John Carter Byrd (1750 - 1830)

Born 27 Jan 1750 in Henrico, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Oct 1830 at age 80 in Greene, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

John was born on 27 Jan 1750 in In Charles City, Virginia. He passed away in 1830.

John was a private in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He actually died in Washington County, North Carolina, which is now Greene County, Tennessee.

 Parents:   William Evelyn Byrd (1728 - 1777)   Elizabeth Hill Carter Byrd (1731 - 1760)    Spouse:   Mary Waller Bird (1756 - 1862)*    Children:   John Bird (1775 - 1837)*   Christina Bird Breeden (1777 - 1846)*   Burial: Hermon United Methodist Church Cemetery, Horse Creek, Greene County, Tennessee, USA

The Birds of Tellico Village:Information about John Carter Byrd

John Carter Byrd (son of William Evelyn Byrd III and Elizabeth Hill Carter) was born January 27, 1750/51 in Westover, Charles City County, VA, and died Bef. October 25, 1830 in Greene County, TN. He married (1) Mary Taylor on Bef. 1778.He married (2) Mary Baker Johnson on March 19, 1801.
Notes for John Carter Byrd:
John Carter Byrd was named a major inheritor in the 6 July 1774 "Last Will and Testament" of his father, Colonel William Evelyn Byrd III. The inheritance included Wm E. III's rights to the Fincastle (New River) Lead Mines in Southwestern Virginia, along with other land and tangible assets. Unlike his youngest brother, John was in good standing with his father. Francis Otway Byrd, Wm III's 4th son by Elizabeth Hill Carter Byrd, had indicated his intent to resign his Royal Navy Officer's Commission and join the Continental Army. In his will, Wm III limited Otway's inheritance to one shilling, if he so acted before the death of "my dearest wife" (Mary). Col. Byrd and his second wife, Mary Shippen Willing, were staunch Loyalists (Tories). Peggy Shippen, Benedict Arnold's second wife, was first cousin once removed to Mary. After changing sides and becoming a British General during the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold used Westover Manor, the ancestral home of the then deceased Wm Byrd III, as his staging base before attacking Richmond 5 Jan 1781. The banister of Westover Manor's main stairs is scarred supposedly from Arnold's horse having been tied there overnight. After success in Richmond and other raids, Arnold re-embarked his troops at Westover 10 Jan and sailed. Westover served General Cornwallis and Arnold for staging three times during the course of the Revolutionary War. After the war, Thomas Jefferson attempted to put Mary Willing Byrd on trial for treason. He failed. She died at Westover Manor 24 Mar 1814 at age 75. On 14 June 1768, shortly after beginning his law practice, Thomas Jefferson had been put on retainer by VA's largest land owner, Col. Wm Byrd III. Wm III kept Jefferson on retainer for several years prior to the breakdown in relations between Britain and the Colonies. When that happened, Jefferson and Byrd III supported different sides of the conflict.
Wm III also included in his will a limit on his 3rd son's inheritance to one shilling if he, Thomas Taylor Byrd, married Susannah Randolph. She was the daughter of Patriot Edmund Randolph and granddaughter of Peyton Randolph, President, 1st and 2nd Continental Congresses. Peyton died in 1775. In 1774, Edmund was VA's Attorney General. Peyton had adopted Edmund when Edmund's father, Peyton's brother, returned to England.
Citing ill health, in 1757, George Washington resigned as Commander of VA's military. In Apr 1755, Wm III, a planter, had become a ranking officer in VA's military. Col. Wm III replaced the resigned George Washington as Commander of VA's military. After 8 May 1758, the military was divided into two regiments. George Washington became Commander of the 1st (N VA) Regiment. Wm III took command of the 2nd (S VA) Regiment. After the British victory at Fort Duquesne, George Washington retired as Commander and took his seat in VA's House of Burgesses. Wm III again became the top ranking officer in VA's military; a position he held from Jan 1759 through part of 1762, when peaceful conditions allowed the government to reduce the military. Wm III was also co-owner of the Fincastle Lead Mines property, along with the 1756 discoverer and operator, Colonel John Chiswell and Chiswell's son-in-law, John Robinson. In 1758-61, Col. Byrd built military forts in Southwest Virginia and what became Upper East Tennessee. He named them Fort Chiswell and Fort Robinson in honor of his two partners. In 1776, Fort Patrick Henry was built at Long Island on the Holston River to replace Fort Robinson.
