She is buried in Mount Washington Cemetery near Kansas City, MO.

W. A. Marshall {April 10, 1850- July 30, 1910}

Mary A. Baker, wife of W. A. Marshall {April 14, 1859- July 22, 1932}

John lived in the Kansas City, Missouri area and was buried in Mount Washington Cemetery. {9 Sept 1832- 3 Dec 1905}

I didn’t find a full-up detailed obituary about him, but I found two small death announcements.

One was in the Indiana Democrat in Indiana, PA where he used to live. (Dated 11/26/1885)

James Baker, formerly of Marion, this county, recently died in Kansas.

Not a lot of info in that one, was there?

Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the local Lawrence, Kansas paper – where he had lived for about 6 yrs before his death:

Jas. Baker, a farmer living near Sibley, died yesterday afternoon at 4 o’clock, of consumption. The deceased has been a resident of Kansas for the past six years, and was universally respected by all who knew him.  He will be buried to-day in Oak Hill cemetery.

James Baker served for the North during that war and I’m a bit surprised that he’d want to move South so soon afterwards.  I can only imagine what the feelings would have been towards the groups of Northerners who were settling in the South during this time period.  I don’t think that I’d have been brave enough to do it.

Here is an article I found in the Indiana Messenger from 1869.  As you can see, the Baker family was only one of many families starting anew.

“The emigration from this county promises to be quite large this Spring.  We give below the names of a few of those who have already left…..James S. Baker and family, of East Mahoning, have removed to Tennessee; postoffice, McMinnville….We wish our former fellow citizens, who have resolved to risk their fortunes in other sections of our country, abundant success and hope they may never regret the change they have made.”

I believe that part of the reason the family moved was for health reasons.  James Baker was suffering from consumption {tuberculosis} and needed a change in weather.

Another article was found, giving the folks in PA an update on life in Tennessee:

From a private letter received from Mr. James Baker, who recently removed from this county to Warren county, Tennessee, we learn that the fruit prospect in that section has been much injured by frosts.  The corn planting is completed, and the fall grain looks exceedingly well, especially that sown by northern men.  Mr. B. and his family are well contented in their new home.

They must not have stayed so content though, because they ended up moving to Douglas County, Kansas 7 years later in 1876.  I wonder what their experience was like, being a Northerner in the post-war South.

Do you have any Northern ancestors who headed South after the Civil War?

I found her gravestone while in Kansas City, MO.  She is buried in Mount Washington Cemetery.

Henrietta Jennie (Pierce) Baker was my husband’s great-great grandmother.  She was born in PA in 1856 and died in KS in 1918.  Here she is pictured with her daughter Laura.

 From the Indiana Weekly Messenger, Indiana, PA, dated 11 April 1883.

Death of Cyrus Baker.

Mr. Cyrus P. Baker, of Lawrence, Kansas, died of consumption at Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 28th. He was a son of Mr. James Baker, formerly of Rayne Twp, this county and who moved to Tennessee in 1869 and from thence to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1876, where he still resides. The deceased, while in Kansas, suffered from lung difficulty and started west in the hopes that the trip would benefit his health. He first went to Colorado and thence to New Mexico and from there he journeyed to California. But he got no relief and started back to his home in Kansas and reached the town above mentioned where he died. Though surrounded by strangers he was kindly cared for. He leaves a wife and one child to mourn the loss of a kind husband and affectionate parent. He was a printer by trade and visited this place some two years since.

Mrs. Mary A. Marshall, 73 years of age, died last night at the home of a daughter, Mrs. William Cooper, at Sibley.

Funeral services will be held at 2 o’clock Monday afternoon from the Rumsey Funeral Home. The Rev. D. F. Foster of Baldwin will have charge of the services. Burial will be in Oak Hill cemetery.

Surviving relatives include three children, Mrs. Charles Smith, of Emmett, Idaho, and Harold Marshall and Mrs. William Cooper, both of Sibley.

Up until receiving this pension packet (a number of years ago), I had no idea that James Baker had a half brother.  I thought it was interesting that he called himself “brother of the half blood” – kind of a strange way to word it.

I have been forever grateful that both my husband and I had a number of ancestors who served on both sides of the Civil War.  The pension records have given me so many details into their lives at this time.  You truly never know what you’re going to find in those affadavits!!

This affadavit was written by John S. Baker, (James’ brother), who also served in the war.  We have a number of ancestors who suffered from “chronic diarrhea”.  What a horrible things to suffer!!

