Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/519

Rh (second) was the founder of Richmond, Va., which was laid out in April, 1787, by Maj. Thomas Mayo, was made a town in 1742, the capital of the state in 1779, and a city in 1783. He did much to encourage immigration, especially among the Swiss and Germans, and to this end he offered large tracts of land in Virginia and North Carolina from 1785 till 1740, making favorable terms to actual settlers. lie was twice married : first to Lucy, daughter of Col. Daniel Parke, governor of the Leeward islands, and secondly to Marion, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Taylor, of Kensington, England. He was one of the commissioners tor running the boundary-line between Virginia and North Carolina, and was the author of important papers known as the "Westover Manuscripts." An edition of these was published in Petersburg, Va., in 1841 under the titles of " The History of the Dividing Line," "A Journey to the Ijand of Eden," and "A Progress to the Mines." The style of these narratives has received the highest praise, and they are undoubtedly among the most remarkable works of early American authors. Col. Byrd was a fellow of the Royal society of Great Britain, and a liberal patron of the arts and sciences. — The third of the name William was b. 6 Sept., 1728 ; d. 1 Jan., 1777. He was the eldest son of the second Col. William Byrd by the second marriage. He served as a member of the council of Virginia, and in 1756 was colonel of the 2d Virginian regiment in the old French war. He was twice married : first (in 1748) to Eliza, daughter of John Carter, of Shirley, James river, Va. ; she died in 1760; secondly to Mary, daughter of Charles Willing, of Philadelphia, who survived him. — Evelyn, daughter of Col. William (second), was b. in Westover, 16 July, 1707; died there, 13 Nov., 1737, was taken to England by her father at an early age, and passed several years there, moving in aristocratic society, and winning fame for her wit, beauty, and accomplishments. Some of her court dresses are still preserved, and several portraits exist of her and of her father.

BYRNE, Andrew, R. C. bishop, b. in Navan, Ireland, in 1802 ; d. in Little Rock, Ark., in 1862. He received his early education in the college of Navan. Meeting with Bishop England, who was seeking recruits for his diocese, he agreed to accompany him to the United States in 1820. Having finished his theological studies under that prelate's direction, he was ordained in 1827, and was at once sent on active duty to several stations in North and South Carolina. The long and fatiguing journeys that he was obliged to undertake, owing to the distance of Catholic families from one another, undermined his health, and he was recalled to Charleston in 1830. He was appointed vicar-general, and accompanied Bishop England to the council of Baltimore in 1883 as his theologian. He re- moved to New York in 1836, and was assistant pastor at the cathedral and afterward pastor of St. James's church. Archbishop Hughes sent him to Ireland in 1841 to endeavor to procure Christian brothers for the parochial schools of New York, in which he was unsuccessful. Shortly after his return he was appointed pastor of St. Andrew's church, which had originally been a building devoted to secular uses, but had been acquired for religious purposes by the labors of Father Byrne. The diocese of Little Rock, which comprised the state of Arkansas and the Cherokee and Choctaw nations, having been created in 1844, Father Byrne was appointed its first bishop, and immediately devoted himself to his Episcopal duties. He had sometimes to travel on his visitation from one mission to another from 700 to 1,000 miles. He next went to Ireland, and returned with a number of priests, nuns, and catechists for his diocese. A second visit to Ireland resulted in his procuring a colony of sisters of mercy, who established St. Mary's acad- emy at Little Rock, one of the finest educational establishments in the west. He afterward founded four other convents of the order, and purchased a tract of land a mile square at Fort Smith, on which he intended building the college of St. Andrew and other institutions. He attended the first provincial council of New Orleans in 1856. Although in failing health, he continued his labors up to within a short time of his death. During his ministry the churches had increased from four to seventeen, with fifty stations, the priests from four to thirty, and the Catholic population from 5,000 to more than 50,000. His efforts to promote immigration were of great benefit to the southwest.

BYRNE, William, educator, b. in the county Wicklow, Ireland, in 1780; d. at St. Mary's college, Kentucky, in 1833. His parents were laboring people, and, although he had conceived the idea of becoming a priest at an early age, he was obliged to work for the maintenance of his younger brothers and sisters till his twenty-fifth year. Then he emigrated to the United States and applied for ad- mission to Georgetown college, but was rejected, ow- ing to deficient preparation. He was successful in gaining admission into St. Mary's college, Emmettsburg, and there began the study of Latin when thirty years old. After some years he was allowed to study theology in St. Mary's seminary, Baltimore, was ordained in 1819, opened a school in Marion co., Ky., in 1821, and then proceeded to erect St. Mary's college on Mount Mary farm. When he had made it one of the most fiourishing institutions in the state, he transferred it to the Jesuits in 1831, on the understanding that he was to remain president for a year, to enable them to become acquainted with the working of the college. He died of cholera contracted while ministering to the negroes in the neighborhood of St. Mary's.

BYRON, John, British naval officer, b. at Newstead Abbey, England, 8 Nov., 1723; d. 10 April, 1786. He was a son of the fourth Lord Byron. At an early age he entered the navy as a midshipman and joined the &ldquo;Wager,&rdquo; one of the six ships that sailed for the Pacific under Lord Anson in September, 1740. She was wrecked on Cape Horn; but Byron and the survivors were taken on board the three vessels that rounded the cape. Of the 961 men that left England, only 200 reached home in the &ldquo;Centurion,&rdquo; the only remaining ship, in 1744. Byron was one of these. He was promoted captain, 30 Dec., 1746. In 1760 he was sent with a fleet to demolish the fortifications of Louisburg, Nova Scotia, already wrested from the French. On 21 June, 1764, he sailed in command of a squadron for the south seas, and returned to England in May, 1766. During these years he had been so buffetted about on the high seas that he had won the sailor-nickname of &ldquo;Foul-weather Jack,&rdquo; and his grandson, the poet, perpetuated his fame in the &ldquo;Epistle to Augusta&rdquo;:

He was appointed governor of Newfoundland in 1769, attained his flag rank in 1775, and became vice-admiral in 1776, when he was placed in command of the West India squadron. On 6 July, 1779, he engaged the French fleet under D'Estaing off Grenada; but the action was indecisive. He soon afterward returned to England and retired from active service.