I finally had another one of my photos identified. The picture below is of Marcus G. Howard of West Virgina. He was my Great Uncle, brother of Hattie Howard and son of Alexander Newman Howard. 

Click here to check out some of our photos from Cozumel last week. Some of the underwater photos turned out really good.

Check out the photos of the ice storm here in NW AR. We are not use to this at all. If I heard correctly, NW AR has been declared in a state of emergency.

Who recently posted something about just being accepting in to the DAR? I have some questions for you. Would you please email me if you don't mind answering some questions.

Thanks,

Beth

On my last visit to Leslie, Searcy County, AR my Uncle was kind enough to give me this drawing of my great grandfather Riley Jackson Lewis. The man who drew it, his name was Tom Scott. His signature is on the bottom right hand side of the picture. I don't know anything about Mr. Scott except that he drew allot of pictures. My grandfather always had them hanging in his grocery store and my uncle still has them hanging in the store. I never knew any of the pic's were of my family until now. The picture below is also Riley Lewis.

 Timothy Baker born 1680 died 1747

 Timothy Baker was the first of his surname to maintain a permanent residence in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Estimated to have been born circa 1680, he is the first of record on November 22, 1707 when he purchased 302 acres from Joshua and Rebecca Wright "Lyeing & being between Greater Shabbentunk & Run Called Lesser Shabbentunk" in what was later to be Maidenhead Township in Hunterdon County. By March 1709 Timothy's position in the area was sufficient enough for him to be appointed a constable of Maidenhead.

Timothy became a prominent member of the Maidenhead Presbyterian Church, and was among those who purchased land for the congregation on January 8, 1710. Timothy Baker was included in a list of those from Maidenhead for the promoting of a County in the upper parts of Burlington County, which resulted in the formation of Hunterdon County in March 1714. In April 1717 Timothy Baker of County of Hunterdon.... yeoman sold 50 acres of land in Mansfield Township, Burlington County.

Timothy was appointed one of the surveyors of the highways of Maidenhead Township in March 1718 and in January 1718/19 was among the Townships overseers of the poor. On March 28, 1719 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for County of Hunterdon and in this capacity paid a peny pr week for the upkeep of a certain Negero wench in January 1719/20.

On "8br y 3d 1720 Timothy Baker was listed in the inventory of Andrew Heath and in May 1721 was again assigned a "Commission of the Peace for the County of Hunterdon". In 1722 he was listed as the head of a family residing in Maidenhead and was paid a small sum out of the estate of John Muirhead in April 1728. Timothy was among those who contributed to a parsonage for a Presbyterian society for the use of the Town of Maidenhead" in November 1730.

Timothy's participation in both the church and the community at Maidenhead continued through the 1730's, he being elected as an overseer of the roads from 1731 to 1733 and appointed an Elder in the Presbyterian Church in 1733. The name of Timothy Baker of Maidenhead appears on a 1738 Hunterdon County poll-list and in October of the same year he was involved in a controversy among the members of the Maidenhead Presbyterian Church.

On April 6, 1739 Timothy Baker of Maidenhead made his last will and testament. By this instrument he left his loving wife Susannah the best room in my dwelling house. He named his 3 daughters Mary, Grace, and Ruth and his Eldest son Samuel Baker as well as his other sons, Mathis Baker, Thomas Baker, and Timothy Baker. Further in his will he referred to his one daughter Grace Colman.

In 1741 Timothy was listed as a Freeholder of Maidenhead Township and in 1744 continued to be implicated in the dispute among the member of the Presbyterian Church. On June 9, 1747 Timothy's last will and testament probated, indicating that he probably died at about this time. Were it not for his will, the construction of his family would have been difficult, for no Family Bible, civil or church records seems to have survived giving the names of this children.

From his will it is known that Timothy's wife's given name was Susannah. There is but one other known reference to her, namely on September 12, 1734 when as "Susannah Baker" she joined the Presbyterian Church of Maidenhead. There is no other record surviving as to when she and Timothy passed away, and though they were probably interred in the Maidenhead Presbyterian Churchyard, no stone survives marking where they are buried.

