Thomas Bird was not the son of William Bird & Mary Woodhall

Thomas Bird Sr.

• Born about 1613 in England
• Died: June 8, 1667 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, Bay Colony
• Buried 12 Jun 1667 Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
• Burial Place: Dorchester North Burying Ground in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA

Disputed Origins

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bird-773

Anderson's Great Migration Directory[1] states that Thomas' origins are unknown. A previous version of this profile showed his parents as William Bird and Mary Woodhall. See Research notes below about DNA study results and possible relatives.

MERGE WARNING

There was a the marriage between a Thomas Bird and an Anne Wells at All Hallows, Honey Lane, London, on July 26, 1640, however this couple, Thomas and Ann, had a child named Thomas baptized at Dorchester, Massachusetts, in May, 1640. Therefore there must have been two men named Thomas Bird, and this Thomas did NOT married Anne Wells. DO NOT MERGE Anne Wells with Ann UNKNOWN.

Anne Bird d. 20 Aug 1673, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts,Bay Colony

• Did not marry: Anne Wells on July 26, 1640 in New England, USA b. 1617, of London, Greater London, England,

Thomas Bird Will from Dorchester in Suffolk County Massachusetts Will Record July 12,1666

Thomas Bird Sr. Will/ Probate Documents Dated July 17, 1667 in Dorchester, Suffolk County Massachusetts

Children of Thomas & Anne Bird

• Thomas Bird m. Thankful Atherton, he was b. April 3, 1640; d. 30 Jan 1709/10, age 69.
• John Bird m. Elizabeth Williams, dau. of Richard Williams of Taunton, b. January 11,1641; d. 2 Aug 1732, age 91. They had eleven children.
• Samuel Bird, bp. April 1644, is never mentioned after his baptism and there is a note adjacent “(or James)” leading a reader to wonder whether James and Samuel are the same child.
• James Bird m. (1) Mary George; who died in childbirth. They had two children; he m. (2) Ann Withington, b. abt. 1647; d. 1 Sep 1723, age 76. They had eight children.
• Sarah Bird, bp. 12 Aug 1649; d. 24 Apr 1689, age 19.
• Joseph Bird,, d. 26 Sep 1665, age 15.

CHAPTER IX. Second Emigration from England, by The History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society (Dorchester, Boston, Mass.)

IN 1635, there -arrived in Massachusetts -many ships with passengers from England, and the Dorchester Plantation attracted its full share of them.

Besides .those who came with Mr. Mather, in the James, from Bristol, in 1635, the names of Dorchester settlers are found in four other vessels from London the same year (see Savage s Gleanings, Massachusetts Historical Collections).

These arrivals greatly promoted the Connecticut -movement, by furnishing purchasers for the i Connecticut; provements of those intending to migrate. And the same year that deprived the Town of many of her most valued inhabitants, furnished accessions to the population of a more permanent character. New names continue to appear upon the records until 1640, when the political changes in the mother country arrested the tide of emigration.

The following may be regarded as a near approach to a correct list of the second emigration from Europe, which occurred about the time of Mr. Mater’s arrival and settlement.

Richard Evans is listed along with Thomas Bird, Edward and Nicholas Clap to name a few. You can view the complete list from History of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts page 101, or click the blue CHAPTER IX. Second Emigration from England. (listed above.) From the History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society (Dorchester, Boston, Mass.)

Immigration:

• Arrival Year: 1642, Arrival Place: Dorchester, Massachusetts, Primary Immigrant: Bird, Thomas, Source Publication Code: 1936

Thomas Bird in the U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s - Name: Thomas Bird, Arrival Year: 1642, Arrival Place: Dorchester, Massachusetts, Primary Immigrant: Bird, Thomas, Source Publication Code: 1936, Annotation: Excellent directory of the first settlers of New England. Drake's additions and corrections (no. 1666) are found in the G.P.C. reprint and in no. 9151, Tepper, Passengers to America, pp. 468-470. Source Bibliography: FARMER, JOHN. A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New-England; Containing an Alphabetical List of the Governours, Deputy-Governours, Assistants or Counsellors, and Ministers of the Gospel in the Several Colonies, from 1620 to 1692; Graduates of Harvard College to 1662; Members of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company to 1662; Freemen Admitted to the Massachusetts Colony from 1630 to 1662; With Many Other of the Early Inhabitants of New-England and Long- Household Members: Name: Thomas Bird

• [Expand] Immigration: 1642 to Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

History

Thomas Bird came to Dorchester in about 1635 and erected this house shortly thereafter. By 1931 ten generations of his descendants had lived here. The house, which was located at 41 Humphreys Street, was known also as the Bird-Sawyer house.

Thomas Bird arrived from England on the second voyage of the ship Mary and John in 1635. He was a poor man but he did well enough to buy a large tract of land west of Dorchester Brook, between what are now Dudley and East Cottage Streets. Mrs. Mary Bird Hill, grandmother of Charles Winthrop Sawyer, the owner in the late 1920s, told Sawyer that she had seen, Thomas Bird's deed to the land dated 1637 with an Indian's thumbprint on it. When Bird died, his estate was valued at 1000 pounds and included "ye olde dwelling house" and "ye new dwelling House." Which of these was the house still standing in the early 20th century is not certain.

