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.