Lt. Colonel Francis Otway Byrd

DAR A 010308, Patriotic Service, Lt. Col, VA.

Francis Otway Byrd was a Royal Navy Officer but, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he switched sides and became a Continental Army Officer. His betrayal of the Crown caused his father to reduce his inheritance to one shilling. However, John, William, III's second son, and Otway remained closely associated. After the 1 Jan 1777 suicide of Wm III at Westover Manor, John and Otway shared the Court Clerk position for newly created "Patriot" Montgomery County, VA. In Nov 1777 Montgomery County, VA, Court records identify John Carter Byrd was paid 3,600 lbs of tobacco for "Publick Services whilst he acted as Clerk to this Court". Francis Otway was paid 3,200 lbs for "Publick Services". When Montgomery County was created out of Fincastle County, John Carter Byrd officially relinquished his Clerk's position to Francis Otway Byrd. However, for most of 1777, John was "acting" Court Clerk. Otway was involved in the war as a Continental Army Officer. It is doubtful Otway could have also effectively handled many duties of the Montgomery County Court Clerk. Otway granted William Littlepage "power to dispose of his right of Clerkship in this County". At the Dec 1777, Court session, Captain James McCorkle was identified as Francis Otway Byrd's Court Clerk replacement. Before Otway granted that "power", John Carter Byrd would have ceased as "acting" Court Clerk. John had probably removed from Montgomery County.

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reference number 5115 https://archive.org/details/cartertreecompil00cart/page/4/mode/2up