David BAIRD, Congress, NJ (1839-1927)

BAIRD, David, (father of David Baird, Jr.), a Senator from New Jersey; born in Londonderry, County Derry, Ireland, April 7, 1839; attended the common schools; immigrated to the United States in 1856 and entered the lumber business in Port Deposit, Md.; moved in 1860 to Camden, N.J., where he continued in the lumber business and also engaged in banking; member of the board of chosen freeholders of Camden County 1876-1880; sheriff of Camden County 1887-1889 and 1895-1897; member of the State board of assessors in 1895 and 1901-1909; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1910; appointed on February 23, 1918, and subsequently elected on November 5, 1918, as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Hughes and served from February 23, 1918, to March 3, 1919; was not a candidate for renomination in 1918; resumed his former business pursuits in Camden, N.J., where he died on February 25, 1927; interment in Harleigh Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present