Boone County Democrat
August 27, 1914

Moses Baker, one of the best known and esteemed pioneer residents of the county passed away at his home in Jackson township, seven miles northeast of the city Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Baker was nearly ninety years of age and had been in failing health for several months. The funeral services are to be held this, Thursday afternoon, at 1:00 o’clock from the home and at 2:00 o’clock from the Prairie Center M.E. church, of which he had been an active member for many years. The services are to be conducted by the Rev. M.P. Butterfield of Indianola. The remains will then be brought to this city and interred in Linwood Park cemetery, west. We will publish a suitable and adequate obituary notice of Mr. Baker in our issue next week, as we are unable to do justice to this noble citizen at this time.
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Boone County Democrat
September 3, 1914

As mentioned briefly in our last week’s paper Moses Baker, one of the best known and esteemed constructive and creative pioneer citizens of Boone County, passed away at his home in Jackson township, seven miles northeast of the city at 4:14 o’clock Tuesday evening, August 24th, at the age of eighty four years. His health had been on the decline for some five years ago the change became marked. The hardening of the arteries induced a condition of partial paralysis which greatly hindered his speech and for the past six months he could speak only with great difficulty. Three weeks ago he lost his voice entirely and since then he sank slowly but peacefully into his last long sleep. Sunday he lost consciousness and the family then realized that the end was at hand. All the family were at his bedside when he breathed his last, except one son, E.F. Baker of Toledo Ohio, and one daughter, Mrs. Alme Dull of Lodi, Ohio. The son arrived Wednesday evening to attend the funeral, but the daughter was unable to come.
The funeral services were held Thursday afternoon at 1:00 o’clock from the home and at 2:00 o’clock from the Prairie Center M.E. Church, of which he had been a faithful member and untiring worker since its organization. The services were conducted by the Rev. M.P. Butterfield of Indianola, who preached a beautiful and consoling sermon from the text, “I shall be satisfied when I wake in Thy Likeness”. The general love and esteem in which M. Baker was held was fully attested by the multitude of neighbors and friends who gathered at the funeral to pay a last tribute to a kind and ever helpful friend and neighbor and by the profusion of beautiful floral offerings. The remains were then brought to west Linwood cemetery and laid to rest beside those of a former wife Mrs. Lorinda Dunmire Baker. Short services were also held at the cemetery. The pallbearers were old neighbors and friends, Andrew Poppell, D.P. Ivis, Peter McGlynn, Vince Myers, E.C. Engstrom and Fred Pohl. The following history of his life with some few corrections is taken from the old Boone County history.
Moses Baker was born in Skuylkill county, Pa., Nov. 25, 1829, but was reared to manhood in Wayne county, Ohio, whither he went with his parents during his boyhood days. There he pursued his education in the subscription schools, for there were no common schools at that time. The first school house in which he was a student was a log structure with a puncheon floor, while benches were made of slabs of placer upon sodden pins. The heating was furnished by an immense fire place and the methods of instruction were very primitive. His training at farm work however was not limited, for he assisted his father in the arduous task of developing a new farm in the midst of the forest. Not only one but four farms were cleared in this way, and Mr. Baker remained with his parents upon the old homestead until he was twenty two years of age, when he hired out to work as a farm hand for eleven dollars per months. He was thus employed for eight months during which time he saved his earnings and afterwards made his first purchase of land but in the meantime he had rented a farm for nine years before buying.
In his twenty fourth year he was united in marriage to Rebecca Feazel this being on July 1, 1852, who was born in Ohio and died October 30 (sic) quently he wedded Lourinda J. Dunmire, April 9, 1863. In the east he conducted a grain warehouse. In 1866 they came to Boone county Iowa and lived in the city of Boone for about eighteen months. Mr. Baker then purchased forty acres of land north of the court house on which was considerable timber. He paid $180 for this property from which he sold $500 worth of cord wood. He also made other sales which were profitable and the sold his farm for $800. In January, 1867 he purchased his present farm upon which he took up his abode in 1871. This was all raw land and he began at once to make improvements. He could only see a few houses scattered--- and there over the prairie at the time of his arrival but has lived to witness remarkable changes in the county as settlers have arrived and reclaimed the wild land for purposes of civilization. He still operates the home farm here, owning 160 acres and in other localities he has owned other farms. After locating in Boone Mr. Baker was called upon to mourn the loss of his second wife, who died, leaving two sons and two daughters: D.G. who now is engaged in the practice of law in Boone; Ernest, who is an attorney practicing in Toledo, Ohio; Almie C., the wife of James Dull, of Medina county, Ohio, and Cora A., the wife of Albert Smalley of Boone county, Iowa.
For his third wife Mr. Baker chose Sarah A. Shields the marriage being solemnized March 23, 1876, and unto this marriage were born four sons and three daughters, as follows: Samual W., William H., Roscoe S., Russell B., Ada L. Snedden Alta M. Mott, Minnie L. Living at the home with Mr. Baker were three of these children — Minnie, Roscoe and Russell. Mr. Baker has led a very useful life and succeeded in gaining a very comfortable competence. He filled the office of justice of the peace for sixteen consecutive years elected, serving another term of two years, making eighteen years in all. He then positively declined to fill the position any longer. He proved a most capable officer his decisions being just and impartial. He likewise filled other local positions and was a stanch republican in politics since the organization of the party. In his religious views he was a Methodist belonging to the church near his home. Probably no man ever enjoyed a wider acquaintance than Mr. Baker. Coming here in the early days of the county he hewed for himself and family a home in what was almost a wilderness and by sheer determination and strength of purpose builded wisely and well, making for himself and family an enviable name in the community. Mr. Baker was the soul of honor and to his heirs, more priceless than his worldly possessions, he leaves the memories of a life of usefulness, well spent and nobly lived. To the family is given the sincerest sympathy of all in this sorrow. Another additional circumstance in the life of Mr. Baker, which we consider worthy of especial mention and which proves that he at least was not a believer in race suicide, is the fact that for more than forty three years he has had children in attendance at school continuously in the old school district, and the youngest is not through yet. We doubt if this record can be equaled anywhere by anybody.