Earl Carson - Baker Researcher

Yesterday I created a 26-page ancestor report in PDF format for deceased Baker researcher, Earl Carson and his wife. They had no issue. The report shows where I think Mr. Carson fits into the Baker family tree. Researcher Valerie Kramer reported that he worked on genealogy for 40 years and never published anything. Pity!

The report starts with a non-existent person called, Place Holder. I used this technique in order to include the wife of Mr. Carson in the report. If she had an ancestral line in my file they would thusly be included. After the report is created I "unlink" Place Holder from the parents, but leave the record in my genealogy file waiting for the next time I need it.

The report was uploaded to my "secret" Henthorn Genealogy area on Facebook where it is available for viewing and download to members of the group. If you aren't a member, and want to be included, contact me to apply for membership.

Dick Henthorn

3 November 2015

Baker, Martin D.

Martin D. Baker

PARENTS: Capt. John Baker and Elizabeth Ann Sullivan

BIRTH: 10 Oct 1780 Catfish Camp, Washington Co., PA
DEATH: Abt. 27 Apr 1857, Center Twp., Monroe Co., OH
BURIAL: Apr 1857, Woodsfield, Monroe Co., OH, Steed Cemetery

BIRTH-CONFLICT:  Mrs. Fedorchak has Martin Baker born in 1773.  Calculated birth date is 10 Oct 1780.

BIRTH-DEATH: Clarice Stanley and Denver Yoho list, b. 1781 at Fish Camp, Washington, PA; d. 17 Apr 1857. m. to Sarah Winland and 2nd to Sarah Farnsworth.

RESIDENCES: Washington Twp., Belmont Co., OH about 1804; Center Twp., Monroe Co., OH.

MARRIAGE: Married twice, first to Sarah Winland and second to Sarah J. Farnsworth. There was issue of both marriages.  Catherine Fedorchak claimed in her Steed Cemetery Survey that there is a record of the second marriage in Belmont Co., OH.  She didn't list a date.

BIRTH-CHILDREN: Martin Baker married Sarah Farnsworth and that record can be found in Belmont Co., [OH] - they married Feb. 16, 1812.  A descendant of the family told me that some of the older girls were children of a previous marriage, but he did not know the name of their mother, and to date, I have not uncovered that fact either.  However, the tombstone for Margaret Baker Winland - shows that she was born circa Sept. 17, 1809, so Martin's first wife must have died after that date.  He said that from the 2nd marriage, Martin had 7 boys and 1 girl; Isaac b. 1814; Vincent b. 1816; Martin b. 1818; Henry b. 1822; Mary (Barrackman) b. 1825; Jackson b. 1828; John Farnsworth b. 1832 and David b. 1835.  Both John F. and David were in the Civil War.  The John F. Baker family went to Michigan about 1872. [Fedorchak column, 19 Sep 1994]
(Source: "Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio," by Catharine Foreaker Fedorchak, Vol. X, p. 240)

LAND: 3 Sep 1813
In Monroe County Martin Baker purchased the North West quarter of Section Twenty-seven in Township four, Range Five on September 3, 1813. On September 16, 1815 Martin purchased an adjacent 109 acres in Section 33, Township 4, Range 5.

CHILDREN-COMMENT: It appears that Martin D. Baker had a child named, Mary Baker, with each of his two wives.

Census:  1850, in Monroe Co., OH, Wayne Twp., 68/68, 24 sep 1850
    Martin Baker, 70, m. farmer, $4000, VA; Sarah, 59, f. VA
    Sarah, 11, f. OH; John, 18, m. farmer, OH; David, 16, m. farmer, OH

CEMETERY: Steed Cemetery: Martin Baker, died April 27, 1857, aged 76 years, 6 months, 17 days.  [Birth date calculated, Abt. 10 Oct 1780. REH]
(Source: Catherine Fedorchak, Steed Cemetery Survey, p. 99, unknown publication)

