Mrs. R. S. Baird, M. D. Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 490-491

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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MRS. R. S. BAIRD, M. D., the only lady physician engaged in practice in 
Pierre, South Dakota, was born on the Hudson river in New York, in 
1853, and is a daughter of Henry and Nancy (Utter) Robbins. The father 
was a native of England and a professor of music, while the mother was 
born in New York, of Dutch parentage.  

When a child the Doctor accompanied her parents on their removal to 
Wisconsin, where she was reared and educated, graduating from the young 
ladies seminary at Lake Geneva, that state. She then commenced the 
study of medicine, and in 1873 entered the medical college of Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, where she was graduated in 1876. The following year 
she spent as interne in the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children: As 
her health failed in 1 878, she went to Europe, and spent one year in 
the hospitals of London. Returning to America in 1 879, she spent a 
year or two in travel, and in 1881 located at Las Vegas, New Mexico, 
where she engaged in practice for a year and a half. In the spring of 
1883 she came to Pierre, South Dakota, where she has since successfully 
engaged in practice, making a specialty of the diseases of women and 
children. Her skill and ability are attested by the liberal patronage 
she enjoys, and she ranks among the leading physicians of the city. She 
took a post-graduate course in 1883, and is a progressive member of her 
profession who keeps abreast of the latest discoveries and theories by 
her perusal of medical journals.  

In 1885 the Doctor was united in marriage with W. F. Baird, of Pierre, 
who was president of the security mortgage investment company. She is a 
member of the Church of England, or the Episcopal denomination, and is 
quite prominent in social as well as professional circles.