The Bard family : a history and genealogy of the Bards of Carroll's Delight, together with a chronicle of the Bards and genealogies of the Bard kinship online

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GENEALOGY COLLECTION



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THE BARD FAMILY



THE BARD FAMILY




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THE BARD J 'AMIL\

A HISTORY AXD GKN'tALOi . V Of THE

BARDS OF 'CARROLt'S DELIGHT

/

TOGETHKK Wll H

A CHRONICLE Of/tHE BARDS

A\D GENKAI.OgJ/.S ok

THE BARD jJ.IXSHIF



G. O. SEILHA31KK, K:



CHAM! KUSBURG. PA.
KITT0C5.TINNY PRESS

190S



THE BARD FAMILY



A HIsrollV AND GENEALOGY OF THE

BARDS Ol CARROLL'S DELIGHl

TOGETHER WITH

A CHRONICLE OF THE BARDS

AND GENEALOGIES OK

THE BARD KINSHIP



BY

G. O. SEILHAMER. Esq.



CHAMBERSBURG, PA.

KITTOCHTINNY PRESS

1908



CoPYRKiHT. IflOH

By G. O. SEILHAMKR, Esq.



JlQount Pleasant (Dress

Hafrisl.uri;. Pa.



11^2359
^fjis 25oofe isf Pebicateb



S THE HON. THOMAS ROBERT RARD

iiy. OF HUENEME, VENTURA COUNTY, UAL., IN

' RECOGNITION OF HIS CONSTANT ASSIST-

5; ANCE IN GATHERING THE FACTS THAT IT

,^ CONTAINS AND OF HIS LIISEUAL SUPPORT

â– ^ IN THE RESEARCH THAT .MADE IT POSSIBLE

(^ 75p tfte 3lutJ)or



Tlircc liinidrcd capics of this icor/: liavc been printed,
of xc/iie// this is Xo



PREFACE

'T^HE author of this work is content to let his
book speak for itself and for him. His pur-
pose was to make a Family Book of the Bards that
would be a worthy history of a typical American
family. He only claims for himself an honest pur-
pose and conscientious research.

G. O. 8.



CONTENTS



I'Aur 1

A ClIRONK l.K OK TIIK HaUI» . . 1 1 4iJ

I'AIM II

HvHKs UK "Carroll's Uklu.iii " 1 4:J

l)escx-n(liiiit> of Uichiml liinl 1 .'>!)

DeMvlxlai.ts of William Hani ^(i.'i

I)i~ii-eii(laiits (»f I)ii\iil Hinl Ul'i

I'AKI III

liiK Baru KiNsiiir ... '«)«)

I'otter Fiiiuily ... ^'99

IW I'ainilv :J49

C.Kliraii I'aii.ilv :59+

Mcrarlaiid Famil\ \\s

Parker Fainilv 4:51

Smith Familv . 4.")1

Little Familv 471



THE BARD FAMILY



PART I

A CHRONICLE OF THE BARDS

I

^T^HE American habit of assuming that certain
-*- surnames are of Scotch origin and being trans-
phmted from Scothmd to Irehmd have given to the
Ignited States a distinctive people, generally described
as Scotch-Irish, often leads to results that are mis-
leading. No better example of the confusion conse-
quent upon attempting to restrict to a small kingdom
a family name common to many lands can be foimd
than the surname Bard, Barde, Baird or Beard.
Speaking of the derivation of the name from the
ancient Bards, Cosmo Innes, in his essay concerning
some Scotch names, says: "the historian of an extant
family of the ancient name of Baird, not satisfied with
such a probable connection with the Muses, claims
for them kindred with Boiardo, the Italian poet. But
we had Bairds, or Bards, landed men, much earlier
than suits that poetic origin." The name is found in
Scotland as early as the thirteenth century. Duncan
Bard, Stirlingshire, and Fergus de Bard, John Bard
and Nicholas Bard, I^anarkshire, are named in
"The Ragman's Roll," 129G. The fact that they did
homage to King Edward I, at the time of his "con-

A (1)



2 THE BARD FAMILY

quest" of Scotland, shows that they were men of
consequence.

