NOAH BAKER, one of the best known citizens of Brookville, Ohio, is a descendant of an early pioneer family of Montgomery county, his ancestors having been among the first settlers in Clay township. Michael Baker, his grandfather, was a native of Somerset county, Pa., a farmer by occupation and married Catherine Smucker, a native of the same county. The children of Michael and Catherine Baker were Susan, Jacob, Ann, Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, John, Michael, Benjamin and Samuel, the first two born in Pennsylvania, and the others in Montgomery county, Ohio.

It was in 1805 that Michael Baker with his wife and two children, Susan and Jacob, came from Somerset county, Pa., to Montgomery county, Ohio, shipping all their goods at Pittsburg on a boat to be thus taken down the Ohio river, and on the way down the river they were all spoiled by water. Mr. Baker settled in the woods one mile northeast from the present site of Brookville, near a good spring of water, and also near the camp of a tribe of Miami Indians. These Indians he found very peaceable and friendly, and on one occasion when he heard a rumor of war he took his family to Weaver Mills on Beavercreek for the winter, leaving his corn in rail pens in charge of the Indians, who cared for it, and expressed much delight at his return in the spring. Mr. Baker found these Indians honest and good neighbors.

When Mr. Baker settled in the locality described above it was in the midst of the primeval forest, and two and a half miles to the Rohrer settlement to the northward and eight miles to the Hay farm. He entered a section of land, and immediately set himself to work to clear it. For a time, however, the prospects were extremely discouraging, and he would have returned to Pennsylvania but for the fact that his horses died from some unknown cause. Thus he was compelled to remain in this new country, and endure all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life, but by industry and pertinacity he at last overcame all obstacles, erected a good log cabin, and cleared up 160 acres of his land. His nearest market and depot of supplies was Cincinnati, sixty miles away. At that time there were but a few log houses in Dayton, and no stores. Mr. Baker was a man of exceedingly strong constitution, and, notwithstanding the severities of frontier life, he lived to be nearly ninety years old, dying on his farm August 21, 1854. His wife reached nearly the same age. They were devout members of the Dunkard church, and were among the earliest members of this denomination to settle in Montgomery county.

Benjamin Baker, one of the sons of Michael, and the father of Noah Baker, was born in 1810, on the old Baker homestead in Clay township. Having received the ordinary education given to country boys at that time, he married Frances Newsmonger, who was born in 1812, in Clay township, and who was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Circle) Neiswonger, the former of whom, though of German ancestry, was a native of Virginia. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker there were born eleven children, as follows: Saty, Melinda, Noah, Levi, Mary, Cyrus, Simon, Amanda, Sarah A., Sylvester and Minerva. Benjamia Baker settled on the Salem road one and a half miles from Brookville on land given him by his father, 104 acres, all in the woods. This land he cleared, improved and made into a good farm and home, thriftily adding thereto until at last he owned about 700 acres. An excellent farmer, a good business man and a progressive citizen, he became not only popular but also prosperous. He was the first grain buyer in Brookville, carrying on that business for many years, and when the Pan Handle railroad was constructed through the place the company built a side track to his warehouse. As the first postmaster in Brookville he held the office for many years. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist or Dunkard church.

Noah Baker was born April 11, 1834, on his father's farm, and attended common school until he was nineteen years of age. While he was sufficiently well educated to teach school, yet he preferred labor and business, and became a saw-mill proprietor. August 31, 1854, he married Catherine Litten, who was born September 11, 1834, and was a daughter of James and Sarah A. (Blair) Litten, the former of whom was an old citizen of Montgomery county, living near Dayton. While Mr. Litten was a native of Maryland, he moved early to this county with his wife. His children were named as follows: John, Samuel, David, Frances, Elizabeth, Grace, Delilah, Prudence and Catherine.

Mr. and Mrs. Baker, shortly after their marriage, settled on a farm of eighty acres, He soon engaged in the saw-mill business on the same spot where his mill now stands. He prospered in this enterprise and now owns valuable property in Brookville, and is still engaged in milling. Mr. Baker is a trustee in the Methodist church, of which both himself and wife are members. Politically he is a republican, and has served as a member of the corporation council. To Mr. and Mrs. Baker there have been born eleven children, two of whom died young; Arthur was killed at the age of twenty-three in an accident on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, near Carrollton, Ohio, and the remaining children are as follows: Cornelia, Fidelia, Ambrose, Frances, Granville, Carrie, Orville and Emerson. Mr. Baker's sterling character and personal worth have made him one of the most widely-esteemed citizens of Brookville and that vicinity.