"52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks"

Ancestor #3

Daniel Webster Baldwin (1877 – 1961)

Daniel Webster Baldwin was born in Mountain Township, Dundas County, Ontario in an area now called “Inkerman” on December 7, 1877ⁱ and died in Langdon, Cavalier, North Dakota on August 26, 1961ⁱⁱ. He married Helena Gertrude Wynne in St. Thomas, Pembina, North Dakota on February 27, 1900ⁱⁱⁱ. Helena, known as “Lena” was born on November 7, 1878 in Admaston, Renfrew County, Ontario^iv and died in Park River, Walsh, North Dakota on December 11, 1952^v.

Daniel moved to St. Thomas with his family in March 1889 when he was 11. But he retained fond memories of his birth place. He stated in a letter to his son Robert in 1957, “Grandad B. got a land grant from the British crown for some thing like two hundred acres of heavily timbered land. When we left for Dakota, that was quite some over a hundred years of toil and labor on that farm by the B (Baldwins), and the land still had quite a few big oaks still standing fifty feet or more high, twenty four inches or more in diameter.”^vi

In the 1900 census, Daniel and Lena were living on a farm in Midland Township, Pembina, North Dakota^vii on property owned by his father. Midland Township abuts St. Thomas Township on its eastern border. Daniel who preferred to be called “DW” farmed for a few years but by 1906 he and his family which now includes three children are living in Humboldt, Saskatchewan^viii where Daniel is an agent for the Canadian Pacific Railroad. His job is to encourage settlement of the Canadian plains (and ensure customers for the railroad) by selling railroad land to settlers and speculators.

This job did not last very long because by 1908 his fourth child, my father, William Howard, was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota. DW was a salesman for International Harvester^ix. In late 1910 the fifth child, Helena named after her mother, was born to this couple. In 1914 tragedy struck. Helena injured her foot and contracted blood poisoning. She died on January 14, 1914. My father who was 5 years old at the time remembered his mother crying.

The family moved to Langdon before April 1918 when daughter Ruth was born. This baby was a difficult delivery for Lena and suffered severe brain damage before birth. This was another hardship the family had to learn to deal with. In the 1920 census, the family was enumerated in Langdon^x where DW was managing the local feed, grain and farm equipment store.

But DW wanted to farm again so the family moved out of Langdon to a rented farm in Olga Township. Here their youngest child, Robert, was born. In the 1925 North Dakota State census and the 1930 US census^xi they are enumerated in Olga, Cavalier County. By 1935 they had purchased a farm in Elgin Township, Cavalier County about 2 miles outside of Langdon^xii. They spent the rest of their lives together on this farm. Lena, DW and their children, Edward, Ruth and Robert, are buried in the Lebanon Cemetery in Langdon.

Children of Daniel Webster and Helena Gertrude (Wynne) Baldwin:

1. Florence Ellen Baldwin, b. 25 May 1901 in St. Thomas, d. 18 March 1947 in Powell, Park, Wyoming, m. 22 Dec 1928 in Billings, Yellowstone, Montana to Stanley Gordon Kreps, b. 13 July 1906 in Monroe, Michigan and d. 12 October 1976 in Yellowstone, Montana.
2. Edward Daniel Baldwin, b. 28 May 1902 in St. Thomas, d. 13 December 1969 in Langdon, unmarried.
3. Lelah Isabelle Baldwin, b. 24 May 1904 in St. Thomas, d. 3 January 1994 in Houston, Texas, m. 10 March 1928 Elmer Theodore Hobbs, b. 15 December 1906 in Forest River, Walsh, North Dakota and d. 22 January 1982 in Palm Springs, Riverside, California.
4. William Howard Baldwin, b. 29 November 1908 in Grand Forks, d. 20 January 1980 in Largo, Pinellas, Florida, m. 21 September 1941 in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas Madeline Van De Veire, b. 29 January 1918 in Paterson, Passaic, New Jersey, d. 26 May 2012 in Largo.
5. Helena Gertrude Baldwin, b. 25 November 1910 in Grand Forks, d. there 14 January 1914 and is buried in St. Thomas City Cemetery.
6. Ruth Marjorie Baldwin, b. 19 April 1918 in Langdon, d.15 November 1996 in Cando, Towner, North Dakota unmarried.
7. Robert Wynne Baldwin, b. 29 July 1920 in Cavalier County, d. 30 July 2010 in Park River, unmarried.

i“Ontario Canada Births, 1869-1913”, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 Apr 2016), Daniel Webster Baldwin, citing Archives of Ontario, Series MS929, reel: 30.

iiNorth Dakota State Department of Health, Bismarck, ND, death certificate #3095 (1961), Daniel Webster Baldwin.

iiiPembina County, North Dakota marriage license #188 issued 23 Feb 1900; Daniel Webster Baldwin and Helena Gertrude Wynne, marriage date 27 Feb 1900 by S. H. Dewart, M. E. Clergy

ivOntario Births, Reel: 40

vNorth Dakota death certificate #4223 (1952) Helena Gertrude Baldwin

viLetter dated 6 Mar 1957 from D.W.B. To Robert Baldwin. Copy in possession of author.

vii1900 U.S. Census, Pembina County, North Dakota, population schedule, Midland, Enumeration District (E.D.) 116, sheet 4B, page 95 (written), dwelling 61, family 62, Daniel Baldwin; digital image, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 Dec 2014); citing National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) microfilm T623, roll 1230.

viii 1906 census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, schedule 1, population and live stock, district Humboldt, sub-district 24, page 3, family 14, Daniel Baldwin; digital image, Ancestry.com(http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 Apr 2016), citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm, roll T-18359.

ix1910 U.S. census, Grand Forks County, North Dakota, population schedule, Grand Forks Ward 6, Enumeration District (E.D.) 102, Sheet 6-A, p. 250 (printed), dwelling 371, family 383, Daniel Baldwin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry,com: accessed 16 Jan 2015), citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 1124.

x1920  U.S. census, Cavalier County, North Dakota, population schedule, Langdon, Enumeration District (E.D.) 38, Sheet 5 B, page 133 (printed), dwelling 95, family 98, Daniel W. Baldwin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 Sep 2014), citing National Archives and Record Administration microfilm T625, roll 1333.

xi1930 US Census, Cavalier, North Dakota, population schedule, Olga, Enumeration District (E.D.) 37, Sheet 2A, p. 133 (stamped), dwelling 25, family 25, Daniel W. Baldwin; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 14 Nov 2015), citing National Archives and Record Administration microfilm T626, roll 1734.

xii1940 US census, Cavalier, North Dakota, Elgin, Enumeration District (E.D.) 10-12, Sheet 3B, House visited: 48, D W Baldwin. digital image, Ancestry.com (ttp://www.ancestry.com: accessed 12 Nov 2015), citing National Archives and Record Administration, T627, roll 2998.