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Jasper County, Iowa
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David
Baker David
Baker, one of the prosperous farmers of Mingo, Poweshiek Township, Jasper
County, was born in Franklin County, PA, October 9, 1826.
His parents were John and Magdalena Baker, both of whom were natives of
the same state. The
great-grandfather of David Baker settled in Pennsylvania before the
Revolutionary War, and doubtless took an active part in the defense of his
adopted country; he reared a large family, the records of which have been lost. Conrad Baker, ex-Governor of Indiana, was a first
cousin of the subject of this sketch. John
Baker, the father of our subject, was a miller by trade, and settled in Wayne
County, IN, where he followed his calling until his death, which occurred March
21, 1840. He reared a family of ten children. Jacob, the eldest, died, and his
family has become scattered. John,
the second son, left a family, the members of which are now living in Wayne and
Henry Counties, IN; Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of M. Wright; the younger
members of their family now reside in Indiana and Ohio.
Polly, deceased, w»s the wife of George Gephart, whose family resides in
Indiana; Nicholas lives in Des Moines, Iowa. George, deceased, was a Bishop of
the Dunkard Church; his family lives in Altoona, Iowa; Conrad resides in Des
Moines, Iowa; Samuel is deceased; David, the subject of this sketch, was the
ninth child; and Joseph lives near Altoona.
The mother of this family died in 1877, at the age of eighty-seven years. David
Baker was educated in the common schools of Ohio and Indiana, and began life on
his own account at the age of fourteen years, shortly after the death of his
father. His first effort was in
learning the trade of a plow-maker at the shops of Adam Condo, in East
Germantown, IN. He soon acquired a
thorough knowledge of the business and established shops of his own in the same
town, where he continued in the trade for four years, when he sold his business
and removed to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in the fall of 1854.
In the spring of the next year he came to Nicely Grove, in this township,
two and a-half miles west of Mingo. Milton
Edwards, John Sames, Solomon Dickey, E. W. Galoway and Richard Barker were the
only neighbors within a radius of three and a-half miles.
Game of all kinds, except buffaloes, was abundant, and there were in the
country some friendly Indians. Here
he entered at the Government price of $l.25 per acre quite a large tract of
land, which he has since sold at about $5 per acre.
In 1856 be moved to the site of the present village of Greencastle, and
he and his brothers located the town. Joseph
Baker, his brother, opened a store with a fine line of dry goods and groceries,
in which a flourishing business was done. David
established a blacksmith shop, and the brothers together built the first sawmill
that was erected in this part of the county. The town grew and prospered for a
number of years, or until the Chicago & Great Western Railroad drew off the
trade to the larger centers. David
Baker, after a residence of one year in the village of Greencastle, removed to
the farm, which he now occupies, consisting of two hundred and seventy-five
acres, which he has reduced by sales to its present dimensions of two hundred
acres. This farm he now has all under fence, and devotes the greater
portion of it to pasturage it being of more advantage to him for stock raising
purposes than if cultivated. He has
about four hundred head of Poland China thoroughbred hogs, all of his own
raising, and is a large shipper of pigs for stock breeding purposes.
He was licensed as a preacher in the Evangelical Church in 1865, and for
a number of years was a preacher of that faith, but in 1892 joined the Methodist
Episcopal Church. In
1846 Mr. Baker married Miss Annie M. Secrist, daughter of William and Elizabeth
(Hashour) Secrist, all of German descent and natives of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Secrist was a miller by profession and died in Wayne County, IN. His
wife is living, at the age of eighty-four years, and makes her hone with Mr. and
Mrs. Baker. Their seven children
are: Anne, now Mrs. Baker; William; John, of Kokomo, IN; Elizabeth, wife of
Doctor Taylor, of Wayne County, IN; Samuel, deceased; Matilda, widow of A. M.
Tenant of Kokomo, IN; and Sarah, deceased, wife of Mr. Newby, of Indiana. Mr. Baker has never been a politician and takes no active part in any of the campaigns. He is, however, a strong Republican and a firm believer in the principles of that party. Mrs. Baker is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The five living children of the seven that have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Baker are, Theodore A., a resident of this county; Mary, wife of R. C. Everet, a merchant of Mingo; Emma, wife of Charles Harrop, of this township; Lincoln, also a resident of this township; and Horace Sumner, of Mingo. Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA, Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, 1894, p. 172. |
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