Clara Gee (Walden) Bird (1865 - 1902)

Born 1865 in Feltwell, Norfolk, England

Ancestors

Wife of Alexander Bird — married 1892 in New Zealand

Died 4 Aug 1902 at about age 37 in Auckland, New Zealand

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Biography

Clara Gee Walden emigrated with her father, Henry Forster Walden, her siblings and her father's second wife. They sailed from England on the vessel Strathcaro. Her mother Ann Gee had died in Feltwell shortly after the birth of Ann's baby daughter. Both Ann and the baby were buried in the garden of their house in Feltwell, Norfolk.

Clara died 4 August 1902. Her daughter Dora Ashby Bird who was born the previous year was adopted by her husband's sister, Sarah Esther "Etty" Bird and her husband Charles Vercoe. Dora then used the surname Vercoe. The name Ashby has been used as a middle name by various family members. This is possibly after the husband of the sister of Henry Forster Walden, Mary Ann Walden, who married the much loved Rev. John Ashby, a Methodist minister.

Sources

• Birth: General Register Office, England and Wales: Clara Gee Walden, GRO Ref: 1865, M. Qtr, Thetford, Vol 04B Page 410. Mother: Gee. 1871 Census: Clara Walden, born 1864, Feltwell, Norfolk, Registration District: Thetford. New Zealand Cemetery Records.
• Marriage: Clara Gee Walden, Year: 1892, Spouse: Alexander Bird, New Zealand. Double wedding with sister Beatrice.
• Death: New Zealand Cemetery Records, New Zealand Death Index, Australia and New Zealand Find a Grave, Index.
• Burial: Waikaraka Cemetery, Onehunga, Auckland Records. Area 1, block L, plot 9. " In loving memory of Clara, beloved wife of Alexander Bird, died 4 August 1902, aged 37 years.
• Emigration: Papers Past. National Library of New Zealand. 1880 - Emigration from London arriving in Auckland c. 1st March 1880; ship "Strathcaro" Mr. Henry S. Walden Mrs. Walden Mr. Arthur Walden, Miss Beatrice Walden, Miss Clara Walden, Miss Dora Walden