On July 26, 1770, Charles Willing Byrd - who would become secretary and acting governor of the Northwest Territory, as well as one of the first judges for Ohio - was born at Westover Plantation in Charles City County, Va.

He was three years older than his next-door neighbor, William Henry Harrison, who grew up on Berkeley Plantation and would become the first Ohioan elected president.

Byrd was typical of the settlers of Ohio. Educated and from a prominent family, he moved west to make a name and fortune for himself.

After graduating from law school in Philadelphia, he worked as a land agent in Kentucky before moving to Ohio in 1799. Byrd was appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory after his old neighbor, Harrison, who preceded him in that position, was appointed delegate to the U.S. House.

In 1802, President Jefferson chose Byrd to replace the first territorial governor, Arthur St. Clair. Byrd was a delegate to Ohio's constitutional convention in 1803 and became the first sitting justice of the U.S. District Court of Ohio. He held the seat until his death in 1828, age 58, at his home in Sinking Spring in Highland County.

- Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call (513) 768-8361.