Baird

(submitted by Janet Firman)

The Baird family came from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. James Baird, born in 1784, came to Canada in 1825 and settled on a farm near Caledon, Ont. His wife Elizabeth died in 1840 and is buried in a cemetery near Caledon. James wanted more land for his three sons so he came to Warwick Twp. in 1859, where he acquired 400 acres, the west ½ of Lot 22, Con. 1 NER.

Adam Baird, one of James Baird's sons, was born in Caledon in 1835. He married Letitia Brandon in 1861. Letitia was born in Ireland in 1842. Adam and Letitia Baird farmed on the east ½ of Lot 20, Con. 2 NER. They had six children. George was the oldest son, born in 1865.

Wedding of James Baird and Annie Elizabeth Courtis. Courtesy J Firman.

In 1899 George married Jemima Frances Brown, born in Toronto in 1864. She was related to the Brown family of Watford. George and Frances lived on a farm on the E ½ of Lot 19, Con. 2 NER Warwick all their lives. She died there in 1922; he in 1941. Both are buried at Bethel Cemetery.

George and Frances Baird had two daughters: Letitia Susan June, born in 1905, and Frances Brandon, born in 1911. June was only seventeen years old when her mother died. She left high school to help her father on the farm and to care for her sister Frances, who was a Down's Syndrome child. After her father died, June carried on farming for a number of years, renting the land out. She hatched and raised chickens, turkeys and ducks. She sold the eggs to neighbours and to an egg grading station. June also had a dog and many cats. She lived in a corner of the huge old house on the home farm.

June was a humorous person and could see the funny side of almost everything. She was a great visitor and enjoyed her neighbours. People always looked forward to visiting with her. She was an avid reader and frequented the Watford Library, driving in her old car for many years. She took an active part in Knox Presbyterian Church, Warwick. She was also a member of Warwick Women's Institute.

While at Watford High School June excelled in literature and essay competitions. Around 1924 she started writing for the Farmers Advocate under the pen name “April”. She also wrote for The Northern Messenger (a church magazine) in Montreal and the Canadian Countryman. It is recorded that she received one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents an article. If you gave June a topic she could write pages on it. Some of her topics were “One Farm Porch”, “A Pheasant Experience”, “Trials of the Poultry Raiser”, “Whitewashing the Colony House”, “Hunting For Turkeys”, “Twenty-year Old Beef Ring”, “Brooding the Chicks”, “Grandmother's New Neighbours” and many more. This writing for magazines continued until about 1930.

June sold the farm to a neighbour, Bruce A. Miner, in 1979 and moved into the Pembleton Apartments in Warwick Village. When she was no longer able to care for herself she went to the Chronic Care Floor of Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital, then to the Watford Nursing Home where she died in 1993. Her sister Frances had died in 1970.

George and Frances Baird also raised a foster child. Hope Taylor was born in 1899 in England. She was five years old when her parents came to Canada. The Bairds never adopted her but she grew up as a member of the family. Hope married Courtney Tower. They had six children: Courtney, Dean, Beverley, Hope, Diana and Cecilia. They lived in Norquay, Saskatchewan. Hope (Taylor) Tower died in 1991.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Baird Family

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