The Telephone Register, Thursday, November 21, 1940
MRS. MARY BIRD BURIED MONDAY IN LAFAYETTE
Mrs. Mary Bird, active worker in the Order of Eastern Star, was buried Monday in Masonic cemetery at Lafayette. Mrs. Bird, who was 93 years old, spent the last six months of her nine month illness in McMinnville hospital. She was a resident of McMinnville for 42 years.
Mrs. Bird was past worthy matron of Lafayette chapter, O.E.S., and one-time secretary of Knowles chapter.
The widow of Robert P. Bird, she is survived by two children, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins and Robert A. Bird of Portland, and one brother, W.B. Alderman, Tillamook.
The Rev. C.C. Barnes conducted final rites from Macy's Chapel of Flowers.
********************
Although the three handwritten pages are unsigned, the following was probably Pauline Alderman about her aunt Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird shortly after her death in 1940:
"The recent death of Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird of McMinnville at the age of 93 ended a long life of unusual interest and is worthy of more than passing notice. She had outlived nearly all of her own generation. She was born in Indiana in 1847, the daughter of Isaac and Harriet Young Alderman. Her father came west in 1849 and in 1853 her mother started with her to join him. They came by way of the Isthmus of Panama and although Mrs. Bird was a child of six years at the time, she remembered the trip all of her life. She walked part of the distance across the Isthmus and was sometimes carried by native helpers. The grown people walked and rode horse-back. She always remembered seeing the oranges on the trees and the tropical flowers and birds. When she and her mother finally reached Oregon they spent the first winter with her uncle, A.L. Alderman and family of Dayton. Her father had taken up a donation land claim in Tillamook County and they had to wait until summer for a way to reach there, as there was no road, only an Indian Trail across the mountains, covered with deep snow in winter. Boats could not cross the Tillamook Bar in the winter. There were many good places on the coast where her father could have taken up a donation claim but they finally narrowed down in his mind to a choice between two. One of them was the present site of San Jose, Calif. The other was the one in Tillamook County which he decided to take. He lived there with his family until his death in 1877. Mrs. Bird attended school in Salem for several years and at the age of 21 married R.P. Bird of Lafayette who for many years kept a large general store there when the town was a prosperous one and the county seat of Yamhill Co. Later in life he was county judge and they moved to McMinnville where Mr. Bird died in 1912. Mrs. Bird was a member of the Presbyterian Church in McMinnville and of the Eastern Star Lodge.
She was a true pioneer, coming to the west when the white settlers were beginning to become established. Her life covered the span between the covered wagon and the airplane. In later life she talked of the early days in Tillamook Co. This part of Oregon remained isolated for many years, without a good road or a railroad to the outside world. The few stores would often be sold entirely out of staple supplies such as coffee and sugar in winter until boats could again cross the Tillamook Bar. Her father befriended the Tillamook Indians and sometimes when the family entered the living room in the morning there would be several Indians sleeping around the fireplace with their heads towards the fire, a position customary with them. They entered in the night as the latch string was always out. Mrs. Bird also remembered that the Indians would bring pieces of the Nehalem beeswax, the origin of which nowadays (is) the subject of so much speculation, and offer to trade it for apples or potatoes. They had picked it up on the beach near the Nehalem River. Contrary to some reports, she declared that the Tillamook Indians were never hostile. They flattened their infants' heads by strapping boards to them. There are now only a very few left.
Mrs. Bird's life as a pioneer, mother and citizen had many interests. She is survived by a son R.A. Bird of Portland, and a daughter, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins of McMinnville, also six grandchildren, four great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. W.B. Alderman of Tillamook is a brother and L.R. Alderman, former state school superintendent and former Portland school superintendent, now of Washington, D.C., is a cousin."
MRS. MARY BIRD BURIED MONDAY IN LAFAYETTE
Mrs. Mary Bird, active worker in the Order of Eastern Star, was buried Monday in Masonic cemetery at Lafayette. Mrs. Bird, who was 93 years old, spent the last six months of her nine month illness in McMinnville hospital. She was a resident of McMinnville for 42 years.
Mrs. Bird was past worthy matron of Lafayette chapter, O.E.S., and one-time secretary of Knowles chapter.
The widow of Robert P. Bird, she is survived by two children, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins and Robert A. Bird of Portland, and one brother, W.B. Alderman, Tillamook.
The Rev. C.C. Barnes conducted final rites from Macy's Chapel of Flowers.