CEMETERY: Martin Baker is buried in Steed Cemtery, died April 27, 1857, aged 76 years, 6 months, 17 days.  His wife Sara is beside him.
[Note:  Calculated birth date, 10 Oct 1780.  REH]
(Source:  Catherine Fedorchak Steed Cemetery survey, unknown volume, page 99 - furnished by Ray Alfred Stewart)

LEGAL_MATTER: Suit over the Estate - Court of Common Pleas - Record Book 13, page 182 - 1858
Suit brought by James Martin and Catharina, his wife; James Winland and Margaret, his wife; Vincent Baker, plaintiffs vs: Benjamin Baker of the State of Iowa; Joseph Baker of Monroe Co; Elias Ward and Ann, his wife; residence unknown; Wm. Dearth and Mary, his wife of Monroe Co; Martin Baker, Jackson Baker, Isaac Baker, Henry Baker, and John Baker, all of Monroe Co.; Samuel Barrackman and Mary, his wife of the State of Wisconsin; David Baker of Monroe Co. and Sarah Baker, widow, of Monroe Co., all heirs at law of Martin Baker, deceased, who died the 27th of April, 1857.

The plaintiffs charge in this suit that the last will and testament of Martin Baker should be declared invalid, as the said Martin was of unsound mind due to old age and infirmity at the time he made it.

The last will of said Martin Baker was entered for probate in the court of Monroe Co. (Fedorcak note, It would no longer be available in those records, due to the courthouse fires.) and read as follows:

I, Martin Baker, of Center Township declare this to be my last will and testament, and that
    1.  my lawful debts be paid;
    2.  my wife, Sarah, and son, David Baker to have the home place where I now live during her lifetime, then David to have it after her death, which
comprises about 133 acres in the home place, including the land across the creek from the house.
    3.  Henry Baker to have 33, acres where he now lives
    4.  John Baker to have about 70 acres where he now lives on the east side of the home farm.
    5.  Isaac Baker to have the land where he now lives containing about 54 acres.
Said Isaac is to pay my five daughters, viz Catharine Martin, Mary Dearth, Margaret Winland, Anna Ward, and Mary Barrackman $25 each within one
year after my decease.
    6.  Jackson Baker is to have the place where he now lives containing about 70 acres at the north end of the 28th section.
    7.  I want Joseph Baker to have 30 acres.
    8.  I will and bequeath to Martin Baker, Jr. about 40 acres south of the tract donated to my son John, and he is to pay my son Benjamin Baker $100
within one year from my decease.  He is to pay the doctor's bills.
    9.  I will to my wife all my personal property and money on hand after defraying funeral expenses.
                                              /s/Martin Baker
Martin Baker, Jr. executor
James Smith and West. Sinclair - witnesses
Probated Aug. 15, 1857
[Note: Fedorchak comment.  The plaintiffs charge in this suit that the last will and testament of Martin Baker should be declared invalid, as the said
Martin was of unsound mind due to old age and infirmity at the time he made it.]
(Source: Court of Common Pleas - Record Book 13, page 182, 1858 - first found in Fedorchak, unknown volume, page 96 - furnished by Ray Alfred Stewart)
(Source: "Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio," by Catharine Foreaker Fedorchak, Vol. X, p. 248-249)

[Note:  It is interesting that son, Vincent, is not mentioned in the will.  A son, Benjamin, is mentioned but researchers have not listed him as a son. QUESTION: Could Vincent and Benjamin have been the same person?  Also a son, William is not mentioned in the will. REH]

EMIGRATION: Some of the Martin Baker children moved to Tyler Co., WV in 1871.
QUESTION: Who knows who they were?

