Thomas, the eldest son of Thomas Baird and Margaret Barnhill his wife, was born in Chiganois, April 30th, 1762. As these first settlers who were sent out by the British Government were supplied by provision, served out on the first day of May, so much for every man, woman and child; Thomas being but one day old, the parents received as much provision for him as any other of their family. Thomas Baird, Junr., was married to Magdalen, daughter of John Dickson of North River, October 9th, 1793. James D., their eldest son, was born August 6th, 1796. He was married to Nancy, the third daughter of Alexander and Rebecca Miller, of Truro, July 13th, 1820. They had six sons and two daughters. They resided in Onslow until the year 1861, when they removed to Pembroke in Stewiacke, where he spent the remainder of his days. He died there June 2nd, 1871, aged 75 years. Margaret, the eldest daughter of Thomas and Magdalen Baird, was born July 16th, 1798. She was married to James Fulmore, of Five Islands, in January, 1822. They had three sons and five daughters. Mr. Fulmore died and she was married again to George Spencer, and resided at Richibucto until he died about the year 1867; she is now living a widow. Jane, their second daughter, was born in Onslow, March 30th, 1800. On November 25th, 1825, in crossing the Bay returning from a visit to the Old Barns on horseback, she got into deep water and fell from the horse. She held by the bridle until she and the horse were both drowned. Mr. Perry was watching her at the time, but could render her no assistance. Darkness set in, by the aid of torches her body was recovered a few hours afterwards, and taken to her father's house.
John, the second son of Thomas and Magdalen Baird, was born October 11th, 1803. He was married to Sarah, daughter of John Fulton and Esther Crowe of Bass River, June 28th, 1827. He inherited a part of his father's farm at Lower Onslow. Rebecca, their third daughter, was born January 7th, 1806. She was married to John, son of Thomas Crowe and Esther Fulton, of Debert River, March, 1827. They had one son and two daughters. Mrs. Crowe died February 16th, 1845. Mr. Crowe was married again to Susan, daughter of David Blackmore and Janet Hoar, his wife, of North River, March 3rd, 1846.
Thomas, the third son of Thomas and Magdalen Baird, was born July 11th, 1808. He inherited a part of his father's farm, and was married to Eliza Jane, daughter of Joseph Hamilton and Rachel Carter, October, 1842. They had four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Baird died December 12th, 1866, aged 50 years, and he died July 12th, 1872, aged 64 years. Nancy, the fourth and youngest daughter of Thomas and Magdalen Baird, was born November 30th, 1810. She was married to Thomas McLellan, of Great Village, March 9th, 1839. She had two children, and they both died young. She died January 7th, 1852, aged 41 years, and her husband died December 22nd, 1865, aged 66 years. Thomas Baird inherited his father's farm in Chiganois. He sold out there and settled at Lower Onslow, where his two sons, John and Thomas, now reside. He died January 7th, 1837, aged 75 years, and his wife died January 29th, 1849, in the 76th year of her age.
Jane, the daughter of Thomas Baird and Margaret Barnhill, was born in the year 1764. She was married to Joseph McDormond, of Masstown, in the year 1785. They remained in Masstown about ten years, then removed across the Bay, and settled on the farm that John Barber now resides upon, near the mouth of the Shubenacadie River. They continued there until about the year 1830, when they removed across the Bay again and settled on the West side of the Folly River, where they spend the remainder of their lives. He died in the year 1839, and his wife died in the year of 1849, aged 83 years. Jane, the eldest daughter, was born in the year 1787. She was married to Samuel Henderson, October 22nd, 1817. They had two sons and two daughters. She died June 22nd, 1817, and her husband died September, 1867. Rebecca, their second daughter, was born in the year 1789. She died unmarried in the year, 1839, aged 50 years.
William, the eldest son of Joseph and Jane McDormond, was born in the year 1793. He was married to Mary, the eldest daughter of John Deyarmond and Elizabeth Wilson, October 23rd, 1818. They have two sons and two daughters, besides several children that died young. They settled at Debert River, where he died, April 5th, 1871, aged 78 years. Mary, their third daughter, was born March 1st, 1803. She was married to Robert Burns, November, 1830. They had three daughters. She died July 23rd, 1841, aged 38 years. James, their fourth son, was born March 12th, 1801. He died December 23rd, 1802. John, their son, died December 24th, 1802. Thomas, their son, died December 25th, 1802. Joseph, their fifth son, was born January 3rd, 1805. He was married to Dorcas West, July 15th, 1836. They had three sons and one daughter. He died April 13th, 1866, aged 61 years. Margaret, the fourth and youngest daughter of Joseph McDormond and Jane Baird, was born in Truro, January 12th, 1807. She was married to William West, October, 1836. They had three sons and two daughters. They inherited her father's farm until her death, which took place October 15th, 1849, aged 42 years.
Mary, the third daughter of Thomas Baird and Margaret Barnhill, was born in the year 1767. She was married to John Dickson, of North River, November 4th, 1790. They settled on Onslow Mountain, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Thomas Baird, the eldest son of John and Mary Dickson, was born March 16th, 1792. He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Nathan Upham and Eleanor Knowlton, his wife, Feby. 25th, 1820. They had one son and one daughter. Mrs. Dickson died May 2nd, 1862, aged 76 years, and Mr. Dickson died May 7th, 1872, aged 80 years. William, the second son of John and Mary Dickson, was born August 2nd, 1793. On July 5th, 1814, in company with a number of men, he went to assist William McKeen to frame a saw-mill. After dinner he, Samuel McKeen, and John Barnhill went out on the pond in a canoe. They upset the canoe, when Barnhill and McKeen swam for the shore. Looking back, they saw Dickson in danger. McKeen swam back and caught him, when Dickson seized him by the shoulder and drew him under the water, and it was with difficulty that McKeen threw Dickson off, which he was obliged to do, in order to save his own life. About three hours after, the body was recovered and taken to his father's house in Onslow. In one month more he would have been 21 years of age.
Rebecca, the eldest daughter of John and Mary Dickson, was born April 9th, 1795. She was married to John, the only son of John Baird and Jane Dickson, January 24th, 1822. They had two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Baird died May 1st, 1864, aged 69 years.
John, the third son of John and Mary Dickson, was born July 25th, 1798. He was married to Margaret, eldest daughter of Alexander Kent, Esq., and Janet Christie, December 21st, 1826. They had two sons and three daughters. He inherits a part of his father's farm at Onslow Mountain. He is Justice of the Peace, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Isabell, their second daughter, was born July 5th, 1800. She was married to Alexander Deyarmond, of Debert River, February 1st, 1825. They had one son and two daughters. She died November 30th, 1843, aged 43 years. James, their fourth son, was born January 16th, 1802. He died June 3rd, 1821. Mary, John Dickson's first wife, died suddenly, November 23rd, 1803, and he was married again to Elizabeth, the fourth daughter of Hugh Moore and Janet Logan, November 6th, 1804. They had three sons and three daughters. Mr. Dickson died May 25th, 1855, aged 92 years, and his second wife died May 17th, 1842, aged 68 years.
John, the second son of Thomas Baird and Margaret Barnhill, was born in Chiganois, June 2nd, 1769. He was married to Janet, daughter of John Dickson and Margaret Burns, in the year 1793. John, their only son, was born November 25th, 1794. He was married to Rebecca, the eldest daughter of John Dickson and Mary Baird, January 24, 1822. They had two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Baird died May 1st, 1864, aged 69 years. John Baird, Junr., settled first on the farm on which William Little now resides, on Onslow Mountain, where he continued for about twelve years after they were married. He then removed to the place where he now resides, with his son John, about two miles below the Folly. Janet, the first wife of John Baird, Senr., died December 4th, 1794, aged 26 years, and he was married again to Isabell, daughter of Thomas Wilson and Mary McDormond, of Masstown, in the year 1796. (Isabell Wilson, his wife, was born December 18th, 1777.) They removed from Chiganois and settled in the woods on Onslow Mountain, where he reclaimed a farm from the forest, reared the family, and spent the remainder of his life. He died January 21st, 1830, aged 61 years, and his wife died July 10th, 1852, aged 75 years.
Rebecca, their oldest daughter, was born January 1st, 1797. She was married to Thomas Mitchell, of Truro, January 25th, 1821. They had four sons and three daughters. Mr. Mitchell died January 21st, 1839, and she was married again to Andrew Thomson, of Folly Mountain, February 14th, 1845. Mr. Thomson died May, 1853, and she is living a widow. Jenny, their second daughter, was born May 13, 1801. She was married to Thomas Cottom, February 3rd, 1825. They had three sons and six daughters. She died June, 1869, aged 68 years. Thomas, the eldest son of John and Isabell Baird, was born February 13th, 1803. He was married to Elizabeth Deyarmond, of Chiganois, November 12, 1840. They have two daughters. They are settled on the Mountain, near the place which his father settled. Susan W., their third daughter, was born February 8th, 1805. She was married to Samuel Deyarmond, of Stewiacke, February 17th, 1829. They had four sons and two daughters. Nancy, their fourth daughter, was born March 26th, 1807. She was married to William Cottom, January, 1830. They had two sons. She died November, 1852. Her husband died September, 1836. Margaret, their fifth daughter, was born March 11th, 1809. She was married to Charles Blackie, April 10th, 1842. They had three sons and three daughters. She died April, 1859, her husband died July 3rd, 1861. Sarah, their sixth daughter, was born December 4th, 1811. She was married to James Staples, of Chiganois, December 28th, 1841. They had four sons and three daughters. James Dickson, their second son, was born December 28th, 1813. He was married to Sarah, the youngest daughter of James Crowe and Sarah Wilson, November 18th, 1843. They inherited his father's farm. They have three sons. Elizabeth, the seventh daughter of John and Isabell Baird, was born August 22nd, 1817. She died unmarried, July 8th, 1852, aged 35 years. Alexander Miller, their third son, was born November 14th, 1819. He was married to Matilda Archibald, February 29th, 1848. They have one son and one daughter. He is settled at Chiganois, working at tanning and shoemaking. William, their fourth and youngest son, was born August 31st, 1822. He died a bachelor, February 22nd, 1845, in the 23rd year of his age.
Rebecca, the youngest daughter of Thomas Baird and Margaret Barnhill, was born at Chiganois, March 20th, 1771. She was married to Alexander Miller, of Truro, June 29th, 1795. She had two sons and eight daughters, who appear among the Millers. She died October 15th, 1837, Her husband died November 20th, 1834, aged 65 years. (These are the writer's parents.)
Thomas Baird, Senr., settled at Chiganois, near the place that his father-in-law, Robert Barnhill, his brother-in-law, Alexander Deyarmond, and Joseph Crowe, Senr., also John Barnhill, settled, in what is now called Chiganois Village. These were all Grantees of Londonderry Township, and had their land lying together. Mr. Baird had his home on what is now Mr. Graham's field, and he had 1000 acres lying between that and the Debert River. There they reared their family. Mr. Baird died at the house of Alexander Miller, of Truro, March 11th, 1809, aged about 78 years. As the snow was very deep at the time, his body was buried in the Truro Cemetary, as it could not be taken to Chiganois without great inconvenience. His wife, Margaret, died at her son John's house, on Onslow Mountain, July, 1818, aged about 84 years. She was interred in the family burying ground, on the Island in Chiganois Marsh.
Rebecca, the eldest daughter of John Barnhill, Senr., and Letitia Deyarmond, was born in 1763. She was married to James Archibald, Esq., February 25th, 1779. Their family appears among the Archibalds. Elizabeth, daughter of John and Letitia Barnhill, was born 1770. She was married to Capt. Thomas Fletcher, of Debert, 1786. They had three sons and two daughters. She died August, 1821, aged 51 years, and her husband died January 17th, 1844, aged 85 years. Letitia Fletcher, their eldest daughter, was born September 19th, 1787. She died when young.