As for the children of Timothy and Susannah Baker, only 3 of their sons left any evidence as to their existence in and around Maidenhead Township, namely Samuel, Matthes (as he personally signed his name) and Timothy, Junior. Aside for the reference to him in his father's 1739 will, there is but one other known record on Thomas Baker. In May 1757 he was a defendant along with his brother Matthew Baker in the Hundterdon County Court of Common Pleas. Virtually nothing is known concerning Timothy's daughters except for Brace Baker who married a man named Colman. Based on the surviving documents concerning Timothy and his sons who continued to reside in Hunterdon County, his immediate family may be as follows:

Timothy Baker (perhaps the son of Samuel Baker) born circa 1680 possibly in Bucks County, PA, died circa May 1747 Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County New Jersey. Married circa 1703 to Susannah, surname unknown.

Children of Timothy and Susannah:

• Samuel, born September 1704G
• Grace born circa 1707 (married Colman)
• Matthes, born circa 1710
• Mary, born circa 1712
• Thomas, born circa 1715
• Ruth born circa 1718
• Timothy, Junior born circa 1720

 Matthes Baker born c.1710 died 1788

 Matthes Baker, the son of Timothy and Susannah Baker was born circa 1710 at Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The earliest known record on him was made on August 27, 1738 when as "Matthis Baker of maidenhead, West Jersey" he married, at the Presbyterian Church at Newtown in Queens County, New York, Judith Wood.

At the time that Timothy Baker made his last will and testament on April 6, 1739, he gave his "son Mathis Baker" certain sums of money. In June 1740 "Mathias Baker of the County of Hunterdon" secured a mortgage from the Hunterdon County Loan Office for seven acres "Scittuate in Maidenhead Township" located on the West Side of.... Eight mile Run on the South side of the Kings road, where that now Crosseth the Run." He signed the document as "matthes Baker" and made payments on the load each year until April 1749, when it was paid in full.

In 1741 "Matthew Baker" was listed as a Freeholder of Maidenhead Township. Residing on the "Kings road" no doubt encouraged "Mathias Baker of Maidenhead" to become an "Innholder", and toward that end he secured his tavern license in May 1741. In May 1742 he again obtained a permit in order to operate a "Publick house". "Math Baker" was sued on a debt in the of L15 in the Hunterdon County Court of Common Pleas in April 1751, and in May 1752 he brought charges of debt against one Samuel Albirtis in the same court. This case remained in litigation until February 1753.

As Mathes Baker of Hopewell in the County of Hunterdon.... Cordwinder, he made a loan to Thomas Walters on April 26, 1753. Two months later on June 26, 1752 as "Mathias Baker" of Hopewell Township, he was assessed L0.1.11 "for repairing the Goal and Court House" of Hunterdon County. These two documents would indicate that, subsequent to making the final payment on his mortgage in 1749, Matthes moved north from maidenhead Township into adjoining Hopewell township, where he was no longer a tavern keeper but rather a shoemaker. In his new profession Mathew Baker" paid a Hopewell Township tanner for "Curring lather" in November 1755.

The charges made by Mathes Baker against Thomas Walters lasted in the Hunterdon County Court of Common Pleas through most of 1755. Matthes again appeared variously in the Hunterdon County Court in 1756 and 1757.

As Mathias Baker he was the "Suretie" of his brother Timothy when the latter applied for his tavern license in may 1762. In September 1762 he witnessed the will of Rebekah Titus...of Hopewell, signing the document as matthes baker.

The home of Matthew Baker, located on the Road from Trenton to Amboy near the Eight Mile Brook, is depicted on a map drawn up in 1762. He was a member of the jury in the Hunterdon County Court of Common Pleas Session of October 1766. Mathias Baker was a patient of a Hopewell Township doctor, Benjamin Van Kirk who prescribed various "Powders: for him from September 1776 until July 1777. During the Revolutionary War "Methias Baker" sold line and "stockens" to the Hunterdon County Commissioner of Clothing in December 1777, and offered 300 pounds of wheat toward the war effort to Contractor Joseph Inslee of Hopewell in April 1780.

