Generations - Bird reunion

Genesis 17:7 "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."

This covenant with Abraham applies to all who are in the household of faith, those who believe in Jesus, who trust in Christ alone for their salvation. Galatians 3:7-8 "Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.'"

Most every Memorial Day my mom's side of the family gets together at my Grandpa Ahart's house in Danville. I have 10 cousins from my mom's family; she is one of 4 daughters. I realized yesterday that my dad has over twice that many cousins.

My grandfather, John Bird, had 3 sisters: Mildred, Angie, and Marty. My great aunt Angie and Marty are pictured to the left. When my Grandpa Bird retired, they moved to Florida. That was part of what drew me down there for college. He passed away back in 2003.

It was a delight to sit down and talk with these wonderful godly ladies. They encouraged me in the work I'm doing a Covenant Christian High School and with my own 7 children. Marty had 14 children. She has 28 living grandchildren, 38 great grandkids, and 2 great-great-grandbabies. This Bird family reunion is held near New Castle in August each year.

Five years ago after the reunion I was inspired to dig back and see what I could learn about my genealogy. Where did the Bird family come from? We had the 'blue book' which traced it back a little, but we still didn't even know who was the first Bird to migrate to Indiana. Here is a brief summary of my findings:
In 1622, 2 years after the Mayflower, Thomas Bird brought his family over to Puritan New England, to the same general area as the Mayflower. The first Bird born in America was Hannah. The family coat of arms was a cross between four red birds. Motto: "Cruce spes mea" = my hope is in the cross.

1.Thomas (b.1589 in London – d. 1662 Newtown, Long Island NY).
2. John (b.1631),
3. Andrew (b.1651),
4. Elisha (b.1682),
5. James (1717-1796),
6. Burtis “Nathan” (~1750-1823),
7. Joseph (27 Aug 1803 in New Jersey – 1 Jan 1868 Henry Co, IN),
8. Daniel (1831-1909),
9. Aurther Warren (1861-1935),
10. Charley Ned (1884-1944),
11. John Leslie (1915-2003)


Psalm 102:12, 18
"But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations...
Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD"