Baird/Grote/Groat Family

BAIRD, GROTE, GROAT

Posted By: Tren Groat (email)
Date: 2/19/2023 at 20:32:38

I am inquiring about information for Benjamin F. Baird and wife Emily J. Boyd Baird, who were married in Clinton County, Iowa, 13 Feb 1860, and resided in DeWitt between 1860-1879, then moved to Atchison County, Missouri, with their daughter Frances "Frankie" Baird who married George G. Groat 4 July 1877 in DeWitt, Iowa. George Groat departed DeWitt, Iowa, in Feb/Mar 1879 with John L. Pascal and Frank Reyburn for Sheridan County, Kansas. George Groat disappeared after this. Legal notices in Atchison County, Missouri, newspapers show a divorce filing between Frankie Groat and John Groat.

Benjamin F. Baird and Emily J. Baird returned to DeWitt, Iowa, possibly between 1885-1890, with the children of Frankie Baird Groat and George Groat, Mary H. Groat (Grote) b. 1877/78 in Clinton County, IA, and George E. Groat (Grote) b. 1880 in Atchison County, MO. Frankie Baird Groat did not return to Iowa with the family that I can find records for. The children of Frankie Baird Groat are known to have been raised by her parents and are listed on Census records between 1880-1900 in the household of Benjamin Baird. The family resided in DeWitt at the same address until about 1905. "Mary Grote" and "George Grote" appear on the 1905 DeWitt Census. Newspaper articles show Emily J. Baird purchased 2 lots in DeWitt, Iowa, in 1904, but no mention of Benjamin Baird, her husband. The Clinton Hearld Newspaper, for Monday, April 15, 1912, published the death of Benjamin Baird occuring at the poor farm in Charlotte on April 13, 1912 and he was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. There is no mention of Emily J. Baird. I find no record of her death, or a grave for her.

Another mystery is Mary H. Groat (Grote). According to the 1900 Iowa Census, she appears to have a son listed as George E. Groat (Grote) born about 1896, listed as the great grandson of the head of household, Benjamin Baird. The son appears on no more records after this. Mary H. Groat (Grote) does not appear on any records after the 1905 Iowa State Census. No marriage or death records have been found for her at this date.

George E. Groat married Daisy M. Reisinger, daughter of Peter Reisinger and Harriet Simpson of Clinton County, Iowa, in Aug 1909 in Clinton County, Iowa. Their first child, Lillian M. Groat was born 10 May 1910. Their second child, Albert Grant Groat was born in Sep 1913, who is my grandfather.

The family moved for a brief time in the fall of 1915 to Missouri, but returned to Camanche by January 1916. Groat family moved to Missouri again permanantly in 1922-23. One daugher, Lillian M. Groat returned to live in Clinton, Iowa in the 1940s and married Peter Carstens and they resided in Clinton, Iowa, the remainder of their lives, with their two daughters, Gertrude and Beverly.

I would appreciate any leads on information or resources to search for information on Benjamin F. Baird, Emily J. Boyd Baird, Mary H. Groat (Grote) and her son George E. Groat (Grote) b. 1896.

I have searched the birth and death and marriage indexes of Clinton County, Iowa, on IAGenWeb and have searched for mentions of them and obituaries in the the digitized Clinton County, Iowa, Newspapers.

Are there city directories for DeWitt, Iowa. Where are the birth records for 1896 for Clinton County, Iowa located? Where are death records for 1912 for Clinton County, Iowa located? Where could I find information or records on the poor farm in Charlotte, Iowa for 1900-1920?

I am a serious researcher, and enjoy the search and challenge, but have only located the above people listed in Federal Census records for 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 and Iowa State Census for 1895 and 1905 or the indexes for the information I have found. I would be very interested in finding more information about their extended families or those who might have photographs of Benjamin F. Baird, Emily J. Boyd Baird, Mary H. Groat (Grote), if they are known to exist.

I am also inquiring into which family Benjamin F. Baird is from, and whether he was related to the other Bairds buried in the Elmwood Cemtery in DeWitt (Zebulon Baird, James P. Baird Sr, Nathaniel Baird). I can find no documentation that connects Benjamin F. Baird to these possible relatives.

Emily J. Boyd Baird is the daughter of Dr. John Hughston Boyd and Hannah Messenger, I believe, according to census records, but his obituary does not mention her as a daughter. Her marriage to Benjamin F. Baird lists her as Mary Emily Jane Boyd. She was likely born in 1840-42 in Pennsylvannia, according to census records.

I am happy to do the research myself, as my family has been researching them without much success since the 1990s. I am simply inquiring for more information on their families that is known by perhaps living descendents of their families or resources or leads that I can follow.

Sincerely,
Tren Groat