Thomas Bird, of Hartford

Thomas Bird

• Gender: Male
• Birth: between circa 1593 and circa 1589 - England
• Death: before August 10, 1662 (68-73) - Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut
• Parents: unknown
• Spouses: 1) 1st wife of Thomas Bird 2) Mary Belden

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Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bird-45
Bird-45 created 10 Sep 2010 | Last modified 1 Jun 2023

Origins

The Linton Research Fund, Inc. believes Thomas was the son of Andrew Bird (1572-1642) and Elizabeth Crumpe (1575–1637) of County Dublin, Ireland.

Speculation on Thomas's origins: Possible Profile of Origins of Thomas Bird of Hartford: An unproven theory < link >

Immigration

Thomas Bird was in Hartford, Connecticut by 1 May 1644 when he is mentioned as owning property.[1]

Some authors have claimed that he is the same Thomas Bird who was in Boston in 1639, referred to as Thomas Bird of Monaticott at Mount Woollystone. He was granted acreage. (In 1640, Mount "Woollaston" was given town privileges and was called Braintree. RC Anderson in the Great Migration Directory entry, however, suggests that there is not enough evidence to assume they are the same man.[2]

2. Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration Directory (NEHGS, 2015), p ??

Occupation

Although his occupation is not known, he could have been a carpenter, as the Inventory of his estate included a lathing hammer, which was a hatchet having a small hammer face for trimming and nailing wooden lath.

Marriage and Children

The name of Thomas Bird's first wife remains unknown. She was the mother of his four, known children.

Thomas Bird later married, in his old age, Mary BELDEN, in 1660. They had no children.

Children by first wife (named in the distribution of their father's estate):

1. Mary m. John NORTH
2. Hannah m. Edmund SCOTT
3. James m1. 31 Mar 1657 Lydia STEELE,[3] m2 by 1663 Rebecca (maiden name unknown)
4. Joseph m. c 1659-160 Mary CLARKE, the daughter of Joseph CLARKE.

Family notes

John Bird who married Temperance Bird was not a known son of Thomas Bird, of Hartford. Detached 24 October 2023.

A version of Thomas Bird has been attached as a son. It was merged into the Master Profile.

Hannah Scott Had been mistakenly attached as daughter of Thomas Bird, Vintner of London. She’s been restored to her documented family as his daughter.

Death and estate

The date of death is not contained in the records, and there is no will, but he probably died shortly before the inventory of his estate was taken on 10 August 1662.[1]

Probate

Inventory of the estate of Thomas Bird was taken 10 August 1662 by Thomas Bunce and John Coale, totalling 149 pounds, 5 shillings, and 10 pence.[4] Described as:

(Order of the Court) To Distribute to ye Relict ye Widow, 34 poundsaid her prsently, & John Belden promist to look to her to see her provided for.

To James Bird, 20 pounds
To Joseph the House & Land prsently, 40 pounds
to Mary Northe, 32 pounds
To Hannah Scott, 4 pounds
Then a second entry two pages later from 4 September 1662: Invt. exhibited and proved. Thomas Bunce and Thomas Watts presented an account of the distribution of the estate was made on 3 March 1663/4:

To the Relict, 34 pounds
To Joseph Bird, 40 pounds
To James Bird, 29 pounds, 8 shillings, 4 pence
To Hanna Scott, 4 pounds
To Goodwife Northe, 18 pounds
(Proximately)
[This was arranged in two columns with "(Proximately.)" across from James Bird and below Goodwife Northe, so it could have applied to either.]

"And in Case there appears to be any Estate to remayne when Debts are paid out of ye hops and ye 10 pounds sequestered to pay Debts, it shall be divided betwixt Goodwife Northe and James Bird. Thomas Bunce & Sergt. Hart and Sergt. Watts are desired and appointed to set out ye Estate and to ordr it according to ye Courts Dist. and to see Debts paid."

Research Notes

GM Directory entries for Thomas Bird:

Bird, Thomas: Unknown; 1636; Scituate [NEHGR 10:43; PCR 6:66, 7:29; MD 16:123-24].
Bird, Thomas: Unknown; 1638; Ipswich (land grant only) [ITR 47]. (Some authorities claim that this was the Thomas Bird who appeared at Hartford in 1644 [Goodwin-Morgan 2:11-14].) [Note: this seems to be a mistake in the GM Directory as Goodwin-Morgan connect the Hartford man to the Braintree land grant, not Ipswich)
Bird, Thomas: Unknown; 1639; Braintree (land grant only) [BTR 1:50].
Bird, Thomas: Unknown; 1639; Dorchester [NEHGR 5:97, 25:21-22; DChR 5; SPR Case #454; Blake-Glidden 45-46].

References

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 11 2018, 0:17:38 UTC
• Torrey, NE Marriages: BIRD, Thomas (bef 1653, 1662?) & Mary ____ (-ca 1660, 1664+?); by 1635?, by 1637; Hartford/Farmington, CT {Bird (1855) 5; Steele 7; Goodwin-Morgan 11-14; Booth (1910) 43; Flagg Anc. 276; Fulton Anc. 53; Sanborn Anc. 57; Sv. 1:182; Morse (,1) 106-107; Utah Gen. Mag 23:23, Bassett-Preston 33, Hartford Prob. 1:97; Warner-Harrington 60} BIRD, Thomas (-1662?) & 2/wf ____ [BELDEN?]; ?Hartford {Goodwin-Morgan 2:13}
• https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Thomas_Bird_%285%29 cites
  • 1. Thomas Bird, in Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862) 1:182. "Thomas (Bird), Hartford, d. bef. 1653 [error for 1663], leav. beside James and Joseph, bef. ment. two ds. wh. all mov. to Farmington, and there all four had fams."
  • 2. Bird, Thomas, in Manwaring, Charles W. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Hartford, Conn.: R. S. Peck & Co., 1904-06) 1:97. "Probate Records. Vol. II, 1650 to 1663. Page 176.
• http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/byrd/pats
• http://linton-research-fund-inc.com/bird_family_tree.html