The Bakers of near Hopkins County KY.

The Bakers of near Madisonville, Hopkins Co. Ky., were a home loving people, proud of their state; but the lure of the far west with its promise of free government land under the Donation Act with its promise of fertile soil & healthful climate became irresistible. Three brothers came west, John G., Caleb B., and Elijah E. Baker. John crossed the plains in 1843, spent the winter of 1843-1844 at Vancouver, Washington Territory. In the spring of 1844 he with his wife & two children, Henry & James located on McMinnville Prairie, Yamhill Co. Oregon. Ten years later the two brothers Elijah & Caleb migrated to the Oregon Territory; to these two families, this narrative is dedicated.

Elijah E., your grandfather (Net's), was a saddler by trade located in Providence, Hopkins Co., about 12 miles from Madisonville, the Co., seat of Hopkins Co. Caleb B., and my father, (Leander H. Baker) were a farmer and a stock dealer. His farm was about 4 miles west of Madisonville. Having decided to make the Journey, they disposed of their property & business and in the fall of 1852 moved into the western part of Missouri, then the western frontier settlements. C. B., being a sock dealer, was entrusted with funds to buy stock for the several families of Hopkins Co. who were to come on later, in the early Spring of 1853 & altogether make the company later known as the " kentucky train". Of that company, I will here mention only the very intimate & lifelong friends: the Bakers, Biles, & Austin E. Young.

1.Elijah E. Baker, wife & 2 sons: Joseph N. & William L. (Net's father)

2.Caleb B. Baker, wife & 3 sons: James E., John W.. & Leander H.

3.James Biles. wife & 3 sons: George W., James B., & Clark., & 4 daughters: Kate, Susan Bell, Margaret & Eurphemia.

4.Rev. Charles Byles, wife & 3 sons:, David, Charles N. & Luther, & 2 dau's,. Rebecca & Sarah Bell. (Although brothers Charles' signature was Byles)

5.Austin Young married Martha Brooks, a young woman reared but not adopted by Elijah and wife.

The Journey from Madisonville, Hopkins County, Ky.
to the Oregon Territory in 1853.

The Preparation:

In the Fall of 1852 C..B. Baker & Elijah Baker disposed of their business & property & with their families moved into the Western part of Missouri & wintered in a small hamlet called Covington. Caleb the stock dealer was entrusted with money to purchase stock necessary for those to come on early in the Spring of 1853.

The Journey

Early in the spring of 1853 the Kentuckians of Hopkins Co. started from Madisonville to join the few who had preceded them the previous fall to, or near Independence Rock, Missouri. In the company were 65 men, women, & children, & 12 wagons; barely enough teams to move them to Missouri were secured.

This first lap in the great journey was in some respects the most disagreeable of the entire journey to the far west. The country was newly settled, the road a single track, was in poor condition. It rained almost continuously, in places the road became almost impassable, the oxen wallowing through slush & mud. The wagons sank to the hubs with the axle often dragging in the soft sticky clay. The new canvas covers of the wagons sheltered the women & children but the men & larger boys trudged along on foot, often wet to the skin. Whenever possible frontier cabins were secured at night for the mothers & small children, the men & larger boys slept in bams or under wagons & too often slept in damp clothing. Yet not with standing these discomforts, there prevailed a hopeful cheer among the people.

The end of the first lap of the great journey came when amid rejoicings, they were hailed by their friends & relatives at Independence Rock. After a few days rest the women began washing, drying clothing & baking; the men putting wagons in order, selecting, mating oxen & gathering in the loose stock, when the order was given on the 16th day of April, 1853 to "fall into line" and the long trek to the land of the setting sun began.

Although known as the "kentucky train", families from other states, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania & Missouri, joined us at Independence Rock, but for the purpose of this narrative only close friends & relatives, Bakers, Biles, Downeys, Longmier, Kincades, Woolerys & the Himes who joined us later, will receive special mention.

From Independence Rock, 165 people who were later joined by the Himes family (5) making 172 were the part of the original train which turned North from the Oregon trail and entered the Puget Sound Country through Naches Pass. I cannot give the number who continued on to the Willamette Valley. (the numbers are what is on the manuscript)Soon after the start it became evident that some permanent organization was necessary. James Biles was the choice for Captain, but to avoid the possibility of jealousy or friction, he declined to be the sole leader & suggested an executive committee of 5 be chosen. The committee selected were: James Biles, Caleb Baker, James Longmier, William Downey & 1 other whose name I cannot now recall. This committee placed James Biles in charge of the train. C. B. Baker was selected as scout; however the 2 alternated in the discharge of their duties & harmony prevailed during the entire trip.