********************
Although the three handwritten pages are unsigned, the following was probably Pauline Alderman about her aunt Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird shortly after her death in 1940:
"The recent death of Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird of McMinnville at the age of 93 ended a long life of unusual interest and is worthy of more than passing notice. She had outlived nearly all of her own generation. She was born in Indiana in 1847, the daughter of Isaac and Harriet Young Alderman. Her father came west in 1849 and in 1853 her mother started with her to join him. They came by way of the Isthmus of Panama and although Mrs. Bird was a child of six years at the time, she remembered the trip all of her life. She walked part of the distance across the Isthmus and was sometimes carried by native helpers. The grown people walked and rode horse-back. She always remembered seeing the oranges on the trees and the tropical flowers and birds. When she and her mother finally reached Oregon they spent the first winter with her uncle, A.L. Alderman and family of Dayton. Her father had taken up a donation land claim in Tillamook County and they had to wait until summer for a way to reach there, as there was no road, only an Indian Trail across the mountains, covered with deep snow in winter. Boats could not cross the Tillamook Bar in the winter. There were many good places on the coast where her father could have taken up a donation claim but they finally narrowed down in his mind to a choice between two. One of them was the present site of San Jose, Calif. The other was the one in Tillamook County which he decided to take. He lived there with his family until his death in 1877. Mrs. Bird attended school in Salem for several years and at the age of 21 married R.P. Bird of Lafayette who for many years kept a large general store there when the town was a prosperous one and the county seat of Yamhill Co. Later in life he was county judge and they moved to McMinnville where Mr. Bird died in 1912. Mrs. Bird was a member of the Presbyterian Church in McMinnville and of the Eastern Star Lodge.
She was a true pioneer, coming to the west when the white settlers were beginning to become established. Her life covered the span between the covered wagon and the airplane. In later life she talked of the early days in Tillamook Co. This part of Oregon remained isolated for many years, without a good road or a railroad to the outside world. The few stores would often be sold entirely out of staple supplies such as coffee and sugar in winter until boats could again cross the Tillamook Bar. Her father befriended the Tillamook Indians and sometimes when the family entered the living room in the morning there would be several Indians sleeping around the fireplace with their heads towards the fire, a position customary with them. They entered in the night as the latch string was always out. Mrs. Bird also remembered that the Indians would bring pieces of the Nehalem beeswax, the origin of which nowadays (is) the subject of so much speculation, and offer to trade it for apples or potatoes. They had picked it up on the beach near the Nehalem River. Contrary to some reports, she declared that the Tillamook Indians were never hostile. They flattened their infants' heads by strapping boards to them. There are now only a very few left.
Mrs. Bird's life as a pioneer, mother and citizen had many interests. She is survived by a son R.A. Bird of Portland, and a daughter, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins of McMinnville, also six grandchildren, four great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. W.B. Alderman of Tillamook is a brother and L.R. Alderman, former state school superintendent and former Portland school superintendent, now of Washington, D.C., is a cousin."
The Telephone Register, Thursday, November 21, 1940
MRS. MARY BIRD BURIED MONDAY IN LAFAYETTE
Mrs. Mary Bird, active worker in the Order of Eastern Star, was buried Monday in Masonic cemetery at Lafayette. Mrs. Bird, who was 93 years old, spent the last six months of her nine month illness in McMinnville hospital. She was a resident of McMinnville for 42 years.
Mrs. Bird was past worthy matron of Lafayette chapter, O.E.S., and one-time secretary of Knowles chapter.
The widow of Robert P. Bird, she is survived by two children, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins and Robert A. Bird of Portland, and one brother, W.B. Alderman, Tillamook.
The Rev. C.C. Barnes conducted final rites from Macy's Chapel of Flowers.
********************
Although the three handwritten pages are unsigned, the following was probably Pauline Alderman about her aunt Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird shortly after her death in 1940:
"The recent death of Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird of McMinnville at the age of 93 ended a long life of unusual interest and is worthy of more than passing notice. She had outlived nearly all of her own generation. She was born in Indiana in 1847, the daughter of Isaac and Harriet Young Alderman. Her father came west in 1849 and in 1853 her mother started with her to join him. They came by way of the Isthmus of Panama and although Mrs. Bird was a child of six years at the time, she remembered the trip all of her life. She walked part of the distance across the Isthmus and was sometimes carried by native helpers. The grown people walked and rode horse-back. She always remembered seeing the oranges on the trees and the tropical flowers and birds. When she and her mother finally reached Oregon they spent the first winter with her uncle, A.L. Alderman and family of Dayton. Her father had taken up a donation land claim in Tillamook County and they had to wait until summer for a way to reach there, as there was no road, only an Indian Trail across the mountains, covered with deep snow in winter. Boats could not cross the Tillamook Bar in the winter. There were many good places on the coast where her father could have taken up a donation claim but they finally narrowed down in his mind to a choice between two. One of them was the present site of San Jose, Calif. The other was the one in Tillamook County which he decided to take. He lived there with his family until his death in 1877. Mrs. Bird attended school in Salem for several years and at the age of 21 married R.P. Bird of Lafayette who for many years kept a large general store there when the town was a prosperous one and the county seat of Yamhill Co. Later in life he was county judge and they moved to McMinnville where Mr. Bird died in 1912. Mrs. Bird was a member of the Presbyterian Church in McMinnville and of the Eastern Star Lodge.