In 1766, John Robinson became the first partner of the Lead Mines to die. He had served as VA's Treasurer since 1738. After his death, it was discovered he had made large unsecured loans from the State Treasury to Virginia's elite citizens, including Wm III. The state in an unsuccessful attempt to recover the funds, instructed Robinson's estate to repay the money loaned to his friends. In addition to many other elite borrowers, the mines partnership owed VA 8,085 British pounds. Col. Byrd III owed 14,921 pounds. Even though Wm III had received an enormous patrimony, his flamboyant lifestyle and poor financial management resulted in a debt of over 100,000 lbs. His debt was somewhat offset by King George III's 1763 Proclamation. That Proclamation provided land grant awards to military veterans based on their rank. It also made illegal any settlers moving into Indian Territory. As a result of King George's Proclamation, 5 Nov 1773, VA's Royal Govenor John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, aka Lord Dunmore, granted his friend, Col. Wm E. Byrd III, 5,000 acres for the time Byrd had served as Commander, 2nd VA Regiment.
John Chiswell married Elizabeth Randolph, daughter of William Randolph of Turkey Island, Henrico County, VA, and Elizabeth Peyton Beverley. She was the sister of Continental Congress President Peyton Randolph. Chiswell was the 2nd Lead Mines partner to die. He committed suicide 14 Oct 1766 while awaiting trial for his murder of Robert Routledge in a tavern brawl.The last Lead Mines partner, Wm Byrd III, committed suicide 1 Jan 1777 at his Westover Manor home. He believed that he could not live appropriately if the Colonies defeated the British.
After Chiswell's death, VA took over the operation of the Fincastle Lead Mines, not only to recover the money Robinson had loaned the mines from the State Treasury, but to provide lead needed for fighting the Indian Wars and later the Revolutionary War. Initially VA paid the three owner's estates rent for use of the mines. However, in 1781, the state sold the mines to their appointed operators. That sale eliminated John Carter Byrd's inherited rights to the Lead Mines. It is unknown if VA provided him with alternative assets for his claim to the Lead Mines, or if his rights were ignored because of his father's State Treasury debt. John's Fincastle County/Dunkard Bottom property (now beneath Claytor Lake) had been purchased earlier, 2 Aug 1774, from Stephen Trigg.
Fincastle County, created 1 Dec 1772, included all of KY, SW VA and "inaccurately" part of NC (now TN). The Lead Mines became the county seat. John Carter Byrd became the county's first Court Clerk 5 Jan 1773. On 7 May 1774 he became Colonel, Fincastle County Militia; a position he held until after "Dunmore's War" ended in late 1774. After "Dunmore's War", Fincastle County turned against British rule. In Jan 1775, Fincastle Patriots formed a "Committee of Safety" and took over operation of the County and Militia. They named themselves the "Freeman of Fincastle County". Their Counsel consisted of 13 Patriots who had been involved in the 10 Oct 1774 "Dunmore's War" major victory at Point Pleasant. The Counsel members were: Col. Wm Christian, Chairman, Rev. Charles Cummings, Col. Wm Preston, Maj. Wm Ingles, Capt. Walter Crockett, Capt. John Montgomery, Capt. Wm Campbell, Capt. Arthur Campbell, Capt. Thomas Madison, Capt. James McGavock, Capt. Evan Shelby, Capt. Stephen Trigg, Lt. Wm Edmondson. Their Clerk was David Campbell. All were associates or Officers of former Militia Colonel, John Carter Byrd. Col. John Byrd had not participated in the "Battle at Point Pleasant". He and Richard Madison had gone to Vause's Fort by 4 July 1774 andwere "down the country" before 13 Aug when Fincastle County began assembling their attacking force.
Many of the references of Colonel Byrd in the 1905 book, "Documentary History of Dunmore's War, 1774" by Reuben Gold Thwaiter and Louise Phelps Kellogg, are of John Carter Byrd. The authors confused Col. John Carter Byrd with his father. Wm Byrd III was not an active Colonel in SW VA during the period John Byrd was Fincastle County's Militia Colonel. Thwaiter and Kellogg's book was compiled from the (Dr. Lyman) "Draper Manuscripts" located in the Library of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Thomas Byrd who, in 1773, served as County Constable for the "Upper Part of Holston" was probably John Carter Byrd's younger brother. If true, Thomas lived in Fincastle County before joining the British Army in Boston. After 11 Jun 1775 Thomas became a Royal Army Captain. After Wm III's suicide, he lived in Westover Manor with his family and stepmother, Mary. Thomas married Mary Anne Armistead Abt 1777. They had four sons: John Carter, Francis Otway, William, and Richard Evelyn, progenitor of Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd (b: 25 Oct 1888-d: 11 Mar 1957), the pioneer aviator and polar explorer.
