Leander Perry Bird (1836 - 1884)

Born 1836 in Whitley County, Kentucky

Ancestors

Husband of Cynthia (Perkins) Bird — married 11 Aug 1853 in Campbell County, Tennessee

Husband of Mary Jane (Sullivan) Bird — married 3 Feb 1859 in Whitley County, Kentucky

Descendants

Died 1884 at about age 48 in Whitley County, Kentucky

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Steve Broyles [send private message]

Biography

Leander was born in 1836 in Whitley Co., Kentucky, and lived there his entire life. Many genealogies have assigned Leander as a son of Thomas and Mary Bird because Leander is found living with them in the 1850 census of that county-- this despite the fact that Mary would have been 47 at his birth. In any case, Leander was not their child but their grandchild instead. He was born out of wedlock to Thomas and Mary's daughter Catherine and lived with them after Catherine married in 1845.^[1] DNA evidence shows that Leander's birth father was William Tunnell Ball of Marsh Creek in Whitley County.^[2]

Leander's first wife was Cynthia Perkins, the daughter of Jefferson and Nancy Perkins. She died of childbed fever on 23 Jun 1854, a few days after giving birth to their daughter Eliza Jane. Cynthia was just 17 years old! Providing care for the newborn girl was, of course, a problem-- one that was solved, and eventually she was taken in by Cynthia's uncle Thomas Perkins and his wife. Eliza Jane Bird is found in their household in 1860 (as Eliza J. Perkins) and 1870.

Leander remarried 3 Feb 1859 to Mary Jane Sullivan in Whitley County.^[3] Mary Jane's father was Harvey Perry Sullivan of Whitley Co. who moved to Iowa (where Mary Jane was born) but he died a young man in 1854. The widow and/or children seem to have returned to Whitley County.

Leander and Mary Jane had:

1. Dora Alice (25 Mar 1860 - 12 Mar 1882), married N.A. Richardson
2. Infant (26 Sep 1862 - 5 Oct 1862)
3. Thomas L. Bird (25 May 1865 - 26 Sep 1930), married Belle Blakely.

Leander passed away at the young age of 48 in 1884 and is buried at Briar Creek Cemetery in Whitley County.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Probably told c. 1985 to Steve Broyles by his aunts, both grandchildren of Leander, but Steve has been unable to locate the letter that contained this information. He now suspects it is simply his own conclusion.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com ThruLines display (2020), DNA Circle (2018) -- Steve and his siblings share DNA with William T. Ball's descendants. Ball's age and location match the situation and there are no other identified ways in which the common DNA can be explained.
3. ↑ "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJS-KT24 : 17 May 2018), S P Bird and Mary Jane Sullivan, 3 Feb 1859; citing Marriage, Whitley, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 532,640.
4. ↑ Cemetery records by locale, FindAGrave.com

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZBK-CM8 : 14 December 2017), L P Bird, 1860.
• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX4H-V3C : 12 April 2016), L P Bird, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 3, family 25, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,003.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC83-6C4 : 15 August 2017), Leander P Bird, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 114, sheet 273C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 0446; FHL microfilm 1,254,446.