Family
Histories of Coleman County, Texas
The Baird Family
by Donald Baird
From A History of Coleman County
and Its People, 1985
edited by Judia and Ralph Terry, and
Vena Bob Gates - used by permission
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R. H. Baird brought
his family from Logan County, Kentucky, to
Coleman County, in 1882. They came by
train - getting off the train at Baird,
traveling by wagon to Coleman. Looking
for a profitable business, in the
mid-1880's, he bought a flour mill on Hords
Creek, south of the present airport
road. This was the only flour mill
between Ft. Worth and Pecos. He bought
part ownership in the cotton gin at
Trickham, and later was the sole owner of a
cotton gin at Rockwood, which he operated
for a year or two before lightning struck it
and it burned. He bought and sold
mules during this time. He died in
1909 and is buried in Coleman, his wife died
in 1908.
Helping him in the
cotton ginning and mule buying businesses
were his four sons: Charlie, born 1872,
Claude, in 1874, both in Logan County,
Kentucky; Tom, in 1883, R. W. in 1886, both
in Coleman. They had a daughter,
Kitty, born in Coleman, married Armistead
Martin in Coleman in 1909. She died in
1912, buried in Coleman (see M. A.
Martin). Claude worked in Chickasha,
Oklahoma, but is buried in Coleman.
Tom followed oil field work, buried in
Overton. R. W. worked for Santa Fe
railroad about 2 years, went on strike, and
then went into the butcher business.
He is buried in Temple.
Charlie remained in
Coleman, working with his father in the
Trickham and Rockwood gins: and then in 1903
bought a cotton gin at Dressy, about 3 miles
north of the Coleman County line in Callahan
County. In 1914, Charlie married Nora
Virginia (Lowrie) Wagnon, whose first
husband, Johnny Wagnon, had died (See Robert
Edmund Lowrie). They had a daughter,
Gladys Wagnon, who married Merlin Garrett,
they live in Cross Plains. They have a
son, Harold, and a daughter, Barbara, both
living in Cross Plains. To Charlie and
Nora were born 5 children.
Charles Donald.
born in 1915, married Frances Witherspoon;
they live in Coleman. They have three
children: John, in Dallas, Becky, in
Houston, and Mark, in Howard Payne
University in Brownwood. Donald built
a cotton gin in 1967 at Echo and operated it
15 years, retiring in 1982.
Robert Vernon, born
in 1917, married Willie Gaye Stacy of Cross
Plains. They have three sons: Charles,
in Waco. Robert, in Round Rock, Glenn, in
Ft. Worth. Vernon died in 1966, buried
in Coleman. Willie Gaye lives in
Coleman.
Virginia Belle,
born in 1920, married Bill Pope; they live
in Cross Plains. They have six sons: Walter,
in Cottonwood; Baylis, in Cisco; Joe, in
Stephenville; Richard, in Burkett; Ronald,
in Cross Plains; and Donald (Dr. Donald
Pope) in Coleman.
Kitty Sue, born in
1922, married Allan Vine, they live in
Cedarville, Ohio. They have a son,
Phillip, in Bowling Green, Ohio, and a
daughter, Judy, in Cedarville, Ohio.
Winnie Beth, born
in 1924, married Ed Fertsch, they live in
Lubbock. They have a son, Jim, in
Houston, and a daughter, Debra, in Lubbock.
Charlie and Nora
moved their family to Dressy in 1920.
He operated his gin there until it burned in
1936. After retiring, he and his wite
moved back to Coleman; he died in 1950, his
wife died in 1967, both buried in Coleman.
(Images to be
added)
Old Gin at
Trickham: Cheatham, left; Robert H.
Baird on horse; Charley Bard in doorway
[with vest open - 2nd from right of
door]
Vernon,
Donald, Virginia Belle, Nora, Charley
[in back],
Winnie Beth [in lap, Kitty Sue
Baird
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