The Bird Family

Henry James Bird  (1842-1936)

   

Henry J. Bird was born in Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England, on January 3, 1842. The son of Oliver and Catherine (nee Lister) Bird, and the youngest of eleven children.

Henry’s father, Oliver Bird, owned a textile mill in the Stroud Valley, England, and made fine broadcloths, officer’s scarlets and billiard cloths.

In his early twenties, Mr. Bird left England to travel to Australia and then to the United States. He decided to settle in Canada and in 1867 began working as a boss weaver for the Rosamond Woollen Company in Lanark County, Ontario. He spent three years in Lanark County and while there married his first wife, Sarah Jane Fraser, on December 25, 1868. In 1869, he decided to buy his own mill in Glen Allen, Ontario on the Conestoga River.

In the spring of 1870 and again in 1871, the mill was flooded out by a great rise in the water level. It was at this time Mr. Bird decided to move his family to Bracebridge. Just prior to the move Mr. Bird suffered the tragic loss of his wife, their three year old daughter Elizabeth and six month old son, who all died of tuberculosis.

In 1872, Mr. Bird relocated the woollen mill to the upper part of the north side of the falls in Bracebridge.

On June 4, 1873, Mr. Bird married Miss Mary Matilda Ney, of Glen Allen, Ontario and the newlyweds made their home above the mill in Bracebridge.

As the woollen manufacturing business increased, it became necessary to make more use of the floor space in the mill building and within a few years, Mr. Bird set about planning a separate home for his family.

Henry J. Bird was a mindful business man. He was always well aware of any developments in the techniques of woollen manufacturing but beyond that he sought explanations for new scientific inventions and wanted their benefits to be widely enjoyed.

      

Mr. Bird was determined to give Bracebridge the ability to use piped water for domestic use as well as for fire protection.  He was the captain of the first fire company in 1876 and he arranged a system for the mill pumps to give added pressure to town water mains for firefighting purposes.

Mr. Bird played an integral role in the decision making process to inaugurate the municipal electric system in 1894. The Bird Woollen Mill also allowed the Town of Bracebridge to draw water from the head race at the Bird Woollen Mill for power and fire fighting purposes.

Henry J. Bird served as a Bracebridge Councillor, first for the village of Bracebridge in 1878, then as a Town Councillor in 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906 and 1907. 

On January 7^th, 1936 Mr. Bird died at the age of 94.

Mary Matilda 'Ney' Bird  (1847-1912)

Little is known about Mary Matilda (Ney) Bird.

On June 4, 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Bird were married in Glen Allen, Ontario. Mrs. Bird was a friend of Mr. Bird’s first wife, Sarah Fraser.

Together, Henry J. Bird and Mary Matilda Bird had a total of seven children. 

On December 6^th. 1912, Mrs. Bird died at the age of 64.

Robert Oliver Bird was born on September 7, 1875.

Robert married Emma May Miller in Hastings, ON, on April 13th 1900, together they lived in Edmonton, AB, where Robert owned a hardware store. Emma May Miller, was born July 15 1867 in Napanee, ON, and died on Aug 29 1950 in Tofield, AB. 

Robert died on February 3, 1963.

William Lister Bird was born on April 5, 1878.

On December 8, 1903, he married Eva Stephenson.

William and Eva moved to Fort William, Ontario and he worked for the Kaministiquia Power Company. Over the years, William was the president of the Fort William Rotary Club, Fort William Ski Club, Fort William YMCA, Fort William Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Electric Light Association.

William died on September 3, 1964.

Thomas Ney Bird was born on December 13, 1880 in the apartment above the woollen mill.

He joined the family woollen mill business and continued to work there until his retirement.  Following the death of his father, Thomas was the Bird Woollen Mill's president for a short time.

An active member of the community, Robert was a member of the Bracebridge Board of Education, the Bracebridge Rotary Club, the Curling and Lawn Bowling Clubs and in 1904 was a Town Councillor.

He married Mary Isobel Hodgins (1882-1959) who was a member of the Bracebridge High School staff before they were married.

Thomas died unexpectedly in his McMurray Street home in 1958 at the age of 78. 

Margaret (Meg) Elizabeth Bird was born at Woodchester Villa on December 31, 1883.

Margaret was an active member of the community and as a testament to this, she was elected the president of a ladies' sport club in 1926.

Her father sent Margaret to look after a Muskoka Home for Overseas Soldiers in London, England. This home was sponsored by the Bird Woollen Mill. 

Margaret died on September 25, 1973.

Catherine (Kit or Cassie) Bird was born on April 11, 1886 at Woodchester Villa.

Following in the footsteps of her other family members, Catherine 'Kit' Bird was also sent overseas by her father to help run the Bird Woollen Mill-sponsered hospitality house for Canadian men serving in the War.

Catherine died on September 23, 1975.

Mary (May) Matilda Bird was born at Woodchester Villa on November 17, 1889.

While visiting relatives in England, Mary enlisted as a Voluntary Aid Detachment with the British Red Cross.

During her service, Mary worked in Egypt, England and Russia serving as a nurse. She was granted medals for her war service but never spoke of her experiences.

Upon her return to Canada, she was one of the head nurses and was responsible for training student nurses at Western Hospital. Later, Mary worked in the tuberculosis ward at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto and then became a public health nurse for the city.

When Mary returned to Muskoka, she worked with the Muskoka Health Unit for several years.

On January 3, 1977, Mary died at the age of 88.