The "Freemen of Fincastle County" 20 Jan 1775 created and forwarded, to the officers and delegates of the Continental Congress, a resolution that was a forerunner of the 4 July 1776 "Declaration of Independence". Lord Dunmore created a Proclamation 23, Jan, 1775, calling on all citizens to protect the natives and preserve the peace. That Proclamation demonstrated his and the Crown's continuing authority over VA citizens, but it widened the divide between the SW VA Patriots and Dunmore. On 15 Jun 1775, the Fincastle County "Committee of Safety" resolved to support Patrick Henry against the British. Later that year, Lord Dunmore, was permanently driven from the state by VA's Patriot militia.
Fincastle County, having denounced the Crown in 1775, and become a Colonies Patriot stronghold, would have placed John Carter Byrd in a very difficult position. His father had already reduced Francis Otway's inheritance to one shilling for betraying the Crown; yet John could not have safely remained in SW VA or NC/TN if he had been suspected of being a Tory. John remained in SW VA government positions through most of 1777, albeit with a lower profile after 1774.
A 1773 Fincastle County directive"ordered that John Byrd do provide all necessary law books for this county, and that he bring in his charge" identified John Byrd, as Court Clerk, required and provided legal expertise to the county government. In Dec 1776, Fincastle County was eliminated. The county had been named either for the son of the Patriot hated VA Royal Governor, John Murray, or Murray's county seat in Scotland. The eliminated county was divided into Montgomery, Kentucky and Washington Counties. Montgomery County retained the Lead Mines as its seat. Jan 1777, John Carter Byrd "relinquished" his Court Clerk position to his brother, Francis Otway Byrd. Yet, throughout 1777, Otway was an active Continental Army Officer in the Revolutionary War. He spent at least part of the year in the Charleston, SC, area. Lewis Preston Summers' "Annals of Southwest Virginia 1768-1800" reports in Nov John Carter Byrd was paid 3,600 lbs of tobacco for his 1777 "publick services whilst he acted as Clerk of this Court". Francis Otway Byrd was paid 3,200 lbs for "Publick Services". Dec Court Records identify Francis Otway was replaced as Clerk, at his request, by Capt. James McCorkle. For Otway to request his replacement, John would have no longer been available to serve as Acting Court Clerk on his behalf. (See Mary Taylor notes.) After 1777 no John Carter Byrd information has been found in SW VA records. Unlike his brother, Thomas Taylor Byrd, no information of John returning to E VA has been found. John Carter Byrd and his first wife, Mary Taylor, are listed as Charles City County residents on a 9 Mar 1782 Powhatan County real estate sale. John is also listed on the 1790 "land" Charles City County, VA, and 1788 "personal" City of Williamsburg tax records. His brother Otway, then Sheriff of Charles City County, represented John on at least some of his 1780s E VA property transactions.
Colonel Wm Byrd III's 2nd son, is erroneously identified in Stella Picket Hardy's 1911 book, "Colonial Families of the Southern States of America" as having married Ann (Harrison) Randolph, widow of Wm Randolph of Wilton. If true, her husband was most likely the John Carter Byrd born in 1720, died bef 1770. Anne Carlin (Ann) Randolph was born 1723, and died before Wm III's John Carter Byrd was born 27 Jan 1750/51 (in 1752, the Gregorian Calendar replaced the Julian Calendar in Britain and the Colonies). John is also sometimes identified as being the first husband of Maria "Molly" Page (b: abt 1765), daughter of Hon. John Page and Jane Byrd Page. Jane Byrd was Wm III's sister, and John's first cousin. "Molly's" John Byrd was born abt 1763, and died in James City County, VA 12 Dec 1796.
By 1772, the 1727 Col. Wm Byrd II led survey team that defined the dividing line between NC and VA, had been extended westward by another survey team. The extension validated that the land south of the Holston River was part of NC, not VA. Without Fincastle County, VA, support, settlers living there were without law or protection. To protect themselves, they ignored King George III's Proclamation, and illegally leased land from the Cherokee Indians. In May 1772, the settlers formed the Watauga Association. In 1775, the Watauga settlers were joined by Jacob Brown's Nolichucky River area settlers. That Nolichucky area also began settling in 1772 using conveyances for property parcels from the land Jacob Brown had illegally leased from the Cherokees Indians. An Amos Bird was witness to a transfer endorsement to George Gillespie of