I wrote the following several years ago. I don't think their is any need
from me to explain what I am sending. Your George Baker was a brother to
John Renta Baker.
Good Bakers - Bad Bakers
My Aunt, Lillie Baker Allen, was born on Sacker Creek in Clay County,
Kentucky in 1891. She died in Lexington, Kentucky in 1987, at the age of
96. Her father, George W. Baker was born in Owsley County in 1871 and died
at Burning Springs in Clay County in 1912. The family, shortly after his
death, moved from the was just a young woman at the time, the love for the
mountains and it's people remained with her until the day she died. This
lady and her remarkable memory, started me out "Baker Hunting".
Often when I talked to Aunt Lillie about her family, she would refer to
them as Good Bakers, Bad Baker. It wasn't until after her death that I
began to understand what she was trying to tell me. She told me that her
grandmother, Ibby Baker, was a Baker before she married. She said that
Ibby was a school teacher, and that she went to Buffalo Creek in Owsley
County to teach. Here she met and married Jackson Baker. Jackson died in
1878, leaving Ibby and their small son George. After the death of her
husband, Ibby
returned to Clay County and lived with her brother. She died a year later.
Her son George W. Baker was adopted and raised by her brother, William Baker
and his wife Elizabeth Parker.
Aunt Lillie wrote me a letter one time about the Bakers on Buffalo
Creek in Owsley County. These were the one's she called "Bad Bakers". She
said her father received word from his aunt, Martha Gabbard, to come up to
Owsley County, that the family had sold some land, part of which belonged to
his father. His
aunt went on to tell him that she was holding his part of the money from the
sale for him. Aunt Lillie said; "We didn't want him to go. We thought it
was Catch! We thought they were trying to get him up there to kill him."
To the relief of Aunt Lillie and the family, her father George made the trip
to Bull Skin and returned home safely.
I once asked Aunt Lillie where the Bakers came from? She said; "They
came from Liverpool England, they were gunsmiths and that they came to this
country to make guns for the colonies." At the time Aunt Lillie told me
this, I paid little attention. Of all the great things Aunt Lillie told
me, this statement would prove the most important. She died without me
having the opportunity of telling her what I learned about this very unique
family. So I would like at this time to share my story with you.
We begin our story with Abner Baker, first County Clerk of Clay County.
Abner was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, September 18, 1775. He
came to Kentucky in 1795 and first settled in Garrard County where he
married Elizabeth Buford. He was appointed Clerk of Garrard County in 1803
and held
this office until he moved to Clay County in 1807. Abner Baker kept a
records keeping book throughout his life he called his "Life Book" In this
small notebook he kept records about his family. You can imagine my
surprise when I read the following statement taken from this book. Abner
Baker stated that there were three brothers Samuel, Andrew and Caleb, who
first came to America. They were gunsmiths with a grant from the King of
England to manufacture guns for the colonies. He goes on to say that his
grandfather, Caleb Baker, and his family removed from Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, bought land and settled in what was
then called "The Backwoods" in Amelia County, Virginia on Buffalo Creek.
Was this just a coincident, or were Aunt Lillie and Abner Baker
talking about the same Baker family? I was finally convinced I was on the
right track when I came across some writings by a Mr. Samuel E. Dyke, a
researcher in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This was a report given to
the Kentucky Rifle's Association in 1972. It seems that the Association had
employed Mr. Dyke to do some research for them. They wanted him to see if
he could find out the person or persons responsible for making the first
Pennsylvania Rifles or what was sometimes called the "Kentucky Rifle". Mr.
Dyke in his report states; "We feel as though these early gunsmiths came
into Chaster, Pennsylvania, or New Castle, Delaware, from abroad and
migrated up the Susquehanna River to where the Pequea flows into it and set
up shop for making guns." He goes on to
say that Robert Baker came into Lancaster County Court on August 15, 1719
and asked permission to erect a gun boring mill at the mouth of Pequea Creek
on his land. Permission was granted. Robert Baker and his
son Caleb set up their gunshop and operated it until 1728. It was at this
time Robert Baker died. His son, Calab Baker, continued to operate this
gunshop until the family moved to Amelia County, Virginia.
The above Caleb Baker was the grandfather of Abner Baker, first Clerk
of Clay County. Although Abner Baker is the one of the most interesting of
people, he is not the subject of our story. I only used his statements and
those of Mr. Dyke to establish the fact that some of the Bakers now living
in Clay and Owsly Counties, can trace their ancestors back to these early
Pennsylvania Bakers.
