History of Perry County - page 333-4
BAKER, DANIEL, the youngest of the four sons of John Baker, was born August 24, 1824, on the "Binckley Farm," next the county line. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Wingard, her first husband being Jacob Binckley, to whom she was married at the age of sixteen. She lived in the city of Washington, on the opposite of the same street occupied by the "father of his country," whose face was, therefore, familiar to her youthful gaze. From the best data at hand, she was born the same date that gave birth to American liberty. This venerable lady departed this life in 1867, over ninety years of age, the survivor of two honored husbands. The date of her arrival and that of her husband, Jacob Binckley, is not at hand, but this much is remembered: they took shelter in a fence corner, covered with bark, until better quarters could be provided; wolves howled around their tent at night; she grated corn for bread, and regarded the breast of the wild turkey a good substitute for the staff of life; which facts would indicate an early date of settlement. From her home in Perry county, she rode on horseback to Washington city, to visit her relatives, an undertaking which, at this day, would not only be received as proof of great physical endurance and heroism, but of strong affection for friends. By her first husband she had three sons and three daughters, and by her second husband, John Baker, she was the mother of four sons and two daughters. Her sons were Jacob, Jonas, Samuel and Daniel Baker; her daughters were Catharine, former wife of William Combs, and Susan, wife of Isaiah Hampson. John Baker, when he became her second husband, was not rich, for his property is described as consisting of one gun which, when on his shoulder, carried the handkerchief which contained his clothing. He had no money, but possessed a brave heart, a strong arm, a good constitution, and an industry and economy which, in twenty-five years after his marriage, and at the date of his death, in his fifty-third year, left over four hundred acres of the best lands, to be divided among six children; this was done wisely, by partition, among the four brothers, two of the brothers making the division, and the other two making choice, while all agreed to pay the cash to their sisters which they and their husbands agreed was right in amount and time of payment. Hundreds of dollars were thus saved to the heirs, which, in almost all other estates, distributed without will, are squandered in costs, charges, fees, plots, and final ill-will and litigation. Daniel, the youngest son, was married to Miss Sarah E. Franks, a native of Pennsylvania and daughter of the late venerable Rezin Franks, of Thorn township, November 20, 1845. Mrs. Baker's mother carried her, when an infant, on horseback, from Pennsylvania to Perry county, in the year 1825. Her grandfather, Peter Waltzer, presented the farm on which Rezin Franks died, to the wife of that worthy gentleman and the mother of Sarah E., his daughter. Peter Waltzer presented each of his other daughters a like quantity of land, and to his only son, Peter, Jr., the home farm in Pennsylvania, which he sold and followed his sisters to Perry county. The children of Daniel Baker are: Susan, wife of R. M. Barr, residing in Somerset; Katharine, wife of Brezilius Arnold, a farmer and stock dealer, near Oblong, Crawford county, Illinois; Rezin F. Baker, a druggist, in Thornville, Ohio; Martha, wife of Robert Edmond Kerr, a dry goods merchant, of West Rushville, Fairfield county, Ohio; D. Wingard Baker, William E. Baker, and J. Hunton Baker, younger sons, at home. The Bakers are of German descent. Daniel is now one of the foremost farmers of his county, and has added to the one hundred and twenty-one acres obtained by partition, and at first incumbered with one thousand dollars due his sisters, one hundred and fifty acres of adjoining lands, and accumulated an estate estimated at twenty-five thousand dollars in value. He as elected County Commissioner twice, and township trustee fifteen consecutive years, filling these stations with honor and ability, at one time assuming a personal responsibility amounting to five thousand dollars, on behalf of his township, and stopping at no obstacle in the way of his public trust as an officer.

Muscatine 1879 Biographical Index
George Baker - Sec 34; came to Muscatine Co. in 1854. Married Miss Alice Rice Nov. 14, 1877; she was born in Muscatine Co., Iowa, Aug. 17, 1855. Mr Baker has been engaged in school-teaching and farming; owns 100 acres of land, on which he has made all the improvements. Members of the M. E. Church. Mr. B is Township Clerk. Democrat.

Muscatine Journal -- January 11, 1911
RETIRED FARMER APOPLEXY VICTIM - GEORGE BAKER, A FORMER TEACHER IN THE COUNTY
He Later Went to Farming, Becoming One of the Best Known Men in Muscatine County
Obituary -- George Baker, one of the best known residents of Muscatine county, died yesterday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock, at his home, 914 Cedar Street. he was in his sixty-third year; and death resulted from paralysis, with which he had been stricken last Friday. Mr Baker was a retired farmer and moved in from the country about a year ago. Funeral services will be conducted at the late home Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock, the Rev. Dr. L.M. Grigsby of the Methodist church, officiating. Interment will be made at Greenwood cemetery, and the Masons will have charge of the services at the grave.

George Baker was born in Perry County, Ohio, March 14, 1848. His father died in 1852, and in 1854 the mother and her two sons, John and George, moved to Iowa, locating in Muscatine County. He began teaching school when about twenty years old, and continued for about ten years in his home community, being one of the most successful teachers of his time. In 1878, he quit teaching to devote his time to farming, locating in Lake Township, of which he was a substantial resident until he moved to Muscatine in November 1909. On November 14, 1877, he was united in marriage to Miss Alice Rice, who, with the three children, the daughter Myrtle, and son Warren, at home, son Roy, residing on the home farm, and one grandchild, survive him. There are also living, one brother, John Baker, residing in the city; one half-sister, Mrs. Charles Will, of this city, four half-brothers, Thomas Fletcher of Cherokee, KS; Benjamin Fletcher, of Creighton, NE; Frank Fletcher of Lake Township, and William Fletcher of Seventy-Six township. Mr. Baker became a member of the High Prairie Methodist Episcopal church in 1876, and affiliated with that church throughout the balance of his life.

History of Perry County - page 333-4
BAKER, SAMUEL, was born 1818, in Reading township, where he still resides. He is a brother of Daniel, just alluded to in the foregoing sketch. Samuel was married December, 1842, to Miss Elizabeth Jane Eyman, daughter of the late Henry Eyman, a prominent citizen of Fairfield county. Their children are -- G. H. Baker, husband of Almeda, daughter of the venerable David Spece, who occupies the Binckley homestead of his grandmother, famous for its fertility and the beauty of its landscape; William J. Baker, husband of Mary, daughter of William Love, of Perry county; Elizabeth Katharine, wife of William Miller; and Jacob A. Baker, single, and at home. Samuel Baker began his married life with the ninety-six acres he chose from his father's patrimony, but also encumbered, like the shares of his brothers, with one thousand dollars due to his sisters, and the maintenance of his mother, who resided with him to the period of her death. That one thousand dollars debt was paid from the sale of corn at twenty cents per bushel, and three-year old cattle, at eight dollars per head, as his brothers had cause to remember. After the death of his brother Jonas, 1851, Samuel began that career of financial success which added four hundred and twenty acres to his ninety-six acre homestead, and raised his taxes from eight dollars to two hundred and forty a year, and superadded a road tax of twenty dollars per annum in a district free from town, city, or corporation taxes. He is an unbending Democrat in politics, liberal, and like his brother Daniel, unsectarian in his religious views. No family of brothers ever divided an estate more peaceably among themselves, and lived on terms more agreeable the balance of their lives.

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