More than a century l)efore Duncan Bard and
Fergus de Bard swore fealty to Iving Edward at Ber-
wick, Ugone di Bard, of the A'alley of Aosta, in Pied-
mont, made allegiance to Tomaso I. of Savoy, going
for this purpose in 1191 in charge of his tutor, Bona-
facio di Monferrato. Ugone. his father, ranked next
to the N'iscount of Aosta, first lord of the valley. He
was of ancient lineage and rich in lands, vineyards,
villages and castles. Of his life at Castle Bard we
know nothing , except that he had three sons, Ugone
II, Anselmo and (iuglielmo. To the youngest. C4ug-
lielnio, the father bequeathed the Signoria di Bard.
This caused a burst of resentment in Tgone II, who
denied his inheritance to (iuglielmo and relegated the
cadet to the castle of Pont S. Martino. (TUglielmo
rose in arms against his brother and a fraternal war
ensued. The combatants harried the vale of ^\osta,
and even sacked and fired the inheritances of each
other, (iuglielmo bin-nt the castle of Champocher.
Ugone destroyed the village and vineyard of Donnaz.
Besides a son of Guglielmo was made a prisoner by
Ugone. After much sanguinary and destructive war-
fare peace between the l)rotliers was restored, June
19, 1214, through Oltimo, bishop of Ivrea, Ugone
remaining the Lord of Bard and Ciuglielmo accepting
Pont San Martino and iVrnaz.

For a quarter of a century after the restoration of
peace between the brothers Ugone di Bard pursued a
life of brigandage and the Pass Bard was a place of
terror. Finally, being called to order by Ciottofriedo.



A CHUONICLK OF THE HAUDS :)

\'iscouiit of Aosta. the wicked Lord of Bard turned
upon the Viscount with the savage temerity of a mas-
tiff, and in liis reckless scorn of (iottofriedo's author-
ity he refused homage to Count Amedio of Sa\'oy, as
is shown by an agreement between Count Amedio
and the A'iscount of Aosta. According to this docu-
ment Lord (lottofriedo and his brothers promised
faithful advice and assistance to the Lord Amedio
and his men until such time as the Rock Bard should
be taken. Neither peace nor mercy was to be extended
to Signor l/gone di Bard, or to his people, until the
castle had fallen and its defenders been made prisoners.
In his turn, the Count of Sa\'oy promised five hun-
dred "marchi" of silver to (xottofriedo, should he
capture the castle of Bard and make Ugone a pris-
oner. Being thus driven into a corner the I^ord of
Bard sin-rendered to the Coimt of Sa\'oy, but refused
to give himself up as a prisoner, preferring to renounce
all right to home and land rather than to bend his
head as a vassal. His brother ^Vnselmo, having also
incurred the wrath of his sovereign, was likewise
deprived of his badly go\'erned lands. Conquered but
not tamed, the two brothers departed fore\"er from
the ^"alley of Aosta and were never again heard of
there. It is probable that Lgone took with him his
two youngest sons, Rainero and Rossetto, but his two
elder sons, Marco and Aymone, refused to join their
father in his revolt and received from the Count of
Savoy the Signoria of Sarre, and the lands Introd-
Scarriod and of Chatel ^Vrgent. The Count reserved
to himself the Castle Bard.

Both brothers, Marco and >\ymone, took the name



4 Tin; HARD lAMILV

of Sarriod. and were afterwards known as Sarriod d'
Introd and Sarriod de la Tour. In a collection of
papers on the Val' d' Aosta, published by F. Ci.
Frutas in 1891, is a copy of the will of (Juglielnio
Sarriod, si^nore of Chatel Argent. In this will, which
was dated in 127!), he left the whole of the castle,
{totdiii homtiit mcdiii dc Cd.stic ^tr^cntat) to Doinina
Leonardo, his wife, expecting her to live in it with
her three sons. From this it is argued by (iuiseppe
Ciiacosa, the author of " I C'astelli \'aldostani," that
the Castle Argent could not have been originally
what it is said all castles were at that time a tower
with at most two dwelling rooms. IJoasting of se\eral
living rooms, Signor (iiacosa infers that it nmst have
been amplified and enlarged considerably from its
earliest form, which from unmistakable traces dates
back to Roman times. In this connection he points
out that while what remains standing of the Castle of
Pont iMartino belongs to the thirteenth century, there
are about it iimumerable traces showing the original
construction to be of nuich earlier date. There is a
kitchen that is very interesting of the kind, the ceil-
ing of which is arched in a manner to form the
chimney. This ceiling is made cupola shape, with a
hole pierced in the center, so that if a tire was built in
the middle of the hall the smoke woukl escape through
the orifice in the ceiling. The family could thus sit
around the fire without aimoyance from the smoke.
A similar kitchen is found in the Castle of Introd.
built or at least improxed in 1220, by Marco oi-
Marquetus di Hard, to whom the Pont San Martino
also belonged.



