Born into an early Virginia landed gentry family, William Byrd II was an educated gentleman, scholar, and author. As a very young child he was sent alone to England to be educated at the Felsted School. He spent most of his early years and youth in England where he was groomed to be a gentleman but never truly accepted into the English nobility. His family’s wealth and his own education led him to expect such acceptance. After a lonely childhood, a debauched youth, and the sting from being rejected by most of upper class British society, Byrd returned to the family’s Virginia seat at Westover Plantation. Westover remains an imposing, formal structure along the James River. It was at Westover that Byrd brought both his wives (he married twice), raised his children, and managed his large plantation and other properties. For a period of years he also kept what became known as his Secret Diaries, which continue to provide scholars and other curious individuals with a rare glimpse into early eighteenth-century Virginia. Byrd was very frank in sections of his diary, and his descriptions and thoughts remain amusing and enlightening to readers today.

Byrd had several children but only two survived to adulthood, William Byrd III (who would squander the family fortune) and Evelyn, whose early death is recorded by her brokenhearted father in his diary. Byrd was not fond of rural, colonial life, and sent his son to be educated abroad. He spent much of his time reading and adding to his library, which at the time the largest (more than 4000 books) and most valuable in Virginia. He served on the colonial King’s Counsel for thirty-seven years, is considered the founder of the City of Richmond, Virginia, and was part of the Colonial Virginia social life, associating with members of other leading Virginia families. His elegance and dark, good looks prompted the sobriquet, “The Black Swan.” He authored the Westover Manuscripts, which included The History of the Dividing Line, A Journey to the Land of Eden, A Progress to the Mines, and the famous Secret Diaries of William Byrd of Westover. His literary works continue to be published and read by students of history.

Byrd is related to the explorer Richard Evelyn Byrd, for whom Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field - the original name for Richmond International Airport - was named, as well as Virginia Governor and U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd and U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd Jr. william Byrd II was buried at Westover Plantation.

Image: Westover Plantation, Charles City County, Virginia, USA by Steven Lea, 2006.