On 16 October 1879 in Louisville, KY, William Baker married Jeanette (Nettie) Biehl of Louisville, eldest of the three children of Christian Biehl (1828 Germany - 1867 Louisville) and his second wife Henrietta C. Schmidt, widow of Daniel Eckert (Eichert). By the time of the 1880 census, the couple were in Marshall, Texas, where the first of their three children, Mina Belle, was born in 1881. At the time, William was a conductor for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Their second child, a daughter named Willie Crowder, was born in 1885, and their last, son Harry Winters, was born in Dallas in 1889. By 1897, the family had settled in Port Arthur, Texas. In the 1900 census there, Nettie is listed as head of household, and married, and resides with the three children but William is not listed with his family. In the 1910 census, Nettie is listed as "Mrs. William Baker," but also as widowed. William may have died in a railway accident out of state. One enigmatic 1910 census shows a William Baker living as a boarder in Pct.8, Williamson County, Texas (near Austin). But no information is given about this man - in that space, instead, the enumerator has scrawled a frustrated note about how it is "impossible to find this man."
No death record for William has been found and it is possible he did not die in Texas, which kept such good death records. His widow clung to his name, calling herself Mrs. William Baker in both the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Her own death record also calls her only by that name.
No death record for William has been found and it is possible he did not die in Texas, which kept such good death records. His widow clung to his name, calling herself Mrs. William Baker in both the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Her own death record also calls her only by that name.
On 16 October 1879 in Louisville, KY, William Baker married Jeanette (Nettie) Biehl of Louisville, eldest of the three children of Christian Biehl (1828 Germany - 1867 Louisville) and his second wife Henrietta C. Schmidt, widow of Daniel Eckert (Eichert). By the time of the 1880 census, the couple were in Marshall, Texas, where the first of their three children, Mina Belle, was born in 1881. At the time, William was a conductor for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Their second child, a daughter named Willie Crowder, was born in 1885, and their last, son Harry Winters, was born in Dallas in 1889. By 1897, the family had settled in Port Arthur, Texas. In the 1900 census there, Nettie is listed as head of household, and married, and resides with the three children but William is not listed with his family. In the 1910 census, Nettie is listed as "Mrs. William Baker," but also as widowed. William may have died in a railway accident out of state. One enigmatic 1910 census shows a William Baker living as a boarder in Pct.8, Williamson County, Texas (near Austin). But no information is given about this man - in that space, instead, the enumerator has scrawled a frustrated note about how it is "impossible to find this man."
No death record for William has been found and it is possible he did not die in Texas, which kept such good death records. His widow clung to his name, calling herself Mrs. William Baker in both the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Her own death record also calls her only by that name.
No death record for William has been found and it is possible he did not die in Texas, which kept such good death records. His widow clung to his name, calling herself Mrs. William Baker in both the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Her own death record also calls her only by that name.
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