A CHRONICLE OF THE BARDS 5

After the Duke of Savoy acquired tlie Castle Bard
ill 1238, lie presented tliis Ilock Bard, according to
the document of V2ii already (quoted, to his brother
Tomasso di Savoya, Count of Flanders and Heinault,
and it then became a State fortress. To make it
worthy of its new character it was surrounded with
bastions and furnished with artillery. In this condi-
tion it remained until the close of the seventeentli
century. In 1704. the Fort was surprised and taken
by the Duke of Fogliato, who descended from Savoy
by the lesser St. Bernard to the help of the Duke of
\andomo. Nearly a century later, in 1800. Buona-
parte, in his descent into the valley, found at Bard
the first real obstacle in the course of a successful
campaign. So strong was the Rock Bard, with its
fine display of buttress and its formidable walls, that it
was defendetl by only four hundred soldiers against
an army. ^Against its rough grandeur Buonaparte's
artillery thundered in vain. The only way to o\ er-
come the brave little garrison was to ascend Mount
Albano, overlooking the fort on the north. In two
days a road was cut, bridges built where needed, and
the precipices protected by bulwarks. I '^p this impro-
vised roadway, so hastily constructed, the infantry
climbed, not without loss, leaving the artillery and
transports behind. Then the attack upon the fort
from this vantage ground began with disastrous effect.
In the meantime Marmont iiad the narrow road to
the fort covered with straw, and with grass tied around
the wheels of the carts, he made a successful dash for
safety during the night through the dangerous bit of
highway dominated by the guns. After fourteen days



6 THE BAUD lA.MILV

of resistance the gallant little garrison was compelled
to surrender, but the defenders were alloMcd to quit
the fort with military honors. By the order of Buona-
parte the fortress was demolished.

The village of Bard is a long borough at the foot
of Rock Bard. The river Doria Baltea Hows on the
south side of the valley across the commime surround-
ing the fortress on the north side. ^V. stone l^ridge
spans the stream at the end of the village, leading to
the conmiunes of Hone. Pont Bozet and Champocher.
At the western end is a fairly fine palace belonging to
Count Federico di Bard.

The ancient Bard family of the \'al d' Aosta is
extinct in the \'alley. In 1744 (Tiacoma Fillippino
Xicola bought the ancient fued of Bard — Fort Bard —
for .S4.5.000, and was invested with the title of count.
The title and estates passed to Fillippo Agostino di
(rian (iuiseppe in 17!>7.



II



^OME say that the Sigiiori di Bard originated
^^ from the very ancient family of I^orraine. Tliis
descent is attributed to the sameness of name and the
resembhmce of the coats of arms of the two famihes.
Nevertlieless the name is not identical, for the I^ords
of Lorraine called themselves Bar. From this name
came Barriod and Bazeros. The place today is called
Bar le Due, a city of France, in the Department de
la Moise. Even were the identity of the name estab-
lished it would not prove much, since a family of
Bard existed and may still exist in A hernia, which it
is positively asserted is in no way coimected with the
Bards of the \'al d' Aosta. On the other hand the
similarity of the coats of arms of the two families is
very important. Described in the rather incompre-
hensible language of heraldry it is thus :

Of blue scattered with crossed stars and shafts of i^old
and oil this two barbs (barbi).

Aubert remarks that this "speaking" coat of arms
(in French this fish is called a bar) is not to be accepted.
It is, nevertheless, authentical and existing both in
Val d' Aosta and in the Duchy di Barrese. The like-
ness in the "speaking" figin-e of the two barbi (fishes),
which might have casually arisen from the likeness in
the name of the two localities, does not materially
alter the fact of the likeness in the two coats of arms,
since the only "speaking" figure they boast of is the



8 THE IJARl) FAMILY

fish, the rest of the coat of arms being similar, especi-
ally the color of the shield. Of "bar" or "barb,"
introduced in heraldy on the sound of the word, we
find many examples, in different arms, as the Bar fleur
of Normandy, whose coat of arms carries on a red
ground a "barbe" on demi-argent surmounted by a
gold fleur-de-lys, and again the Bartet. I sola di Fran-
cia, carries on Azure, three barbi d' argent, placed in
bar.

