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> Baker Research Outline
I have two Baker lines:
Jacob Baker
family of Rowan, Wilkes and Ashe Co, NC
Olly Baker
of Lincoln Co, NC
I didn't know I had Baker ancestry until I'd
already been researching my family a number of years. I was researching my
Fouts ancestors in Macon Co, NC. Somehow I came into
contact with Thelma Welch Swanson (now deceased) who had written a book on the
Fouts family. I ordered a copy of her book (which is very nice by the way), Jacob and Mary Margaret Baker Fouts and their Descendants, Thelma Welch
Swanson, 1990. In it, she states that our ancestor Mary Margaret, wife of
Jacob Fouts (1786-1852) was a Baker. Though she offers no proof that this is
Mary's maiden name, it seems to be widely accepted as fact among the Fouts
descendants, and I see no reason to disagree. However, after many years of
research on this family, I've not seen any evidence at all that her maiden name
was Baker. For now, I'm just accepting it that it was common family knowledge at
some time in the past, and that first hand evidence may not exist, or just
hasn't been found yet.
In her book, on page 3 she mentions that Dr. John
Scott Davenport (a noted Fouts researcher) had corresponded with her about the
Rev. Andrew Baker, who was father of our Mary.
For years I worked on the assumption that Rev.
Andrew Baker was indeed Mary Margaret Baker's father. I found his name on several
documents (deeds, etc) in Wilkes and Ashe Co, NC and found several other
researchers who were descended from him via different children. Researchers
showed him born ca 1749 in VA (counties varied), and that he was married to
Elizabeth Avent (1752-1844) daughter of Peter Avent of Sussex Co, VA and
Northampton Co, NC.
None of the researchers knew about a daughter named "Mary
Margaret." One day I found a book in the NC Genealogy Library in Raleigh on
various Baker families: Bakers and Related Families of England and Virginia,
William Thomson Baker Sr, 1974. In it, on page 35, there was data,
apparently from a family bible, pertaining to the Andrew Baker family. It listed
9 children of Rev. Andrew Baker with their birth dates. There was no Mary
Margaret Baker among them, and based on the birth dates of the children, no room
for her to be in his family at all, unless our birth date for her (ca 1789/90)
is way off. The first child (Solomon) listed for Andrew was born 1770, then the
last (Martha) was born 1791, with one just before her (Elijah) born 1789. This
doesn't leave much (or any) room for another child born ca 1789/90. This was
disappointing, but it didn't completely discourage me.
However, a little more research on Andrew Baker
did discourage me a great deal. Seems he wasn't even in Ashe Co, NC when Mary
Margaret Baker was supposed to have married Jacob Fouts (ca 1807), but living in
Lee Co, VA. Of course it is possible he came back to "visit" family or friends
in Ashe County. However, based on all of this I had developed serious doubts
about him being Mary Margaret's father. None of the "sources" I had seen for him
being her father offered any real proof. I don't know who first drew the
conclusion that he was her father, or if it was based on valid evidence or on
family tradition.
More recently, I think I've discovered the
"source" for someone assuming Andrew was Mary's father. As we know, Mary
Margaret Baker married Jacob Fouts, a son of Leonard Fouts. Apparently Rev.
Andrew Baker "gave" land to Leonard Fouts in the 1780's. As far as I know, this
is the only connection between them. In the Pfautz-Fouts-Foutz Newsletter, No.
7, July 1982, this is stated:
July 7, 1809 - Heirs of Peter Eller, Decd., to
Leonard Fouts, all of Ashe Co., N.C., in fulfillment of covenant made, 77
acres, being part of a tract of 200 acres belonging to Peter Eller, Decd., and
where Andrew Baker gave to John Fouts the tract where Luke White now lives ...
