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Sarah Ellen Bird's parents were Thomas Bird and Ruth McDade. Thomas Bird was born in Bolton, Bolton le Moors, Lancashire, January 17th 1834. I think his parents were Thomas Bird (b. 1796, Ireland) and Mary (nee Livesey, b. 1796, Bolton, Lancs) Bird, as I found the following entry on the FamilySearch website:
Thomas Bird - Birth* : however, I have not been able to verify that this is the correct Thomas Bird, and it is a very common name. So at present the Bird line ends at this point until I can find more information.
Thomas married Ruth McDade in the Parish Church of Ramsbottom, Bury, Lancashire, on October 26th 1872. The Parish Church is St. Paul's (see the recent photograph in the opposite column). Thomas was illiterate and signed with a cross, but Ruth was able to sign her name.
Ruth was actually a very young widow at the time of her marriage to Thomas, being only 24 years old. I haven't been able to find any records of her first marriage to a McDade (sometimes written as McDads). Her maiden name was Hargreaves, and she had been born in Newchurch (which later became Bacup) in Lancashire. Her parents were Henry and Sarah Hargreaves and more information about the Hargreaves family can be found here.
In the 1861 Census** Ruth was still living at home with her parents and at the age of 13 was working as a Power Loom Weaver. The Power Loom was introduced into the Rossendale Valley (of which Bacup is a part) in 1820. Most of the Hargreaves' neighbours in the 1861 Census were also Power Loom Weavers, including Ruth's father, Henry.
* "Reprinted by permission. Copyright (c) 1999 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc."
The earliest Census in which I have been able to find Thomas Bird is the one from 1881*. In this Census Thomas is recorded as being a cotton weaver. He and Ruth were living at Tasker Street, 4 Thompsons Court, Accrington, Lancashire with their three daughters. Sarah Ellen was the eldest, aged 7 and listed as a scholar. Mary A. was 4 and baby Marrion was only 4 months.
It seems that the family moved quite a bit as Sarah Ellen was born in Rawtenstall, Mary in Bacup, and Marrion in Accrington. Unfortunately, Marrion does not appear on the 1891 Census**, so I think she must have died between 1881 and 1891. I can't find a record of her death, but I can't find a record of her birth either, so neither may yet have been transcribed.
In 1891, the family were living at Vale Court, in the village of Huncoat, which is now part of Accrington, Lancashire. Thomas was working as a cotton weaver and so was his wife, Ruth, so the family must have been quite poor. Sarah Ellen was now 17 and working as a cotton winder, while her sister Mary is 12 and still at school.
Previous Generation: Ruth Bird's parents were Henry and Sarah Hargreaves. Please go to the Hargreaves family for more information about them.
** Used with the permission of Ancestry.com