the original Jacob Brown 232 acre leased land "deed of conveyance" to Richard Trivillian. Next the Watauga Area leaders and Jacob Brown illegally, according to King George III, purchased the land from the Cherokees. The Association then opened a land office 1 Apr 1775. The earliest fee simple land transactions in what is now TN were handled through that office. By 1775, the Colonies rebellion against King George III and the British had gained broad Colonial support. In mid-summer, NC's Royal Governor Josiah Martin fled New Bern. In August, a NC revolutionary government was formed in Hillsborough. Following the lead of Fincastle County, and NC, in the fall, the Watauga and Nolichucky settlers met, established the Washington County District, NC, appointed a 13 person "Committee of Safety" and declared for the American cause.
When the Watauga Association collapsed Nov 1777, NC regained control of the land in what is now TN. NC established offices to process claims for the land. In 1778, the first land office was opened Washington County, NC, followed by Sullivan and Greene Counties, when those counties were created. The offices were established to serve the NC 1777 Land Act. The 1777 act was designed to increase settlement of small acreage properties and were granted at a price affordable for many pioneer settlers. To serve a later land act, an office was opened in Hillsborough, NC, and directed by John Armstrong. That office was open from 23 Oct 1783 until 24 May 1784. It was called the "Land-Grab Act". That land act was created to raise capital to help NC government payoff war debt. It granted larger claims, charged much higher prices and covered a different and much larger geographical area than the 1777 act. The 1783 Land Act resulted in many fraudulent claims. Amos Bird(s) and John Bird(s) were awarded several land grants by John Armstrong's Office. They were also granted land via the 1777 Land Act.
In 1778, NC createdWashington County from its Washington District. That county encompassed all of what was to become TN, including the Indian Territories and the portion of TN previously believed to have been a part of Fincastle County, VA. The inaccurately claimed E TN area, north of the Holston River, would later become Sullivan County. In Feb 1778 an Amos Bird/Byrd was appointed a member of Washington County, NC's, first Grand Jury. He also appeared on the 1778 county tax list. Identifying his legal competence, he and John Smith were chosen as the new county's jurors and served at "next Supreme Court held for the Salisbury District". In 1783, Greene County was created out of Washington County. Identifying his legal skills, Amos Bird was a participating Magistrate at the Greene County, NC, founding meeting. He is also on Greene County's first tax list. The original 1783 tax list contains a notation that among the first pioneers of the county was "Amos Byrd from Westover Manor, VA". By 1783, no "Amos" Byrd had ever been born or lived at Westover Manor, VA."The Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Tennessee 1887 Greene County" publication lists Amos Bird as an early settler with property on the "Chucky" River.
In 1777, an Amos Bird sold property located at the confluence of the Chuckey and Nolichucky Rivers to Henry Earnest. The property sold became known as "Elmwood Farm". Its three story "fort house" still stands. On 1 Apr 1783, an Amos Byrd and his wife, Sarah, sold part of his 24 Oct 1782 NC land grant on Little Limestone Creek, "near their home", to Moses Embree III, grandfather of the publisher of "The Emancipator", Elihu Embree. In 1778, an Amos Bird and his wife, Sarah, sold his 1 Nov 1786NC 400 acre land grant on the north side of the Chuckey River to Philip Hale. The three transactions differ in that Sarah is not a part of the 1777 transaction. The Amos Byrd who sold property to Philip Hale and Moses Embree III was most likely Captain Amos Byrd/Bird, son of Lt. Andrew Byrd and Magdelena Jonasson Byrd, of Smith's Creek, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley. Capt. Byrd was involved in the 1776 military campaign that burned the Overhill Cherokee Indian villages. He was stationed in Greene County. That Amos Byrd (b: abt 1737-d: 5 June 1818, Byrd Farm, Cape Girardeau County, MO) married Elizabeth "Sarah" Ruddell, abt 1762. He removed to Tennessee (now Montgomery) County, NC/TN, abt 1784. The signatures of that Amos Bird and the Amos Bird who sold property to Philip Hale are very similar. Other Amos Bird/Byrd and John Bird/Byrd signatures residing in the Greene County area during that period, including those on the failed 14 Nov and 20 Nov 1788 petitions to NC by residents of the "dying" State of Franklin, are similar to John Byrd's Fincastle County Court Clerk signatures. The significantly different signatures, combined with two Amos Bird land sales including a wife, Sarah, and one sale not having "Sarah" as a cosigner, indicates two men were using the name Amos Byrd/Bird in Washington/Greene County, NC/TN, during the period. The "Amos Byrd Jun." signature on the 20 Nov 1788 petition is most likely Capt. Amos Byrd/Bird's son (b: 1774-d: 1820, Byrd Farm, Cape Girardeau, MO).
