Jeremiah Baker was born near the place where he now 

 lives, in the town of Canisteo, Steuben Co., April 18, 

 1791, and was said to be the first white male child born in 

 Steuben County. His father, Jeremiah Baker, was born in 

 New England, married Anna- Stephens, sister of Rev. Jede- 

 diah Stephens, the first settler of his branch of the Stephens 

 family in the Canisteo Valley, of Canaan, Conn. Of this 

 union were born in the East: Polly, Hannah, Thankful, 

 Cynthia, William, Simeon, John, and Bazey. Their father 

 was a soldier through the entire Revolutionary war, his family 

 living at Wyoming. It was while residents of Wyoming 

 that the mother and children were taken prisoners, but were 

 soon after rescued. He lost all his property there, his build- 

 ings being burned at the time of the battle of Wyoming. 

 The family removed to Tioga Point, now Athens, Pa., but 

 soon after came to Canisteo by means of boats and canoes up 

 the Canisteo River, and settled near the place where his son, 

 Jeremiah Baker, now resides, in the fall of 1790, and hence 

 was among the earliest pioneers of the valley. 



The children born here were Jeremiah, Noah, and James. 

 Poverty, privation, and hardship were common incidents 

 for several years of this family, yet all were met with that 

 courage and patience characteristic of the Baker family. His 

 father, mother, and Grandmother Corey were members of the 

 first class in the Methodist Church of this part of the country, 

 and were the organizers of the first Methodist Episcopal 

 Church, under John B. Hudson, in Canisteo Valley ; was one 

 of the seven voters of the town for four years, and held various 

 ofiSces in the early history of the town. He died about 1824 ; 

 his wife died in 1825. 



Mr. Baker had limited opportunities for book-knowledge. 

 At the age of nineteen he married Eunice Powers, of Addison, 

 a very worthy young lady, and as a wife and mother, a woman 

 of rare excellence, and did her part well in training her chil- 

 dren in all that makes true manhood and womanhood. 



Mr. Baker's life has been mostly spent as a farmer, yet as a 

 citizen he has been intimately connected with many of the 

 most important local improvements of his town and county. 



In 1829 his wife died, leaving seven children, — Mrs. John 

 Crosby, Hector C, Mrs. Nelson Hallett, Caleb, Asa, Elias, 

 and Nathan. 



During the same year he married Hilda, daughter of Rev. 

 Jedediah Stephens, and widow of the late Phineas Stephens. 

 Of this union were born Jedediah, Orlando, and Mrs. James 

 O'Connor, of Hornellsville. Politically, Mr. Baker has 

 always been a Democrat, yet ever looked well to the men as 

 well as to the principles to be represented. As a citizen he 

 has held almost every position within the gift of his towns- 

 men, as justice of the peace, school commissioner, town clerk, 

 etc. ; was deputy sheriff with the first sheriff". General George 

 McClure, of the county, and reprebented his Assembly district 

 in the State Legislature in 1835. 



He is one of the old landmarks that point to the early days, 

 was for fifty years of the past a representative man in Steuben 

 County, and is now a pensioner of the war of 1812-14, having 

 served on the Niagara frontier under General McClure. He 

 is known as a man of broad ideas, liberal views, and in his 

 day has been a liberal contributor, especially in the erection 

 of church edifices in the county, and for the support of reli- 

 gious institutions, having been a member of the Methodist 

 Episcopal Church for sixty-one years. For over half a cen- 

 tury he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has 

 ever been prominent in the councils of that body, and is now 

 not only the oldest member of that body in Canisteo, but also 

 the oldest person living in the town, and now able to dictate 

 the main facts for this sketch. His second wife died Nov. 22, 



1871. 



His son, Nathan S., was a volunteer in the late Rebellion ; 

 was a member of the 86th Regiment New York Volunteers, 

 Colonel Bailey commanding; was in the engagements of 

 second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Beverly Ford, Mine Run, 

 Gettysburg, Manassas Junction, and the Wilderness, and was 

 also in skirmishes before Petersburg and Richmond ; was cap- 

 tain of his company, promoted in place of the captain, who 

 died. He was wounded in the battle of the Wilderness, and 

 was one of about ten of the original company who returned 

 to their homes. He was honorably discharged in the fall of 

 1865. He now resides on the old homestead, and cares for 

 his father in his declining years. In May, 1855, he married 

 Roxie Ordway, of Canisteo. 



Elias was also a volunteer of the 86th Regiment, New York 

 Volunteers, and served altogether about one and a half years. 



