Baker, Capt. John

Summary of John BAKER Capt. - 16 May 2010
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Name: John BAKER Capt.
Sex: Male

Individual Facts
Birth bet 1735-1740 Prussia
Death 1787 (age 52) Grave Creek, Marshall Co., VA
Burial 1787 (age 52) Cresap, Marshall Co., VA, Graveyard Run

Marriages/Children
1. Elizabeth Ann SULLIVAN
Marriage bet 1760 and 1765 (age 25) Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., PA
Children
... Margaret BAKER (abt 1761 - aft 1830)
... Catherine BAKER (abt 1761 - bet 1826 and 1831)
... Henry BAKER (1763 - 1848/49)
... George BAKER Jr. (bet 1763 and 1771 - abt 1845)
... John BAKER II (1765 - 22 May 1794)
... Elizabeth BAKER (bet 1766 and 1768 - )
... Joseph BAKER (bet 1773 and 1775 - bet 1855 and 1859)
... Jacob Martin BAKER Sr. (abt 1775 - 1861)
... Mary BAKER (bet 1765 and 1778 - )
... Martin D. BAKER (10 Oct 1780 - abt 27 Apr 1857)
... Isaac BAKER (13 Jan 1782 - abt 1865)

Notes (Individual)
General:
Captain John Baker

FATHER: According to Gail V. (Cecil) Yoho his father was Nicholas Baker. Other researchers list, George Perilous Baker. Can anyone prove it?

MILITARY: According to Denver Yoho he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

DEATH: He was killed by Indians in 1787.


John Baker

Various histories of the Upper Ohio Valley have accounts of Captain John Baker. These accounts agree in substance, but differ in some minor details. He was killed by Indians in 1787, and his son, John Baker, Jr., was killed by Indians at the same location in 1794.

"History of Marshall County, West Virginia" by Scott Powell, gives this account: "Captain John Baker was born in Prussia and came to America about 1760. He arrived at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and five years latter married Elizabeth Sullivan of that city, and from there the young couple moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia where they lived two years and from there they removed to the waters of Dunkard Creek, now in Greene County, Pennsyvlannia, in the year 1767 and remained there seven years. At the time they lived on that creek there were a number of Indians residing on it and they and the whites were very friendly. At the breaking out of Dunmore's War he removed his family to Redstone Old Fort, now Brownsville. The American Revolution breaking out soon after the close of Dunmore's War, Indian hostilities soon followed the breaking out of the war. He remained at the fort a number of years, and was in the service of that Colony of Virginia much of the time during that war, but there is little record of him.

He went from Redstone to Catfish Camp in 1781, where he remained a short time and then removed to Round Bottom and in 1784 Captain Baker built a blockhouse near the upper end of Cresap's Bottom. This place was generally known by the name of Baker's Station. (Near what is now Moundsville, West Virginia.)

While two of the Wetzel men were at Baker's Station in 1787, they and Captain Baker noticed some Indians on the opposite shore of the Ohio River walking about leisurely. Baker getting an opportunity shot at one of them and killed him. The others ran away as if badly frightened, leaving the dead Indian where he fell. They did it evidently to deceive the whites, as it was proved later by their actions. Baker and the two Wetzels crossed over the river and were viewing the dead Indian when several shots were fired and Baker fell mortally wounded. The Wetzels treed and commenced to fight and some other men crossed the river and reinforced them and drove the Indians off and recovered the body of Baker. He had crawled a short distance from where he fell and was alive when recovered but died soon after arriving at the station. He was buried on a flat near a stream called Grave Yard Run at the upper end of Cresap's Bottom." (Furnished by Hugh L. Yoho)


Historical Highway Marker

The roadside marker for Captain John Baker reads: BAKER'S STATION; Site of blockhouse built by; Captain John Baker in 1784.; Rendezvous of scouts along Indian war path from Muskingum; Valley into Virginia. Near by are; buried Captain Baker, John; Wetzel, and others killed by; Indians in 1787. [Note: Semi-colons separate each line of text from the plaque. I believe this sign is located in Marshall Co., WV about one mile below the mouth of Captina Creek which flows into the Ohio River, near the boundary between Belmont and Monroe counties, Ohio. REH]


