David was a coal miner who was born 1828 in Ohio, and for many years lived in Green County, Wisconsin. The family followed the coal and eventually settled west of Peoria, Illinois.
Patrick emigrated from Down County, Ireland in the mid-1800s, settling in Jackson County, Ohio. He fought in the Civil War, and fathered 9 children. He died in 1875.
Charles was a native New Yorker, born in Morris sometime in September, 1827. Father to Wilburn Birdsall, he survived his spouse Hannah Stenson by 15 years.