Charles Willing Byrd (July 26, 1770 – August 25, 1828) was

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the Northwest Territory, acting Governor of the Northwest Territory and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio.

Education and career

Born on July 26, 1770, on

Westover Plantation Westover Plantation is a historic colonial tidewater plantation located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Established in c. 1730–1750, it is the homestead of the Byrd family of Virginia. State Route 5, ...

in Charles City County, Colony of Virginia, British America, Byrd read law in 1794, with

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and was admitted to the bar. pp. 526–527; J. W. Klise stated that Byrd began his legal education with his uncle. J. W. Klise, ed., State Centennial History of Highland County, 1902; 1902. Reprint. Owensboro, KY: Cook & McDowell, 1980, p. 168. He was a land agent for Philadelphia financier Robert Morris in Lexington,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

from 1794 to 1797. He was in private practice in Philadelphia from 1797 to 1799. He was appointed

of the Northwest Territory by President John Adams on October 3, 1799, serving from 1799 to 1802. Byrd took his oath of office before Governor Arthur St. Clair on February 26, 1800. While serving as Secretary of the Northwest Territory, Byrd also served as a Hamilton county delegate to the 1802 Ohio Constitutional Convention. He was acting Governor of the Northwest Territory from 1802 to 1803. Byrd served as Secretary of the Northwest Territory until Ohio became a state on March 1, 1803. Byrd served as Territorial Governor until Edward Tiffin was duly elected governor of the state of Ohio on March 3, 1803. In 1803, Byrd served as a delegate to Ohio's constitutional convention.

Federal judicial service

Following the admission of the Northwest Territory to the Union as the State of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

on March 1, 1803, Byrd was nominated by President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

on March 1, 1803, to the United States District Court for the District of Ohio, to a new seat authorized by . He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on March 3, 1803, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on August 25, 1828, due to his death in Sinking Spring, Ohio. He was interred at the old rural cemetery in Sinking Spring.

Notable cases

In its first session, the court participated in the trial of Aaron Burr. The indictment charged Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, with commencing an expedition to wage war against Spain via

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, but the charges were eventually dropped in 1819. Another notable case for the court was ''

Osborn v. Bank of the United States ''Osborn v. Bank of the United States'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 738 (1824), was a case set in the Banking Crisis of 1819, when many banks, including the Second Bank of the United States, demanded repayment for loans that they had issued on credit that ...

'', which arose out of the attempt of the Ohio Legislature to tax out of existence the bank's branches in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and Chillicothe by imposing an annual $50,000 tax on each branch. The case reached the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and the tax was held invalid following the case of '' McCulloch v. Maryland''.

Family

Byrd was the son of Colonel William Byrd III and Mary Willing Byrd. He was also the grandson of

William Byrd II William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor, author, and a man of letters. Born in Colonial Virginia, he was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, he returned to Virg ...

, who is considered the founder of Richmond,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. While in the service of Robert Morris in Kentucky, Byrd married Sarah Waters Meade, the daughter of his father's friend, Colonel David Meade, on April 6, 1797., Charles Willing Byrd (1770–1828) Bibliography On June 8, 1807, Byrd and his wife purchased a tract of 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, Ohio where he lived and worked for a year before moving to West Union, Ohio.The house at Buckeye Station built by General Massie in 1797 was sold to John Ellison August 15, 1817. Ibid., 53; Evans, A History of Adams County, Ohio, 527–528. While residing in West Union, Byrd met and married Hannah Miles (died August 14, 1839) on March 8, 1818.

Food and nutrition habits

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. File:SinkingSpring9.JPG, Charles Byrd Memorial Marker. Dedicated October 19, 1941 File:SinkingSpring10.JPG, Charles Byrd Memorial Plaque. Dedicated October 19, 1941 File:SinkingSpring11.JPG, Charles Byrd Tombstone

References

External links

Ohio Memory

Ohio History Central:Charles Willing Byrd
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Charles Willing 1770 births 1828 deaths Charles Willing Byrd Shippen family People from Charles City County, Virginia American people of English descent Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Ohio Ohio Constitutional Convention (1802) Governors of Northwest Territory United States federal judges appointed by Thomas Jefferson 19th-century American judges Ohio politicians United States federal judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law People from West Union, Ohio People from Highland County, Ohio 19th-century American politicians