Bio: George Oliver Baird; Clark County, ILL., then Caddo Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller Date: 1999-2000 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** George Oliver Baird, whose prominence among the oil operators of the Southwest brought him the honor of election as president of the Louisiana-Arkansas Division of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, first became identified with the oil industry in Illinois, his native state, but for the past fifteen years his activities have been in the Southwest, with his headquarters at Shreveport. He was born at Marshall, in Clark County, Illinois, in 1873, son of H. L. and Anna Barbara (Kennedy) Baird. His widowed mother lives with her sun in Shreveport, and is life chaplain of her home chapter at Marshall, Illinois, of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is of Revolutionary descent on both her paternal and maternal sides, her mother having been a Martin. Mr. Baird grew up at Marshall, Illinois, was educated in public schools, and as a boy carried and delivered the Marshall Herald. He had other duties with that paper, and at the age of nineteen had reached the eminence of being its editor. Subsequently he was a special correspondent for St. Louis and Chicago newspapers. Newspaper work brought him into touch with politics, and at one time he acted as secretary of the central committee in Hon. Joe Cannons congressional district. His position as a publicity and newspaper man brought him his first actual contact with the oil industry. That was in Eastern Illinois, during some i the early developments in that state. In time he gave up journalism to engage in the oil business exclusively. In 1910 he came to Louisiana, and since that year has maintained his home in Shreveport and has become one of the most prominent and successful of the oil operators in the Louisiana-Arkansas district. Mr. Baird came to Louisiana as representative of the Busch-Everett Syndicate of St. Louis, operators in this section. In the latter part of 1910 he transferred his service to the Standard Oil Company. as head of that company's land department, covering a district extending from Virginia to Texas. He remained in the service of the Standard Oil organization until 1917, in which year he began his career as an independent operator. He achieved signal success in the Homer field, and developed one of the most prolific tracts in that district. His activities have been extended to cover a wide range, and as an oil operator he has interests in Kansas, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and California, and he is regarded as one of the best versed authorities on oil production and the oil industry in general. In October, 1924, he was elected president of the Louisiana-Arkansas Division of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, in which association he had previously served as vice president, and for a number of years as a member of the executive committee. In 1921 he was appointed by Judge Jack of the United States District Court receiver of the Gilliland Oil Company, and the promptness and efficiency displayed in winding up the tangled affairs of the company, placing it again in a solvent condition and with its valuable properties conserved and returned to the control of the stockholders, won the approval of all concerned and a strong personal commendation from Judge Jack as a well-merited tribute. Mr. Baird is regarded as one of Shreveport's most progressive Citizens, and a large portion of his time, talents and resources arc being cheerfully devoted to the interests of the community. Every movement tending towards uplift and the civic, moral and educational betterment of the city finds in him a ready and an active exponent. He is a director of the Oil Fields Gas Company, vice president of Baird Brothers Shoe Company of Shreveport, and a director of the American National Bank of Shreveport. In fraternal and social circles he is well known, being a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner, and an active member of El Karubah Shrine Band. He is also a member of the Shreveport Golf and Country Club, and of the City Club. Mr. Baird married Miss Stella Mitchell, and to this union were born three children, George Oliver, Junior, being the sole survivor. On September 24, 1922, Mrs. Baird was called to the life eternal. She was known by her friends as a generous Christian character, always considerate of the welfare and happiness of others, a characteristic that did not desert her even to the last. NOTE: The referenced source contains a black and white photograph of the subject with his/her autograph. A History of Louisiana, (vol. 2), pp. 231-232, by Henry E. Chambers. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, 1925.