Biographies : Canada

Baird, Edmond 1802- 1859 [ Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer ]

Was born 9 July 1802 in Stirling, Scotland and married 21 Dec. 1833 to Anne Robinson, in Montreal, and they had several children; he died there 22 Feb. 1859. Edmond Baird was almost certainly related to James Baird, a Scottish cabinet-maker seven years his senior who preceded him to Montreal and who, when Edmond arrived at the beginning of the 1830s, was in partnership with John Hilton. In the spring of 1833 the elder Baird and Hilton dissolved their partnership. Before the end of May, Edmond Baird had become Hilton’s new partner. This partnership meant that Baird had early achieved recognition in his occupation, for Hilton was, even in the 1830s, becoming the acknowledged head of the cabinet trade in Montreal and one of the most prominent cabinet-makers in the Canadas. Baird was associated with him during a crucial period in Hilton’s advancement.

Hilton and Baird advertised furniture in the “modern style” and of workmanship unsurpassed by “any other house in the trade.” The reputation which Hilton and Baird made for themselves quickly spread beyond Montreal. Although there were competent cabinet-makers at Quebec, the Quebec merchant J. Benjamin ordered his custom-made furniture from them. Not even two fires, deliberately set by an arsonist on 4 and 13 Feb. 1843 and causing damages estimated at £600, impeded Hilton and Baird’s progress.
By 1845 Hilton was anxious to bring his son William into partnership. On 17 May, therefore, the partnership with Baird was terminated. Baird retained the premises on Place d’Armes and launched into business on his own. He had sufficient work on hand by July to warrant advertising for “Several good cabinet makers.”

One of Baird’s first important commissions was from the Christian Unitarian Society of Montreal. For its church, opened in 1845 (the first Unitarian church in Canada), the society entrusted Baird with the pew linings, the drapery behind the pulpit and organ railings, and a large wall hanging. In his advertisements Baird made much of the fact that he kept constantly on hand fine English and French satins, brocatelles, and other upholstery and curtain materials, all in “the latest fashions.”
Baird’s own religious affiliation was Methodist. In this he was in company with many of the principal cabinet-makers of Victorian Montreal. Like John Hilton, he attended St James Street Methodist Church and was a major contributor to that church’s building fund. One of Baird’s daughters, Emmaline Edmond, married in 1860 the Reverend Edward Bradshaw Ryckman, who became a distinguished Methodist clergyman.
Though Edmond Baird’s career was cut off comparatively early, he had already achieved success as a leader in a highly competitive trade, first as the partner of the outstanding John Hilton and later while conducting his own business. He left a number of descendants; a grandson, Edward Baird Ryckman, was federal minister of public works in 1926 and minister of national revenue from 1930 to 1933.

Baird, Nicol Hugh 1796-1849 [ Engineer - Inventor ]

Son of Hugh Baird and Margaret Burnthwaite he was born 26th August 1796 in Glasgow and married 21 Sept. 1831 in Montreal to Mary White, daughter of Andrew White, and they had four sons and four daughters; he died. 18 Oct. 1849 in Brattleboro, Vt. Relatively little is known about Nicol Hugh Baird’s early life. At about the age of 16 he went to Russia where he spent several years with his uncle Charles Baird, founder of a machinery works at St Petersburg (Leningrad). Around 1816 Nicol returned to Scotland where he continued his training under his father, a canal engineer and builder. Following Hugh Baird’s death in 1827, Nicol unsuccessfully sought a situation in the army and an appointment as a surveyor. In the spring of 1828, having obtained letters of recommendation from the Duke of Montrose and Thomas Telford, a prominent British engineer, he departed for the Canadas.
Baird’s letters brought him quick employment. On 5 July he was received by the governor-in-chief, Lord Dalhousie [Ramsay], who the next day ordered him to proceed to the Rideau Canal, arrangements were made for him as clerk of works on the canal. During his four years on the Rideau he became interested in the problems of bridge building in the Canadas and devised a plan for a “suspension wooden bridge,” for which he received a patent in 1831. In September 1832, he was commissioned by the government to survey the mouth of the Trent River and design a bridge to span it. In February 1831, when he was admitted to the Institution of Civil Engineers, of which Thomas Telford was chairman.
In the spring of 1833 the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, Sir John Colborne commissioned Baird to undertake a survey and prepare estimates for canals between the Bay of Quinte and Presqu’ile Bay and from the mouth of the Trent River to Rice Lake. In 1836 Baird was given the opportunity to carry out his plans when he was employed as superintending engineer by both the commissioners for the improvement of the Trent River and the commissioners for the inland waters of the Newcastle District. With the exception of a brief period in 1842, he was employed continuously on the Trent works until October 1843. He devised a scheme for a “sweeping paddle wheel,” for which he obtained an Upper Canada patent in 1842, and in 1845 the Admiralty authorized the alteration of the Mohawk at Penetanguishene to utilize Baird’s paddle-wheels. With them the vessel was able to come down through the Welland Canal and so “supervise the whole of the Lakes.”

