Marty and Karla Grant

!NOTE:This could be Jonathan Baker (1775/80). See notes on wife;

!NOTES:I (Marty Grant) don't know how or if I'm related to Mary (---) Baker, but she could easily be related to my ancestor Jacob Baker (1760/65) who also lived in Ashe County.

Mary Baker is an apparent widow. I only have two records for at present (the 1850 and 1860 census), so that is not much to go on. It seems likely that she is a widow of some Mr. Baker who died before 1850. There are only a few choices for her Mr. Baker based on census analysis. Of course it is also possible that she was a Baker by birth who never married. It is difficult to tell with so few records. I personally believe she is the widow of Jonathan Baker (1775/80), but have no solid proof just yet. There may be some, but I have not seen it.

Mary was born ca 1774/75 (per her age on the 1850 census). I don't know her maiden name (if she is Mrs. Jonathan Baker, then her maiden name is Koons). She was born in North Carolina (per 1850 census), though I don't know what county.

Mary probably married her Mr. Baker before ca 1808 (based on the birth date of her son William Baker), possibly several years before 1808.

Working on several assumptions (all of which could be wrong), I'll attempt to trace Mary through the earlier census records, The assumptions are that she was in Ashe County in the years before 1850, and that she was married to a Mr. Baker, and not a single woman born a Baker.

Assuming that she was married by 1800 already, she should be home with her husband in Ashe County. Mary would be about 25 years old then, so should be enumerated in the 16-25 age group (born ca 1774/84). James Baker (1775/80) had an apparent wife that age; Jonathan Baker (1775/80) (my prime suspect) also had a wife that age; Zachariah Baker (1775/80), Solomon Baker (1770), and Thomas Baker (1760/65) all had apparent wives in the same age category. James's wife was Ann Cox, Zachariah's wife was Sarah Cox. Jonathan Baker's wife was a Ms. Koons (first name not known). I do not know the name of either Solomon nor Thomas Baker's wife.

Moving to the 1810 census, Mary should be with her spouse and would be about 35 years old, so she should be enumerated in the age 26-44 group (born ca 1765/84). Unfortunately the census taker in 1810 only used initials for each household, but many of the Bakers had an apparent wife this age : J. Baker, probably James Baker (1775/80) was a match; Z. Baker, probably Zachariah Baker (1775/80) was a match; J. Baker (bef 1765), not yet identified, has a wife that age; S. Baker, probably Samuel Baker (1755/65) was a match; S. Baker, probably Solomon Baker (1770) was also a match. Mary's family would also have at least one son "under 10" (born ca 1800/10), though all of the above had at least one son that age, so no help there to narrow down the suspects.

For the 1820 census, Mary would have been about 45 years old, so she should be enumerated in the 45 and up group (born 1775), or possibly in the 26-44 category (ca 1775/94). She also had a 12 year old son and a 5 year old son, so the proper matching household should include them. James Baker (1775/80) was a match, though we know his wife was named Ann Cox; Jonathan Baker (1775/80) was a match; Thomas Baker (1760/65) was a match, and his wife is yet unidentified; Zachariah Baker (1775/80) was a match in 1820, and as noted before his wife is Sarah Cox (proven). John Baker (c1783) was a match also, but he was still alive in 1850, so not Mary's husband.

In 1830 Mary would have been about 55 years of age, so she ought to be enumerated in the 50-59 age group (born ca 1770/80). James Baker (1775/80) was a match, though as mentioned, his wife was "Ann." Zachariah Baker (1775/80) was a match in 1830, but as noted his wife was named "Sarah." Jonathan Baker (1775/80) was a match, and as noted before, he is the prime suspect. If I were to base identification of Mary's husband only on the 1830 census I would have to conclude it was Jonathan Baker.

In 1840 Mary would have been around 65 years old, so she should be enumerated in the 60-69 age category. There is only one household that matches, and that is for "William Baker, Esquire" which is the person Mary was living with in 1850 and 1860, so it stands to reason she was with him in 1840 as as well. William Baker (c1808) is undoubtedly her son. The interesting thing is that his 1840 household contained both a male and female in the 60-69 age group. The female must be Mary, but who is the male? Is Jonathan Baker still alive in 1840, but not listed as head of household for some reason?

Mary was listed in Ashe County for the 1850 census with her apparent son William Baker. Another apparent son, Franklin Baker (c1815) was also there as were some Phipps children, possibly her grandkids.

!CENSUS:1850 Ashe Co, NC pg 297 # 866
William BAKER, 42, NC
Franklin, 35
Mary, 75
Nancy PHIPS, 16
Franklin, 12;

Mary was still at home with son William for the 1860 census.

!CENSUS:1860 Ashe Co, NC pg 376B South Eastern Dist, Helton PO # 1013/1013
William BAKER, 52 NC
Sela, 45
Robert, 12
Otta, 10 m
Mary, 7
Mary, 86;

I have no data on her after this point.

!CENSUS:1820;

!CENSUS:1830;

!CENSUS:1840;

!CENSUS:1850 Ashe Co, NC pg 297 # 866
William BAKER, 42, NC
Franklin, 35
Mary, 75
Nancy PHIPS, 16
Franklin, 12;

!NOTES:
Children

Mary (---) Baker was living with William Baker (c1808) and Franklin Baker (c1815) in 1850, so it stands to reason they are her children. No other children are known at present. Also see Jonathan Baker (1775/80) who was probably her husband.