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HARRISON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Valerie & Tommy Crook
vfcrook@trellis.net
April 11, 2000
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 391
Harrison
PERCY BYRD, who is prominent among Clarksburg's
representatives of the natural gas and coal industries, be-
sides which he has long been influential in political affairs
and has served as sheriff of Harrison County, is distinctly
to be designated as one of the loyal, appreciative and pro-
gressive citizens of his native state.
Mr. Byrd was born at Clarksburg, judicial center of
Harrison County, on the 20th of February, 1882, and is a
son of William Taylor Byrd and Mary Ann (Burns) Byrd,
the former of whom still resides at Clarksburg, where he is
a retired merchant, his wife having died when about fifty-
three years of age. Of the three children the eldest, W.
Ray Byrd, served as deputy county clerk of Harrison
County and was a young man at the time of his death;
Percy, of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; and
Bessie G. is the wife of Joseph W. Newcomer, of Cincin-
nati, Ohio. William Taylor Byrd was born in Harrison
County and is a son of Abraham and Catherine (Hull)
Byrd, who were born and reared in Virginia, where their
marriage was solemnized and whence they came to what
is now Harrison County, West Virginia, where they passed
the remainder of their lives on their home farm. Mrs.
Mary A. (Burns) Byrd was born in England, of Irish par-
ents, William and Mary (Rogan) Burns, who came to the
United States and settled in Harrison County, West Vir-
ginia, when the daughter was a child. Mr. Burns here
became identified with farming and coal mining, besides
having been a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war.
His death occurred when he was about fifty-five years of
age.
After having profited by the advantages of the parochial
schools of St. Joseph's Catholic Church at Clarksburg,
Percy Byrd entered Rock Hill College, Maryland, and in
1906 was graduated in this institution, with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. Later he served three years as deputy
sheriff of Harrison County, and upon the death of the
sheriff, Michael J. Francis, he was appointed the latter's
successor, in January, 1912. At the regular election in the
following November he was elected to the office of which
he was incumbent at the time, to fill out the unexpired
term, there having been no opposing candidate. He thus
held the position of sheriff eighteen months, and was ex-
officio county treasurer, the two offices being combined.
Upon his retirement from office in 1913 Mr. Byrd became
Interested in the production of natural gas, and later that
of coal. He is now secretary and treasurer of the Norwood
Gas Company and is a principal in other corporations, in-
cluding the following named: The Fort Pitt Coal Com-
pany; the Macfarlane Coal Company, of which he is presi-
dent; the Liberty Carbon Company, of which he is treas-
urer; and the Louisiana Carbon Company, of which like-
wise he is treasurer.
Upon the death of Sheriff Francis Mr. Byrd became
executor of his estate, in consonance with a request made
in the will of the deceased, who further instructed that
the executor hold the properties of Mr. Francis in trust
for a period of ten years. These properties included real
estate, oil. gas and coal holdings, and in his functions as
executor Mr. Byrd has given much of his time to the man-
agement and development of these properties.
Mr. Byrd early began to take active part in local poli-
tics as a stalwart advocate of the principles of the demo-
cratic party, and he has been prominent and influential in
the councils and campaign activities of the party in West
Virginia. He represented the Third Congressional Dis-
trict as delegate to the Democratic National Convention of
1916 at St. Louis. He is a valued member and director of
the Clarksburg Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club
and the Clarksburg Country Club. He is a past exalted
ruler of Clarksburg Lodge, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and is a Grand Knight of the Knights of
Columbus, both he and his wife being communicants of the
Catholic Church.
On the 21st of January, 1914, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Byrd and Miss Anna A. Hayden, daughter of
Patrick and Sarah Jane Hayden, of Grafton, Taylor
County, and the two children of this union are William
Hayden Byrd and James Percy Byrd.
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