Baird’s most significant contribution lies in the development of early canal and road systems in Upper and Lower Canada. Associated most frequently with local works, he none the less had the opportunity to contribute to the development of major navigation systems such as the Rideau, Trent, and Welland canals. Until some time in the early 1840s he had access to those in office, who appear to have sought and respected his opinions about public works. Baird’s other, and perhaps greater, contribution is the volume of the historical record he left. Its completeness offers a rare opportunity to study early engineering in Canada.

Baird, James 1828 - 1915 [ Merchant - Politician ]

Born 30 Nov. 1828 in Saltcoats, Scotland, son of Hugh Baird and Margaret Anderson, he married 3 Dec. 1857 to Anne Boyd in St John’s, and they had three sons and one daughter; died. there 30 May 1915. James Baird came to Newfoundland in 1844 and worked as a draper’s assistant until about 1853, when he established his own importing and drapery business in partnership with his brother David. In 1868 the store windows of Baird Brothers were broken, apparently by members of an association of store clerks because the company had been the first to defy an agreement establishing earlier closing hours. Four years later James started a business under his own name, in which he was later joined by his nephew James Gordon.

By the early 1880s the firm had expanded into wholesale and retail trade in groceries and dry goods and the sale of wines and spirits, as well as the fishery supply business. Baird’s company would grow to become an important 20th-century fish exporter. By 1901 Gordon, who had previously managed his uncle’s businesses, had become a full partner in the firm, now known as Baird, Gordon and Company. Following Gordon’s death in February 1908, the name was changed to James Baird Limited, with Baird’s sons becoming managing partners. In October that year the firm’s premises were destroyed once again by fire, but they were substantially rebuilt. James Baird was also prominent in developing local industries in St John’s. He held shares in boot and shoe, woollen, and clothing factories, a bakery, a nail foundry, and the Colonial Cordage Company, a firm started by Monroe. Baird was also active in the sealing and whaling industries. James Baird is best known in Newfoundland history for his role in the famous Baird et al. v. Walker case, his action in this case was a significant political and constitutional victory for Newfoundland in its long dispute with Britain and France over historic French fishing rights on the island, an issue that would not be finally settled until 1904, when it formed part of a broader French-British agreement on colonial questions.

Baird, John 1795 - 1858 [ Soldier- Schoolmaster ]

Born 1795 in Graffa, Republic of Ireland, son of William Baird and Susan Teel, he married first 30 March 1817 to Annie Diggin (1798–1836) of Dublin, and they had two sons and two daughters, including William Teel Baird, military officer and author. John then married secondly in 1836 or 1837, and by that marriage had six children; he died 1858 near Tobique, Sisson Ridge, N.B.
John Baird was educated at Graffa and later in the town of Monaghan, before entering the Seminary for School Masters in County Kildare. In 1817 the 74th Foot was stationed there and the commander, Colonel Sir Robert Trench, visited the seminary in hopes of persuading one of the student teachers to join his regiment, which was about to sail for British North America. Baird volunteered and was signed on for seven years as a teacher. He was given the pay and rank of sergeant and was promised 200 acres of crown land, probably along the upper Saint John River valley, when his term expired. In 1818 the regiment left for New Brunswick and was stationed at Fredericton, where Baird completed his service conducting a school for the children of the men of the regiment. The poor children from the town, including blacks, who were not admitted to white schools, also attended as free students. Baird’s wife, Annie, taught a school for young ladies.

