Cornelius Baker

Biography

Cornelius Baker may have been born about 1637 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was probably the son of Robert Baker, who was the only know person named Baker in Salem at that time. Robert Baker is thought to have arrived in Salem in the mid 1630s. It is not known if he married in England or in Salem; records for that are yet to be found. It is known that he had a wife and child(ren) when he died in 1640. Another profile of Cornelius Baker in Wikitree suggests (without source) that he was born in 1632. Cornelius Baker's birth hasn't been found in Salem records (or elsewhere). Nothing is known about his mother or siblings.

It is also possible that Cornelius Baker was born elsewhere and came to Salem by some other means by 1658. There were other Bakers living in other parts of Massachusetts at that time. Further research is needed into Cornelius Baker's origins.

Cornelius Baker married Hannah Woodbury April 26, 1658 in Salem, Massachusetts.[1] Hannah's brother Humphrey Woodbury referred to his "Brother Cornelius Baker" in his will.[2] Hannah was born in 1636, which suggests Cornelius was born near or before 1636.

According to the "Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation", "Cornelius Baker, a Blacksmith, was living in Salem, Massachusetts, as early as 1658, and in 1668 removed to Beverly, Massachusetts. He married, April 26, 1658, Hannah Woodbury, of Salem, daughter of John Woodbury, a pioneer settler of that town. Their children were: Hannah, Samuel, Cornelius, Jonathan, Abigail, Priscilla, Bethiah and Jabez." [3]

Salem records show the following children for Cornelius and Hannah Baker:[4] - Hana - born Oct 14, 1660 (Hana, d. Cornelius and Hanna (Woodbery), 14 : 8 m : 1660. CT. R.) - Hanna - b. Nov 28, 1662 (Hanna, d. Cornelius and Hanna (Woodbery), 28 : 9 m : 1662. CT.R.) - Samuel - baptized July 21, 1667 (Samuel, s. H., bp 21 : 5 m : 1667) - Cornelius - baptized July 21, 1667 (Cornelius, s. H., bp (21 : 5 m : 1667. C.R.1.)

It appears that their first daughter died young and they reused her name. The parent's names are not shown for and Cornelius and Samuel but these four were the only Baker children shown in Salem births before 1700 so they must be children of Cornelius and Hannah. Samuel and Cornelius were baptized the same day so they could be twins, but it was not unusual for children to be baptized long after birth, so that can't be assumed. Since it was over 4 years after Hanna's birth, they may have been born at different times.

Beverly records show the other children of Cornelius and Hannah Baker: [5] - Jonathan - christened September 19, 1669 - Abigail - christened September 22, 1672 - A "John Baker son of Cornelius d. June 10. 1673." Uncertain, may have died in infancy - Priscilla - christened October 11, 1674 - Bethia - christened May 27, 1677 - John - christened December 1, 1678 - Jabez - christened August 12, 1682

The children born in Beverly are shown on the same record pages (in the same image) that shows the marriage date of Cornelius and Hannah.[5] Those pages are difficult to decipher, but they appear to show that Cornelius Baker married again December 24,1708. The exact wording is "Dec 24. 1708. Cornelius Baker, blacksmith & Abigail his wf. widower" It could be a different Cornelius Baker (or a different occasion) but careful examination of all the Baker family entries in the image suggest that it is the same Cornelius. It is unlikely there was another Cornelius Baker in Beverly/Salem until a later generation.[5]

So, it appears Cornelius Baker married second Abigail _____ December 24, 1708, or before about April 1692, depending on how the source is interpreted (see below).

Cornelius and Abigail appear to have had three children: - Nathaniel - b. 30 Dec 1692 - Abigail - b. 2 Apr 1695), and - Gideon - b. 19 Jan 1706 But it is hard to be certain due to the condition of the record. They were born before the 1708 date which appears to be the date of Cornelius and Abigail's marriage so that date may be incorrect, or those maybe children of another couple.

A Cornelius Baker died September 1, 1714 in Beverly; that date is clear in the record. He was almost certainly this Cornelius. His widow Abigail administered his estate with a date of December 6, 1714 noted.[5] That date is shown as Cornelius Baker's date of death in another transcription.

There is a separate record of another Cornelius Baker who died December 29, 1716 in Beverly. This may be the son Cornelius Jr. The only information in the record is his name and date of death, and that it was from the records of the second church (of Beverly). [6] It could also be a grandson of Cornelius; his son Jonathan had a son Cornelius born in 1707 (shown in the same image as the children of Cornelius). Familysearch lists other death dates for Cornelius Baker but they appear to be incorrect transcriptions from the image referenced above.

Cornelius was born in 1637. Cornelius Baker ... He passed away in 1714. [7]

↑ Marriage: "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHZQ-7BL : 13 July 2016), Cornelius Baker and Hannah Woodberry, 26 Apr 1658; citing Marriage, Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 760,604.

↑ Will of Humphrey Woodbury, shown in his profile

↑ Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation - by Stearns, Ezra S; Whitcher, William F. (William Frederick), 1845-1918; Parker, Edward E. (Edward Everett), 1842-1923 (p125)

↑ Salem vital records, vol.1, pp.62-63

↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Image of Baker records

↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHB5-7J3 : 13 July 2016), Cornelius Baker, 29 Dec 1716; citing Death, Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 864,851.

↑ Entered by Audrey Neva, Feb 3, 2012