RESEARCHER: Mr. Earl Carson, 718 Broadway, Flint, MI 48506, a descendant of this family, told Catherine Fedorchak that some of the older girls were children of a previous marriage, but he did not know the name of their mother, at at the time she was writing she had not uncovered that fact either.  However the tombstone of Margaret Baker Winland shows that she was born circa Sept. 17, 1809, so Martin's first wife must have died after that date.  Mr. Carson said that from the 2nd marriage, Martin had: 7 boys and 1 girl: Isaac - b. 1814; Vincent - b. 1816; Martin - b. 1818; Henry - b. 1822; Mary (Barrackman) - b. 1825; Jackson - b. 1828; John Farnsworth - b. 1832; and David - b. 1835.  Both John F. and David were in the Civil War.  The John F. Baker family went to Michigan about 1872.
(Source:  Catherine Fedorchak, unknown volume, page 97 - furnished by Ray Alfred Stewart)

Earl William Carson and Dorothy May Huff

Last week I was contacted by researchers, Art and Miriam Belding about their interest in the Baker family of the Ohio River Valley. They are working on the Baker branches that moved to Charlevoix Co., Michigan. These were the branches of interest to researcher, Earl William Carson, who many years ago wrote to Mrs. Fedorchak about his genealogy quest. Mrs. Fedorchak published at least one article in The Spirit of Democracy, published in Woodsfield, Monroe Co., OH, about their correspondence. As far as I can recall she never listed Earl's middle name and where he fit into the Baker tree or the name of his wife, Dorothy May Huff. I don't think she mentioned that both Earl and Dorothy had Baker ancestors.

Now, thanks to Art and Miriam, I was able to include Earl and Dorothy into my genealogy files for the first time. I'm pleased to learn that Art and Miriam have copies of many pages of Earl Carson's notes. It's a great thing for Baker family research to learn that Earl's notes aren't lost and to know that Art and Miriam are working on extracting the data and putting it into their Personal Ancestral File (PAF).

This morning, for the first time, I was able to prepare an Ahnentafel Chart that shows the Baker lines of both Earl and Dorothy.

When a contact like this happens it's always so much fun because you never know when, or if, a mystery will be solved. For me one of the most frustrating aspects of doing genealogy has always been that often we can't tell where a researcher fits and often no one knows what happened to their notes or whether they ever published anything and left it where those who come after can find it.

Dick Henthorn
1 Jun 2010

Baker, Isaac

Summary of Isaac BAKER - 16 May 2010
------------------------------------

Name: Isaac BAKER
Sex: Male
Father: John BAKER Capt. (bet 1735 and 1740 - 1787)
Mother: Elizabeth Ann SULLIVAN (14 Feb 1744 - 22 May 1836)

Individual Facts
Birth 13 Jan 1782 Fort Henry, Ohio Co., VA
Death abt 1865 (age 83) Boynton Twp., Tazewell Co., IL

Marriages/Children
1. Ruth BROCK
Marriage 6 May 1802 (age 20) Belmont Co., OH
Children
... George Washington BAKER (1801/2 - 1880)
... Jacob BAKER (1804 - )
... John A. BAKER (12 Apr 1806 - 18 Mar 1887)
... Isaac BAKER Jr. (1811 - )
... Sarah BAKER (20 Nov 1817 - Jul 1860)
... Lavina BAKER (1821 - 26 May 1861)
... John Nelson BAKER (8 Mar 1823 - 1 May 1907)
... Martin BAKER ( - )

Notes (Individual)
General:
Isaac Baker

PARENTS: Capt. John Baker and Elizabeth Ann Sullivan

BIRTH: Birth place listed as, Wheeling Creek on a family group sheet of Denver Yoho and Clarice Stanley.

MARRIAGE: From "Ohio Marriages Recorded in County Courts Through 1820: an Index" pg 41, Baker, Isaac m. Perkins, Ruth May 06, 1802 BELM DBA 069 (Furnished by Valerie Kramer)

QUESTION-CHILDREN: Did Isaac Baker and Ruth Brock really have two children, who reached adulthood, who had the same first name: John A. Baker and John Nelson Baker? If so, this is very unusual. Who can prove that both of these men were the sons of this couple? REH

RESIDENCES: Isaac Baker moved to Tazewell, IL, with his son, Isaac, after the death of Ruth (Brock) Baker. (Furnished by Anne Rast)

DEATH-CONFLICT: Was the date of death, 1886 in Taswell Co., OH or 1865 at Tazewell Co., IL (per DAR records)? Dick Henthorn and Valerie Kramer agree that they can't find a Taswell Co., OH. Can anyone cite a primary source that proves the death, 1865 in Boynton Twp., Tazewell Co., IL?


