Title: Henry S. Baird and James Sherman Baker Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1845-1918

Creators:

• Baird, Henry S. (Henry Samuel), 1800-1875
• Baker, James Sherman, 1815-1892

Call Number: Green Bay Micro 55; Micro 522

Quantity: 17 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of Henry S. Baird and his son-in-law, James Sherman Baker, lawyers and land and insurance agents in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who also served as agents for the John Jacob Astor family property in Brown County, Wisconsin, 1862-1892. Includes correspondence, 1850-1892, primarily regarding land transactions. Prominent correspondents include Talbot C. Dousman, Rufus B. Kellogg, and Increase A. Lapham. Also includes tax receipts, financial reports on the Kellogg National Bank, deeds, mortgages, cancelled checks, bills and receipts of the Baird and Baker families, 1857-1895, and Baird's account book, 1856-1874.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0522

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Henry Samuel Baird was born on May 16, 1800 in Dublin, Ireland. In 1805 he migrated to America with his family, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a youth he was educated in common schools. Having an interest in law, he entered the law office of S. Douglas in Pittsburgh at age 18. For the next four years, he worked at various law offices in Pennsylvania and Ohio, finally acquiring a position in Cleveland at the office of Reuben Wood, who became Governor of Ohio in 1850.

In 1822, suffering from ague and fever, he moved to Mackinac Island, Michigan Territory, to recover his health. While there he taught school. Although intending to return to Ohio, Baird noted the opportunities for a lawyer in a frontier area, and decided to remain. He was admitted to the bar in 1823, of a newly created district of Michigan Territory, comprising all of present-day Iowa and Wisconsin. He moved to Green Bay in 1824 where, before a special session of Territorial Judge James D. Doty's court held October 4, 1824, he became the first professional lawyer in what is now Wisconsin.

On August 12, 1824, he married Elizabeth Therese Fisher, a native of Prairie du Chien who was raised in Mackinac and attended Baird's school. (Mrs. Baird's sister, Jane Monroe Fisher, was the widow of Joseph Rolette and later the wife of Hercules L. Dousman, both prominent Prairie du Chien fur traders.) Because of her varied knowledge of the area, her Indian ancestry, and her ability to interpret for Baird's French clientele, Mrs. Baird contributed much to his success in law and politics. Their home was the center of Green Bay social life for many years. The Bairds had four children.

Baird was prominent in Indian affairs and often critical of government actions regarding them. In 1830 he was a negotiator for the Winnebago and Menominee tribes in land sales. He served as secretary to Henry Dodge at the Treaty at Cedar Point in 1836, was commissioner at the treaty of Buffalo Creek in 1838, and was secretary to commissioner of Indian affairs, William Medill, at the council held at Lake Poygan in 1848.

His political career began in 1836 when he was elected as a Whig to the Wisconsin Territorial Legislative Council. He served as president of its first session, which began its meetings at Belmont, Wisconsin on October 25, 1836. In December 1836, Governor Henry Dodge appointed him Attorney General of the territory, a position he held until 1839. He was a delegate from Brown County to the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention in 1846, serving on several committees. In 1853, he was the Whig candidate for governor. In this year also, he was elected president of the Green Bay village board, becoming mayor of Green Bay for two terms in 1861 and 1862. Finally, he served as Draft Commissioner for Brown County during the Civil War.

In addition to his legal and political interests, Baird supervised the sale of the Astor family property in Brown County from 1862 until his death. He also served as agent in other real estate transactions. H was elected vice-president of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in 1862. In 1871, Baird and his wife were in charge of relief work for victims of the Peshtigo Fire. In that year also, Baird was elected president of the newly organized Old Settlers' Club. He was an active member of the Wisconsin Masonic Lodge, having served as Grand Master at one time. In 1874, he was one of the organizers of the Kellogg National Bank in Green Bay. Baird died on April 30, 1875.

James Sherman Baker was born in Lockport, New York, on April 17, 1815. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, New York. In 1845, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and engaged in the insurance business. Baker married Eliza Baird, a daughter of Henry S. Baird, in 1847, and moved to Green Bay. The Bakers had three children.

While in Green Bay, he continued in the insurance business, acting as agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York and the Aetna Insurance Company. His legal practice consisted mainly of handling titles and abstracts. In 1852, Governor Farwell appointed Baker first bank comptroller of Wisconsin, a position he held for two years. He also engaged in the real estate business, replacing Henry S. Baird as supervisor of the sale of the Astor property after Baird's death in 1875. Baker was a vestryman of Christ Church, Green Bay, at the time of his death on March 26, 1892.

The bulk of the Baird-Baker Papers consists of correspondence, especially the business correspondence of Baker. The collection also includes several small files of business papers, such as attorney's tax receipts, deeds, and mortgages; a file of personal finances; and a miscellaneous file including such items as business cards.

The general correspondence (1850-1892), nearly all of it incoming, deals mainly with Baker's activities as a land agent, selling property and paying land taxes for various clients. A large proportion is from both of the insurance agencies for which Baker acted as agent. Correspondence to Baird, which falls for the most part between 1864 and the early 1870's, deals with his transactions as a land agent. There is very little personal correspondence. In addition to general correspondence, there are several small files of specific correspondence from Ramsay Crooks, Edward Decker, B.S. Doty, T.G. Dousman, Joseph Harris, and Col. Daniel Ruggles. The nature of this correspondence is similar to that of the general correspondence. Also included here are letters and notes regarding the estates of David Agry and D.J. Follett. Finally, there are six letterpress books of Baird's outgoing correspondence (1845-1850, 1857-1865), all of which are badly faded. Each section of the correspondence file is arranged chronologically. A “Selected List of Prominent Correspondents” is an appendix to this finding aid.

