Hello.
To cut a long story short, James Bird died in Bilston in 1834 aged 80, he was married in Wolverhampton in 1802/3. It is difficult to know what he did for the first 49 years of his life; indeed I have never found a record which predates that marriage.
My grand father wrote that James could have come to bilston on the Military Road by coach, following a dispute perhaps, or to espace some trouble. For some reason he had in his mind that the family were sheep farmers on the Berwyn Mountains. In 1950 he looked up in a telephone directory, and found that Charles Bird lived at Plas Tanat, near Llanrhaeadr Ym Mochnant.
My question for the readers of this Welsh board is this, what records exists which I can search for Bird families in this area, before or after (some must have stayed) 1800 and specifically around 1754. I suspect no solid evidence will be obtained, and I shall go on to look for other places from where he could have travelled. But my grand father was not a man to jump to conclusions, as sure of the need for evidence as we are now.... but he didn't pass it on.
Best wishes, and thanks for any help,
Andrew Bird
