More Baird information from Karen Cuccinello
Baird Family of Stamford
By Karen Cuccinello
Charles Edgar, Eldora L. and Cleta Carrington Baird lived a good portion of their lives in Stamford, NY and were active members of the community.
Charles was born in New Jersey July 2, 1881 to Charles Sr. and Cornelia (Caskey) Baird. He had two brothers, Alonzo and Martin. Eldora Macdonald was born April 22, 1882 in Stamford to John and Delia (Van Hoesen) MacDonald. I believe her father died or left when she was a baby as her mother married William Jefferson Ames and they had three more children: Carlos, William Jr. and Elmer.
In the 1885 census Charles is in Wantage, NJ and in the 1900 census he is in Minisink, Orange County NY with his family. Eldora is in Harpersfield in 1892 and Stamford in 1900 with her family. Eldora married Charles on December 2, 1902 in Sussex, NJ and the announcement stated her father was William J. Ames. Their only child, Cleta, was born June 17, 1908 in Franklin, NY. They were living in Wantage, NJ in 1910, spent a winter in FL in 1949 and lived at 45 Railroad Avenue in the 1960’s. The NYS Electric and Gas office is now located at 45 Railroad.
Charles lists his occupation in the census reports as painter, miller at Cornell & Decker, fireman at dry milk plant, clerk for farm machinery, and most often as carpenter. At the age of 37 Charles registered for the draft in 1918 as all men between the ages of 18 and 45 were required to do so. He was described as tall and slender with blue eyes and brown hair on his registration card.
Eldora worked for the Stamford Mirror-Recorder on and off for over 30 years, about 1920 into the late 1950’s. At the newspaper she was a binder, advertising manager, assisted Eugene Bouton with a history of Stamford Seminary and Union Free Schools in 1931, co-authoring a weekly column “Personal News Of Stamford” with Anna Elwyn in the 1950’s. She is also listed as boarding house keeper in the 1925 Stamford census and was employed at the Sampson naval training station in Romulus, NY in 1944.
The Bairds were actors in a few local plays and members of the Methodist Church. Eldora was a soprano in the Utsayantha Choral Club, a member of the Winter Social Club in the 1930’s and a charter member of the Stamford VFW Auxiliary. Charles was a member of the Working Lodge, No. 554, F & A.M. (Jefferson, NY Masons) and Stamford Fire Department.
Eldora died March 28, 1963 in Cheney Hospital, Poughkeepsie, after a long illness and Charles died August 26, 1966 at Memorial Hospital in Albany. Both are buried in Stamford Cemetery.
Cleta graduated from Stamford Seminary in 1926 and Oneonta Normal school in 1929. While at Stamford Seminary she was the assistant editor-in-chief of the Reveille, assistant advertising manager of the Camera yearbook and on the basketball team where she was the star center. After graduation from Oneonta Normal she taught fifth grade at Coeymans-on-the-Hudson for two years then married William J. Lyons, Jr., in Stamford, on June 27, 1931. They lived in Coeymans, Ravena and Selkirk, NY, Dumont, NJ in 1940 and wintered in FL in the 1970’s. They had one daughter Patricia Ann who married Ernest A.Christian Jr. and lived mostly in Ravena. Her husband William died in 1983 following a stroke and Cleta died May 24, 2002; both are buried in Grove Cemetery, Coeymans, NY.
The photo and yearbook are housed at Stamford Village Library and Brian Darcy helped with research.