The business papers consist of a variety of materials. The first section contains tax receipts of people for whom Baker and Baird acted as land agents. Also in this section are a few receipts for taxes paid for civic improvements. The second section contains reports on the financial condition of the Kellogg National Bank. The third consists of various deeds, including quit-claim, county tax, and sheriff's foreclosure deeds. The fourth section consists of miscellaneous financial records pertaining to both Baird's and Baker's business concerns. Included is a volume labeled “Schedule of Bonds, Notes and Mortgages Due and Owing to H.S. Baird” (1870-1875). Also included in the collection prior to microfilming were a large number of cancelled checks and bank drafts drawn on various Green Bay banks (1863-1915); the bulk of cancelled checks and drafts were not filmed. The fifth section contains financial transactions pertaining to the insurance business. The sixth section consists of various transactions of Kellogg National Bank, including a small amount of correspondence with other banks. The seventh section consists of legal papers, including agreements on terms of mortgages, various drafts, several briefs of bankruptcy cases, notes on estates, and various other materials. The eighth contains World War I Liberty Loan receipts and payment books from the Kellogg National Bank. (The World War I Liberty Loan receipts, as well as those cancelled checks listed in the file of financial records, dated after the deaths of both Baird and Baker, were probably the property of H.B. Baker, James S. Baker's son and cashier of the bank.) The ninth section consists of both property and chattel mortgages. The tenth contains materials dealing with real estate, including financial records, land auction notices, and claims pertaining to the Land Bounty Act of 1855. While most of the business papers pertain to Baker, there are a few Baird papers included in most sections. The 10 sections are arranged alphabetically, and the material filed under each is in chronological order.

The personal financial records (1857-1895) contain household bills, rent receipts, and items of similar nature of both the Baird and Baker families. They are chronologically arranged. Also in this file is a personal account book (1856-1874) belonging to Baird.

Finally, there is a small miscellaneous file containing business cards, notes written by Baker, a lumber exchange bulletin, and notes of a former Archives' processor(?).

Acquisition Information

Loaned for microfilming by the Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin, May 1973. Accession Number: M73-130

Processing Information

Processed by Kris Crary and Joanne Hohler, March 12, 1974.

	Series: Correspondence
	General
Reel   1	1850-1856
Reel   2	1857
Reel   3	1858, January-1859, April
Reel   4	1859, May-1860, October
Reel   5	1860, November-1862, February
Reel   6	1862, March-1864, November
Reel   7	1864, December-1867, July
Reel   8	1867, August-1874, April
Reel   9	1874, May-1878, August
Reel   10	1878, September-1892, March
	Specific
Reel   11	Agry, 1877
Reel   11	Crooks, 1864-1880
Reel   11	Decker, 1857-1884
Reel   11	Doty, 1856-1863
Reel   11	Dousman, 1856-1869
Reel   11	Follett, 1888-1889
Reel   11	Harris, 1856-1865
Reel   11	Riggles, 1856-1861
	Letterpress Books
Reel   12	1845, January-1847, July
Reel   13	1847, July-1849, September
Reel   13	1849, September-1850, November
Reel   14	1857, October-1860, November
Reel   14	1860, November-1863, May
Reel   15	1863, May-1865, October
	Series: Business Papers	⇧
Reel   16	Attorney's Tax Receipts, 1857-1875
Reel   16	Bank Reports, 1874-1891
Reel   16	Deeds, 1852-1898
Reel   17	Financial Records, 1863-1892
Reel   17	Insurance, 1859-1894
Reel   17	Kellogg National Bank Records, 1880-1908
Reel   17	Legal, 1859-1901
Reel   17	Liberty Loan Receipts and Payment Books, 1917-1918
Reel   17	Mortgages, 1877-1895
Reel   17	Real Estate, 1855-1891; undated
	Series: Personal Finances	⇧
Reel   17	Bills and Receipts, 1857-1895
Reel   17	Account Book, 1856-1874
Reel   17	Series: Miscellaneous, 1864-1886; undated	⇧

H. J. Dousman	May 2, 1867
J. P. Dousman	June 2, 1884
	February 5, 1887
	February 9, 1887
T. C. Dousman	May 24, 1858
Rufus B. Kellogg	October 27, 1864
	November 12, 1864
	November 19, 1864
	December 3, 1864
	July 24, 1866
Rufus King	May 23, 1860
Increase A. Lapham	June 11, 1856
	June 13, 1856
	July 25, 1856
	August 28, 1856
	October 29, 1856
	January 7, 1857
	February 24, 1857
	March 27, 1857
	June 8, 1857
	October 19, 1857
	January 29, 1858
	February 2, 1858
	February 5, 1858
	February 18, 1858
	February 22, 1858
	February 26, 1859
	June 10, 1859
Horace Rublee	August 10, 1868
Breese Stevens	November 9, 1863