Abner Baker, in his "Life Book", stated that his grandfather Caleb,
had two brothers Andrew and Samuel Baker. These two brothers would prove
the most adventurous of this Baker family. In the early 1750s Andrew
Baker, John Cox, Enoch Osborn and several other neighboring families in
Pennsylvania set out on a westward journey. This journey eventually led
them into the Yadkin River Valley, in present day Wilkes County, North
Carolina. This small group of Pennsylvanians would be among the first to
settle in the area.
Some of these people settled along the Yadkin River, others of the
more adventurous nature, crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and settled along
New River in what is now Ash and Alleghany Counties, North Carolina. No
white man had attempted settlement here before. New River was known at the
time only by
it's Indian name "Saxphaw". It was here, along the south branch, Andrew
Baker made first his home.
Andrew Baker remained in the area of New River until about 1753. He
then decided to push even deeper into Indian country. He moved down New
River into what is now Grayson County, Virginia, very near the North
Carolina line. Here Andrew staked out a large track of land he called his
"Peach Tree Bottom" track. But the next summer, he and his family were ran
out by the Indians. He returned to his prior settlement on New River,
where he would remain for the next ten years or so. He did, however, make
one other attempt to settle his "Peach Tree Bottom" track. This was in
1767 or 1768. This time he
encountered another problem. In Andrew's long absence, Dr. Thomas Walker,
a surveyor for the Loyal Land Company, had staked and claimed the "Peach
Tree Bottom" track, for his employers. He had to now purchase a 1000 acres
of his original claim before he could resettle on it again. It seems that
it just wasn't meant to be. The following year, he was once again forced
out by the Indians and back to his old settlement. One might wonder why
Andrew was so determined to settle this particular track land. The answer
lay in
what was on and in the land, more so, than the land itself. For you see,
one of the largest iron ore deposits in this area, was discovered on this
land. I think Andrew Baker, and at least one of his sons, were involved
in the Iron business. His son James Baker and he built several larger iron
furnaces along Cramberry Creek, a tributary of the south branch of New
River. The remains of some of these old Iron Furnaces can be seen even
today. They were at their peek of production during the Revolutionary War.
If you talk to many people in Clay and Owsley Counties today about
the early settlers, adventually the name John "Renta" Baker will come into
the conversation. He is thought to have been a very exceptional person,
but why? Why has his name survived all these years?
John "Renta" Baker was a son of Andrew Baker and Mary Bolin. He
was born in Pennsylvania in about 1745 and brought into the valley of New
River when but a small child. His early life was mostly spent in the
forest. The time he spent in the woods was probably the closest thing to
schooling he ever received. It is quite understandable that he became a
professional hunter when he grew to manhood. Hewas a member of one of the
first organized hunting parties to cross the Appalachian Mountains. This
party was lead by Benjamin Cutbirth in the summer of 1767. Ben Cutbirth
and John Renta were raised in the same neighborhood on New River. They only
lived a few miles apart. Cutbrith and Baker would go on many hunts
together. They developed a friendship for each other, a bond that would
span nearly a lifetime.
Benjamin Cutbirth was a relative to Daniel Boone. He was married to
Boone's niece, Elizabeth Wilcoxen. Daniel Boone, at the time, was living
on the south side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, some twenty-five miles away
on Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Yadkin River. Cutbirth and Baker's
hunting tripin 1767 proved to be a great success. After selling their furs,
they had managed to make as much in one hunting season, as they would have
in several years of back breaking farming. Word soon spread of their
success and that of other hunting parties. In 1769 the largest and most
famous hunting party ever formed in the area met at the mouth of Reedy Creek
in Virginia. These men would become known as the "Long Hunters", called so
for the great distances they traveled and the long periods of time they
were out. Some of these hunters were away from home for as much as two
years and a few even longer. Most of them had returned home by late June
of 1771, with the exception of John Renta Baker, Cassius Brooks, and eight
others. These men built two boats and two canoes and continued to hunt and
trap for several more months.
They worked their way down the Cumberland and Tennesse Rivers to the
Mississippi River. They thendescended that river to the settlement at
Natches. Here they sold their furs and returned home overland.
John Renta Baker encountered another problem after returning to his
home in Wilkes County. He had seen this one coming for a long time, but he
nor his neighbors knew what to do about it. This problem was
the Loyalist or more often called Tories. They had gained complete control
of the valley. The political and economic structure was solely in their
hands now. Speaking out against the Crown was a one sure way of
getting into trouble. If a person was even suspected of disloyalty, they
were often forced to take an oath of allegiance to the King before they were
allowed to sale their product at market. Needless to say, this harassment
brought on much hard feelings. This would all come to an abrupt ending
when a man by the
name of Benjamin Cleveland moved into the valley. He would prove to be the
Tories worst nightmare. Not long after his arrival, he gathered together
some forty of the most headstrong men in the area. These men became known
as "Cleveland's Devils" or sometimes called "Cleveland's Bull Dogs". They
would soon rid the valley of the Tories, forcing them into the surrounding
mountains. Col. Cleveland's main solution to the Tory problem was always
the same. On the limbs of a giant oak tree, standing in Wilkesboro, he hung
every Tory he and his men could catch, with no exceptions. Justice was
always swift and very permanent.
