MySource:Clarker/Leroy F Bird obit

Posted on Terry Bird website:http://members.aol.com/tbird91759/obituars.htm#C

LEROY F. BIRD. Many of the leading agriculturists of Cass county are carrying on operations on farms upon which they were born and they spent their entire lives, and this may be given as one of the reasons for their success. Having passed their entire careers here, they are thoroughly conversant with climatic conditions and the of the soil, and as a result they can bring to their work an intelligent knowledge of what methods will bring the best results. In this class stands LeRoy F. Bird, the owner of 170 acres of fine land situated in Deer Creek township, section 5, an enterprising agriculturist and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Bird belongs to that class of men who have not been content with what has been accomplished by their fathers, but have continued to improve their properties and to contribute to the general prosperity of the community. He was born on his present farm. December 13, 1857, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Harriet (Small Bird. His father, a native of Decatur county, Indiana, engaged in agricultural pursuits early in life, and continued to be so engaged throughout a long and useful career. He was known as a practical farmer and shrewd business man, and won the respect and esteem of his fellow-townsmen by his integrity and honorable dealing. Benjamin F. and Harriet Bird were the parents of three children, namely: William, deceased, formerly a farmer of Cass county, who married Estella Rhinehart, and had seven children, Adelbert, Hattie, Benjamin. Otis, Eva, Charles and Ruby; A. F., who makes his home in Walton; and LeRoy F.

LeRoy F. Bird secured his early educational training in the old Deacon district school in this township, after leaving which he attended the Walton public schools for some time. In the meanwhile he spent the summer seasons on the homestead, assisting his father in his work, and learning to cultivate the soil and raise stock. Ambitious and enterprising, he applied himself assiduously to his tasks, gaining a thorough knowledge of his chosen vocation and carefully saving his earnings. He has never left the old homestead, and still carries on operations there, having met with a full measure of success. His crops are large and find a ready market, and he is known as a good judge of cattle, his herds being sleek and well fed.

Mr. Bird has never married. He is a popular member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and was reared in the faith of the Universalist church, of which his parents were life-long members. Public life has never attracted him, and the only interest he has taken in political matters is that of any good citizen who has the welfare of his community at heart. His many friends testify to his general worth as a neighbor and a man.