Baker family

John Baker came to this country in 1740 from Prussia. He landed in Philadelphia, and in 1760 married a lady by the name of Elizabeth Sullivan. He later moved westward to a spot below Wheeling, W.Va. on the Ohio River, where he founded Baker's Fort. This is now in Marshall Co. W.Va., about one mile below the mouth of Captina Creek, which flows into the Ohio river near the boundary between Belmont and Monroe counties. During the Revolution, he served in Va. militia units at Redstone Old Fort (now in Pa.) under Col. Silas Hedges. This service has been accepted by the DAR.

After the close of the Revolution, the Indians continued to attack the frontier settlements in a last ditch effort to keep the white men from encroaching on their hunting grounds and in 1787, Capt. John Baker was defending his fort in company with the Wetzels, when he met his death.

The Indians appeared on the opposite bank of the Ohio River, evidently seeking an opportunity to kill the whites who had taken refuge in the fort. Baker fired and killed an Indian, and the other Indians, pretending they were frightened, scattered and ran in different directions, leaving their dead brother on the ground. Baker, seeing that his shot had proved fatal, and being somewhat daring, suggested to the Wetzels that they cross the river and examine the dead Indian. When they reached the other side, the Indians resumed the attack, resulting in the death of John Baker. The Wetzels recovered the body, and carried it back across the river for burial at the fort.

Capt. John Baker and his wife, Elizabeth Sullivan were the parents of the following children: John, Jr. killed by Indians in 1794; Henry Baker, who was captured by the Indians in 1781 and later married Elizabeth Parr in 1785, and then Nancy Swaney in Belmont Co., Apr. 24, 1825; Joseph Baker who married Mary Finley Oct. 18, 1797; Martin Baker born in 1773; Jacob Baker born in 1775 and died in Monroe Co., in 1861; Isaac Baker, born 1782, died 1886 in Taswell Co., Ohio, Margaret who married Peter Yoho; Mary who married Christian Gatts, and Bessey.

John Jr. was killed at the Battle of Captina in May, 1794, and an account of this is given in Hardesty's History on page 205. Capt. Abram Enochs was also killed in this engagement.

The deed records show that Martin Baker's wife was Sarah, and Hardesty's History states that he died in Monroe Co. in 1857. Isaac Baker married Ruth Brock, and he died in 1865 and she in 1844. Their son, John Nelson Baker was born in Monroe Co. Mar. 8, 1823 -- see Hardesty's History -- biographical accounts, page 9.
(Source: Family Research in Monroe County, Catharine Fedorchak, 8 Feb 1968)

RESEARCHER: Mr. Earl Carson; 1718 Broadway; Flint, MI 48506, about 1968.

BIOGRAPHY: Captain John Baker
John Baker came to America arriving at Philadelphia aboard the ship "Neptune" from Germany in 1751 or 1754. (James Jefferson Miller stated that Capt. John Baker's father was George Perilous Baker and that John's brother Jacob came to America with him.) (1)

According to the family Bible of Benjamin Baker, John Baker's siblings were Henry (1731-1808 VA) married Maria Elizabeth Fink, Jacob, George married Elizabeth Strenger, Peter, Hannah and Betty. (2)

About 1760, John Baker married, in Philadelphia, Elizabeth Sullivan. Following their marriage the couple located in the Shendandoah Valley of Virginia for about two years and by 1767 found their way to what is now Greene County, Pennsylvania, at the confluence of the Dunkard Creek and the Monongahala River where they lived until about 1774. At the time that they lived on that creek, there were a number of Indians residing on it and they and the whites were very friendly.

