Samuel Pittenger Baker was a farmer and a lifelong resident of Marshall County. His parents died early in his life; he lived with older married sisters for a while.
On November 26, 1908, he was married to Alta Foreman; they had six children. They were members of the First Methodist Church in Plymouth. He was deeply affected by the farm depression of 1920-1 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. He spoke with great conviction about President Franklin D. Roosevelt and had his framed photograph on his dresser until the day he died.
"Samuel P. Baker was my father; he was a man of medium build, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He retained a youthful look past middle age because he never grayed and retained his natural teeth. Although he did not have a muscular appearance, his tenacious and rapid pace while performing hard physical work always exhausted younger men long before the jobs were done.
"He had only a grammer school formal education but, an insatiable reader, he was knowledgeable on a number of subjects. In those days when formal education was not available to most, he was considered 'well read'. His sound understanding of human nature and philosophical perspective was recognized and sought out by people who knew him.
"He was a teetotaler; he did have an occasional cigar when enjoying company. A Methodist, he tried to live his religion through scrupulous ethics and conduct.
"He was raised on a large farm about three miles north of the farm on which he raised his family. Dad was a farmer all his life except for a brief period of working on railroad construction. While he was getting started on farming for himself his primary way of earning extra money was working in timber and woods work. He was an expert woodsman.
"The farm on which he raised his own family was mostly woods, brush and large undrained swamp areas, when he bought it. He cleared this land by hand, grubbing, dynamiting stumps, root chopping trees and leveling the land for tilling. Drainage was accomplished by digging ditches and laying drainage tile. This land was rich peat mixed with loam and he gave it tender, loving care. This farm paid for itself, supported a family of six children without hardship and with no outside assistance of any kind. He was able to buy additional property and eventually retire in Plymouth.
"He was innovative in developing functional farm facilities, but never gave his time or energy toward developing a pretty farm homesite. His attitude was that as long as it was clean and functional, any efforts toward fancy trappings was pretentious and fussy. Mom and the girls didn't share this view and so managed to keep the small house fairly pretty.
"He bore the characteristics of a self-make, self-starting individualist. Impatient and domineering with his family members, but always accepting total responsibility as the unquestioned head of the family. Such conduct was the hallmark of his time."*
He sold his farm and retired to 215 Elliot Street in Plymouth. On Christmas Eve, 1957, during a visit by his eldest son Orville and his grandson, he was stricken with a fatal heart attack and died at age 71.
*From an unpublished paper, "Life on a Northern Indiana Farm" by Kenneth Earl Baker, Sr., youngest son of Samuel P. Baker, Jr.
On November 26, 1908, he was married to Alta Foreman; they had six children. They were members of the First Methodist Church in Plymouth. He was deeply affected by the farm depression of 1920-1 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. He spoke with great conviction about President Franklin D. Roosevelt and had his framed photograph on his dresser until the day he died.
"Samuel P. Baker was my father; he was a man of medium build, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He retained a youthful look past middle age because he never grayed and retained his natural teeth. Although he did not have a muscular appearance, his tenacious and rapid pace while performing hard physical work always exhausted younger men long before the jobs were done.
"He had only a grammer school formal education but, an insatiable reader, he was knowledgeable on a number of subjects. In those days when formal education was not available to most, he was considered 'well read'. His sound understanding of human nature and philosophical perspective was recognized and sought out by people who knew him.
"He was a teetotaler; he did have an occasional cigar when enjoying company. A Methodist, he tried to live his religion through scrupulous ethics and conduct.
"He was raised on a large farm about three miles north of the farm on which he raised his family. Dad was a farmer all his life except for a brief period of working on railroad construction. While he was getting started on farming for himself his primary way of earning extra money was working in timber and woods work. He was an expert woodsman.
"The farm on which he raised his own family was mostly woods, brush and large undrained swamp areas, when he bought it. He cleared this land by hand, grubbing, dynamiting stumps, root chopping trees and leveling the land for tilling. Drainage was accomplished by digging ditches and laying drainage tile. This land was rich peat mixed with loam and he gave it tender, loving care. This farm paid for itself, supported a family of six children without hardship and with no outside assistance of any kind. He was able to buy additional property and eventually retire in Plymouth.
"He was innovative in developing functional farm facilities, but never gave his time or energy toward developing a pretty farm homesite. His attitude was that as long as it was clean and functional, any efforts toward fancy trappings was pretentious and fussy. Mom and the girls didn't share this view and so managed to keep the small house fairly pretty.
"He bore the characteristics of a self-make, self-starting individualist. Impatient and domineering with his family members, but always accepting total responsibility as the unquestioned head of the family. Such conduct was the hallmark of his time."*
He sold his farm and retired to 215 Elliot Street in Plymouth. On Christmas Eve, 1957, during a visit by his eldest son Orville and his grandson, he was stricken with a fatal heart attack and died at age 71.
*From an unpublished paper, "Life on a Northern Indiana Farm" by Kenneth Earl Baker, Sr., youngest son of Samuel P. Baker, Jr.
