I have been looking for William BIRD born 1806 convicted and transported aboard the Minerva in 1824 with a younger John BIRD convicted of the same crime. I am now wondering if there could have been two William BIRDS. On his marriage certificate he gave his date of birth as 1820. His wife was very young. He either reduced his age by 15 years for her benefit or he is a diferent William. William BIRD of 1806 is said to come from Birmingham. William who claimed to be born in 1820 and married Anna Maria KEMPENICH in 1858 said he came from Diss, Norfolk, England. Anna was the daughter of a German immigrant to Australia, Valentine KEMPENICH. They had 11 children. He may have changed his place of birth to hide his conviction. He was obviously not proud of it as he destroyed everything to do with his past. William BIRD & Sarah TYLER were the parents of the William who married Anna. Can anybody shed any light on this matter please? Yours sincerely Shirley Bird