I would like to note here that I was in Wilkesboro in the summer of
1987. To the rear of the Courthouse still stands the above mentioned Oak
Tree. It looked today much as I imagine it did in Cleveland's time. It
stands there as if it were defining time itself. At the base of this
magnificent old tree is
a small plaque. It reads: "THE TORY OAK" on the limbs of this tree Tories
were hanged during the American Revolution, by Colonel Ben Cleveland and
others". I knew that John Renta Baker had been one of Cleveland's Devils
and as I stood here, I could not but wonder how many hangings he had
witnessed or
even taken part in.
When the Revolutionary War broke out back east, it came to no big
surprise to John Renta and his neighbors. After all, they had been
fighting their own war with the Tory for quite sometime. The main impact
of the war did not come to the valley until late September of 1780. A
rider came in with some
shocking news. He had been sent by Col. John Sevier, commander of the
Watauga Station in Tennesse. Col. Sevier informed Col. Cleveland that he
had just received word from Col. Patrick Ferguson, a British officer under
the command of Gen. Cornwallis. The message came in the form of a warning.
It stated that
if he, (Col. Sevier) did not lay down his arms and stop this rebellion
against the Crown, he would come, "hang their leaders and lay waste to their
country with fire and sword." Riders had also been dispatched to Col.
William Campbell in Virginia and Col. Isaac Shelby in Tennesse with the same
message. All were
advised, with the utmost urgency to gather as many men and as much supplies
as possible. The Americans had made up their minds, they were not going to
wait for the war to come to them, they were going to meet it head on. In
less than a week Col. Cleveland had mustered about 350 men and started out
to join the main
force. When united with Campbell's and Shelby's men, the American Army
amounted to a little over 900 men. The British office, Col. Ferguson, had
about 100 regular soldiers under his command. He had also managed to
recruit about 900 to 1000 Tory also. Col. Ferguson and his men had
fortified themselves on top of a mountain. The battle was fought on
October 7, 1780 and would become known as the Battle of Kings Mountain.
The battle ended in defeat for the British. They lost 157 men that day,
among them their leader, Col. Patrick Ferguson.
There was little time for rejoicing over their victory of the battle.
A more pressing problem was now at hand. These men had been continuously on
the move and marching for many weeks. They were hungry, cold, tired, and a
long way from home. Their food and other provisions were almost depleted.
If this were
not bad enough, they now had 750 British and Tory prisoners to contend with.
Of these, 60 were wounded. They resorted to scavenging for food anyway or
anywhere they could find it. It was late in the year and all the crops
had been harvested. Occasionally, they would come across an abandoned
garden, where they would sometimes find sweet potatoes and green pumpkins.
These they fried and ate as if they were some sort of delicacy. As each
day passed the situation became worse. A constant reminder of all their
suffering
was always close at hand. These were the British and Tory prisoners they
had captured. The hate and resentment for them grew with each passing day
and was about to reach a boiling point. Of course, Col. Cleveland had his
usual solution to the problem. He simply just wanted to hang them all.
Col. Shelby and Campbell were not quite as blood thirsty, but did agree to
hold trials, hoping to appease him and some of the others. So on the 7th
day after the battle, a makeshift Court was set up in the middle of the
woods. The
trials began early and lasted all day. Needless to say, few of the
prisoners were pronounced innocent, most were sentenced to hang. That
night in a nearby forest, a very eerie seen took place. By the light of
Pine-knot torches the prisoners were placed on horseback and hung, three at
a time.
This process was repeated over and over, until the total of nine men
had been hung. At this point a stop was called. What had began in a rage
of hate and revenge, had ended in total silence. Nevertheless, it sent a
very clear message to the remaining Tory prisoners of their situation.
Within the next few days most of them had managed to escape. Of the 750
prisoners taken, only 130 were turned over to the authorities at
Hillsborough, North Carolina.
The Battle of Kings Mountain was one of the most decisive battles of
the Revolutionary War. But for the people in Wilkes County, North
Carolina the war was a long way from being over. The personal war that Col.
Cleveland and his little band had waged against the Tory, once again raised
it's ugly head. A
certain Tory leader by the name of Capt. William Riddle made a bold move.
