SIXTH GENERATION

48. Charles Thomas BIRCH ^(273)(274) was born about 1776 in Ireland. He died on 17 Nov 1824 in Philadelphia, PA. He was also known as Thomas Charles.⁽²⁷⁵⁾ IMMIGRANT "... was of Scotch ancestry, but came to America in 1800 from northwestern Ireland, fought in the War of 1812, and became a wealthy florist in Philadelphia."
"... he was a man of average size physically, but of unusual mental ability. Apparently he was of Scotch descent as he claims he never heard the Irish brogue until he arrived in America and met some people from southern Ireland. Tradition has it that he was a man of considerable importance politically in the place from which he came. ... His interest in flowers led him to compile a book in which he listed and described every plant of which he was able to obtain knowledge. Sketches of each plant were also included. Whether or not this book was ever published, I do not know. ... Great grandfather Charles Birch was a follower of the Old English custom of giving all of the inheritance to the oldest son. He therefore, upon his death bequeathed the other children one dollar apiece and gave the remainder to Thomas the elder. Thomas being now wealthy proceeded to add to his material status by going into the railroad business, a rising enterprise at that time. He married, but left no children at the time of his death so his widow inherited all his wealth, appraised at the time at $12,000,000.00. It thus passed out of the Birch family. The Birch family history went with this fortune."
"His history and that of his ancestors is shrouded in mystery to me though one of his sons recorded that he was in possession of a history of the Birch family which extended back into the Dark Ages. Family tradition has it that he was descended from William of Orange who came over to England from Holland to assume charge of the English Throne in the year 1688 after James the second was driven to France. I have no written verification of this rumor."
He was married to Ann GOODWIN on 1 Jun 1802 in Philadelphia, PA. [at Christ Church of Philadelphia.]

49. Ann GOODWIN ⁽²⁷⁶⁾. "... was of English descent.... Their family consisted of at least four boys and several girls. Of the girls I know nothing and of the boys none too much." Children were:

i. Thomas BIRCH⁽²⁷⁷⁾. His father was a follower of the Old English custom of giving all of the inheritance to the oldest son. He therefore, upon his death bequeathed the other children one dollar apiece and gave the remainder to Thomas the elder. Thomas being now wealthy proceeded to add to his material status by going into the railroad business, a rising enterprise at that time. He "proved to be a good business man and was one of the early railroad promoters. Rumor has it that he was at one time president of the Pennsylvania, Central Railroad, but that probably is not true. At least the company has no record of it. He probably was one of the vice presidents. He was a man of strong intellectual features, judging from his photograph and the results of his financial efforts were that at his death his estate was appraised at 12 million dollars. He had no children and his wife apparently had no particular interest in his side of the house so the fortune, the family history, the book on botany, and other family treasures passed out of the Birch family."
ii. John BIRCH⁽²⁷⁸⁾. "He was a man of some social standing and was quite fastidious, but capable and ambitious... decided to come to California by way of Cape Horn ... when the ship finally reached San Francisco Bay, he made his way into the mining districts... he started a small town known as Birchville..."
24 iii. William BIRCH.
iv. (son) BIRCH⁽²⁷⁹⁾. Talented and successful musician; played the cornet. "... an exceptionally fine cornet player who received $16 per night for playing in the Theater of Philadelphia. That was a fabulous sum for those times. It is recounted that, in spite of his unusual ability as a cornet player, he could whistle only one tune and could not sing at all."

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