Baker, William O.

BAKER, OWEN, HUFFMAN, ABEL, OLIVER, SMITH, FRUMAN, DENNET, ANDREWS, BOWEN

Posted By: Ken Akers (email)
Date: 10/10/2013 at 20:49:20

WILLIAM O. BAKER.
One of the influential citizens and farmers of Viola township, this
county, and the owner of two hundred acres of land in that township, is William
O. Baker, a man of excellent endowment and upright character, who has
been a valuable factor in the agricultural and civic affairs of Viola township
for many years. Since casting his lot with the people of Audubon county
in 1874, Mr. Baker has benefited not only himself, but the community in
general. His record shows him to be one of the prominent and successful
farmers of Audubon county, and he is in every respect, worthy of representation
in this volume.
William O. Baker was born in England on February 19, 1848, the son
of Robert and Eliza (Owen) Baker, who immigrated from England in 1850
and located near Davenport, Scott county, Iowa, where they lived for twenty
years and were successful farmers. They came to Audubon county in 1870
and lived in Melville township for four years, after which they moved to
Viola township. Robert Baker died on the farm there on June 18, 1905, his
wife having preceded him to the grave but a bare month before, her death
having occurred on May 13 of the same year, Robert Baker having been
eighty-nine years old at the time of his death and his wife eighty-three.
They were the parents of the following children : William, the subject of
this sketch; Mrs. Mary Jane Huffmann (deceased), who lived in Viola township;
Mrs. Annie Abel, of Omaha, Nebraska; John Thomas, of Spirit Lake;
James K., who lives near Audubon; Mrs. Josephine Oliver, of Melville township,
and Mrs. Nellie Smith, of Dodd City, Kansas.
William O. Baker lived with his parents until their death and cared for
them, having previously purchased from them the farm which he now owns.
He has, for many years, been an extensive breeder of Shorthorn and Hereford
cattle, dividing his time between these two breeds and farming. Of
late he has been buying and selling cattle, and handles hundreds of head
annually. Mr. Baker owns altogether two hundred and eighty acres of land,
one hundred and sixty acres of which is located in section i8 and one hundred
and twenty acres in section 17, and has lived on this farm since the
spring of 1874. He first came to Audubon county with his parents in 1870,
at which time his nearest neighbor in Melville township was E. J. Fruman,
who lived four miles away. Mr. Baker is one of the oldest settlers in Viola
township. He purchased his land in 1879 at eighteen dollars an acre from
F. E. Dennet and Carl Dennet, previously having rented land for five years.
The highway near his farm is lined on both sides with great trees which he
planted. The home is attractive and well built and the farm is well fenced.
Though Mr. Baker is a Democrat, he is somewhat independent in his
voting, being inclined, for it is a question between measures and parties, to
support men of high principles rather than political party emblems. He
attends the Eaton Valley United Brethren church. Mr. Baker has never
married.
HISTORY
OF
AUDUBON COUNTY
IOWA
ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
H. F. ANDREWS
Editor
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families
ILLUSTRATED
1915
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
pages 564 & 565