This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: JoyMontgomery122541 Surnames: Vanderwerker, Fletcher, Baird Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.minnesota.counties.crowwing/362.364.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I believe that French Baird was the name of my grandmother's stepfather. She had siblings who were fathered by him. They were all abandoned as children and wound up in orphanages. After several horrible foster homes, Granny ended up in Spokane, Washington with an aunt and uncle. I believe it was French Baird and Viola MacKune who abandoned Granny and her siblings If so, that might be why you don't hear much about him. Your grandfather might be one of those abandoned children and might not have appreciated it. Granny never had anything good to say about her father, Harry Vanderwerker, who may not have abandoned them at all but appears to have gone to the Gold Rush in the Klondike and returned to homestead near Cass Lake. I don't know if he ever found any of his children. I do have a picture of three of Granny's brothers but I don't know if they are Vanderwerkers or Bairds. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.