Horace Albert Baker

Biography

Horace Albert Baker was born on March 3rd, 1863, in New Albany, Indiana. He was the 3rd of 5 children born to William Henry Baker & Sarah Louisa Denny.

At the age of 3, Horace, along with 15 other family members, started their journey to what was then called Washington Territory. They arrived in Tacoma just before 1870 and eventually settled in what is now the town of Sumner. Horace was a farmer like his father, and that occupational tradition can be traced back to the early statehood records of Indiana.

On November 28th, 1894, Horace marries Isora Alice Cameron in Bismarck, Washington. The witnesses to the marriage were N. Cooper & Mrs. Cooper.

Horace passed away on December 2nd, 1948, after suffering a stroke while out working on the farm. He is buried next to his wife and multiple members of his family at the Sumner Cemetery.

The Baker’s are considered Pioneers of Washington State and have been recognized as such through the Pioneer Association of Washington. Their ties to other significant and well-known families in the area (ie, the Bonneys of Bonney Lake, the Dennys of Seattle, the Borens, the Meekers, etc.) and their unique form of emigration to WA have created many research questions and ideas.

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Gallery

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Still Open

Baker Homestead – I have been unable to locate any images of the Sumner area surrounding the Baker Homestead. I have land plats and certificates, but based on the research I’ve done, I don’t know what the original Baker Homestead house looked like or when it was torn down. No surviving family photos feature the house either.

Horace/Isora Meeting – None of the family members I’ve been able to speak to know how or where Isora and Horace met. It was common for people in small rural communities to marry those they knew, but at the time of their marriage, Isora was living in Tacoma, and Horace was living in Sumner.

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Records found

• Federal Census – 1870-1940 – Ancestry.com
• U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current – Ancestry.com
• Washington, U.S., Birth Records, 1907-1920
• Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1940-2017
• Washington, U.S., Marriage Records, 1854-2013
• Washington, U.S., State & Territorial Censuses, 1857-1892
• The New Tribune – Newspapers.com
• The Tacoma Daily Ledger – Newspapers.com
• Tacoma, Washington, U.S., Directories, 1889-1891

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