Introduction : Baird History and Genealogy

Welcome to bairdnet.com, this site started back in 1998 as a personal homepage for my own family history, I had no idea of designing web pages and the thought of doing so was overwhelming, so my first site was called "My Scotland" and was housed, where I didn't have to worry about writing html scripts, just upload the pictures, fill in some forms, and the computer did the rest. My first site was an eyesore, full of animated gifs, and huge image files that took months to download. Then I got serious and purchased my own domain in 2000 and decided to teach myself mainly by viewing the document source of many other web sites and using notepad, I was soon to get the "hang of it" now it's an addiction.
In the meantime while researching my own family, I felt it a shame that I was also collecting information on other families that could be a resource for them. So my own family was put on hold, while I diverted in another direction, the concept of a worldwide community of "Bairds" felt right. This way we could all share information about each other and our families.

And that's my story. I hope you enjoy our site!! Also, a big THANK YOU to those of you who support our site just by visiting, and for all the awesome comments you leave in our guest-book, the remarks on our forum and many other areas where your contribution has made this site a wonderful sharing community.

If you have contributed something to these pages but have yet to see it appear feel free to give me a "nudge." But please, be kind. I receive a large amount of e-mails and have been known to miss things from time to time.

Web site recommendations

To fully experience this Web site, please consider the following recommendations.
The site is optimally viewed with the settings and technology listed below although none is required to view the basic functions of the site
It is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and above or Netscape Navigator 6.0 and above, at a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768, at 32 bit colors and a minimum modem connection speed of 56Kbps. To install the latest version of Internet Explorer or Navigator.
Also some of the information on bairdnet.com is presented in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). To download and install the latest version of the Reader.

Conditions of use for transcribed and other material

I have found it necesary to put the following here out of respect not only for my work, but also to protect the many person's who have contributed to this site. This section is aimed mainly (but not only) at those who would attempt to make monetary gain from my (or other people's) endeavors. Note: under most laws, it doesn't have to say copyright on it to be copyrighted.
You may not post material from this site on another web site or on a computer network without permission. You may not use this site or information found at this site for selling or promoting products or services, soliciting clients, or any other commercial purpose. "This site" means any World Wide Web site with "bairdnet.com" in the URL pathname. Whilst there are no objections to using small quotes of data from this site, the URL of the page you are quoting from must be given in order to ensure that your readers are aware that the data is not yours and that there is copyright involved.

The intention of making transcripts of out of copyright books and other data available is for those who would not otherwise have access to them. On this site are also photographs, graphics, articles and lists to which I or others hold the copyright. It is my/our intention that this data should be available free, but within limits. So long as the copy that you are making is for personal use (normally with respect to genealogy), and you do not further distribute the material, and you make no "for-profit" use of the material. However if you are going to publish (i.e. make more than one copy of) your family history then you need the permission of the copyright holder to use the data, regardless of whether or not you are charging the recipient for the publication.
Out of respect I would prefer an e-mail, so that in the case of photos, or sensitive material pertaining to a family I may seek their approval. as some have been donated by families who may not wish them to be copied.

If you have web pages yourself, then you are welcome to link into the appropriate Baird History and Genealogy page without asking me, although it would be nice if you would let me know that you have done so, as I can then let you know if any of the pages move.