Henry Carey Baird

​Henry Carey Baird (1825-1913) was born on September 10, 1825, at the Frankford Arsenal, an ammunition plant in Bridesburg, now part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the grandson of Mathew Carey and the nephew of Henry Charles Carey. His father was Thomas J. Baird, who served as a Captain during the War of 1812. After receiving an education at the Anthony Bolmar School, now the West Chester Academy, Henry Carey Baird would work at his uncle’s book publishing firm, then Carey & Hart, (originally founded by Mathew Carey) and would eventually become a part owner of the firm in 1845. Later in 1849, Baird would establish Henry Carey Baird Publishers which specialized in technical books and books relating to industry and economics. It was around 1857 that Baird became interested in the social and economic doctrines of his uncle, Henry C. Carey. Baird’s economic writings would mostly appear in newspaper and magazine articles, or in pamphlet format. Politically, Baird was a member of the Whig party until its disintegration. He then became a Republican in 1856, but would later leave the Party in 1875, after growing disgruntled with the Party’s stance on the greenback issue. Baird would then become one of the founders of the Greenback Party. He would, however, abandon the Party in 1884, due to the Party’s endorsement of a free trade platform. At the age of eighty-seven, Baird would pass away on December 31, 1913.