Baird was released from the army in 1823 and in March of that year he took his wife and three children by sleigh about 100 miles up the Saint John River to the parish of Kent, where he had been given a grant of land in an area in which other disbanded soldiers had been settled earlier. For two years Baird farmed during the summer and taught during the winter. He was joined by a number of his relatives from Ireland, who later founded the settlement of Bairdsville.
In the spring of 1825 Baird returned to Fredericton to become principal of the Madras or National School, which had been established in 1820. These schools were supported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the National Society in England, the Church of England, and the New Brunswick government. Baird’s original schoolhouse, the old guardhouse, was destroyed along with much of Fredericton in the disastrous fire of October 1825. For the next few years classes were held in the old Market House and once again Baird taught both white and black children together as well as conducting a night-school. For a time he was assisted by his wife.

But in February 1836 his wife and two daughters died of consumption and shortly afterwards the members of the Madras School Board expressed some dissatisfaction with the way the school was being operated. They ordered an investigation in July 1836 to determine whether or not the master should be replaced. Nothing happened for two years, but in May 1838 the board decided that Baird’s services would no longer be required as of 1 October. They later reconsidered the decision and his appointment was continued until May 1839 when he was replaced. Two years later Baird left Fredericton and moved to land he had purchased near Tobique on the upper Saint John River. He lived quietly there, farming and teaching, until his death. Baird was one of the pioneer teachers who helped the Madras board provide many poor children with an education at a time when few such opportunities existed for them.

Baird, William Teel, 1819 - 1897 [ Pharmacist -Soldier - Author ]

William was born about 1819 in Fredericton, son of John Baird and Annie Diggin and married on the 6 Jan. 1842, to Sarah Ann Shea in Woodstock, N.B., and they had six children; he died there 23 Feb. 1897. He spent part of his early life on the upper Saint John River, where his schoolteacher father, a former soldier, had cleared a small plot. In 1825, however, the family returned to Fredericton, a move Baird later recalled as “one of the great events of my life,” giving him unlimited access to a public library and opportunities for study and personal development. His reminiscences of his years there, published in his autobiography, provide a colourful and unusually perceptive commentary on life in the capital.
Baird’s formal education began at age 14 in the local grammar school. Shortly thereafter he was apprenticed to a pharmacist and in 1839, his training completed, he moved to Woodstock to open his own business. His many interests found an outlet in community service. As a lover of music and an instrumentalist himself he encouraged the formation of musical societies, and he established the first circulating library in Woodstock, using books from his own collection. A keen debater, popular public speaker, and avid amateur historian, he served as secretary of the Woodstock Mechanics’ Institute and held, among other civic offices, the position of school trustee. He was also a charter member of the Sons of Temperance. His great interest, however, was the militia.

In 1836, on reaching the required age, Baird had joined the rifle company of the 1st Battalion of York militia. In his new home he enrolled as a private in the 1st Carleton, a unit that was more active than many others because Woodstock, a border town, was always alert to the possibility of conflict. During the Orange riot of 1847, as a lieutenant in the rifle company, Baird commanded the guard defending the town. Two years later he was promoted captain.
In 1861 he organized guards to prevent desertions from British troops moving through New Brunswick, for which service he was made lieutenant-colonel on 1 Jan. 1863 and deputy quartermaster general five months later. As commanding officer of the 1st Carleton he worked diligently to revitalize his battalion. In July 1865 he commanded a battalion of service militia at the first camp of military instruction held in New Brunswick. When the militia was restructured in 1869, after coming under federal control at confederation, Baird was responsible for organizing the Carleton Light Infantry (67th Battalion of Infantry). His distinguished contribution to the militia brought him the appointment of district paymaster that year. Ten years later he was made district storekeeper at Saint John. His responsibilities were not onerous and he retained his positions until early 1887.

Baird retired to Woodstock and in 1890 published his autobiography, Seventy years of New Brunswick life, a compelling but highly personalized narrative of events that concentrates largely on his own career and on military affairs. The latter part reveals that Baird shared the concerns of many Americans about anarchy and social upheaval in the United States, which he feared would spill over into Canada. Baird’s autobiography reveals that he represented many of the public virtues typical of his time and station: he was a good family man, highly principled, with a strong sense of duty and patriotic feeling. After his death in 1897, the Carleton Sentinel praised in particular his contribution to Woodstock and his “willingness to forward any movement, having in view its moral or material advancement.”
Seventy years of New Brunswick life: autobiographical sketches. William T. Baird (Saint John, N.B., 1890),