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Mary Willing Byrd (1740–1814)

Role

Bushrod Washington and Mary Willing Byrd were acquaintances.

Description

Mary Willing was born on 10 September 1740, a daughter of Philadelphia merchant and mayor Charles Willing. In 1761 she married Virginian William Byrd III, of Westover. Upon William's death by suicide in 1777, Byrd inherited his entire property. She endured criticism for allowing troops under turncoat Benedict Arnoldwho was married to her first cousinto quarter at Westover.

Citations

Sarah Bearss, "Byrd, Mary Willing (1740–1814)," in Sara B. Bearss et al., eds., The Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Volume II, Bland-Cannon (Richmond: The Library of Virginia, 2001), 457–59.

"The Will of Mrs. Mary Willing Byrd, of Westover, 1813, with a List of the Westover Portraits," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 6, Number 4 (April 1899), 346–58.