Assessment on William Byrd

William Byrd’s diary intimately divulges the matters of his life such as when he woke up to his opinion on the disciplinary acts that underwent on his plantation. Throughout his diary, Byrd opens each submission with the state in which he woke up every morning and the time. Though his submissions are seemingly chronologically spaced far apart, Byrd’s use of context enables the reader to interpret his intended meaning for a specific submission. For example, William Byrd communicated numerous intimate details about his wife, Margery, and their relationship. He often talked about their quarrels, and her pregnancies and miscarriages. A diary entry in February 1711 described a quarrel between William and his wife on the subject of Mrs. Byrd’s eyebrows being plucked. William Byrd also described himself getting caught being disloyal to his wife with the wife of his friend. For example: The entry on December 13th, 1709 revealed Byrd’s intimate relationship with his wife and her occasional negligence of their family of four. “…Last night I gave my wife a flourish and this morning I quarreled with her about her neglect of the family…” – William Byrd, The Secret Diary, 1709 December 13 Byrd also disclosed his strong opinions on the disciplinary acts that took place within the confines of his home and his plantation. Throughout his diary, he depicted many whippings of his children and slaves due to their disobedience. Byrd does not always agree with his wife’s assigned consequences, and sometimes sees the performed consequence as undermining his authority. Byrd was highly educated and wrote many submissions of him beginning his days by reading Italian, Latin, Greek, French, and Hebrew novels or journal entries. He has also studied mathematics and submitted instances of studying geometry as well. William Byrd wrote often, and wrote “The History of the Dividing Line” in 1728. His diary entries range from the years of 1709-1713 written almost 300 years ago. He

Bibliography: "Patriarchy in Colonial America." Patriarchy in Colonial America. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.