Bird family Guernsey

[Mary Sue]

Hello Ceronn.  It was so nice to hear from you this morning.  I was staying in Guernsey 2 weeks ago with my husband and visited the Priaulx library to try and research further George Bird born 1803 in Guernsey. He was my gggrandfather.   The staff were extremely helpful and passed on to us the messages you and others were having around Nov/Dec 07.  You may well have moved on since then but I will tell you what we found out in case it is of interest.  We did find George Augustus Bird born 1802, son of William Bird and Sarah Nash.  We also found 5 other siblings, Sarah Maria 1794, William Knowles 1795, John Goodwin 1798, Susannah Matilda 1799 and Elizabeth 1805 ( your relation)  Their parents' marriage was registered in St Peter Port Town Church marriages.  It reads William Bird of Cardiff & Sara Nash of this parish were married the 14th of February 1793 - St. Valentine's Day!  Thanks for info on William and Sarah's deaths.  Next we plan to go to Cardiff so will visit St Johns churchyard.  We are very interested in any shipping connection as we know that William Knowles Bird was a ship owner. I would be delighted to have any other information you may have.  Sincerely Mary Sue.

[Hill]

Although now living in Jersey, I come from Cardiff so have done a lot or research there. Before you go looking around grave yards, have a look at:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wlsglfhs/book2.htm

The Glamorgan FHS have transcribed most of the Church's grave yards and some of them include pictures. It may save you a lot of time.

Stewart

[ceronn]

Hi MarySue,Cathy Rhys, the archivist at Glamorgan FHS mentioned where William and Sarah are buried but I have not had time to look at my notes yet.She is most interested and helpfull.William was born 26.10.1767 and an estimate for Sarah is 1761. Sarah was buried 1.6.1837 St. Johns Cardiff aged 76 and William 5.7.1849.Both had been living in Eglwysilan parish, Nantgarw or Taffs Well. William was a son of John the shoemaker 1733 to 1815, and his wife Sarah nee Pace of Cardiff. John Bird's diary has a short pedigree for the family. This was published by the FHS as edited by Hilary Thomas, but it is out of print. My Sister got a copy from the library in England. The 1841 census shows William a widower of independent means living in Taffs Well and his daughter Elizabeth, her husband William Thomas and grandson William 2 years living there also.More information later. Regards Ceronn.

[ceronn]

William and Sarah Bird were buried in the old Adamsdown cemetery. Roath Churchyard has memorial inscriptions to John Bird 1761 to 1840 and his nephew John Bird 1816 to 1874, mayor of Cardiff 1862/3, son of James Bird and Sarah Young, also his wife Jemima who died in 1858 and his mother-in law Mary Ann Strutt who died in 1865. There is an obelisk for the first mentioned.
Regarding ships, John Bird the alderman, channel pilot etc. had a share in a schooner named 'Diana'. His grandson John Williams Bird was a mariner who died at sea off Spain in 1848. He had been educated in Guernsey acc. to the diary, so the family had a continuing association with the C.I.
Elizabeth Thomas must have had good advice re. ships, because young children often failed to survive the journey to Australia.After 1852 the ships started to improve, but I have always thought she was brave. She was actually 50 years old, although the manifest of the "Africa" states her age as 45, and the youngest child was 5.
Her cousin Elizabeth Grierson, daughter of William Knowles Bird who was mayor of Cardiff in 1850, migrated with husband and a large family to NewZealand in 1860.It is possible William Knowles Bird inherited a ship or ships from his wife's family, the Stonehewers of Carmarthen.His son Hugh Bird traded in just about everything acc. to the trade directories, and was deputy mayor under his cousin John, 1862/3.William Knowles Bird died in 1881, he had been a printer and bookseller in earlier life.
Thanks for the information from Guernsey. It made my day!
Sincerely Ceronn.

[Nev Fouiller]

for Ceronn and Mary Sue

was very interested to see the Bird info

you both might be interested to know that Susanna Matilda BIRD b 1799 Guernsey, dau of William & Sarah Nash marr Dr James BIRD, Jun 1829, Cardiff, issue
Emily T b 1830, Cardiff
Alfred E b 1831 Cardiff d 1857 LND unm
Caroline b 1834 Cardiff

cannot trace this Dr James Bird, b abt 1802, Cardiff according to census he practised in London, could he have been a Cowbridge Bird?
there were two other contemporary Doctors BIRD, Henry and George Gwynne, do you know anything about them?

hope you find this helpful and/or interesting

if you have scans available I would love to see the photographs mentioned earlier

Nev

[ceronn]

hello Nev Fouiller,

How did you know William Bird b. 1767 was a shipping agent as you mentioned earlier? William Knowles as the eldest son may have inherited any ship which he owned.
I made two mistakes in my last post, Elizabeth Grierson was a niece, not a cousin, and they migrated to NZ in 1864 on "The British Empire", a large ship.
I don't know the parents of Dr. James Bird. He could be descended from Edward b. 1773, who shifted the Ironmongery from Cardiff to Cowbridge, or from William who died 1758, brother of John b.1733. I will keep a look out.
There were two, or maybe three George Gwynne Birds, I will check my notes.
Yes I can scan some of the photos. The ones I mentioned were by a photographer in Bute St. who advertised in 1858. Portraits pre 1840 would most likely have to be paintings or similar.
thank you for the information, regards Ceronn.

[ceronn]

Yes! James, son of Edward Bird [ironmonger] and Mary, baptised 15th. August 1802 at St. John's church Cardiff.The address is given as Angel Street. James Bird and Susannah Matilda Bird were first cousins.
George Gwynne Bird MD, son of George Gwynne Bird and Elizabeth Priest b. 1803 Swansea??. Married 1828  to Harriet Jeffryeys nee Wilkins at Brecon, emigrated to upper Canada in 1833, tried farming. Later physician to Swansea Infirmary.Published booklet about cholera 1849. Believed in 'miasma' theory of disease. Possibly married twice. Son of same name born Swansea.circa 1844 or 5. See Burkes genealogical directory of the landed gentry 1847.See articles about cholera epidemics in Wales.
Hope this sheds some light! Ceronn.

[fezworth]

Hi as I posted earlier my ggggmother was born in Guernsey around 1815 the next trace of her is Newark Notts in 1833 as the unmarried mother of William Watkin Bird.This would have meant her being pregnant at 16/17.I am intrigued by the middle name Watkin which strikes me as being Welsh and there does seem to be a big connection with the Bird family and Cardiff.Perhaps Mary was something of a black sheep (she had two more sons out of wedlock by different fathers)and sent away although I have stumbled across some info stating that the channel islands were garrisoned by the Nottinghamshire regiment at some point so perhaps she ran away with one.I know the father of William Watkin was a George Rogers but know nothing else about him.Can anyone shed any light on Mary.
Thanks Anthony

[Nev Fouiller]

Hello Ceronn

you certainly seem to have the GLA Birds sorted out

I had a good reason for calling William a ship's agent but now I cannot find my source

sorry about that

Nev