State of Missouri, County of Jackson.
In the matter of James Baker on this 12th day of February A.D., 1890 personally appeared before me, a Notary Public in and for the aforesaid County, duly authorized to administer oaths, John S Baker aged 57 years, a resident of Kansas City in the County of Jackson and state of Missouri whose postoffice address is 1431 Campbell St, well known to me to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declared in relation to the aforesaid case as follows:

I am the brother of the half blood of the above named James Baker, and have known him all my life;  When he enlisted in the army on or about March 1865 he was a sound man in bodily health and free from chronic diarrhea or any other disease or disability as far as I ever knew, and had he been a sufferer from said disease or any other disease or disability prior to and at the time of his enlistment I have every reason to believe and do believe that I should have known it.  I think it was the second day after his discharge from the Army that I saw him.  I know it was within two or three days, and I observed that he was then a sufferer from some disease which he then informed me was the chronic diarrhea, and that he had contracted the same in the Army.  I knew him each year for about four years after his said discharge from the Army when he moved to Tennessee.  He was ailing all the time from the chronic diarrhea each year, and was not able to do more than half the labor he would have done at manual labor had he been free from this disease.  I saw him again in Tennessee for four or five years from about 1871 to about 1876 or 1877 and he was sick the time each year more or less from the chronic diarrhea and he was disabled at least one half.  His disease went to his lungs.  He further declares that he has no interest in this case, and is not concerned with its prosecution.
John S. Baker

General Affadavit

State of Kansas, County of Shawnee

In the matter of claim for Rebecca Baker, widow of James Baker late of Co. “F” 74″ PA.

Personally appeared before was an officer duly authorized to administer oaths within and for the county and State aforesaid, Joseph Campbell, Topeka Kan. 72 yrs old.

person of lawful age who being duly sworn declare in relation to the aforesaid case as follows:

I am a brother of Rebecca Baker and was present and know that she was married to James Baker March 4th 1846 in Indiana County, Pa.  Her maiden name was Rebecca White Campbell.  I also know that Rebecca Baker has never re-married since the death of her husband James Baker Nov. 9″ 1885

J. Campbell

The woman in the front center is Rebecca White Campbell (Baker).  She was born 10 Mar 1821 in Indiana county, PA.  She lived to be 88.

I have a lot of information on her.

Census records.  Her gravestone.  Numerous affadavits and paperwork from her widow’s pension for her husband, James Baker’s service during the Civil War.  I know that she had a wooden leg later in her life.

But there is a mystery surrounding her.  I’m hoping that when I make my journey through PA this May, I will be able to solve it – at least in part.

What has intrigued me for years is the following church record, which was printed in the local newspaper in one of their historical editions.:

“Rebecca Campbell a member of this church guilty in the crime of fornication appeared before the session, acknowledged her sin and professed deep repentance” whereupon it was “resolved to restore her to her standing in the church and that notice of her sin be read out before the congregation.” (Dated 1842)

She had a daughter named Caroline, born in 1840 (when she was 19).  She didn’t marry James Baker until 1846.  Her daughter is listed as Caroline Park in the 1850 and 1860 census records.  In Caroline’s obituary, James and Rebecca are listed as her parents though.

I think that the reason this interests me so much is that things like this make our ancestors more real.  Humans who make mistakes.

What I’m wondering is who was the father of her baby?  Why didn’t he marry her?  Did he also have to acknowledge his sins before the church?  In a small community, I’m sure everyone already knew her business.  But it still would have been hard to get up in front of everyone and announce what she had done. Was she not allowed to attend church during the 2 yrs between her daughter’s birth and when she acknowledged her sins?

I am hoping that I can glean some more info from the Gilgal Church records at the local genealogy library.  If I sift through them, maybe I can solve this mystery and learn a little more about what her early life was like.

But what am I going to do with my husband and kids while I’m looking?  Maybe I’ll have to send them down the street to the Jimmy Stewart Museum.

John Campbell Baker was born in Indiana county, PA in 1864 and died in Eudora, KS in 1902.  Even though he had lived in Kansas for over 20 years, his obituary there was very short:

John C. Baker died at his home in Eudora, Kans., July 4, at 1:55 p.m.  He was born July 26, 1862, in Indiana county, Pa.   He leaves a wife and the following children to mourn his departure: Harry Floyd, Sarah, Laura and Lillian Lucille.  Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

His former town, where his sister still lived, published a much more detailed version.  It came a few weeks later though – because news traveled slowly.

Former Marion Man Dead in Kansas.
John C. Baker died at his home in Eudora, Kansas, Friday morning, July 4th, 1902 at 1:55, from the effects of injuries received in a creamery there on June 25th.  By accident he fell into a vat, where the injury was received and help did not come for three quarters of an hour.  Funeral services were held Sunday at 10 a.m. at Eudora, Interment at Lawrence, Kansas.  Deceased was a brother of Mrs. John R. Pringle, of Indiana.   John Campbell Baker was born in Marion Center, July 26, 1864, and went to Kansas in 1876, where he married Miss Minnie McNees in 1885.  For a while he engaged in the mercantile business in other parts of the state, taking charge of the creamery at Eudora in 1901.  He is survived by his wife, three children, his aged and infirm mother, three brothers, and two sisters.  He was a member of the A.O.U.W. the I.O.O.F., Woodmen of the World and Fraternal Aid association.  He was highly respected at his home, where the newspapers speak well of him.

So, it’s definitely worth looking in more than one place for an obituary – who knows what you’ll find!! If I had been content with the first one, I never would have known how he had died.  What a horrible accident.