Elizabeth Baird

Elizabeth Thérèse Baird (April 24, 1810 – November 5, 1890) was an early resident of Wisconsin and one of the first writers to describe pioneer life in the state. Early life Baird, born Elizabeth Thérèse Fisher, was born in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin but moved to Mackinac Island with her mother two years later. Her father, Henry Monroe Fisher, was a fur trader and her mother, Marie Ann Lasaliere, had Odawa ancestry. Her mother ran a school for the children of fur traders; Baird met her future husband, Henry S. Baird, while he was teaching at the school. Career The couple married while Elizabeth was only 14 years old and moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin shortly thereafter. The Bairds were among the early settlers of the growing settlement of Green Bay, and Henry soon became the territory's first practicing attorney. Elizabeth spoke French and Odawa due to her family's connections to the fur trade, and she learned English shortly after moving to Green Bay. Her language skills allowed her both to translate for her husband's clients and interact in the British, French, and Native American communities in Green Bay, making her a prominent socialite in the settlement. The couple moved to a farm in 1832; Elizabeth managed the farm while also raising the couple's four daughters.