When Dunsmore's War broke out, they moved to Redstone Old Fort, now Brownsville, PA. The family stayed there a number of years, and John was in the service of the Colony of Virginia much of the time during the Revolutionary War but there is little record of him.

About 1780 he migrated, with his family, to Catfish Camp where they remained before going to Round Bottom in western Virginia where he built Baker's Station in 1784 near the upper end of Cresap's Bottom in present day Marshall County, WV. This is located near what is now Moundsville, West Virginia. It served as a rendezvous for scouts along the Indian War Path from the Muskingham Valley to Virginia.

While two sons of John Wetzel (perhaps Lewis, the more daring) were at Baker's Station in 1787, they and Captain Baker noticed some Indians on the opposite shore of the Ohio River walking about leisurely. Baker got an opportunity to shoot one of them and killed him. The others ran away as if badly frightened, leaving the dead Indian where he fell. They apparently did it to deceive the whites as it was proven later by their actions.

Baker and the Wetzels crossed over the river and were viewing the dead Indian when several shots were fired and Baker fell mortally wounded. The Wetzels commenced to fight and some other men crossed the river and reinforced them driving off the Indians allowing the recovery of Baker's body. He had crawled a short distance from where he fell and was alive when recovered but died soon after arriving at the station. He was buried on a flat near a stream called Grave Yard Run at the upper end of Cresap's Botton. (3) In the account of the death of John Baker in "The History of the Panhandle" (4) the following is stated: "He had crawled partially under a log, lying insensible, with both eyes gored out.....attending his funeral were Henry Baker, the old Indian warrior, and family; George Baker, Leonard Reager and two brothers, Aaron Hughes and Capt. Roberts." Martin Wetzel died in the fall of 1812 and before his death, he requested that his remains be laid along the side of John Baker's which request was granted.

An historical marker was erected at the site of Baker's Station in WV and shows John Baker's death as 1787. The marker reads, "Site of blockhouse built by Captain John Baker in 1784. Rendezvous of scouts along Indian war path from Muskingum Valley into Virginia. Near by are buried Captain Baker, John Wetzel, and others killed by Indians in 1787."

Early in the 1800s Elizabeth, his widow, is said to have gone with five of her sons (according to Al Young) across the Ohio River to Washington Township in Belmont County, Ohio. About 1813, she and three of the sons located in Center Township, where from 1813 to 1833, Martin acquired land in sections 27, 28, 33, and 34; Isaac in sections 33 and 34. Henry lived close by in Range 6, Township 6, Section 1 and Range 5, Township 5, Section 20 in 1811 and 1813 respectively.

Center Township was wilderness when it was platted in 1812. John Windland, who operated a saw mill, and Jacob Windland, who owned the grist mill, decided to get a keg of French brandy and invited all the men within a five mile radius to meet on a Saturday and clear the land.

Elizabeth's burial place, Steed Hill Cemetery, is located at the site of the old Baker farm, located about five miles south of Woodsfield on Route 26 and 800 (now owned by Charles Bott, Marietta, Ohio). Martin Baker and his second wife are buried next to her. In the 1820 census, one male and two females, all under 16, were in her household. She was not naturalized.

References:
(1) Information from Virginia E. Weaver, 1275 Augumn Hills, Reno, NV 89511, who is the grand-daughter of Miller, a descendant of Henry Baker family.

(2) Information in the Bible was in the handwriting of Cynthia Baker Simmons, great-great grandmother of Marlie Johnson and daughter of Benjamin Baker. Benjamin was the son of Martin Baker and grandson of Capt. John Baker.

(3) History of Marshall County, West Virginia by Scott Powell

(4) History of the Pan-Handle, West Virginia, J. H. Newton, Nichols and Sprankle
(Furnished by Anne Rast)

REFERENCE: "Baker Family - also Yoho and Gatts of Baker's Station, Marshall county, (W)VA," information from Clarice Stanley and Denver Yoho, was published in 1997 and donated to the Ohio County Public Library at Wheeling, WV.