Worth Ray's 1950 book, "Tennessee Cousins, A history of Tennessee People", identifies an Amos Bird "coming from the Watauga Country", as one of Montgomery County, TN's, earliest settlers. Montgomery County's Clarksville was chartered in 1784. Clarksville was part of Tennessee County until 1796, when that county was subdivided into Montgomery, Robertson and Sumner Counties. The name Tennessee was then given to the new state.Amos Bird was a Chain Carrier in William Crutcher's Upper Middle TN Military District Land Grant Survey Team. His signature appears on several Tennessee/Montgomery County, NC/TN, real estate transactions between, at least, 1792 and 1809. They include land transactions made after Amos Bird removed to Upper Louisiana in 1806. Upper Louisiana included today's Cape Girardeau, MO. The Military District, renamed Mero District, was created in 1783 to award land to men, or their heirs, who had served in a NC Continental Army Regiment two years or more during the Revolutionary War. The District included most of what is today's Davidson, Sumner, Montgomery and Robertson, TN, Counties. Its land office was under the direction of Martin Armstrong until 1798, when it was closed to investigate fraud. It was later reopened under the direction of William Christmas. District Surveyors and Chain Carriers were paid in the form of rights, similar to bounty land grants. On 25 May 1784, NC ceded what was to become TN to the Federal Government. All land grants made after that date were voided, "except entries commissioners, agents, surveyors, chain carriers and others who accompanied the commissioners, made or would make".NC almost immediately rescinded their land cession, but new land grants were not authorized. To gain control of their land and to provide protection, citizens of Washington District formed the State of Franklin (Aug 1785-Sep 1788). John Sevier was named Govenor. The State of Franklin issued land grants until it collapsed. After it failed, NC again reclaimed the land. This time NC did not recognize the 14 Nov and 20 Nov 1788 petitions signed by State of Franklin citizens seeking NC recognition of their property claims. NC ceded the land to the Federal Government a 2nd and final time 21 Nov 1789.After that date land grants were authorized by the newly created "Territory South of the River Ohio".
Ipse dixit: John Carter Byrd, 2nd son of Colonel William Evelyn Byrd III and his 1st wife, Elizabeth Hill Carter, granddaughter of Robert "King" Carter, first used the alias John Amos Byrd/Bird in NC/TN after he removed to SW VA from Westover Manor. He continued to use the alias' in NC/TN as a result of having had aligned himself with the Colonies against the Crown. The alias' might have been used to prevent his actions from causing embarrassment and potential property grant losses for his Loyalist father, e.g. John Carter Byrd's association with Jacob Brown during Cherokee Indian land transactions that had been prohibited by King George III's 1763 Proclamation, to avoid his Tory father from discovering his Patriot sympathies and disinheriting him, and/or to be at less risk of being associated with his father, captured and punished for being a Tory by SW VA, NC/TN Patriots. After Wm III's 1777 death, John Carter Byrd continued to use his real name in his VA government and transaction activities, while he used his alias' in his NC/TN activities. If true, his children were with his 1st wife, Mary Taylor. His 2nd son (B: 1780) was named Jacob, possibly in honor of Jacob Brown. By that time John and Mary had removed "down the country" from SW VA to what became Greene County, TN. After Mary Taylor Bird disappears, John married Mary Baker "Polly" Johnson (b: 1778-d: Sep 1860) 18 March 1801. By then he had removed to the Horse Creek area of Greene County. His 7th and last child, John Bird, born abt 1790, named his 1st son John and his 3rd son Amos. John Amos Bird is also believed to have been the DAR listed John Bird born in Henrico County, VA, abt. 1750, and a Private in NC's Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Westover Manor is sometimes described as being located in Henrico County. However it has always been in Charles City County, near the Henrico County Line. The DAR John Bird is identified as having resided in Washington County, NC, probably now Greene County, TN.

