Alexander was the 4th of 7 children of his parents Grafton and Mary (McDowell) Baker who brought the family to Hancock County, Ohio in 1834. They had previously lived in Harrison Township, Carroll County, Ohio where Alexander was born.
Before his marriage Alexander taught in a one room school house in the county. After marriage he took up farming on the 160 acres given to him by his father. Alexander married Catherine Eckert on April 30, 1843 in Hancock County, Ohio. The marriage produced 3 children.
Alexander died of Typhoid Fever in late November 1849, when the epidemic swept through Hancock County, Ohio. His children were small, very young, when Alexander died at the early age of 34. His youngest daughter Sarah Amanda, named after Alexander's elder sister Sarah Amanda, was only 9 months old when her father died. Sister Sarah Amanda stayed and lived with widow Catherine helping her to raise her three young children. Sarah Amanda, the sister and aunt, remained a maiden lady and died less than a decade after her brother Alexander. Her burial place is yet to be identified.
Widow Catherine never remarried. She outlived her husband Alexander by 60 years.
Despite some of the misfortunes and early deaths in Alexander's family, ironically the family became blessed in other ways. Of the 1/4 share of acreage inherited by Alexander and his family, from the original holdings of Grafton Baker, Alexander's 160 acre share was the only land where oil was found during the big oil and natural gas boom of the 1880's in Hancock County, Ohio. This brought significant wealth for Alexander's widow Catherine and their son John Baker who also became co-owner of the Arcadia Bank.
Before his marriage Alexander taught in a one room school house in the county. After marriage he took up farming on the 160 acres given to him by his father. Alexander married Catherine Eckert on April 30, 1843 in Hancock County, Ohio. The marriage produced 3 children.
Alexander died of Typhoid Fever in late November 1849, when the epidemic swept through Hancock County, Ohio. His children were small, very young, when Alexander died at the early age of 34. His youngest daughter Sarah Amanda, named after Alexander's elder sister Sarah Amanda, was only 9 months old when her father died. Sister Sarah Amanda stayed and lived with widow Catherine helping her to raise her three young children. Sarah Amanda, the sister and aunt, remained a maiden lady and died less than a decade after her brother Alexander. Her burial place is yet to be identified.
Widow Catherine never remarried. She outlived her husband Alexander by 60 years.
Despite some of the misfortunes and early deaths in Alexander's family, ironically the family became blessed in other ways. Of the 1/4 share of acreage inherited by Alexander and his family, from the original holdings of Grafton Baker, Alexander's 160 acre share was the only land where oil was found during the big oil and natural gas boom of the 1880's in Hancock County, Ohio. This brought significant wealth for Alexander's widow Catherine and their son John Baker who also became co-owner of the Arcadia Bank.
Alexander was the 4th of 7 children of his parents Grafton and Mary (McDowell) Baker who brought the family to Hancock County, Ohio in 1834. They had previously lived in Harrison Township, Carroll County, Ohio where Alexander was born.
Before his marriage Alexander taught in a one room school house in the county. After marriage he took up farming on the 160 acres given to him by his father. Alexander married Catherine Eckert on April 30, 1843 in Hancock County, Ohio. The marriage produced 3 children.
Alexander died of Typhoid Fever in late November 1849, when the epidemic swept through Hancock County, Ohio. His children were small, very young, when Alexander died at the early age of 34. His youngest daughter Sarah Amanda, named after Alexander's elder sister Sarah Amanda, was only 9 months old when her father died. Sister Sarah Amanda stayed and lived with widow Catherine helping her to raise her three young children. Sarah Amanda, the sister and aunt, remained a maiden lady and died less than a decade after her brother Alexander. Her burial place is yet to be identified.
Widow Catherine never remarried. She outlived her husband Alexander by 60 years.
Despite some of the misfortunes and early deaths in Alexander's family, ironically the family became blessed in other ways. Of the 1/4 share of acreage inherited by Alexander and his family, from the original holdings of Grafton Baker, Alexander's 160 acre share was the only land where oil was found during the big oil and natural gas boom of the 1880's in Hancock County, Ohio. This brought significant wealth for Alexander's widow Catherine and their son John Baker who also became co-owner of the Arcadia Bank.
Before his marriage Alexander taught in a one room school house in the county. After marriage he took up farming on the 160 acres given to him by his father. Alexander married Catherine Eckert on April 30, 1843 in Hancock County, Ohio. The marriage produced 3 children.
Alexander died of Typhoid Fever in late November 1849, when the epidemic swept through Hancock County, Ohio. His children were small, very young, when Alexander died at the early age of 34. His youngest daughter Sarah Amanda, named after Alexander's elder sister Sarah Amanda, was only 9 months old when her father died. Sister Sarah Amanda stayed and lived with widow Catherine helping her to raise her three young children. Sarah Amanda, the sister and aunt, remained a maiden lady and died less than a decade after her brother Alexander. Her burial place is yet to be identified.
Widow Catherine never remarried. She outlived her husband Alexander by 60 years.
Despite some of the misfortunes and early deaths in Alexander's family, ironically the family became blessed in other ways. Of the 1/4 share of acreage inherited by Alexander and his family, from the original holdings of Grafton Baker, Alexander's 160 acre share was the only land where oil was found during the big oil and natural gas boom of the 1880's in Hancock County, Ohio. This brought significant wealth for Alexander's widow Catherine and their son John Baker who also became co-owner of the Arcadia Bank.
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