Ann Bird Unknown = possible born Wells "Burchie" nickname

• Birth: 24 Aug 1608 England
• Ann’s Husband THOMAS BIRD/Died February 8, 1667/AEt. 54 y'rs/ANN/his wife/Died Aug. 20, 1673:/They were among the venerated/early settlers of Dorchester./In remembrance of their hard-/ships, their perserverance and their/Virtues, this tablet is erected in/1871 by MATTHEW BIRD of New York, a descendant in the 8th gener-/ation. Source:"Annual Report of the Cemetery Department of the City of Boston 1905-1906"
• Death: 20 Aug 1673 (aged 64) in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA
• BURIAL : Dorchester North Burying Ground, Dorchester, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA, PLOT Section E, Grave #202

Children of Thomas Bird & Anne

• Thomas Bird m. Thankful Atherton, he was b. 4 May 1640; d. 30 Jan 1709/10, age 69.
• John Bird m. Elizabeth Williams, dau. of Richard Williams of Taunton, b. 11 Mar 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.

History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society (Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, page 109

Thomas Bird was a member of the church in Dorchester in 1642; was bailiff in 1654. He was a tanner by occupation. His wife Ann died August 20, 1673. He died June 8, 1667. His son Thomas was born July 4, 1640 ; married Thankful, the daughter of Gen. Humphrey Atherton, May 2, 1665, and died January 3, 1709, aged 69. John, horn April 11, 1641, married Elizabeth, and died August 7, 1632, aged 91. James, born 1647; Sarah, bap tized 12 (6) 1649, died 24 (2) 1669 ; Joseph, died 26 (7) 1665.

G8/9 Thomas Bird and Anne of England

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.

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.

THOMAS BIRD/Died June 8, 1667/AEt. 54 y'rs/ANN/his wife/Died Aug. 21, 1673:/They were among the venerated/early settlers of Dorchester./In remembrance of their hard-/ships, their perserverance and their/Virtues, this tablet is erected in/1871 by MATTHEW BIRD of New York, a descendant in the 8th gener-/ation

Source:"Annual Report of the Cemetery Department of the City of Boston 1905-1906"

Sources

• 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 in the The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011- Name: Thomas Bird, Event Type: Death, Birth Date: abt 1613, Age at Death: 54, Death Date: 8 Apr 1667, Death Place: Dorchester, Massachusetts, USA - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000012413758546?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000081003484226&position=0