Bird, Edwin R. (Edwin Ruthven), 1829-1910

Edwin R. Bird (1829-1910) was an American saddler and prospector in Illinois and California.

Edwin Ruthven Bird was born August 19, 1829, in Barcelona, Chautauqua County, New York, to Frederick Bird and Louisa Goddard Warren. As a young child, Bird and his family relocated to the Detroit, Michigan, area. Later, the family lived in various locations in Illinois, including Geneva, Rockton, and Winfield. In 1842, Bird's father, Frederick Bird, died. Bird's mother, Louisa Warren Bird, moved the family to Warrenville, Illinois; soon thereafter, Edwin Bird moved to Chicago to live with his uncle, Silas B. Cobb, where he learned the harness trade.

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