A party of six or eight men, lead by Capt. Riddle, sneaked into the valley
and captured the biggest prize of all, Col. Ben Cleveland
himself.
The Colonel was on a visit to his plantation up at "Old Fields". The
creek that ran through his plantation still bares this name today. This was
on Saturday, April 13, 1781. The Tory had been following Col. Cleveland and
his whereabouts for quite sometime. They had finally located him at the
house of Jesse Duncan, a tenant of the Colonel's plantation. Not known to
the Tory, there were two men in the house at the time. Richard Callaway and
John Shirley, who had come over to visit the Colonel and decided to spend
the night. The Tory knew that the Colonel was not going to be taken
without a fight, so they devised a plan. Under the cover of darkness, they
came and stole the Colonel's horses, knowing he would think they had broken
loose and would try to find them. Sure enough, the next morning the
Colonel, after discovering his horses missing, set out to find them. His
tenant, Duncan, came along accompanied by Richard Callaway and John Shirley.
As the Tory had planned, they ran head on into their ambush. Col.
Cleveland, was taken prisoner. Richard Callaway was shot through the thigh
and left to die. Jesse Duncan and John Shirley had
manage to escape.
The discovery of what had taken place was not made until later that
morning. Joseph Callaway, who I guess became concerned in the whereabouts
of his brother, set out to find him. After reaching Duncan's
house, he discovered no one there and the horses gone. It was about this
time Callaway heard a gun fire. He ran in the direction from where the
sound came and there discovered Shirley and Duncan. After thestory was
related to Joseph Callaway, he mounted his horse and road off as fast as he
could in the direction
of his father's house, a short distance away. After telling his father,
Thomas Callaway, the location of his wounded brother, he remounted his horse
and set out again. This time to tell the Colonel's brother, Capt.
Robert Cleveland, of the situation. There was no time to waist. Capt.
Robert Cleveland lived some 12 miles away. By the time Callaway reached his
home and the return trip, the trail would be long cold. In a short
time the whole neighborhood was alerted.
William Callaway, another brother of Richard, John Renta Baker and
Samuel McQueen set out on the trail in pursuit of the Tory. After tracking
most that day, shortly before dusk they discovered the Tory camp. Not
wanting to alert the Tory of their presents, our little rescue party
retreated back down the trail and bed down for the night. Just before
sunrise the next morning Capt. Robert Cleveland rode up with another twenty
or so. After exchanging ideas of how to deal with the situation, the party
moved in closer to take a look at the Tory camp. The Tories were going
about their business preparing breakfast, totally unaware of what was about
to take place. Old Ben Cleveland was setting on a log, acting as if he
didn't have a care in the world. He was among the first to discover the
presence of his rescuers. The Colonel was a very large man, weighing
upward to 300 pounds. When the first shots rang out he knew it would be of
little use for him to try running. So he just set there on the log
shouting; "Hurrah for Brother Bob! That's right, give 'em hell.! " With
this he fell backwards off the log and lay on the ground, in fear of being
shot by one of his own men.
With the exception of one, the Tories made their escape, including
their leader, Capt. Riddle. But Colonel Cleveland was not to be denied his
revenge. Capt. Riddle and two others by the names of Reeves
and Goss were captured shortly after. It does not take much imagination to
figure out their fate. That's right! The Old Oak Tree in Wilkesboro.
But, it could never be said that the old Colonel wasn't an understanding
person. He did allow Capt. Riddle's wife to watch as he hung her husband.
The mentioned Callaway family was kinfolks to John Renta Baker.
Thomas Callaway was married to Mary "May" Baker. She was a aunt to John
Renta and sister to Andrew Baker. Thomas Callaway's son Richard, (the one
who was left to die) was named for his uncle, Col. Richard Callaway, one of
the founders
of Boonesboro in Kentucky.
John Renta Baker continued to live in Wilkes County until about
1790 or 1791. At which time he, and his old hunting companion Benjamin
Cutbirth, with their families moved to Carter County, Tennessee. John
Renta lived here for six or seven years before moving to Hawkins County,
Tennessee. He remained
there only a short time. In about 1798 he moved into the Blackwater
Settlement in Lee County, Virginia. In 1801 John Renta moved to what was to
become Clay County, Kentucky. He died in 1830 and in all probability, is
buried in the Courtland Cemetery in Owsley County. This cemetery is located
on Courtland
Creek a tributary of Buffalo Creek.
Thank you for allowing me to share this story with you. Oh!! By the
way, if you are a descendant of this line of Bakers, don't fret too much
about what Aunt Lillie said. I personally think there is a little good and
bad in all of us.
Clyde N. Bunch
(
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