Additions were necessary to accomodate grandchildren, so the house grew with the family. The original house consisted of two rooms, a bedroom and kitchen and an attic. To this was later added a "lean-to" which was later incorporated into the house. The point of demarcation remained clear as one had to step down a few inches into the lean-to portion from the first floor of the original house. Later the roof was lifted to provide two rooms upstairs with a new attic above. Still later the attic roof was lifted to a higher peak and two more rooms were placed above those in the rear. Four rooms, two above and two below were built in 1804, replacing the second lean-to. The low ceiling, the wrought-iron latches and locks, and the uneven flooring created an atmosphere of early pionerring Puritanism. In the kitchen, the great brick fireplace was the center of attention.

http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=228

Their property was located between Dudley and East Cottage Streets. The evolution is portrayed in sketches of the house. Mr. Trask described the tannery business as “respectable and lucrative” in his genealogy of Thomas Bird of Dorchester, published in 1871. When his will was executed in 1667, his estate was valued over £1,000. The house was called the Bird-Sawyer House and is no longer standing; the surrounding area bears little resemblance to the sketches. Regardless, at least 10 generations of Thomas Bird’s descendants lived in the house before it fell into disrepair sometime in the 1930-40s.

Thomas Bird joined the church organized by Rev. Richard Mather; he was the bailiff in the town and his name is mentioned frequently in the Town Records and Church Records. He died 8 Jun 1667 at Dorchester, age 54. His widow, Ann, died 21 Aug 1673. His will was proved, his estate inventoried, with a value of about one thousand pounds.

Sources

• Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Directory, (NEHGS, 2015), p. 30.
• William B. Trask, "Thomas Bird, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Some of his Descendants," NEHGR Vol. 25(1871):21-22. < Archive.Org >
• Clarence A. Torrey, compiler, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (CD version) (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 2001). "BIRD, Thomas1 (?1613-1667) & Anne ____ (-1673); by 1640; Dorchester {citing Bird (1871) 9; Sv. 1:182; Pope 321; Topliff (1906) 20; Reg. 5:395, 16:161, 25:21, 38:404, 75:145; Blake-Glidden 45; McCormick-Hamilton 89; Smith-Bryant 115}"
• 1-[S5] Fuller, Robert F., Gerald Ralph, Hortense M., "Adamic Lineages of Horace Ralph Fuller Family" ((Salem, Massachusetts : Peabody Essex Museum ; Mystic, Conn. : Mystic Seaport Museum, 1996); Call # 910.4 S796), Pedigree Records - Chart: 44-12.
• 2- [S1402] Personal knowledge of Kirk Larson, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE]\..
• 3- [S1410] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, database, \i FamilySearch\i0 ((http://www.familysearch.org)), )..
• 4- [S477] Farmer, John, "Genealogical Register of First Families of New England [1620-1675]: Containing an Alphabetical List of the Governours, Deputy-Governours, Assistants or Counsellors, and Ministers of the Gospel in the Several Colonies, from 1620 to 1692; Graduates of Harvard College to 1662; Members of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company to 1662; Freemen Admitted to the Massachusetts Colony from 1630 to 1662; With Many Other of the Early Inhabitants of New-England and Long-Island, N.Y. from 1620 to the Year 1675.... Lancaster, Mass.: " ((Carter, Andrews, & Co., 1829. 352p. Reprinted with additions and corrections by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1964. Repr. 1976, 1983.) GPC #1760), p. 33.
• 5 - NEGHS Register, Vol. 1, April 1921, by the genealogist Lothrop Withington.
• 6 - Thomas Bird, of Dorchester, Massachusetts and some of his descendants - antiquarian journal - https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2sFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=...
• 7 - Thomas Bird and Anne mentioned in a Birth Record for Thomas Bird from Dorchester Births, Marriages, And Deaths To the End of 1825, Volume 21- Name: Thomas Bird born April 3, 1640 in Dorchester, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA, Father: Thomas Bird, Mother Ann - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000004237645032?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000081647672941&position=0
• 8 - Thomas Bird and Anne Mentioned in a Bith Record for son John Bird from Dorchester Births, Marriages, And Deaths To the End of 1825, Volume 21- Name: John Bird born January 11, 1642 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA. Father, Thomas Bird - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000015366883514?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000081646731943&position=0
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVKD-J4S5 : 13 December 2015), Thomas Bird, 1667; Burial, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States of America, Dorchester North Burying Ground; citing record ID 40658805, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• There was a marriage between a Thomas Bird and an Anne Wells at All Hallows, Honey Lane, London, on July 26, 1640, however this couple, Thomas and Ann, had a child named Thomas baptized at Dorchester, Massachusetts, in May, 1640.