Carl, I hope you would be willing to email me regarding your George Birdsell. I'm helping a friend who may be a distant relative research her Birdsell line.
Her grandfather was Curtis Birdsell, who married Viola Pearl Jackson & moved to Fresno, California where he passed away. He was born in Hamilton county, Illinois.
His father was George Birdsell. His mother we only know by the name "Mary". George was born in 1852. He & Mary had the following children: Curtis, Earnest, Eddie, Roy, and Susan.
Are any of these names familiar to you?