John BIRD

[Greaves]

On 14 Nov 1802, John BIRD married Anne HEAD in Edmonton, Middlesex. According to the baptism of their daughter Mary Ann in 1814, John was a soldier.

In 1817, Anne gave birth to another daughter named Eliza, though the father according to the baptism record was not John BIRD but rather a John ROBERTS.

In 1824, Anne married John ROBERTS in Edmonton. According to the marriage record she was a widow and he a widower.

So what happened to John BIRD? It would appear that Anne was co-habiting with John ROBERTS from 1817 onwards, though she didn't marry him until 1824. I am guessing that John BIRD must have died sometime between 1814 and 1824. I am further speculating that he was still alive in 1817, as Anne did not marry John ROBERTS until 1824.

I know that the Napoleonic Wars were raging around this period. The only mention I can find of John BIRD in military records is on Ancestry recording his presence as a member of the 20th Foot at the battle of Vitoria in 1813. I am not sure whether this is the correct John BIRD.

Is there anybody out there with the necessary research skills to find out some more about John BIRD, who would have been my 4x GGF. All I really know about him is that he married Anne in 1802. Apart from Mary Ann born in 1814, there are two other likely children: John, b 1807 and William, b1812. All three were baptised at All Saints in Edmonton, where John and Anne had been married. Given the dates there were possibly other children, though the gaps could be explained by military service.

Any help would be gratefully received, especially from some of you military experts.

[Milliepede]

No military info but on the baptism for William in 1812 he is listed as a soldier. 

In 1817, Anne gave birth to another daughter named Eliza, though the father according to the baptism record was not John BIRD but rather a John ROBERTS.

How do you know Anne Bird and Anne Roberts are the same person?

[Greaves]

The main reason is because in the 1841C, John ROBERTS and Elizabeth ROBERTS (the daughter from the John Roberts & Ann Bird marriage), are lodgers in the household of James and Mary MARDELL. Mary MARDELL was born Mary Ann BIRD and was the daughter of John Bird and Ann Head. Moreover, Ann Roberts had died at the same address in 1838.

[ShaunJ]

The only mention I can find of John BIRD in military records is on Ancestry recording his presence as a member of the 20th Foot at the battle of Vitoria in 1813. I am not sure whether this is the correct John BIRD.

The "British Army Muster Books and Pay Lists, 1812-1817" on Ancestry has 42 listings for soldiers named John Bird.  The one in 20th Foot must have been still alive in 1847 in order to claim the Peninsular War medal.