The year 1853 was propitious for the emigrants; the previous year, the year of the heavy migration, was marked by the appearance of the dread disease of the south, the Cholera; many fell victim of the scrouge; many parents were stricken and buried by the roadside, leaving children and property to be cared for by surviving friends. We passed many wagons left by the roadside, the covers intact & the belongings of the family still inside, mute story of the tragedy. The superstitious Indians awed by the white mans evil spirit, would not venture near the deserted wagons. Further on we passed a wagon left by the roadside, on the cover was painted in large letters "oregon or bust", below was scrawled apparently in charcoal from the campfire "busted by thunder".

INCIDENTS

But few incidents of interest occurred during the long journey; there was little sickness and no deaths in our train. The first incident occurred somewhere in the region of the Platt River. The Himes & Dodge families, a little in advance of our train, had camped for the night on the low banks of the dry bed of a small stream; the tents were stretched, the women and children went to bed about 9 o'clock ; about 1 0 o'clock Mr. Dodge, who was on guard, heard a sound in the distance like the rushing of waters. He called Mr. Himes attention to the noise but Mr. Himes failed to hear the noise saying there is nothing to fear; but Mr. Dodge was not assured & walking up the canyon he heard distinctly the roar of water & saw in the distance a white object like the crest of a waterfall. Running back he called Mr. Himes, who on looking out exclaimed "a cloud burst! get the women & children into the wagons as quickly as possible! "Mr. Himes then asked, "are all in the wagon" and Mrs. Himes replied, "where's helen?" Quickly Mr. Himes shouted, "frank, go get helen!" Frank was a faithful, intelligent dog; he immediately leapt into the water now swimming deep to him. The tent had been wrecked but in the fall enough air was caught holding the tent off the child. Frank soon located the child and began barking and scratching the canvas. The child was rescued unhurt but throughly soaked with the water. The Dodge family being tented further up the bank escaped the flood. In the morning our train found the Himes in a deplorable condition, the tent down, the bedding and clothes soaked with water and covered with drift & silt. Ox yolks & chains drifted some distance, covered with sand & silt. The committee said we must not leave these people in this fix. By this time the sun was shining warm and bright, the women began washing clothing and by evening everything was dry. In the mean time the young men went in search of the teams which had wandered, the older men recovering the yokes, chains and other effects which had drifted. The two families joined our train and in the morning all were on the move. The Himes family remained with us through the journey and were lifelong friends.

Another incident worthy of mention was the crossing of the dreaded American desert. Early in the forenoon we reached the eastern border of the desert. A halt of one hour was made, the stock turned to graze and drink and all available casks were filled with water for the people. The stock must make the crossing without water, by noon we had entered the desert, the crossing must be made without a halt. All the afternoon, all night and until late the next day we traveled on, at times in stifling sand & dust. In the afternoon of the second day the suffering of the teams became pitiable. Horses & mules with drooping heads & the oxen with tongues protruding plodded on. Suddenly late in the afternoon of the second day the mules pricked up their ears & began to bray, they scented water; teams became unmanageable but suffering for water was soon over.

When we reached the Grand Round Valley we were met by a young man, Nelson Sarjent, who with his father, Asher Sarjent in 1849 went to California; from there the elder Sarjent returned to his home in Indiana & Nelson went north into the Puget Sound Country; learning that his father & family were in our train en route for Oregon. Being enthusiastic for the Puget Sound Country, he urged the train to leave the Oregon trail and turn north for the Puget Sound. Some were in favor of taking his advice, others insisted on continuing on to Oregon. When we reached the site of the present town of Pendleton, a decision was made, each to decide for himself. Those who turned north for Puget Sound Country would have Nelson Sarjent as guide, and 172 decided to go north.

All went well until we reached the summit of the Cascades when we came to the end of the road. Mr. Sarjent knowing the road was open on the east side to the summit, had left men to open a road from the west to meet the road from the east. An Indian crossing through the Naches Pass met the road builders who inquired if he, the Indian, saw any white people coming. He said no they had all gone the other way, having only seen the Oregon Train. The men decided that if no wagons were coming it was useless to open the road, so they returned to the settlements. What was to be done, when -- a dense forest lay before them, winter was coming on, and to retreat was impossible. A consultation was held & "we will cut through or die" was unanimous. We averaged but 3 miles a day, many of the canyons were so steep that the wagons had to be lowered by ropes tied to the hind axle, the ropes then passed around trees or stumps. When we came to the last , steepest canyon the ropes by this time being badly frayed, were not long enough to reach the bottom. During the night an Ox was badly crippled, he was dispatched, his hide taken, cut into strips and plated into a rope, but it was not long enough to piece out the remaining ropes. James Biles said, to one of his men, "go bring one of my poorest oxen," he was shot, his hide taken and plated into rope as before. The ropes were still too short so Mr. Biles said "bring another," he too was shot and his hide used as the others. The ropes were now long enough, we reached the valley in safety and went into camp on American Lake, on the 16th day of October, 6 months to a day from the day we broke camp at Independence Rock, Missouri.

