John Bird (November 22, 1768 – February 2, 1806) was an American slave owner, politician, and a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from New York.

Biography

Born in

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorpora ...

, Bird was the son of Dr. Seth and Hanna Sheldon Bird and pursued classical studies; graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1786, studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

, and commenced practice in Litchfield. He married Eunice Porter on October 4, 1789. The marriage ended in 1797 divorce, which was granted to Eunice from the Connecticut General Assembly on the grounds of ill treatment by her husband. His second marriage was to Sally Buel on March 29, 1799.

Career

Bird moved to

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

in 1793 and engaged in the practice of law. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1796 to 1798, and a member of the Freemasons. Elected as a Federalist to the Sixth and Seventh Congresses as U. S. Representative for the sixth District of New York, Bird served from March 4, 1799 to July 25, 1801, when he resigned, and resumed the practice of his profession.

Death

Bird died in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, February 2, 1806 (age 37 years, 72 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Mt. Ida Cemetery, Troy, New York.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, John 1768 births 1806 deaths Politicians from Litchfield, Connecticut Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Yale College alumni