/s/ Peter Eller, Jacob Eller, George Koons, William Pennington, Wit; Thomas
Calloway. (Ashe Co., N.C., Deeds, B:255)
Leonard Fouts, Jr., was an illiterate and
married Sarah Younce, daughter of John Younce. He died in Murray Co., Georgia,
in 1850. His brother Joseph, in Ashe County records in 1805, witnessing a deed
of John Younce's to Frederick Black (the Dunker minister) died in Ashe County
in the late 1850s. Jacob Fouts, another brother, married Mary M. Baker,
daughter of the Andrew Baker, a Baptist minister, who had given John
Leonard Fouts the land in the late 1780s.
This is probably the source of Andrew Baker being
Mary Margaret Baker's father. No evidence is provided for the statement that he
was her father.
Others accept this, but I cannot, at least not
without some form of proof. So on that note, I began looking for a more likely
set of parents for our Mary Margaret Baker. I concentrated on what we know for a
fact. Based on the 1850 census (Macon Co, NC), Mary was born ca 1789/90 (based
on her age of "60"), and was born in Rowan County, NC. The 1850 and 1860 Macon
County census taker blessed us with recording the county of birth for each
person instead of just the state of birth, which was a great service for
researchers. He listed both Jacob Fouts and his wife Mary M. as being born in
Rowan. So fact one is that Mary Margaret was born ca 1789/90. Fact two is that
she was born in Rowan Co, NC. The third fact was that she married Jacob Fouts.
We don't know when they married, but if she was his only wife, they married
sometime prior to 1807 (when their first child was born in Ashe Co, NC), and
they probably married in Ashe Co, NC or Wilkes County where Jacob Fouts lived at
that time. That meant that I needed to find a Baker family that had been in
Rowan Co, NC in the 1790 timeframe, but came to Wilkes or Ashe Co, NC before ca
1807. The fourth "fact", was that the Baker family she belonged to had to live
somewhere near Beaver Creek, which is where the Fouts family resided in Ashe
County, NC.
Checking the 1790 census of Rowan Co, NC, there
were only three Baker families: George Baker (no apparent children), Harate
(Horatio) Baker and Jacob Baker. The last two both had apparent daughters. These
seemed to be my prime suspects. By 1800, George had moved away (or died), but he
wasn't a prime suspect anyway, due to having no apparent children with him in
1790. Horatio was also gone by 1800. This only left Jacob Baker in Rowan Co, NC,
and several other Baker families who weren't there in 1790. This made Jacob
Baker the prime suspect.
Looking at the 1800 census of Ashe Co, NC, there
were several Baker households, all of which had at least one apparent daughter
born ca 1790. This didn't help much. This included James Baker (son of Morris);
Jonathan Baker (son of Morris); Morris Baker; Zachariah Baker (son of Morris);
Solomon Baker; Thomas Baker and Samuel Baker. Unfortunately, the 1800 Ashe
census was alphabetical, so I couldn't determine if any of these families were
near the Fouts family.
We know that Mary M. Baker married Jacob Fouts
before 1807, and they were listed in Ashe Co, NC on the 1810 census.
Fortunately, this census wasn't alphabetical, but instead, the census taker only
listed given names by initial. "J. Fouts" was on page 7 (handwritten page 70).
There were no Bakers within a few households, but on the next page were several,
including "J. Baker", "S. Baker" and "J. Baker". This last "J. Baker" was listed
next door to "L. Fouts" (Leonard Fouts Jr). I THINK I've properly identified
each of these Baker households. The first "J. Baker" was probably Jonathan Baker
(son of Morris). The "S. Baker" was Solomon Baker, and the last "J. Baker" could
have been John Baker (c1784). This suggest that one of those Baker's could be
Mary Margaret's father or at least somehow related.
However, the 1815 tax list gives us a much better
clue. The 1815 tax list for Ashe Co, NC was divided up into Captain's Districts.
Each district had a Captain who made of list of his taxables. The district that
the Fouts family was listed in was called "Captain Baker's District", and only
one Baker was listed in that district: Jacob Baker, and he was taxed for land on
Beaver Creek. This made me recall the Jacob Baker in 1790 and 1800 Rowan Co, NC
whom I thought could be Mary's father. I found this Jacob Baker on the 1810
census in Wilkes County, NC (next to Ashe County). It should be noted that where
Beaver Creek flows into the South Fork of the New River, it is only two miles to
the Wilkes County line. The 1820 census shows Jacob Baker in Ashe Co, NC, but
unfortunately, once again, the census was alphabetical. However, the 1830 census
shows him still in Ashe County, and just 30 houses (one page) from Jacob Fouts.
