Biography:John Bird (MP for Coventry)

John Bird (c. 1694 – 11 January 1771), of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1737.

Bird's family had introduced ribbon-weaving to the Coventry area and were prominent silk manufacturers. William Bird was mayor of the town in 1705. John Bird was born about 1694, a son of William Bird. He married, in 1718, Rebecca Martyn (c. 1696 – 7 June 1762), daughter of Francis and Elizabeth (Doughty) Martyn of London and of Blockley.

Bird was given the post of receiver of the land tax for Warwickshire by Walpole in 1723. He held it until 1733, when he decided to stand for Parliament at Coventry on an anti-excise platform. He was elected Member of Parliament for Coventry in a contest at the 1734 British general election but his defeated opponent John Neale continued to pursue a petition against him on the grounds of his property qualifications. In 1737 Bird was offered the post of commissioner of the stamp duties, and resigned his seat to take it up ‘for the peace and quiet of the city of Coventry’. After the fall of Walpole in 1742, he lost his position as commissioner of the stamp duties.

Bird died in 1771 at Kenilworth. His son John was the father of William Wilberforce Bird who was also a Member of Parliament for Coventry.

Family

John Bird family chart

William Bird (d. 1731), silk manufacturer of Coventry John Bird (c. 1694 – 1771), MP for Coventry m Rebecca Martyn (c. 1696 – 1762), daughter of Francis Martyn (1637 – 1713) & Elizabeth Doughty (c. 1664 – 1748) Thomas Bird (d. 1746) m Elizabeth Martyn (1699 – 1758), daughter of Francis Martyn (1637 – 1713) & Elizabeth Doughty (c. 1664 – 1748) The children of Rebecca and John Bird who died in Infancy included: William Bird, bp. 1721, bur. 1721; Charles Bird, bp. 1723, bur. 1723/4; William Bird, bp. 1726/7; Charlotte Bird, bp. 1731/2, bur. 1733/4; Doughty Bird, bp. 1734/5, bur. 1733/4; George Bird, bp. 1735/6. Rebecca Bird, bp. 1737/8, bur. 1738. The children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bird who died in Infancy included:Thomas Bird bp. 1722/3, bur. 1723/4; Thomas Bird (2) bp. 1727, bur. 1728/9; Martha Bird bp. 1729, bur. 1729/30; Thomas Bird (3) bp. 1731/2, bur. 1731/2. Other children of Thomas & Elizabeth, baptised but without further records and who may have died during infancy include: Francis Bird bp. 1730; Thomas Bird (4) bp. 1732/3; Lucy Bird bp. 1734; Thomas Bird (5) bp 1736. Elizabeth Bird (bp.1719 – 1787) m (1) Rev George Secker, nephew and domestic chaplain to Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also the rector of Brasted, Kent, replaced on his death by Rev Dr James Parker. (see Pattee Bird below) m(2) barrister Richard Cope Hopton. Robert Bird (bp.1723 – 1788) of Barton on the Heath, Warwickshire, m Mary Merttins (1722 – 1806), daughter of John Henry Merttins of Valance House, Dagenham. They had at least eight children two of whom married cousins: Elizabeth married William Wilberforce Bird, and Robert married William's sister, Lucy Wilberforce Bird. Robert and Mary’s eldest son, Henry Merttins Bird, married Elizabeth Manning, daughter of West Indies and Carolina merchant, William Coventry Manning. His son, William Manning, married Henry's cousin, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Mary and Abel Smith. Anne Bird (bp.1722 – 1794) m druggist William Singleton (1722 – Abt. 1777) of Norton, Gloucestershire, manufacturer of oil of vitriol, aquafortis and refiner of brimstone, based at 42 Cheapside, London. Descended from Laurence Singleton, Member of Parliament for Gloucester during the Third Protectorate Parliament. After William's death in 1777 Ann replaced him as Lord of the Manor of Dudstone and King’s Barton. This was later lost due to the consequences of a bankruptcy action against William's business. Mary Bird (bp.1724 – 1780) m Abel Smith (1717–1788). Smith was from a family of Nottingham mercers and bankers; he established the Smith, Payne & Smith bank in London, plus the Lincoln and Hull Bank. Descendants of Mary and Abel Smith included Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington and Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon. Abel Smith’s cousin, Mary Smith, married Thomas Tenison, nephew of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was also named Thomas Tenison Frances Bird (bp.1726 – 1777) m Thomas Selwin (Selwyn) (1724 – 1798), son of William Selwin of Down Hall. Thomas Selwin was uncle of Lady Jane (Caygill) Ibbetson (1745 – 1816) and brother-in-law to Peter Fonnereau, son of Claude Fonnereau Henry Bird, dates of birth and baptism unknown; bur, 1756 Charles Bird (bp.1728 – 1758) m Betty Cooper (1726 – 1800) March 6, 1753, in St George's Chapel, Mayfair, London, England. Charles died within 5 years of their wedding, but not before they had two children: 1) Elizabeth Bird (1755 – 1820), who remained unmarried and died in Southampton; 2) William Bird (1754 – 1837), who became Lieutenant Colonel of the West Middlesex Militia. Martyn Bird (bp.1726 – 1806) m (1) Mary Stanley, granddaughter of William Stanley DD and Jane Pemberton, daughter of Sir Francis Pemberton; m (2) Caroline Oliver, youngest daughter of William Oliver (physician) Bird was based in Nottingham for several years and in later life resided in Bath, Somerset where he died in the Vinyards district of Walcot in 1806. Pattee Bird (bp.1730 – 1768) m Reverend Dr James Parker (1723 – 1776), domestic chaplain to Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also the rector of Brasted, Kent. Elizabeth Bird (bp.1728 – 1798) m Robert Wilberforce (1728 – 1768), merchant of Kingston-upon-Hull. They had three daughters and one son: William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833), who became a politician and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. Only one of the daughters, Sarah, survived to adulthood, and she first married clergyman, Dr Clarke of Hull; after his death she married her brother‘s friend, James Stephen, who was also at the forefront of the abolition movement. John Bird (1733/4 – 1772) m Judith Wilberforce (1727 – 1806). Their eldest son, William Wilberforce Bird (1758 – 1836), MP for Coventry, m(1) his cousin, Elizabeth Bird, she died in 1782; he next married m(2) Penelope Wheler 1772 and their eldest son - William Wilberforce Bird (1784–1857) - became acting Governor-General of India. Other grandchildren of John and Judith Bird included, John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Charles Richard Sumner, Bishop of Winchester Jane Bird (c.1735 – 1789) m Joshua Grigby (1731 – 1798) of Drinkstone, MP for Suffolk 1784 ; they had three sons and four, or possibly five, daughters Grigby was the great grandson of Anne Tenison, sister of Thomas Tenison, the Archbishop of Canterbury(see Mary Bird above)

Abbreviations: bp. = year baptised; bur. = year buried; m = year married

References

Davies, Edward J (2012). Some Connections of the Birds of Warwickshire (Vol. 26, No.1 ed.). Sausalito CA: The Genealogist: American Society of Genealogists. 

Preceded by Sir Adolphus Oughton John Neale	Succeeded by John Neale Earl of Euston