Maria Taylor Byrd

Maria Taylor Byrd (November 10, 1698 – August 28, 1771) was an English-born woman who managed her and her husband William Byrd II's Westover Plantation during his periods of absence. During their lifetimes, William Byrd III and Maria Taylor Byrd's holdings increased to 179,423 acres of land and hundreds of slaves. After he died, she was to manage the estate only until her son William Byrd III came of age, but he had married and decided to live with his wife at the family's Belvidere plantation instead. Byrd then continued to manage Westover through her son's first marriage and until her death. She oversaw the plantation's activities, its slaves, household duties, and the care and upkeep of the property on the plantation.