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Look-up request: Alexander BIRD & Ann HAS (Dublin marriages 1811, 1814, 1821) to Tipperary Police

Newport (Tipperary)

I am seeking assistance from anyone with access to unindexed or detailed Church of Ireland marriage registers for Dublin in the early 1800s. I am trying to identify the origins of my ancestor, Alexander BIRD.

What I know:

  • Occupation: Alexander Bird was a policeman in the early Irish Constabulary for many years in County Tipperary. On Nov. 11, 1848, he was appointed “gate porter” at the workhouse in Nenagh. That’s where the trail so far ends. His son Henry Joseph Bird (1831-1921) emigrated to Barrie in colonial Ontario in 1825. I know all about his life in Canada.
  • Tipperary Records: By 1827, he was stationed in North Tipperary. He appears in the Castletownarra Church of Ireland records for the baptism of his daughter, Ellen, on November 11, 1827 (occupation: "Police Establishment"). He appears again in the Newport Church of Ireland records for the baptism of his son and my great-great-grandfather, Henry Joseph Bird, on May 13, 1831 (occupation: “Police"). “We found no marriage of the parents and no other siblings,” a County Tipperary genealogist wrote in an email to me. “We found no death, burial or gravestone inscriptions.”
  • Wife: His wife's name was listed as Ann Has.
  • Tipperary Connections: Godparents listed for Ellen in 1827 were William PRITTIE, Elizabeth RALPH, and Mary BIRD.

Because early police regulations prohibited men from serving in their native counties, I suspect Alexander may have been recruited from the established Bird surname clusters on the East Coast (Dublin/Wicklow area) and transferred inland.

The Look-up Request:

I have identified three potential Church of Ireland marriages on the East Coast that match an Alexander Bird marrying an "Ann/Anne." I am hoping someone can look up the full register entries or associated files to see if any mention an occupation (e.g., constable, soldier, clerk), a specific address, or signatures/witnesses named Ralph or Prittie:

  1. Alexander Bird & Anne Ryan – Jan 22, 1811, St. Catherine’s Parish, Dublin City.
  2. Alexander Bird & Ann Stuart – Nov 22, 1814, St. Michael’s Parish, Dublin City.
  3. Alexander Bird & Ann Wright – 1821, Dublin Consistorial Marriage License Bonds (potentially Dublin/Wicklow border).

If anyone could check these specific records for any extra identifying details or occupational clues, it would immensely help me find an Alexander that may belong to my Tipperary police lineage.

Thank you so much for your time and expertise!

Best regards,

Michael

mbbird3@gmail.com

4 replies

Michael,

I found this record on RootsIreland. Maybe your Alexander?? I did not find a marriage record.

Name:Alexander BirdDate of Birth:7-Aug-1808
  Date of Baptism:
Address:ArmaghParish/District:ARMAGH CI
Gender:UnknownCountyCo. Armagh
Denomination:Church Of Ireland
Father:Henry * BirdMother:Jane Bird
Occupation:
Sponsor 1 /Informant 1:Sponsor 2 /Informant 2:
Notes:
* Captain, 18th or Royal Irish Regiment of Foot Mothers Abode: No
Entry

@@@@@@@@@@

Maybe a cousin

Name:Mary BirdDate of Birth:29-Mar-1807
  Date of Baptism:
Address:18th Regiment Of Foot, ArmaghParish/District:ARMAGH CI
Gender:UnknownCountyCo. Armagh
Denomination:Church Of Ireland
Father:John BirdMother:Elizabeth Bird
Occupation:
Sponsor 1 /Informant 1:Sponsor 2 /Informant 2:
Notes:
Mothers Abode: No Entry

@@@@@@@@@@

mtvrdk@gmail.com

Michael,

I found a death certificate for your Henry Joseph on Ancestry and it shows his mother's name as Annie Has.

mtvrdk@gmail.com

For reference the bulk of the surviving Church of Ireland records for Dublin city are available to search on the free IrishGenealogy website, most as transcripts some have corresponding register images. Unfortunately the early records for St. Michael's CofI are listed as lost. Records for St. Catherine's are included on the site however no sign that I can see for the marriage you mentioned. What source gave these marriage locations & dates ?

Early marriages dont usually include occupations, from what I've seen they start to appear from about the 1830s or so.

The Marriage License Bonds no longer survive, so all that's available for these is the index you've seen, note that the reference to 'Dublin' in these relates to the Church of Ireland Diocese of Dublin, so covers parishes in Dublin city and county and most of Co. Wicklow plus a couple in Co. Kildare. A parish record may survive but not a straightforward search without knowing which parish to check...

p.s. some details of marriage bonds (and other early records) were transcribed before they were destroyed - e.g. Gertrude Thrift & Rosemary ffolliott collections

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you all. Very helpful.

So, with your help I've got an Alexander Bird in County Armagh, in Ireland’s north, born on Aug. 7, 1808, with parents listed as Henry and Jane Bird, with a note identifying the father as a captain in the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot.

Separately, I found that British Army records also confirm that a Henry Gibbs Bird served as an officer in the same regiment during that period, first appearing as a lieutenant in 1796 and still listed with the regiment in 1803. Other military records indicate that Henry Gibbs Bird died in 1809. While no documentary evidence has yet established that he was the same man referenced in the Armagh baptismal entry, the chronology is compatible and the names unusually similar. The possibility is further strengthened by traditional Irish naming conventions, under which a first-born son was often named after his paternal grandfather. If the Armagh Alexander later became the Alexander Bird recorded in Tipperary’s Police Establishment, then Henry Joseph Bird’s own name would align closely with that longstanding pattern. It carried on from Ireland to my grandfather Henry James Bird (1900-1992) of Vancouver. I'd deeply appreciate any hints or help in finding Alexander Bird's baptismal entry. I'm stumped.

Thank you

mbbird3@gmail.com

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