William Baird | Heirloomed

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William Baird

In celebration of Independence Day , I’d like to honor another true American patriot from our heritage: William Baird.

Born on September 10, 1713, in Monmouth, within the Province of New Jersey, one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America, William Baird entered the world at a time when our nation was yet to be conceived. His father, John Baird, was 48, and his mother, Mary Osborne, was 38, welcoming their son into a family destined to be part of America's great story.

On February 1, 1749, William married Tabitha Elizabeth Jones in Freehold Borough, of Monmouth. Together, they raised a remarkable family, their children, each carrying forward the Baird legacy, included Mary, Benjamin, William, Phebe [Baird] Seely, Tabitha [Baird] Dickerson, Anne [Baird] McGill, Zebulon, Lydia [Baird] Dunn, Sarah [Baird] Dillon, and Joseph.

During the six-year Revolutionary War, more battles took place in New Jersey than any other colony. Over 296 engagements between opposing forces were recorded. One of the largest conflicts of the entire war took place between Morristown and Middlebrook, referred to as the 'Ten Crucial Days' and remembered by the famous phrase 'the times that try men's souls.' The revolution won some of their most desperately needed victories during this time."

William Baird played a vital role in this epic struggle for independence. Records indicate that he served as Captain of the 2nd Battalion, Somerset County Militia, NJ, and later as 1st Major. According to a descendant's application for the Sons of the American Revolution membership, William Baird, Sr., was a teamster during the Revolution, serving in New Jersey. He received, from Joseph Lewis, Quartermaster General, certificates for services and supplies. He received eight more certificates for forage, wood and carting.

Due to the unwavering efforts of patriots like William Baird, the Province of New Jersey transformed into the proud state of New Jersey, part of the United States of America.

From the Genealogical and Personal History of Northern Pennsylvania, Volume 3, By John Woolf Jordan we learn about the Baird family relocating to Pennsylvania. "William Baird came from New Jersey, and in 1785 he laid a warrant on 218 acres of land lying a short distance east of Liberty in what is now the township of Dunstable, Clinton county, Pennsylvania. This tract was called Partnership.
He came out and settled on it, and among the trees on the banks of the river he built a log house of the most primitive kind, and at once began the work of making for himself and his posterity a home. The country was still occupied by the Indians, who at the time were very warlike.”

William passed away on September 2, 1792, in Woodward Township, Clinton, Pennsylvania, at the age of 78. He rests in the Dunnstown Cemetery in Clinton County, Pennsylvania.

His legacy is lovingly remembered, especially through his daughter Anne Marie McGill, who was bequeathed a bed, spinning wheel, cow, and calf in his will. To his "dearly beloved wife Tabitha," he left "the whole of the residue not bequeathed and the house occupied by Peter Grove; each of the sons are to deliver to her on the 1st of November each year of her natural life five bushels of wheat and three bushels of Indian corn."

As I often say, every story in my family tree is a romance. I try to imagine how Anna Marie Baird, daughter of teamster William Baird, met her husband Patrick McGill, another teamster during the Revolution. Did Dad introduce them? Did he approve right away? William didn’t live to see them married, but I believe he would have been proud. I am proud to call this family my ancestors, and I equally hope they would be proud of me.

* nothing says love like a bushel of Indian Corn.
~by Christine Applegate 7/3/2024