From our last camp on American Lake, C. B. Baker, Elijah E. Baker, James Biles & Charles Byles moved to Chambers Prairie, 4 miles east of Olympia; Elijah & family occupied a cabin on David Chambers place. C. B. Baker bought a squatters right to a land claim; James Biles & Charles Byles built cabins; Tirus Himes located a Donation land claim on or near Chambers Prairie. Here, the 5 families passed the winter of 1853-54. Early in the spring of 1854 Elijah followed an Indian Trail to Black Lake, following the trail down the Black River to Miami Prairie where he located a Donation land claim in the southern part of the prairie. C. B. Baker dissatisfied with the poor land he had purchased, followed the old Military Road south to Grand Mound Prairie and located a Donation Land Claim on what is known as Bakers Prairie. The James Biles claim on Chambers Prairie, joined the C. B. Baker claim on the south. The Charles Byles claim was in the northern part of the prairie. Austin Youngs claim on Baker's Prairie joined the James Biles claim on the west. The Downeys located in the town Stillicum, the Kinkade family on Cornell Prairie, the Longmiers on Chambers Prairie. I am not sure of the location of the Woolerys.

SUMMARY

Just 6 months from Independence Rock to American Lake: very little sickness and no deaths during the journey. The train was never attacked by the Indians. They made but 1 attempt to stampede the stock, but it failed. No stock lost or stolen. Crossing the American Dessert the stock suffered terribly. Crossing the Cascades all suffered for lack of food.
Respectfully submitted,
Leander Huston Baker
b.18 Aug. 1849 written c 1935

Sons and daughters of James and Sarah Baker, Hopkins Co. James
Baker was a soldier of the Revolutionary War.  All of the
children were born in KY.
         Richard Davis Baker m. 1827  Lucinda Timmons
         Mahala Baker m. 1818  Wm Thomasson
         Caleb B. Baker m. 1835  Eliza T. Berry
         Thirza Baker m. 1823  Larkin Martin
         Dixon Baker m. 1829  Elizabeth Thomasson
         Harriet K. Baker m. 1830 Thomas Downey
         Elijah E. Baker m. 1839 Olivia Graham 
         Wm. Baker  m. 1836 Mary Whitfield
         John Gordon Baker  m. Catherine Blevins in Missouri
         Elizabeth Baker m. Isaac Gore
         Mary Ann Baker m. Harvey Graham
         
These married in Hopkins Co., Harriet K., Mary, and Thirza.

Families of the ones coming West: 
   John G. and Catherine:
           Henry, James, William, Morgan, Granville, Sarah, Mary.
   Caleb B. and Louise:
           James, John W., Leander H., Allen B., Mary A.
   Elijah E. and Olivia:
           Elijah, Joseph N., William L.. John C.

William L. Baker married Kate Rutledge.  Their children were:
           Ethel & Nettie, (the one mentioned in the first part of the story.)

Ethel married Albert Helander, they had 2 children Earl and Lyle.

The preceeding was sent to me by Kay l. Martin and published with the permission of the owner, Richard D Helander

Mr Helander sent me the following:

Nancy,

Kay Martin has informed me that you would like written permission to use the subject story on your KY Gen-Web page. PERMISSION GRANTED!!

Let me put this account in perspective (at least in my mind). Leander was about 3 years of age (per census) when he made the trip to Washington and he was 85 (per same census) when he wrote this account for my grandmother's sister. So I would believe that even though he was a witness of this event, he probably had to hear about some of these events from the "old folks" after they got here. I can't believe a 3 year old could remember the events as vividly as he writes them.

They are a couple other accounts of this trip but they do not include the Baker family because they joined up with the Longmire train from Indiana. These accounts support most of what Leander wrote, particularly on the crossing of the Nachese Pass. The accounts are available in the Tacoma Public Library and are: (1) James Longmire, His Life, His Family by Marie Bauer Rice [avail at FHL in SLC, UT] and (2) Narrative of James Longmire, A Pioneer of 1853 {A Description of the Trip Across the Plains from Indiana, and the Events Prior to and during the Yakima Indian War of 1855 and 1856} as interviewed by Mrs. Lou Palmer [Tacoma Library, NWR 979.7 L863N c.2].