The Henrietta Byrd papers are deeds, wills, lease, transactions, and correspondence of a 19th Century businesswomen in Salisbury, Maryland, 1842-1891. Following the death of her husband, Henrietta sought legal counsel from Congressmen and Attorney, John Rankin Franklin, to understand her rights as a widowed entrepreneur in the Antebellum Era. She later owned at least two properties, including the “Wicomico House,” which was four-story restaurant and hotel on Main Street, Salisbury.

Henrietta Fooks Byrd was born in Salisbury, Maryland on October 15, 1811 and later married Benjamin Harvey Byrd (1804-1857).   Benjamin was a vocational farmer who possessed over 750 acres in the rural area around Salisbury.  At age sixteen, she gave birth to her first son Thomas on January 10, 1828.  Thomas married Esther Anne Parsons and had a daughter, Anna T., born on August 26, 1848, and son, Ernest Villiers, born on August 25, 1850. 

In the 1850s, Henrietta experienced significant personal loss. In 1851, her daughter-in-law, Esther Anne Parsons, died.  Henrietta’s son Thomas died three years after his wife, Esther, on March 29, 1854, which left Anna and Ernest orphaned. Ernest did not live long after the death of his parents and died on December 17, 1857.  Henrietta applied for guardianship of her granddaughter, Anna, to the Orphan’s Court in May of 1861.  Henrietta's husband, Benjamin Byrd, also died suddenly on August 17, 1857. Henrietta remained a widow for the rest of her life.  Henrietta died on January 14, 1890, and was buried in the Parson’s Cemetery in Salisbury, surviving her granddaughter and her great-grandson Harvey Byrd Morris.

Folders are listed by their location in each box; any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the collection.