Baker Family of Nevada, Missouri-The Guerrilla Connections

 

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The Baker Family of Nevada, Missouri

The Guerrilla Connections

Listed as related to my Grandfather, James Otis Baker (1882-1950), to make it easier for family members to calculate their own relationships to these people.

1. His father's brother, Edward Baker married Mattie Longacre in Johnson Co.  Mattie had been imprisoned in Gratoit Prison at age 14, along with her mother, for harboring guerrillas. Mattie's first cousin, Charles A. Longacre, was with Quantrill. Most of the other male Longacres were in the Confederate Army or were Guerrillas.

2. His grandmother was Mary Carpenter, a granddaughter of Martin Warren Sr., founder of Warrensburg. Her mother, Polly (Warren) Carpenter died and she was raised from age 3 by her uncle, Anderson Warren, along with his sons Tom, Jim and Martin V. who later rode with Bill Greenwood, Dave Pool, Anderson and Quantrill. Tom was at the Lawrence, Kansas Raid and Jim at Centralia. All three were probably at both fights. Anderson Warren, in his 60's, was called a Bushwhacker by the Federals. Mary Carpenter married Martin Foster in 1850.

3. His g-g-grandmother was a first cousin to Quantrill Guerrillas, William (Bill) and Ed Greenwood. Their mother was Winifred Warren. The Greenwoods rode with the Warren brothers, Dave Pool and Bill Anderson.

4. His grandparents, Martin and Mary (Carpenter) Foster worked for (he was slave overseer) and lived with, Larkin Maddox and family in 1850 in Jackson Co.  Larkin's sons, George and Richard Maddox, who later were Quantrill Lieutenants, were teenagers at the time. Martin and Mary moved to the Kingsville area before 1860. Martin probably supported Quantrill's Guerrillas, or was a member of the Band. No proof. On 10 Aug. 1862, Martin and brother, Wm. P. were listed as "Disloyal" and required to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. He was a Mexican War Veteran. The Alliance, Nebraska, City Cemetery, where he is buried, has Martin listed as a Confederate veteran, but no record of service has been found.

5. His g-grandfather's sister, Mary Baker, married John Bonar in Pendleton Co., Kentucky. Their son, Thomas Bonar, and his son, John, were executed as Guerrillas near Bible Grove, Scotland Co., Missouri, on 5 Aug. 1862. It was claimed that they were going to join Porter. The report gave their surname as Bonner. Both father and son were ex-confederate soldiers and had just returned from visiting relatives in Pendleton Co., Kentucky.

6. His brother Wiley's son, Sherman, married Joanne Dobbins. She was descended from the family of Frank and William Beard , Quantrill members who were killed in action in Johnson County in 1863. They were in a house surrounded by Federals and came out the front door, shooting, a gun in each hand. Both were shot down on the porch.

7. His sister Lera married Ulmont Gilmore. Ulmont's g-aunt Mattie Gilmore married former Quantrill Guerrilla John Brown in Vernon County. Mattie's father had been hanged by Kansans in 1856 on Drywood Creek, in the Border War with Kansas, before the Civil War.

8. Ulmont Gilmore's g-g-aunt Rebecca (Simpson), her 2 daughters by second husband James Gilmore and 3 children by first husband Thomas Archer, were all imprisoned in Gratoit Prison in St. Louis and then banished from the state during the War. She had been harboring and feeding Bushwhackers in Barton County. She was twice a widow, both of her husbands were dead, one killed by Jayhawkers, one by Union Troops. The Bushwhackers she was harboring were her sons and nephews.

9. Martin Foster's brother, William Perry Foster (called "Perry"), died in or around Kingsville on 17 Mar. 1864 at age 30. A 43 year old neighbor of his, Noah O'Neal, died the same day. Perry's wife's family handled the probates of both men. I've never found out how they died, but they were probably Guerrillas, possibly part of Andy Blunt's band. A Federal Unit went through the area that same week, hunting and killing guerrillas. On 10 Aug. 1862, Wm. P. and brother, Martin were listed as "Disloyal" and required to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S.. Perry had been raised by his uncle, James C. Bone, from Tennessee, in Johnson and Cass Counties. Our ancestor, Pethuel Foster, had been married to James C. Bone's sister, Margaret Bone. Martin and Perry Foster were their sons.

10. A son of the same James C. Bone (Sgt. CSA):
John Bone and William Morris were caught in Sedalia, Pettis County, with stolen horses. They were found to be guerrillas and accused of being with Quantrill in the Lawrence Raid.. They were found guilty by court martial and executed at 6:00 p.m. 05/25/1864  Provost Marshal Report f1232

11. His granddaughter, Millie Bliss married Gary Rose, whose ancestor's brother, Thomas B. Rose, of Lincoln County, Missouri, was hanged as a guerrilla in Quincy, Illinois, in 1865.

12. The only member of our branch of the Baker family who was of Military age was Benjamin L. Baker, William Wiley's brother. I've found no military record for him on either side. They lived in Page Co., Iowa, near the Mo. line. Being originally from Kentucky, they probably had southern sympathies. The family moved to Johnson Co., Mo. after the War. Benjamin vanished during the war years. He may have been a guerrilla or just went to Arizona to escape the Union Army draft in Iowa. Most of Quantrill's men wintered in Texas in 1863/1864 and about half of them in 1864/1865. Both times some of them went west instead of returning to Missouri. He may have been one of them. No proof. He was in Prescott Arizona by 1870. 

 

 
 
James R. Baker, Jr.
 
 
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