Brief Life History of John Henry
When John Henry Baker was born on 30 April 1861, in Jever, Oldenburg, his father, Henry Gerhard Baker Sr, was 42 and his mother, Geske "Mary" Harms de Vries, was 28. He married Margaretha Johanna Dirks on 21 February 1895, in Petersburg, Menard, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Oakford, Menard, Illinois, United States for about 40 years and Menard, Illinois, United States in 1944. He died on 12 August 1944, in Jacksonville, Morgan, Illinois, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Oakford, Menard, Illinois, United States.
Photos and Memories (8)
Do you know John Henry? Do you have a story about him that you would like to share? Sign In or Create a FREE Account
Family Time Line
Sources (29)
- John Baker, "United States Census, 1940"
- John H. Baker im Eintrag für Anna Marie Baker Eilks, „Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947“
- John H Baker, "Illinois Marriages, 1815-1935"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1863
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
1872
Historical Boundaries: 1872: Menard, Illinois, United States
1885 · The First Skyscraper
The Home Insurance Building is considered to be the first skyscraper in the world. It was supported both inside and outside by steel and metal that were deemed fireproof and also it was reinforced with concrete. It originally had ten stories but in 1891 two more were added.
Name Meaning
English: occupational name, from Middle English bakere, Old English bæcere, a derivative of bacan ‘to bake’. It may have been used for someone whose special task in the kitchen of a great house or castle was the baking of bread, but since most humbler households did their own baking in the Middle Ages, it may also have referred to the owner of a communal oven used by the whole village. The right to be in charge of this and exact money or loaves in return for its use was in many parts of the country a hereditary feudal privilege. Compare Miller . Less often the surname may have been acquired by someone noted for baking particularly fine bread or by a baker of pottery or bricks.
Americanized form (translation into English) of surnames meaning ‘baker’, for example Dutch Bakker , German Becker and Beck , French Boulanger and Bélanger (see Belanger ), Czech Pekař, Slovak Pekár, and Croatian Pekar .
History: Baker was established as an early immigrant surname in Puritan New England. Among others, two men called Remember Baker (father and son) lived at Woodbury, CT, in the early 17th century, and an Alexander Baker arrived in Boston, MA, in 1635.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
Possible Related Names
Discover Even More
As a nonprofit, we offer free help to those looking to learn the details of their family story.