REFERENCE: From "Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio Vol I" pgs 398-399, "(6) Isaac Baker was born Feb. 1782 and died in 1865. N.S. DAR paper No. 319705 is for descent from Capt. John Baker through this son. That paper gives Isaac's birth as 1782 and death as 1865. It also states his wife was Ruth Brooke.

Hardesty's Historical Hand Atlas of Monroe Co., published in 1882, gives her name as Brock. I believe Brock is more likely, as Brocks also lived in Monroe Co. However, some of the Belmont Co. histories give her name as Ruth Perkins.

Page 9 of Hardesty's Historical Hand Atlas, Monroe Co. states, "John Nelson Baker, born this county (Monroe) March 8, 1823, son of Isaac Baker who died in 1865 and Ruth Brock, who died in 1844."

The lady who submitted the DAR paper was descended from Isaac and Ruth Baker through another son, George Washington Baker (1802-1880) and Nancy Floyd (1803-1859) who were married in 1821. This paper also refers to an earlier one for proof of service for Capt. John Baker, No. 317289, however I do not have a copy of that paper.

Paper #319705 also indicates that Elizabeth Sullivan and Capt. Baker were married at Philadelphia, Pa. in 1765.

Mr. Earl Carson of Boyne City, Michigan, also interested in this family, has stated that he believes Capt. John was married once prior to his marriage to Elizabeth Sullivan. Therefore if he and this DAR paper are correct and that marriage was in 1765, then Henry Baker (#1 in this column) born 1762/63 could not have been the son of Elizabeth Sullivan." (Furnished by Valerie Kramer)


RESEARCHER: Earl Carson of Boyne City, Michigan It is clear from the newspaper columns of Mrs. Catherine Fedorchak that Earl Carson was working on the genealogy of the Baker family.

Richard Henthorn asked Valerie Kramer if she knew where Mr. Carson fit into the Baker family tree and if he ever published the results of his research. Her reply follows.

"No, Earl Carson never published and it's a sad story.

I don't know exactly where he fits in myself. He lived in Michigan so is presumably a descendent of either John Carson and Sarah Conarissen Baker (dau. of John Farnsworth Baker, son of Martin D. Baker, son of Captain John Baker) or Samuel Carson and Laura Etta Baker (another daughter of John Farnsworth Baker). I don't know if John and Samuel Carson were related but it wouldn't surprise me. I guess this is an area I should pursue in more detail.

In any event, Earl Carson corresponded on a number of occasions with Mrs. Fedorchak as shown by his letters reproduced in the Fedorchak publications produced by the Monroe County Genealogy Society. Clearly he was working on Baker genealogy.

When I went to Michigan I visited with Myrtle Carson (nee Baker, dau of James Baker and Luella Kightlinger, son of Jacob N. Baker and Louisa May Butt, son of David Baker and Mary Jane Reynolds, son of Martin D. Baker, son of Captain John Baker), and with Benjamin Albert Thompson (son of Ulysses S. Grant Thompson, son of Margaret Ann Baker, dau of John Farnsworth Baker), and Laura Lynn Carson (Myrtle Baker-Carson's daughter-in-law through her son, Carl Carson.)

They told me, sitting around Myrtle's kitchen table, that Earl had spent 40 years amassing books, documents, notes, photos, and other Baker information. He had an entire room devoted to it. Upon his death his widow had it all boxed up and stored in a barn and wouldn't let anyone near it. She said she'd put up with it for 40 years and didn't want to hear about it any more. Reportedly she's rebuffed everyone who's tried to resurrect any of it. I did get a copy of a stack of notes that Myrtle had. Much of it is hard or impossible to read due to the poor quality of the original copy and much of it is just notes without context - lists of names or names and dates but no indication of what they are, etc. Perhaps with more study they would make more sense but I'm not sure it's worth the effort since they aren't primary evidence anyway. I got some information from them and am happy to have them but it may be the only legacy of Earl's 40 years of effort. If that isn't sad, I don't know what is!" (Furnished by Valerie Kramer)