Famous Genealogies

Biography

Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. When he was one year old, his mother, Ada Mae (née Kirby), died in the 1918 Flu Pandemic. In accordance with his mother's wishes, his father, Cornelius Calvin Sale, dispersed the family children among relatives. Titus and Vlurma Byrd, the infant's uncle and aunt, were given custody, adopted him, renamed him Robert Carlyle Byrd, and raised him in the coal-mining region of southern West Virginia.

Byrd was valedictorian of Mark Twain High School and attended Beckley College, Concord College, Morris Harvey College, and Marshall University, all in West Virginia. He was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Source :  http://www.wikipedia.org/