Ursula Byrd [15818]

  General Notes:

In her book, "The Duke Family," Evelyn Duke Brandenberger wrote, "The will of the elder Col. William Byrd, father of Mary, was written on July 8, 1700, in which he gave 'to my youngest daughter Mary three hundred pounds.' This clearly indicates she was not yet married, especially in light of the fact that he refers to the other two daughters as 'my Daughter Mrs. Susan Brain' and to his 'Daughter Ursula' as the 'late wife of Robert Beverly.'

For confirmation of the marriage of James Duke and Mary Byrd the Duke family is again indebted to Col. William Byrd (the second of that name and brother of Mary Byrd), who, obviously had a penchant for record keeping. The secret diary of Col. William Byrd, deciphered and printed in recent years, has provided much needed information on James Duke. 'The Secret Diary of Col. William Byrd of Westover, 1709-1712,' edited by Louis B. Wright and Marion Tinling, makes it quite clear that James Duke married Mary Byrd, sister of the second Col. William Byrd of Virginia; that James Duke was the son of Col. Henry Duke, Esqr, whom Col. Byrd visited often. Both Col. Duke and Col. Byrd were members of the Council of Virginia. Notes in the above mentioned diary reveal he frequently rode to his 'brother Duke's' and together they went 'over the river' to Col. Duke's. Col. Byrd would, on occasion, spend the night with one of the other before returning home or going on to Williamsburg, or to Queen's Creek where his brother-in-law John Custis lived.

"In his diary Byrd referred to the wife of James Duke as 'my sister,' or 'my sister Duke.' 'Brother Duke' was used when speaking of James Duke. He referred to Robert Beverly, husband of his sister Ursula, in the same manner. In his diary on March 4, 1720, he mentioned 'my brother Beverly' (The London Diary, and Other Writings, Wright and Tinling).

In her second book, "The Duke Family II," Evelyn Duke Brandenberger wrote, "The Secret Diaries of Colonel William Byrd of Westover confirm that James Duke was a son of Col. Henry Duke, Esq. of the Council of Virginia and that he married Mary Byrd, sister of Wm. Byrd of Westover. See 'The Duke Family' p. 40-42 and 'Another Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover for Years 1739-1741,' edited by Maude Woofin and decoded by Marion Tinling. This book includes other writings. In the front of this book is the Life of William Byrd of Virginia. On page 7 the children of William Byrd are named, and it is stated that 'All of the children were sent to England for their education.' Susan grew up to marry John Brayne of London and lived out her life in England. Mary came back to marry James Duke. Ursula also returned to Virginia to marry Robert Beverly, the historian, by whom she had one son before she died when she was just short of seventeen. Other historians acknowledge the marriage of James Duke to Mary Byrd, sister of Col. William Byrd II, as Byrd consistently referred to the wife of James Duke as 'my sister Duke' and to James Duke as 'brother Duke,' and he visited in their home frequently. The diaries also reveal mary had a male child. That child was William Duke named for William Byrd. Byrd who took into his hoe the children of his sister Susan Brayne also took William Duke into his home where he gave them the rudiments of a good education and taught them to follow orders and to work.

"Mary Byrd, the first wife of James Duke, died young. The exact date is unknown. She is last mentioned in The London Diary of William Byrd of Westover, 1717-1721 on 6 April 1721 (p. 515) when Byrd wrote: I sent my cousin (niece) Brayne to visit her Aunt Duke and wrote a letter to my sister ... and in the morning wrote a letter to my brother Duke ... Mary probably died sometime in 1721 or soon afterwards. It was in 1727 that James Duke and his son William are noted in Surry County. Mary and James Duke had only one son who survived infancy. That son was William Duke."

Ursula married Col. Robert Beverley Jr. [15817] [MRIN: 5256], son of Maj. Robert Beverley Sr. [10384] and Mary (Keeble) Boyd [13031]. (Col. Robert Beverley Jr. [15817] was born c1673 in Middlesex County, Virginia and died on 21 Apr 1722 in Beverley Park, , King and Queen County, Virginia.)