Byrd, Mary Willing (1740–1814)

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Byrd, Mary Willing (1740–1814)

American letter writer. Born 1740 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died 1814; m. Colonel William Byrd of Virginia, 1761; children: 8.

After husband's death, supported 8 children by turning family plantation into prosperous enterprise; accused of being disloyal to the patriot cause during the American Revolution, wrote to Thomas Jefferson for help; her letters, included in The Papers of William Jefferson, are an eloquent defense of her loyalty to the cause (the charges were dropped).

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