posted by Sandy on Stories Within Stories

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The story of  little Raymond Baird, aka Little Sousa is very interesting.  In his reminiscences, Everest Raymond Watrous recalled when his mother, Mary Maria Jenkins Watrous worked for Little Sousa.  That statement prompted us to research Little Sousa.  Raymond Baird is listed in the census of Salt Lake City, living with his mother and a younger brother.  Around the age of six, this musical prodigy was invited to lead bands at the once thriving Saltair resort on the shores of  The Great Salt Lake.  Not only was he a band leader, he was a musician who played the saxaphone.   He, his mother and brother are later found in the census of Los Angeles, California.  There are many magazines such as this one which chronicled the life and talents of Raymond Baird.

Our ancestor Mary Maria Jenkins Watrous was a booking agent for him.  Her son seemed to think that his mother traveled around the country with him but we cannot document that fact.  Mary went to California where she lived with her son Mervin during the same time that Little Sousa and his family lived nearby.  Perhaps Mary knew his mother while still in Utah or perhaps they met while in  California.

When Raymond Baird grew to adulthood, he continued with his musical interests.  He is listed as a musician in many Hollywood movies of the 1930s.  As we tried to find records of his travels, hoping that we would find a reference to direct ancestor Mary Watrous, we found his son.  His son had not seen any photographs of his father when Raymond was a child.  It was satisfying to share this photograph with him.  By the way, this magazine belonged to a man who had listed it for sale on ebay.  When I contacted him and told him why I was interested in documenting if Little Sousa was indeed a real person, he copied this photograph and the contents of the article and mailed them to me without accepting any payment.  Raymond Stuart Baird died in a New York City hotel room and is buried there.  Today, his son works today in the carnival business.  He tells us that he knew his father was a musician as an adult but knew nothing about his fame as a young child.  When he looked at the photograph, he was astounded.  He sent along by email, a photograph of his own son named Sam.  Sam and his grandfather are most certainly kindred.

Tags: california, Little Sousa, new york, utah, Watrous