Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:54:32 EDT From: BlueGoose011058@aol.com Subject: Baird reunion   The descendents from Lewis Millard Baird (1795-1864) and especially   descendents of his son Pryor Perkins Baird, Nancy Lawson and Lucinda  Hicks are invited meet on September 4, 2010, beginning at 12 o'clock  noon at the Regency Ballroom (Hall), 2146 Jacksboro Pike (next door to the  theater) in LaFollette, Tn. If you wish you can bring a dish to pass and please bring your family  pho tos and information.   I said especially descendents of Pryor Perkins Baird only because I am   Pryor's and Lucinda's great granddaughter. But we would like to meet with all   our relatives.   If anyone is interested in joining us, please contact me at this email   address.   Margaret Baird Petree ------------------------------ >From the LaFollette Press, LaFollette,  TN July 21, 2010     Families reconnect with a common  historic bond By NATASHA COLBAUGH In a story published by the LaFollette Press on April 25, 1957, a historic   friendship formed in a prison during the Civil War was made public. That   friendship was recently celebrated as two families shared the legacy of a bond  formed over 150 years ago.   The Civil War created two armies that were firm in their loyalties; the men  and women who witnessed the conflict were no exception. Lewis M. Baird, though  he was not a soldier for the federal army, had a strong loyalty to the north.  Maybe it was because four of his 11 sons were fighting in the war.   Baird was a young man when he settled in Upper Elk Fork near Jellico.   Southern soldiers arrested him at his home in October 1862, one year after the   war began. At 62-years-old, Baird was taken to a southern prison in Salisbury,  NC., where he later died because he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the  Confederacy.   While imprisoned he befriended Thomas Caton, a fellow inmate. Caton wrote to  the Baird children, explaining their father?s condition as the war came to a  close. In this fateful letter, Caton expressed his admiration for Baird and his  devotion to Baird?s family.   ?I?deem it my duty to write to you at this time to let you know his present  condition. He is in the hospital and to all human appearances must soon be  numbered with those who have been taken from the evils of this world. There is  no particular disease apparent but old age, and confinement has done its work.  Having become acquainted with him ever since his arrest, and been with him ever  since, he now seems like a father to me. I can truly sympathize with you,? wrote  Caton in a letter addressed to Baird?s sons on April 29, 1864.   Like so many men, Baird died just before the war came to a close in May 1865.  The surrender of Confederate forces under General Joseph A. Johnston took place  in Durham, NC., just 60 miles northeast of Salisbury.   Many years later Gwen McCay Trivett, a descendant of Baird, was able to   obtain her ancestor?s records through the Salisbury Prison. Caton?s descendants  obtained the same prison records that revealed the names of both men.   ?No members of the Baird and Caton families have had any contact since the   Civil War,? said Trivett.   That is until recently when the two families attended a reunion at Caton?s   Grove Methodist Church in Cosby. Last Sunday Trivett and her sister Karen   Williams came face to face with the descendants of Caton. They gathered by   Caton?s lightly adorned grave and laid a wreath on the headstone, expressing  their thankfulness for Caton?s kindness to their ancestors.   During the reunion, the two families shared the details of their legacy,   including the letter Caton wrote to the Baird family.   ?I assure you that all that is possible for me to do shall be done for your  father. Pray that God in His great mercies may spare him yet to return home. He  wishes for me to say if he does not live to see you in this world, that you  strive to so live as to meet him above where parting and sorrow is no more,?  concluded Caton as he signed the letter, ?Very truly yours.?   Baird is buried in a mass, unmarked trench style grave and Caton is thought  to have barely survived in order to return home to his family, said Trivett.   At one point in the war Caton was badly beaten. He managed to survive and   return home where he later donated the land where the Methodist Church was   built.   About 73 people attended the reunion where Trivett and Williams were met with  warm greetings, music and southern style food.   ?The Catons were very warm and welcoming and I felt right at home,? said   Trivett. ?They were very interested in the story of Lewis Baird and the letter  from Thomas Caton to Lewis? family. The Caton family had not heard about the  letter, so I was very blessed to share it with them.?   Trivett is the daughter of Cora Douglas who has lived in LaFollette for over  50 years. Her husband Hazel Douglas, the late pastor of Anthras Baptist Church  and a coal miner, is the great, great grandson of Baird.   The compassion showed to their ancestors have created generational ties will  be always be remembered, according to Trivett.  

