Finding aid for the Philip Smead Bird Papers

Biography of Philip Smead Bird

Philip Smead Bird (1886-1948) was born in Newtinville, Massachusetts, to Joseph Edward and Gertrude Bird. Bird was the product of an extensive and varied education. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in Claremont, California, in 1909. In 1910, Bird received a Master in Literature degree from the University of California. His theological studies took him to Union Theological Seminary in New York, from which he graduated in 1913. Two Doctorates in Divinity followed, from Hamilton College in 1924, and from Western Reserve University in 1928.

Bird, ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1913, became assistant pastor in a church in Claremont, California, in that year. While at that post, he served as lecturer in Biblical literature at Pomona College in 1914-1915. Bird became pastor of the church at Dobbs Ferry, New York, and remained in that position from 1915-1920. From Dobbs Ferry, Bird went on to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in Utica, New York, where he officiated from 1920-1928. Bird left Utica to accept the call from the Church of the Covenant, First Presbyterian, in Cleveland, Ohio. He served there from 1928 until his death in 1948.

Apart from his ministerial duties, bird was a member of various social, educational, and social welfare organizations. From 1917-1919, he was Director of Religious Work and camp speaker of the National War Work Council of the Young Men's Christian Association. In 1929, he became Chairman of the Church Extension Committee of the Presbytery of Cleveland, a post he held until 1933, and he was President of the Federated Churches of Greater Cleveland from 1931-1933. Bird served as trustee of the Schauffler School of Religious Work, the Cleveland Young Men's Christian Association, the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York, Western Reserve University, the Phillis Wheatley Assocation of Cleveland, the College of the Ozarks, Neighborhood Association of Cleveland, and the Westminster Foundation of Ohio.

Bird also worked as a member of the Executive Board of the Consumers' League of Ohio. He was Chairman of the Cleveland Peace Committee, and active in Cleveland's Emergency Peace Campaign. In 1942 he began a two-year term as Moderator of the Presbytery in Cleveland.

Bird held membership is several clubs and societies, including the New England Society of Cleveland and the Western Reserve, Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Union Club, the Alathians, the rotary, and the Rowfant Club. He also belonged to the National Chapter of the International Society of Theta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa.

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Scope and Content

The Philip Smead Bird Papers, 1873-1950 and undated, consist of correspondence, sermons, addresses, personal papers, tax records, passports, diaries, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, miscellaneous papers, and papers relating to the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

The Philip Smead Bird papers provide insights into the clerical and religious activities of a Presbyterian minister who numbered among his parishioners some of the most prominent residents of Cleveland, Ohio. The papers document bird's extra-ministerial duties such as involvement in the social and political issues of the day, and the day-to-day administration of a large urban parish. Bird's voluminous correspondence attests to his popularity and his importance to the community. Of particular interest are correspondence and papers relating to St. John Beckwith Memorial Church, an Italian Protestant church in Cleveland, and its administration through the Church of the Covenant, as well as the correspondence and newspaper clippings detailing Bird's involvement in the peace movement and his work in the Consumers' League of Ohio.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 3536 Fiore D'Isdoro Papers; MS 3546 Consumers League of Ohio Records; MS 4933 Consumers League of Ohio Records, Series II; MS 5129 Consumers League of Ohio Records, Series III; and PG 206 Philip Smead Bird Photographs.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3808 Philip Smead Bird Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mrs. Philip Smead Bird in 1975.

Processing Information

Processed by Robert Johnson-Lally in 1979.

Detailed Description of The Collection