Based on my analysis, I'm sure this is the same
Jacob Baker who was in Rowan Co, NC for the 1790 and 1800 census, then in Wilkes
Co, NC for 1810, and finally in Ashe Co, NC for 1815 tax list, and 1820 and 1830
census. For now, based on all this circumstantial evidence, he is my prime
candidate to be Mary Margaret's father. Of course, I'd love some more solid
evidence, so I'll keep looking. He may be somehow related to the other Baker
families in Ashe County, but so far, I don't know how.
I found out about this Baker line after I'd been
researching my ancestors a number of years. The first connection was finding out
that Mary, wife of my ancestor Thomas B. Grant (d 1845 Macon Co, NC) was a
Miller. Ollie Vee Clark (now deceased) told me about Mary being a Miller. Strong
circumstantial evidence pointed towards Mary's parents being Joseph Miller
(1790-1880) and Sarah Cox (c1794/1800-c1835). After getting in touch with my
cousin Claire Morelli, I discovered that she and her Aunt Helen had data showing
that Sarah Cox was a daughter of Aaron Cox and Olly Baker. Claire and Helen's
research has helped me a great deal on the Cox and Miller families. Claire and I
began a long lasting correspondence, and together we worked out many things on
these two families. Unfortunately, neither of us have done much research on Olly
Baker's family.
There is a marriage bond in Lincoln County, NC
dated 4 Jan 1787 for Aaron Cox and Olly Baker, so we know for sure that was her
maiden name. The bondsman was Absolam Bonham (who was married to Aaron Cox's
sister in 1785). The 1790 census shows several Baker families in Lincoln Co, NC,
and of them, a Joseph Baker was fairly close to Aaron Cox's household.
For the 1790 census, Lincoln County, NC was
divided up into companies, each with a number. Most of my Cox family was found
in the Sixth Company. There were only three Baker's listed in that company,
Joseph, Joseph Jr and Abrm (Abraham or Abram) Baker. Of these, Joseph (Sr) was
the closest to the Aaron Cox family, only about 17 households away.
I've not done enough research yet to be even
reasonably sure that Joseph Baker is Olly's father. However, Olly did name one
of her children "Joseph Cox", so that is a clue at least. Joseph Cox in 1790
only had two people in his household, one man over 16, and one female. This
could indicate a newlywed couple with no children yet, or it could indicate an
older couple, with all their children gone from home. Much more research will
be needed to figure out if Joseph Baker is Olly Baker Cox's father, but for now,
he is my prime suspect. There were eight Baker household's in the 1790 census of
Lincoln Co, NC, including Elias Baker; Phillip Baker; Susanna Baker (bef 1755);
Joseph Baker; Peter Baker (bef 1755); Phil. Baker (1755/74); Abrm Baker (bef
1755); and Joseph Baker Jr. Of these, a few were still in Lincoln for the 1800
census, including: Abraham Baker (bef 1755); Philip Baker (1755/74); Susanna
Baker (bef 1755); and Peter Baker (bef 1755). There were also several new Baker
families listed in 1800 including: Barnard Baker (1755/74); James Baker
(1755/74); Sarah Baker (bef 1755); Nathan Baker (1755/74); James Baker (bef
1755); and John Baker (1774/84). Of these, Barnard, Abraham, James (1755/74) and
Sarah (bef 1755) were near the Cox family.
By 1810 Aaron Cox and Olly Baker and their
children moved to nearby Buncombe Co, NC. There weren't many Baker's in Buncombe
County, so if any of her family members moved there to, it isn't apparent.
It will take a lot more research than I have
currently done to figure out Olly Baker's family. I plan to work on this as time
permits. The answers may be found in the Lincoln County Deed records or court
records.
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