The Hopewell Township assessment made in January 1781 notes that Mathias Baker owned 145 acres, the tax return for July 1785 describes him as in possession of the same amount of property. In May 1787 Matthias Baker initiated court proceedings against John Burrows, whom he sued for a debt in the amount of L300. This judicial action lasted until February 1788.

Matthis Baker died intestate about October 1788, and on the 27th of that month, Judith Baker and William Baker were appointed the administrators of his estate. Signing the administration bond along with them was Timothy Baker Junior. In an inventory of the goods of Matthews Baker Deceased made on December 27th, 1788, there was listed, among other things, "andirons brass tops", a gun, "Tobacco", "Cyer & Whiskey", and a "Negro Girl.

In some of the documentation to survive on Matthes Baker, it is evident that his give name was not Matthias as it was written by certain scribes. His father in his 1739 will stated that his son's Christian name was "Mathis" and in many subsequent attempts at the spelling of his name in the public records, his first name was written without the "a". And most importantly, he personally wrote his own name as "matthes Baker".

Unfortunately, neither a Family Register nor a public or private record seems to have survived detailing the immediate family of Matthes and Judith Baker. However in a comprehensive study of all the male members of the Baker family in Hunterdon County in the 18th century, and by comparison of their handwriting, their given names and their respective places of residence, as well as by utilizing reason and logic, making the best use of the prime sources available, and taking into consideration the "preponderance of the evidence," the children of Matthes Baker were able to be identified.

The eldest child was without a doubt was the only daughter of Matthes and Judith, whom they name in honor of her mother. Judith was born circa 1739, and was married to Robert Lanning. They resided in Hunterdon County, and were buried in Amwell Township. Their son William Lanning (and his son Robert) was referred as a "nephew" in the will of Judith's brother.

 The identity of the sons of Matthes and Judith is proven by the last will and testament of William Baker, who died in Hopewell Township in 1817. There proved to be but two men by the given name of William in the Baker family of the 18th century Hunterdon County. Inasmuch as the youngest one was born in 1778, he could not have been the William Baker who was appointed the executor of the estate of Matthes Baker in 1788. As Matthes' two brothers, Samuel and Timothy Baker, junior, both died testate, those Baker men referred to as the brothers of William Baker in his will of 1817, all of whom were of the third generation of the family in Hunterdon County and up until now unplaced, were clearly the sons of Matthes Baker, of the second generation. Consequently, the William Baker who signed the administration papers of Matthes Baker in 1788, was the son of Matthes and Judith, as proven by the identical signature William Baker on his will of 1817.

Based on William Baker's will, John Baker (my brother John Baker) was among the oldest, if not the eldest son of Matthes and Judith. Timothy Baker (my brother Timothy) who was named in honor of his paternal grandfather was probably the second son of Matthes and Judith. It is known that he was born circa 1743. The youngest son of Matthes was no doubt William Baker, who in his 1817 will refers to himself as "Senior" to differentiate himself from the younger members of the family by the same given name. The family of Matthes and Judith Baker, therefore, may be constructed as follows:

Matthes BAKER, son of Timothy and Susannah Baker, born circa 1710, at Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey; died circa October 1788, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County; married August 27th 1738 Judith WOOD.

Children of Matthes and Judith are as follows:

• Judith born circa 1739, died June 2, 1829, married Robert Lanning
• John, born circa 1741
• Timothy born circa 1743
• William, born circa 1745

 TIMOTHY BAKER born circa 1743 - died 1810

Timothy Baker, the son of Matthes and Judith (WOOD) Baker, was born circa 1743 in Maidenhead Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Named for his paternal grandfather, Timothy initially resided in Hopewell Township, and was listed along with his father and brother William, at the time of the assessment of that district made in January 1781. By 1786 he had moved fro Hopewell Township and was residing in bordering Somerset County, where as "Thimothe Baker" he personally signed a petition claiming that he had rendered active service in the field at the time of the Revolutionary War.