In the heart of the ancient duchy of Bourgogne
there is a small town, not far from Dijon, c-alled
Montbard. that was the native place of Bufibn. This
town boasts of a castle with a title attached to it. The
coat of arms of the counts of Montbard was:

On azure two l)arl)i (tisli) of i-old.

This is identical, it will be perceived, with that of
the Signori di Bard of the \"al d' ^Vosta, excepting the
scattered stars on the azure groiuid. Practically the
names of the two places, Bard and Montbard, are the
same. The syllable, niont, placed before the real name
means little. In the gently undulating country of
Bourgogne, a mountain would naturally have greater
importance in the estimation of an exile from the \'al
d' Aosta and his descendants than among the declix -
ities on which towered the Rock Bard. It is not dif-
ficult to concei\ e, imder the changed conditions, that
the added syllable to the name and the suppressed fig-
ure that belonged to the coat of arms of the ancient
house are to be traced, both in addition and suppres-
sion, to the hand of ITgone di Bard himself. Nothing
was more likelv than that the fierce Ugone, sensitive



A CHRONR'Li: OF THE BAUDS 9

concerning' his name and wrathful over his lost Sig-
noria V^aldostani, should retain the speaking symbol
upon his coat of arms while suppressing the figure,
when refoimding his family line with a modified name
in another land.

Members of the di Bard family were prone to
change the family name and coat-of-arms, as was
shown by others besides Ugone. ^^''hen Marco and
Aymone di Bard became Sarriod d' Introd and Sar-
riod de la Tom* respectively, the former chose a new
device, as follows :

Oil silver a hlui' hand on wliicli tlirec -oldrn lions
(lecoratud witli hliii'.

The arms of Sarriod de la Tour was naore elaborate :
On silver a blue band on which three golden lions
decorated with blue, and in the left hand corner a red
and black tower.

There is a tradition that in the sixteenth century
one of the members of the house of Montbard was
sent to Aosta to claim titles, and to prove the fact of
their springing from that family. "• This is only a tra-
dition," says Giuseppe Giacosa, "but 1 hold much of
truth is in tradition." He adds:

"Howbeit I wish to make it clear that I speak vaguely
out of curiosity and assert nothing. The question is not
sufficiently important to waste words on, much less time
for researches. The greatest merit the stA-y holds lie.s
in its obscurity, for, should everything once be made
clear, all interest would disappear. If there shall be any
left who take pleasure in heraldy, such a person might
Hnd it interesting to discover if traces of affiliation are



10 THE BARD FAMILV

to be fouiul in the various coats of arms. It would 1k'
enough to find if, among the Counts of Montbard, tlie
names of Ugone, Ansehiio, Rainero and Rosetto (Ros-
situs) rei-ur, whicii would denote fairly positively the
origin of the family from the old house of Bard in tiie
Vai d- Aosta."

It lias also been asserted that the Hard iiaiiie is of
Saxon origin, an assertion that is sustained l)y the
fact that the name has been a common one in (Ger-
many for many generations. MacFirbis (•' Irish Ciene-
alogies,"' p. 41 'if) claims IJarde as Celtic, saying it was
Maghaidh Saxonta (magadh Irish, mocking, jecrino)-
meaning that it was only in jest that it was said to be
of Saxon origin. According to Dr. Ollart ("Irish
IVdigrecs." Fifth edition, ^'ol. I, p. ;U!)), Owen Mac-
an-Hliaird (bhard: Irish, a bar; Ileh. baar, was fam-
ous), of Monycassaii, was descended from Eocha, son
of Sodhan, (Arnis-Ar. two bars, gu. each charged
with as many martlets or). From Owen the surname,
Mac-an-Bhaird, was anglicised Mac Ward, modern-
ized \\'ard. Some of the descendants of Owen ren-
dered the name O'Bairdain, variously anglicised Haird.
Hard. Harde, Harden. Hardin, Harding, Harteii. Harton.
Herdan. Herdon. Purdon, X'erdon and W'ardin.