She was a true pioneer, coming to the west when the white settlers were beginning to become established. Her life covered the span between the covered wagon and the airplane. In later life she talked of the early days in Tillamook Co. This part of Oregon remained isolated for many years, without a good road or a railroad to the outside world. The few stores would often be sold entirely out of staple supplies such as coffee and sugar in winter until boats could again cross the Tillamook Bar. Her father befriended the Tillamook Indians and sometimes when the family entered the living room in the morning there would be several Indians sleeping around the fireplace with their heads towards the fire, a position customary with them. They entered in the night as the latch string was always out. Mrs. Bird also remembered that the Indians would bring pieces of the Nehalem beeswax, the origin of which nowadays (is) the subject of so much speculation, and offer to trade it for apples or potatoes. They had picked it up on the beach near the Nehalem River. Contrary to some reports, she declared that the Tillamook Indians were never hostile. They flattened their infants' heads by strapping boards to them. There are now only a very few left.
Mrs. Bird's life as a pioneer, mother and citizen had many interests. She is survived by a son R.A. Bird of Portland, and a daughter, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins of McMinnville, also six grandchildren, four great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. W.B. Alderman of Tillamook is a brother and L.R. Alderman, former state school superintendent and former Portland school superintendent, now of Washington, D.C., is a cousin."
MRS. MARY BIRD BURIED MONDAY IN LAFAYETTE
Mrs. Mary Bird, active worker in the Order of Eastern Star, was buried Monday in Masonic cemetery at Lafayette. Mrs. Bird, who was 93 years old, spent the last six months of her nine month illness in McMinnville hospital. She was a resident of McMinnville for 42 years.
Mrs. Bird was past worthy matron of Lafayette chapter, O.E.S., and one-time secretary of Knowles chapter.
The widow of Robert P. Bird, she is survived by two children, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins and Robert A. Bird of Portland, and one brother, W.B. Alderman, Tillamook.
The Rev. C.C. Barnes conducted final rites from Macy's Chapel of Flowers.
********************
Although the three handwritten pages are unsigned, the following was probably Pauline Alderman about her aunt Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird shortly after her death in 1940:
"The recent death of Mrs. Mary Alderman Bird of McMinnville at the age of 93 ended a long life of unusual interest and is worthy of more than passing notice. She had outlived nearly all of her own generation. She was born in Indiana in 1847, the daughter of Isaac and Harriet Young Alderman. Her father came west in 1849 and in 1853 her mother started with her to join him. They came by way of the Isthmus of Panama and although Mrs. Bird was a child of six years at the time, she remembered the trip all of her life. She walked part of the distance across the Isthmus and was sometimes carried by native helpers. The grown people walked and rode horse-back. She always remembered seeing the oranges on the trees and the tropical flowers and birds. When she and her mother finally reached Oregon they spent the first winter with her uncle, A.L. Alderman and family of Dayton. Her father had taken up a donation land claim in Tillamook County and they had to wait until summer for a way to reach there, as there was no road, only an Indian Trail across the mountains, covered with deep snow in winter. Boats could not cross the Tillamook Bar in the winter. There were many good places on the coast where her father could have taken up a donation claim but they finally narrowed down in his mind to a choice between two. One of them was the present site of San Jose, Calif. The other was the one in Tillamook County which he decided to take. He lived there with his family until his death in 1877. Mrs. Bird attended school in Salem for several years and at the age of 21 married R.P. Bird of Lafayette who for many years kept a large general store there when the town was a prosperous one and the county seat of Yamhill Co. Later in life he was county judge and they moved to McMinnville where Mr. Bird died in 1912. Mrs. Bird was a member of the Presbyterian Church in McMinnville and of the Eastern Star Lodge.
She was a true pioneer, coming to the west when the white settlers were beginning to become established. Her life covered the span between the covered wagon and the airplane. In later life she talked of the early days in Tillamook Co. This part of Oregon remained isolated for many years, without a good road or a railroad to the outside world. The few stores would often be sold entirely out of staple supplies such as coffee and sugar in winter until boats could again cross the Tillamook Bar. Her father befriended the Tillamook Indians and sometimes when the family entered the living room in the morning there would be several Indians sleeping around the fireplace with their heads towards the fire, a position customary with them. They entered in the night as the latch string was always out. Mrs. Bird also remembered that the Indians would bring pieces of the Nehalem beeswax, the origin of which nowadays (is) the subject of so much speculation, and offer to trade it for apples or potatoes. They had picked it up on the beach near the Nehalem River. Contrary to some reports, she declared that the Tillamook Indians were never hostile. They flattened their infants' heads by strapping boards to them. There are now only a very few left.
Mrs. Bird's life as a pioneer, mother and citizen had many interests. She is survived by a son R.A. Bird of Portland, and a daughter, Mrs. Kathleen Cummins of McMinnville, also six grandchildren, four great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. W.B. Alderman of Tillamook is a brother and L.R. Alderman, former state school superintendent and former Portland school superintendent, now of Washington, D.C., is a cousin."
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