1890 Delaware and Buchanan Counties History pgs. 463-466

HENRY BAKER.

Among the few pioneer settlers now living who came to Delaware county in the early "forties" and endured the many hardships and privations incident to the settlement and development of the country is Henry Baker, a brief biography of whom is here given. He has been a resident of the county for nearly fifty years, and is one of the men who have by industry and enterprise made the county what it is. He comes of good old New England ancestry, and posseses many of the sturdy traits of character which are the distinguishing marks of that people. He was born in Rensselaer county N. Y., February 20, 1814, and is the eldest child in a family of eleven children, seven boys and four girls.

The father, Jacob Baker, was a native of Rensselaer county and was born in the year 1792. His principal occupation through life was that of farming, although he followed to a considerable extent the lumber business, building and equipping two saw-mills, which he operated for a time. He was an early pioneer settler of Michigan, and was also a soldier in the War of 1812. He died, after an active and useful life, at the age of forty-five.

The paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Baker, was a native of New York State and a farmer by occupation. He lived a long and useful life, dying at the age of seventy-five. Of the paternal great-grandfather little or nothing is known, but it is supposed that either he or the one preceding him came originally from England.

The mother of the subject of this notice, Emily (Garlick) Baker, was a native of Connecticut and was born in 1794. She was a kind and indulgent parent and reared her family of eleven children in the belief that honesty and industry were prerequisite to a successful life. She died in 1844 at the age of fifty years. The maternal grandfather and grandmother were Henry and Elizabeth (Terry) Garlick, both of whom were natives of Connecticut.  The former was born in 1765 and was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1835 at the age of three-score and ten years; the latter lived to the age of seventy-five years. The maternal ancestry is also supposed to have come originally from England.

Henry, the subject of this biographical memoir, moved with his parents when he was three years old from his native place to Oneida county, N. Y., where he resided till nine years of age, when his father, inspired by a desire to come West and grow up with the country, moved overland to Oakland county, Mich., at that time considered the Western frontier. There the elder Baker purchased government land eighteen miles from the present site of the city of Detroit, and on this the family settled. Here occurred the first pioneer experience of our subject and the hardships and privations endured were a fit beginning for those which have followed in later days. He resided with his parents in Oakland county until twenty years of age, his boyhood day being spent in the " clearings " and on the cultivated farm in the summer, and in the old log school house during the winter. The school advantages of that early day, although not to be compared with those of more recent years, were nevertheless such as to furnish a good rudimentary education, and this, added to that strong element of common sense, with which nature has so abundantly endowed him furnished the basis for the long and successful life that has followed.

In 1834 the family again changed locations, settling this time in Lenawee county, the same state, on land purchased from the government near where the town of Morenci now stands. Here our subject spent a portion of his time showing government land to new-comers, for which he received $1 per day and was instrumental in selling most of the land. He also operated a saw-mill, which his father had built on Bean creek, for several years and worked on the farm at odd intervals. It was here that Mr. Baker met and married, June 2, 1840, the lady of his choice, Miss Elizabeth W. Coffin, to which event is probably attributable the fact of his locating in Delaware county. Soon after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Baker, the parents of the latter emigrated to Delaware county, locating in what is known as Coffin's Grove, and from which the township takes its name. Being well pleased with the appearance if the country, they wrote Mr. Baker and their daughter of its many advantages and desired them to come out and locate. In May of the following year (1841) Mr. and Mrs. Baker set out in a covered wagon determined to see the new country and if pleased to locate.  They arrived here the early part of June and after looking over the country decided to settle. He at once purchased eighty acres of government land, paying $1.25 per acre, and built a temporary log cabin, 12x12 feet, in which to live until a better one could be constructed to take its place. The country at that early day was sparsely settled, there being but two families besides himself within the limits of what now comprises Coffin's Grove township.   There were a great many deer, some elk, and a few bear, as well as other small game.  Mr. Baker   killed quite a number of deer and one bear, and for the first few years was seldom without venison for table use. The Winnebago Indians were stationed north of him, and frequently passed through the neighborhood on hunting expeditions, and camped within thirty or forty rods of his house for four or five days at a time.  At such times they evinced a friendly disposition, and, with be exception of begging a mouthful of food or some trifling trinket, never molested him.

In the fall of 1841 he erected a story-and-half hewed log house, sixteen by twenty-two feet in dimensions, which he occupied for a number of years. In 1845 be purchased two hundred acres of land, and in like manner
continued to purchase, as his means accumulated, until he at one time owned seven hundred and twelve acres. He has since sold off a portion of his land, but at the present time owns five hundred and seventy-two acres, which he purchased direct from the government. Of this amount, nearly all, with the exception of one hundred acres of timber land, is under a high state of cultivation. He erected the present handsome brick residence during the summer of 1856, and the main part of the large frame barn, in 1850. In the summer of 1868, and while mowing hay, he met with a serious accident, which cost him his right hand. He fell from the seat on the mower in such a manner as to bring his right hand in contact with the sickles, which cut it off above the wrist. Mr. Baker has raised considerable stock and has been very successful with them.

The congenial union of Mr. and Mrs. Baker has resulted in the birth of four children, only one of whom is now living, the full list being-Edward J., died at the age of four years and seven months; Julia A., died at the age of two years and three months, and Susan, who died at the age of three years and four months. Susan A., the only child living, was born January 7, 1849, and is the wife of A. J. Hersey, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume.

The wife and mother, Elizabeth (Coffin) Baker, was a native of Williamsburg, Mass., and was born in 1816. She was a faithful companion and a kind mother, always ready to minister to the wants of the family and smooth over the rough places in life's pathway. She departed this life December 15, 1859, at the age of forty-three years.

In politics Mr. Baker affiliates with the democratic party, and is a strong believer in the principles it represents. He was one of the first county commissioners, and served one term in that capacity. He has also been justice of the peace in his township for upwards of fourteen years, and has held various other minor offices. During his residence in Delaware county, extending over a period of nearly fifty years, he has been a most useful citizen, always ready and willing to aid in public enterprises, and one whose name and deeds will be remembered long after he has been gathered to the great beyond.

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