wife,
Elizabeth Hill Carter.