Daniel Baird

The gravestone of Mr. Daniel Baird

Daniel was born in Leicester, MA on November 13, 1742 to Thomas and Elizabeth Beard--spelling during the Colonial Era was not standardized, so "Baird" also appears as "Beard". He was the third of their five children. The Beards came to Leicester from Mendon around 1735, and remained there until 1745 when they moved to the southern part of Worcester in what is now Auburn.

On December 2, 1767 he published his intentions to marry Jane Smith of Worcester, and they were married on January 8, 1768. Daniel and Jane had eight children: Patty in 1768, Daniel in 1771, John in 1773, James in 1776, Thomas in 1779, Lewis in 1783, Betsey in 1786, and Polly in 1788.

Mr. Baird was a firm believer in American liberty from the days leading up to the American Revolution. He was a member of the American Political Society, which was Worcester's version of the Sons of Liberty. On the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775 he marched as a Sergeant in Capt. Benjamin Flagg's company. Though the men of Worcester arrived too late to take part in the battle itself, they marched to Cambridge and remained with the other Massachusetts militia units encamped there for a week before returning home. He mustered again in early May, and stayed in service thhrough the end of June. Sgt. Baird very likely took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill. For almost the entierty of 1776 he served as a Sergeant in Capt. Edward Crafts' Artillery Company in Col. Richard Gridley's Regiment. His last recorded service was in 1777 when he marched on the Bennington Alarm.

The gravestone of Mrs. Jane (Smith) Baird

After the War he returned to Worcester, and stayed active in the community. Mr. Baird was a delegate to the convention held in Paxton, MA in 1786 to address the economic issues and grievances that he and his fellow townspeople had following the Revolution. The convention was largely unsuccessful, and led to Shay's Rebellion soon after. He was a selectman, highway surveyor, tax collector, fence viewer, hog reeve, school committee member, and juror. For a time he operated a saw mill on the eastern side of Worcester on the Shrewsbury line north of the Long Lake (Lake Quinsigamond). He also ran the Baird Tavern on the Grafton Road (modern Route 122).

Mr. Baird died in Worcester on December 9, 1819 and was buried alongside his wife Jane in the Mechanics Street Burial Ground. They were moved to Rural Cemetery in the 1870s.

Their daughter Betsey married Rufus Wesson. One of their sons, Rufus Baird Wesson, was a co-founder of Smith & Wesson.