Hello Margaret Amazing story! I am going to ad your reunion news to our Reunion page. Thanks for sharing your story with us! Julie CC-Morgan County Home Page On Sat, Jul 24, 2010 at 9:01 AM, <genefricks@comcast.net> wrote: > > Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:54:32 EDT > From: BlueGoose011058@aol.com > Subject: Baird reunion > > The descendents from Lewis Millard Baird (1795-1864) and especially > descendents of his son Pryor Perkins Baird, Nancy Lawson and Lucinda Hicks > are > invited meet on September 4, 2010, beginning at 12 o'clock noon at the > Regency Ballroom (Hall), 2146 Jacksboro Pike (next door to the theater) in > LaFollette, Tn. > If you wish you can bring a dish to pass and please bring your family pho > tos and information. > > I said especially descendents of Pryor Perkins Baird only because I am > Pryor's and Lucinda's great granddaughter. But we would like to meet with > all > our relatives. > > If anyone is interested in joining us, please contact me at this email > address. > > Margaret Baird Petree > ------------------------------ > From the LaFollette Press, LaFollette, TN July 21, 2010 > > > Families reconnect with a common historic bond > > By NATASHA COLBAUGH > In a story published by the LaFollette Press on April 25, 1957, a historic > > friendship formed in a prison during the Civil War was made public. That > friendship was recently celebrated as two families shared the legacy of a > bond formed over 150 years ago. > The Civil War created two armies that were firm in their loyalties; the men > and women who witnessed the conflict were no exception. Lewis M. Baird, > though he was not a soldier for the federal army, had a strong loyalty to > the > north. Maybe it was because four of his 11 sons were fighting in the war. > > Baird was a young man when he settled in Upper Elk Fork near Jellico. > Southern soldiers arrested him at his home in October 1862, one year after > the > war began. At 62-years-old, Baird was taken to a southern prison in > Salisbury, NC., where he later died because he refused to take an oath of > allegiance to the Confederacy. > While imprisoned he befriended Thomas Caton, a fellow inmate. Caton wrote > to the Baird children, explaining their father?s condition as the war came > to a close. In this fateful letter, Caton expressed his admiration for > Baird > and his devotion to Baird?s family. > ?I?deem it my duty to write to you at this time to let you know his > present condition. He is in the hospital and to all human appearances must > soon > be numbered with those who have been taken from the evils of this world. > There is no particular disease apparent but old age, and confinement has > done > its work. Having become acquainted with him ever since his arrest, and > been > with him ever since, he now seems like a father to me. I can truly > sympathize with you,? wrote Caton in a letter addressed to Baird?s sons on > April > 29, 1864. > Like so many men, Baird died just before the war came to a close in May > 1865. The surrender of Confederate forces under General Joseph A. Johnston > took place in Durham, NC., just 60 miles northeast of Salisbury. > Many years later Gwen McCay Trivett, a descendant of Baird, was able to > obtain her ancestor?s records through the Salisbury Prison. Caton?s > descendants obtained the same prison records that revealed the names of > both men. > ?No members of the Baird and Caton families have had any contact since the > > Civil War,? said Trivett. > That is until recently when the two families attended a reunion at Caton?s > > Grove Methodist Church in Cosby. Last Sunday Trivett and her sister Karen > Williams came face to face with the descendants of Caton. They gathered by > > Caton?s lightly adorned grave and laid a wreath on the headstone, > expressing > their thankfulness for Caton?s kindness to their ancestors. > During the reunion, the two families shared the details of their legacy, > including the letter Caton wrote to the Baird family. > ?I assure you that all that is possible for me to do shall be done for your > father. Pray that God in His great mercies may spare him yet to return > home. He wishes for me to say if he does not live to see you in this > world, > that you strive to so live as to meet him above where parting and sorrow > is > no more,? concluded Caton as he signed the letter, ?Very truly yours.? > Baird is buried in a mass, unmarked trench style grave and Caton is thought > to have barely survived in order to return home to his family, said > Trivett. > At one point in the war Caton was badly beaten. He managed to survive and > return home where he later donated the land where the Methodist Church was > > built. > About 73 people attended the reunion where Trivett and Williams were met > with warm greetings, music and southern style food. > ?The Catons were very warm and welcoming and I felt right at home,? said > Trivett. ?They were very interested in the story of Lewis Baird and the > letter from Thomas Caton to Lewis? family. The Caton family had not heard > about > the letter, so I was very blessed to share it with them.? > Trivett is the daughter of Cora Douglas who has lived in LaFollette for > over 50 years. Her husband Hazel Douglas, the late pastor of Anthras > Baptist > Church and a coal miner, is the great, great grandson of Baird. > The compassion showed to their ancestors have created generational ties > will be always be remembered, according to Trivett. > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TNMORGAN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message