Personal Life
Byrd 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.
On June 8, 1807, Byrd and his wife purchased a tract of 600 acres (2.4 km2) in Monroe Township, Adams County, Ohio, known as Buckeye Station and Hurricane Hill, from their brother-in-law, General Nathaniel Massie. The Byrds' home sat on a ridge overlooking Kentucky and the Ohio River. After his wife's death on February 21, 1815, Byrd moved to Chillicothe where he lived and worked for a year before moving to West Union, Ohio.
While residing in West Union, Byrd met and married Hannah Miles (died August 14, 1839) on March 8, 1818. From his diary, Byrd showed an extreme consciousness on matters of physical health and religion. Byrd 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. Byrd, along with at least one of his sons, had a deep interest in the Shakers movement and made significant donations to the movement.
The children from Byrd's first marriage were Mary Powell Byrd, Kidder Meade Byrd, William Silonwee Byrd, and Evalyn Harrison Byrd. The children from his second marriage were Jane Byrd and Samuel Otway Byrd.
Read more about this topic: Charles Willing Byrd
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