Eleanor, the second daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Fletcher, was born December 2nd, 1790. She was married to Jacob Lynds, of North River, November 1st, 1810. They had five sons and five daughters. She died January 17th, 1867, and Mr. Lynds died May 22nd, 1858. Susan Fletcher, their third daughter, was born September 1792. She was married to Joseph Wilson, of Masstown. They had four sons and three daughters. She died July 30th, 1830, and Mr. Wilson died June 6th, 1866, aged 77 years. John Fletcher, their eldest son, was born October 2nd, 1794. He was married to Rebecca Crowe, February 27th, 1820. They had three sons and four daughters. He died January 27th, 1839. William Fletcher, their second son, was born February 5th, 1797. He was married to Margery Wilson, January 11th, 1820. They had four sons and two daughters. Mrs. Fletcher died March 3rd, 1847. He was married again to Mary Cutton, widow of the late Alexander Wilson, October 26th, 1848. Mrs. Fletcher died May 17th, 1870. David Fletcher, their third son, was born September, 1800. He was married to Jane Davison. They had four sons and six daughters. On October 23rd, 1852, he was engaged attending a mill, and was caught by a circular saw, which took both arms off. He lived about two hours after. Letitia, the third daughter of John Barnhill, Senr., and Letitia Deyarmond, was born about the year 1771. She was married to David Archibald, fifth, of Musquodoboit, August 9th, 1792. They had three sons and five daughters. These appear among the Archibalds.
Margaret, the youngest daughter of John and Letitia Barnhill, was born in 1773. She was married to Richard, son of Charles and Janet Blackie, of Pictou, November 13th, 1800. They settled in Truro, and he had his blacksmith's shop near the place that Mr. Edmond Hamilton's house now stands, and Mr. Blackie had his house on the opposite side of the street. Here they reared their family and spent the remainder of their days. Mrs. Blackie died April 26th, 1812, aged 39 years. Mr. Blackie was married again to Martha Ryan, and she lived but a short time after they were married. Mr. Blackie was married again to Sarah Wallace, of the old Halifax road. He died November 18th, 1816, aged 40 years. His widow was married to Peter Blair. They had one son and one daughter; the son's name was John. He was drowned attempting to cross the Salmon River, at the head of the tide, June 8th, 1830, aged seven years, and his mother, Sarah Blair, died September 13th, 1839, aged 49 years. Their daughter, Fanny, is now the wife of William Berrell, of Truro Village.
Letitia, the eldest daughter of Richard Blackie and Margaret Barnhill, was born in Truro, September 12th, 1801. She was married to John Downing, April 10th, 1833. They had one son and one daughter. She died February, 1844. Janet, the second daughter of Richard and Margaret Blackie, was born February 9th, 1805. She was married to James Wilson, of Chiganois, February 25th, 1823. They had four sons and one daughter. Mr. Wilson died July 9th, 1867. John Blackie, their eldest son, was born in Truro, August 25th, 1806. He served with George Cook, of Truro, and learned the carpenter trade. He was married to Sarah Ann, fourth daughter of James and Sarah Yuill, of Clifton, January 14th, 1836. They had four sons and two daughters. Their second son, James Yuill Blackie, while residing in the City of Cambridge, Mass., attending to his business as harness maker, on September 15th, 1869, was found by the night watch lying on the sidewalk, at about midnight, in his night clothes. When taken up and examined by the doctor, it was found that his neck was dislocated, and life departed in a few minutes. It was supposed that he rose from his bed while asleep, as he had done before, and fell from the window of the third story of the house in which he had been lodging. He was 26 years old at the time. Charles Harris, the youngest son of Richard and Margaret Blackie, was born August 8th, 1808. He was married to Margaret, the fifth daughter of John and Isabell Baird, April 10th, 1842. They had three sons and three daughters. He died July 3rd, 1861, aged 53 years, and his wife died April, 1859, aged 50 years.
Esther, the fourth daughter of Robert Barnhill and his wife, was born in Ireland, in the year 1740. She was married to Joseph Crowe, about the year 1759, about two years before they left Ireland. They came to Nova Scotia, with her parents, in the ship "Hopewell," October 9th, 1761, and settled in Chiganois. They had three sons and four daughters. These appear among the Crowe family. She died January 6th, 1818, aged 78 years, and her husband died April 15th, 1810, aged 72 years.
Sarah, the fifth and youngest daughter of Robert Barnhill and his wife, was born in Ireland, about the year 1746, and came with her parents to Nova Scotia. She was married to Thomas Crowe, about the year 1773. They had three sons and five daughters, who appear among the Crowe families.