Whether the Bars of Lorraine were the progenitors
of the Hards of Aosta matters little, as the names of
Bard and Barde and e\ en Baird are found in various
parts of i'iurope from the tenth to the fourteenth
centuries. There was a Seigneur de Barde among the
followers of AN'illiam, the Conqueror, in lOOG. Henry
de Barde was a witness to a charter of lands granted
by King William the Lion in 117S. and Hugo de



A CHRONICLE OF THE BAUDS U

Baird was one of the subscribing witnesses to a safe-
conduct gi-anted by King Ridiard I to King A\^illiani
the I^ion in 1194. It will be observed by the last
statement tiiat there was a Hugo de Baird at the
English Court at \\'inchester three years after T'gone
di Bard made allegiance to the Court of Savoy for his
lands in tlie \'al d' Aosta, liesides tlie Seigneur de
Barde. Henry de Barde and Hugo de Baird. mention
was made of Magistratus de Barde in 1224. Itobert
Baird in 128;}. and Richard Baird in 1228 and 1240.

One is tempted to believe it possible that I gone
di Bard and his brother. Anselmo. emigrated to Scot-
land after turning their l)acks on the \'al d' ^Vosta. and
that Fergus de Bard and the other Bards, whose
names appear on ""The Ragman's Roll," were descend-
ants of these fierce brothers. It may be claimed,
unfortunately for this romantic hypothesis, that the
Chartularies of Kelso and Paisley and Dalrymple's
Collections point to a more prosaic origin for the
Bairds of Auchmedden. The doubt that divides the
romantic from the prosaic is a mere question of dates.
If the year llUl marks the dose instead of the begin-
ning of the turbulent career of I'gone di Bard, there
was ample time for him to find his way to Scotland,
to step between a ferocious boar and tiie king of
Scots, and to visit Ricliard I of England, at Win-
chester with AN'illiam the Lion in the same year that
the Crusader returned to the English throne, freed
from captivity and fresh from the confjuest of the
rebels in Aquitaine. Indeed, it is not impossible that
Ugone di Bard, soldier of fortune that he must have
become, fought \nider the banner of Richard of the



12 THE BARD FAMILY

Lion Heart at Freteval and in overconiiiifir the revolt
of his brother John, the histof tlie Angevine kings of
Enghmd. In either case Ugone di Bard might have
been at the EngHsli Court in 1194. to sign the name
of Hugo de Baird to the safe-conduct granted by
Ricliard of the Lion Heart to WiUiam the Lion.

\N"hether Hugo de Baird came to Scothuid with
King Wilham the Lion, from the Court of Richard L
at ^^"inchester, in 1 1 !U, is a question that has only a
speculative value, but before the close of the thirteenth
century the family was a numerous one on the Scot-
tisli lowlands, from ^^'igton to Stirling, and as far into
the Highlands as Aberdeen and Banff. In Lanark-
shire there was tlie noteworthy stock concerning
which Thomas the Rhymer predicted that there shall
be an eagle in the craig wliile there is a Baird in Auch-
medden. At Banff' were the transplanted Bards from
Languedoc and Savoy. It was apparently to a Baird
that AN^illiani the Lion assigned the boar passant for
his coat of arms, but the Bards were even more acti\e
in the early centuries of Scottish history. \Mien Ber-
wick fell, and Edinbiu-gh, Stirling and Perth opened
their gates to the English king, tlie Bards as well as
the Bruce swore fealty to Edward I. At Baimock-
burn and after, the Bards were hand in hand with
Bruce in the Scottish war for independence. One of
them, Robert Bard, had the misfortune to be captiu'ed
by the English, and he was held a prisoner in Notting-
ham Castle, for his removal from which to the castle
of Summerton an order was issued in January, 1317.
His fate may be surmised from the fact that in July
following, Elizabeth, "late the wife of Robert, son of



A CHRONICLE OF THE BARDS 13

Ralph," was endeavoring to have Ednumd Bard and
John de Gemelyng put in her phice to seek and receive
her dower in Chancery at ^Vindsor, she agreeing not
to marry without the king's Hcense. Robert de Bard,
hke many of the Scotch barons of that time, had
estates in Enghmd — lands in Hertford that were for-
feited, and at Bullerwith, in Yorkshire. Out of the
latter, then held by William Bard, son of Robert, a
tenth of a knight's fee was assigned to the widow in
dower. This ^^^illiam, son of Robert, was probably
the AN'illiam Bard who was routed and taken prisoner
with Sir AVilliam Douglas, in 1333, in a skirmish with
Sir Anthony I^acy on the English border.