 Timothy eventually settled in Readington Township, Hunterdon County, which is situated adjacent to Somerset County and northeast of Hopewell Township. Here he purchased 126 acres along the "Channel of Campbells brook" where he resided until his death. Timothy Baker, Senior died intestate on August 14, 1810 in the 68^th year of his age. An inventory of the estate of Timothy Baker late of the Township of Readington was made on October 6, 1810. Listed were a variety of farming implements (Waggon, Plough & Shear, Grass Sythe); crops (14 Bushels Flax seed, Seven Tons Hay, and Rye in Barn); and animals (Pride Cow with horns off, 17 Head Sheep, and Young Bay Mare), all of which would indicate that he was a husbandman.

 About 1773 Timothy married Deborah, who surname is unknown. They were the parents of at least eight children. The eldest was evidently John who was born about 1774. His name headed the list of Timothy and Deborah's children at the sale of their father's land subsequent to his death. When his brother, Matthes Baker, was in legal difficulty, John was involved in the court proceedings. John's wife was Charity, the daughter of Ezekiel Cole.

 Elijah Baker, was probably the next child of Timothy and Deborah Baker, and was born August 27, 1776. He was the second child to be listed as an heir of his father at the time of the sale of Timothy's Readington Township property. Elijah was also supportive of his brother Matthes at the time of his legal difficulties. Rebecca was the name of Elijah's wife, and the two are buried in a Readington Township Cemetery.

 Francis Baker, the third child listed in the sale of his father's land, was born circa 1779. Nothing is known concerning this son. Matthes Baker was the next child listed among his father's children at the time of the sale of the paternal land, and was born on January 2, 1782. He was in considerable legal difficulty, and eventually became an insolvent debtor. Buried in the same cemetery as his brother Elijah, Matthes died on June 19, 1861. Obviously named in honor of his paternal grandfather, it is significant to note that he personally signed his given name as Matthes, as it is written on his tombstone.

 Elizabeth was likely the next child of Timothy and Deborah Baker. She was born circa 1785 and married Cornelius Low. Deborah and Timothy Baker's second daughter was named Amy. Born about 1788, she married Isaac Voorhees. William Baker, born circa 1791 (son of my brother Timothy) he was left $300.00 according to the 1817 will of his paternal uncle and name-sake William Baker. Timothy Baker, junior, the youngest child of his parents, was born circa 1796 and died at the age of 16 on April 28, 1813.

 TIMOTHY BAKER, son of Matthes and Judith (Wood) Baker, was born circa 1743 at maidenhead, Hunterdon County, New Jersey; died August 14, 1810, Readington Township, Hunterdon County; married circa 1773 DEBORAH, surname unknown

 Children of Timothy and Deborah BAKER are as follows:

• John, born circa 1774
• Elijah, born August 27, 1776
• Francis, born circa 1779
• Matthes, born January 2, 1782
• Elizabeth, born circa 1785
• Amy, born circa 1788
• William, born circa 1791
• Timothy junior, born circa 1796

I have searched every thing on line that I could possibly search for the past couple of years trying to find documentation on one John Baker, born in New Jersey in the 1770's, and the proof that I had the right one. I finally had given up on it, deciding that unless I can go to New Jersey and search the State Archives and records myself I would never know anything else beyond just his name.

Well I am in awe to have not only found a long lost cousin, but a cousin who had hired a professional genealogist to research his BAKER family in Hunterdon County New Jersey. As my new found cousin said to me via email a couple of weeks ago, "You've hit the jackpot". He sent me a 24 page report that lays it all out back to 1680, including information regarding the Revolutionary War, who owned a Tavern......and much more. So I now have proof on who my John Baker was and 3 more generations to boot!! He is also sending me a copy of all the documents (over 400 pages) to support everything that is in the report.

How lucky can a person get??????? I am beyond excited on this wonderful find!!!!!

Cyndy recently shared with us a really cool idea, salt and pepper shakers she had made for a Family Reunion. So I contacted her and with her help I have made some for an up and coming Family Reunion too.

THANKS CYNDY!!!!

Beth