Garrard Co. KY BIOS: Martin & Hannah Clark Baker genealogy USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. Submitted by: Elizaebeth A. Kaspar E-Kaspar@wiu.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BAKER Genealogy Descendants of Martin and Hannah Clark Baker of Halifax Co., VA., and Garrard Co., KY. A Brief, Early, Baker Family History Martin and Ann Hannah Clark Baker first appeared in the records of Halifax Co., VA. about 1775. Though many of their descendants have searched for their parents and their birthplaces for more than 50 years, none has yet been successful. FROM WHERE DID THEY COME? Alexander Marshall Baker (1850-1937) told the family that Martin, his great great-grandfather, was born in 1714, but since records prove that he died in 1820, it is highly unlikely that he lived to be 106 years old! Were there two Martins in VA. who were father and son? Marshall also told the family that Martin had come to Virginia from England and that he was Scot-Irish. ( a misnomer since this particular group of emigrants were actually Scot-English from the border between Scotland and England; a better term is "Borderer.") Several ships arrived in the Colonies from England with passengers named Martin Baker. Ships coming that early, however, listed only names and ages of passengers, so nothing more is known about those Martin Bakers. There were, however, 5 or 6 Martin Bakers in Colonial Virginia, so this puzzle is yet to be solved. If only early records contained more information! Since their first child was born about 1761-64, Martin and Hannah probably were married a year or so before that. They raised at least three children, James, Susannah and Henrietta Maria, to adulthood in Halifax Co. Another daughter, Elizabeth died at age 18. Daughter Henrietta first married William Hamlett in Halifax Co. in 1786 and may later have married Samuel Maires/Maines (sp?) before 1805 according to a neighbor's court deposition some years later. No trace of Henrietta has been found in Virginia after William's death. She may have moved to N.C. Henrietta was a witness at the marriage of Susannah Baker and Ransome Colquitt in 1785 in Halifax Co., VA. They may have had a daughter, Christian. Interestingly, later records show that Ransome, a Revolutionary War veteran, was the bondsman in the 1815 marriage of Cassandra Cabot Colquitt to James' son, Martin. Was she his daughter also? If so, cousin married cousin, not an uncommon practice at that time. No record has yet been found to prove Cassandra's parentage nor indicate her birthplace. WHERE WAS SHE BORN? WHO WERE HER PARENTS? About 1784, Martin and Hannah moved with son, James, and his wife, Elizabeth Fuqua, originally of Charlotte Co., VA., to Garrard Co., KY. Before leaving VA., Martin sold their household belongings and two slaves, Charlotte and son, Lewis, to daughter, Henrietta, and son-in-law, William, so they obviously were unable to take much with them. This, plus the fact that Halifax Co. is on the N.C. border, indicate that their route was The Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and then along the Cumberland Trace that ran from the Gap to Fort Harrod. That early it was still a rough trail, not wide enough for a wagon. They would have had to walk much of the way, able to ride horseback only over the less rugged parts. At that time, this was the only land route into KY. All of the river routes were too far to the north to be feasible for them. They most likely traveled with a group because attacks by bands of rogue Indians still occurred. (In 1795, Chief Doublehead captured five Virginians in Edmonson County, killed them, and boiled their bodies!) Gangs of white bandits also preyed on travelers through the narrow Gap, long after the Indians were gone. They may have traveled with a group of Baptists since the influx of settlers during this period in Garrard Co. were nearly all Virginia Baptists who left Virginia for religious reasons. They resented having to pay taxes to the state church of Virginia when they were not members. (Most of the Scots-English were Baptists or Presbyterians and quite anti The Church of England.) Their first stop in KY., in all likelihood, was Fort Logan (now Stanford), the closest fort to their destination. (This fort no longer exists and has not yet been restored.) Martin had received a land grant in Kentucky of 1,200 acres that appears to have been in Anderson Co. But they lived on Sugar Creek, in Garrard Co., a few miles from Lancaster, where Martin ran a gristmill. Both Martin and Hannah were buried in Garrard Co., but their grave sites are unknown. By 1843, James was in Anderson Co.; he deeded land there to son, Beverly, and his wife, Isabel Sneed. He also owned land in Mercer Co. He died in 1845 and is likely buried in Mercer County, though neither a burial site nor last will and testament has been found for him. James had at least eight children, possibly more ( For a list of them and further descendants, click on the link below for the four generation tree). James and Elizabeth split up after having had many children, and she moved to N.C. He married Jenny Jamison late in life, and she also remarried . Thus far, more than 1,800 descendants of James have been located in many states---from KY. to CA., and even in Chile, South America. Currently there are at least twenty descendants researching the family. As yet, no descendants have been located for Henrietta or Susannah. Not all generations of the family are listed here; generations # 6, 7, 8, and 9 are not included in order to omit the living. (You may contact me if you wish me to send you those generations privately.) Neither can there be any guarantee that all of the information contained herein is correct. Different records often show conflicting information, as well as variations in the spelling of names. E. A. Kaspar