More About John Carter Byrd:

Burial: Herman Church or Tusculum Cemetery.

More About John Carter Byrd and Mary Taylor:

Marriage: Bef. 1778

Children of John Carter Byrd and Mary Taylor are:

Phillip Bird, b. Abt. 1778, Washington County, NC/TN.

Jacob Bird, b. 1780, Washington County, NC/TN, d. Bet. 1850 - 1860, Walker County, GA.

David Bird, b. 1784, Greene County, NC/TN, d. March 20, 1861, Greene County, TN.

Joseph Bird, b. Abt. 1786, Greene Co., State of Franklin/TN.

Elizabeth Bird, b. Abt. 1787, Greene Co., State of Franklin/TN.

Mary Bird, b. September 18, 1789, Greene County, NC/TN.

:John Bird, b. Abt. 1790, Greene Co., Terr. S. of Riv. OH/TN, d. Bef. 1837, Greene County, TN.

More About John Carter Byrd and Mary Baker Johnson:

Marriage: March 19, 1801^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ The Birds of Tellico Village:Information about John Carter Byrd, https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/b/i/r/William-E-Bird/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0122.html

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102695872/john-carter-byrd : accessed 13 March 2022), memorial page for John Carter Byrd Sr. (27 Jan 1750–1796), Find a Grave Memorial ID 102695872, citing Hermon United Methodist Church Cemetery, Greene County, Tennessee, USA
• "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP9-C3N : 20 February 2021), John Bird, Greene, Tennessee, United States; citing 200, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 180; FHL microfilm 24,538.
• Wills, 1784-1901; Index, 1784-1919; Author: Kentucky. County Court (Jefferson County); Probate Place: Jefferson, Kentucky; Wills, Vol 4-5, 1844-1862