Samuel Pittenger Baker was a farmer and a lifelong resident of Marshall County. His parents died early in his life; he lived with older married sisters for a while.
On November 26, 1908, he was married to Alta Foreman; they had six children. They were members of the First Methodist Church in Plymouth. He was deeply affected by the farm depression of 1920-1 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. He spoke with great conviction about President Franklin D. Roosevelt and had his framed photograph on his dresser until the day he died.
"Samuel P. Baker was my father; he was a man of medium build, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He retained a youthful look past middle age because he never grayed and retained his natural teeth. Although he did not have a muscular appearance, his tenacious and rapid pace while performing hard physical work always exhausted younger men long before the jobs were done.
"He had only a grammer school formal education but, an insatiable reader, he was knowledgeable on a number of subjects. In those days when formal education was not available to most, he was considered 'well read'. His sound understanding of human nature and philosophical perspective was recognized and sought out by people who knew him.
"He was a teetotaler; he did have an occasional cigar when enjoying company. A Methodist, he tried to live his religion through scrupulous ethics and conduct.
"He was raised on a large farm about three miles north of the farm on which he raised his family. Dad was a farmer all his life except for a brief period of working on railroad construction. While he was getting started on farming for himself his primary way of earning extra money was working in timber and woods work. He was an expert woodsman.
"The farm on which he raised his own family was mostly woods, brush and large undrained swamp areas, when he bought it. He cleared this land by hand, grubbing, dynamiting stumps, root chopping trees and leveling the land for tilling. Drainage was accomplished by digging ditches and laying drainage tile. This land was rich peat mixed with loam and he gave it tender, loving care. This farm paid for itself, supported a family of six children without hardship and with no outside assistance of any kind. He was able to buy additional property and eventually retire in Plymouth.
"He was innovative in developing functional farm facilities, but never gave his time or energy toward developing a pretty farm homesite. His attitude was that as long as it was clean and functional, any efforts toward fancy trappings was pretentious and fussy. Mom and the girls didn't share this view and so managed to keep the small house fairly pretty.
"He bore the characteristics of a self-make, self-starting individualist. Impatient and domineering with his family members, but always accepting total responsibility as the unquestioned head of the family. Such conduct was the hallmark of his time."*
He sold his farm and retired to 215 Elliot Street in Plymouth. On Christmas Eve, 1957, during a visit by his eldest son Orville and his grandson, he was stricken with a fatal heart attack and died at age 71.
*From an unpublished paper, "Life on a Northern Indiana Farm" by Kenneth Earl Baker, Sr., youngest son of Samuel P. Baker, Jr.
On November 26, 1908, he was married to Alta Foreman; they had six children. They were members of the First Methodist Church in Plymouth. He was deeply affected by the farm depression of 1920-1 and the Great Depression of the 1930s. He spoke with great conviction about President Franklin D. Roosevelt and had his framed photograph on his dresser until the day he died.
"Samuel P. Baker was my father; he was a man of medium build, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He retained a youthful look past middle age because he never grayed and retained his natural teeth. Although he did not have a muscular appearance, his tenacious and rapid pace while performing hard physical work always exhausted younger men long before the jobs were done.
"He had only a grammer school formal education but, an insatiable reader, he was knowledgeable on a number of subjects. In those days when formal education was not available to most, he was considered 'well read'. His sound understanding of human nature and philosophical perspective was recognized and sought out by people who knew him.
"He was a teetotaler; he did have an occasional cigar when enjoying company. A Methodist, he tried to live his religion through scrupulous ethics and conduct.
"He was raised on a large farm about three miles north of the farm on which he raised his family. Dad was a farmer all his life except for a brief period of working on railroad construction. While he was getting started on farming for himself his primary way of earning extra money was working in timber and woods work. He was an expert woodsman.
"The farm on which he raised his own family was mostly woods, brush and large undrained swamp areas, when he bought it. He cleared this land by hand, grubbing, dynamiting stumps, root chopping trees and leveling the land for tilling. Drainage was accomplished by digging ditches and laying drainage tile. This land was rich peat mixed with loam and he gave it tender, loving care. This farm paid for itself, supported a family of six children without hardship and with no outside assistance of any kind. He was able to buy additional property and eventually retire in Plymouth.
"He was innovative in developing functional farm facilities, but never gave his time or energy toward developing a pretty farm homesite. His attitude was that as long as it was clean and functional, any efforts toward fancy trappings was pretentious and fussy. Mom and the girls didn't share this view and so managed to keep the small house fairly pretty.
"He bore the characteristics of a self-make, self-starting individualist. Impatient and domineering with his family members, but always accepting total responsibility as the unquestioned head of the family. Such conduct was the hallmark of his time."*
He sold his farm and retired to 215 Elliot Street in Plymouth. On Christmas Eve, 1957, during a visit by his eldest son Orville and his grandson, he was stricken with a fatal heart attack and died at age 71.
*From an unpublished paper, "Life on a Northern Indiana Farm" by Kenneth Earl Baker, Sr., youngest son of Samuel P. Baker, Jr.
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