Ill



WHAT is more likely than that in Scotland
I ^gone di Bard's sons. Rainero and llossetto,
should beeonie. aeeordiii<^ to later orthography, Rich-
ard and Robert Hard, or liaird? In V^2H. Richard de
Baird must have been a man of wealth and conse-
(juence. for in that year he made a gift to the Abbott
and Monks of Kelso, dated at Sismahagon (a cell in
tliat abbacy), of all the tithes and corn of his lands
south of the ^\von, namely Gret Kyj) and Little Kyj).
(ilengevel, l\)lnepo and Louhere. the subscribing
witnesses including ^^'illiam de Maitland. ancestor of
the Earl of Lauderdale; ^Vrchibald. Lord Douglas;
\Villiam Fleming, ancestor of the Earl of \\'igton,
and Malcolm Lockhart. The grant from Richard
Baird to the monastery of Kelso was confirmed by
King Alexander II, May 2(i, 1240. This grant of
the lands of Little Kyp and Long Kyp afterward
belonged to Saint Bride's chapel, in the parish of
Strathavon. Lanarkshire, and they were known as the
eiiapel lands. After the Reformation these lands
became the property of the Hamilton family. That
Richard Baird remained in the j)arish of Strathavon is
shown l)y the fact that in 1240 he obtained tlie grant
of a cliarter from Robert, son of ^^'alde\lIs de Biggar,
upon the lands of Meikle and Little Kyp. in the
coimty of I^anark. In Xisbet's Heraldry. Fergus de
Bard, whose name appears on "The Ragman's Roll. '
is described as of Meikle and I^ittle Kyp.

(U)



A CHRONICLE OF THE BARUS 15

Jordan IJaird, presumably a son of Fergus de Bard,
was a constant companion of tlie bra\e Sir William
^^'allace in all his warlike exploits, 12!)7 l.'i0.5. From
him. })r()l)ahly, came Sir \\'illiam Haird, of E\andale.
(I)umfrieshire) who accompanied the Earl of Douglas
at the battle of Poictiers, September 19, 13.5(5. In
April, 1708. Sir William Johnston, of Hilton, told
William Baird, the historian of the family, that some
years l)efore he had seen a lineal genealogy from
Jordan liaird to Sir James liaird, of Auchmedden,
who ser\ed in America and who was a great-great
grandson of George Baird, of Auchmedden, County
Aberdeen, Scotland, wiio was living in 1.588. He
was chief of the clan. From him came the Bairds of
Auchmedden and Saughton Hall. The Bairds of
Auchmedden are a family of great antiquity. Among
the traditions relating to the family is one to the effect
that while William the Lion was hunting in one of
the southwestern counties he was alarmed by the
a})proach of a wild boar. The king had strayed away
from his attendants and was alone. He called for
assistance and was answered by a gentleman named
Baird, who had the good fortune to slay the object of
the monarch's alarm. For tliis service King William
conferred large tracts of land upon his deli\erer, and
assigned for his coat of arms a boar passant, with the
motto: Dominus fecit. The arms are to be seen on
an ancient monument of the Bairds of Auchmedden,
in the clun-chyard of Banff. It is probable that the
person thus distinguished was Hugo de Baird, who
was at the English Court with King William the
Lion in 119-t.



16 THE HARD FAMILY

James Baird. son of Cieorge Baird, of Auchnied-
den, head of the chin in 1588. was a coniniissary of
the Ecclesiastical Court of ScotLind in the time of
Cliarles I. His son and heir, Sir John Baird. was a
lord of session under the title of Lord Xewbyth. Lord
Xewbyth's only son, AVilliam Baird, was created a
baronet of No\'a Scotia in 1695-96. Sir ^Villiam's
only son. Sir John Baird, died without issue in 1746.
The title expired with him. He entailed his estates
upon his cousin. William Baird. son of ^Villiam Baird.