During his lifetime, he was a deputy sheriff, horse trader, and at the time of his death, a cotton mill worker. He died in Union, SC. His family sent his body on a train back to his hometown of Almond for burial.
He was quoted as saying that he would sell or trade anything he had except for his wife and children.
One story that has survived about him was when he was young. His much older brothers decided to take him for a snipe hunt at night. They abandoned him in the woods, but he found his way home before his brothers did. His mother told him to hide in the house. To teach them a lesson, when the brothers came home, she made them look all night for John. When dawn came, she told them he was already home.
Another story is about a traveler that came through and spent the night with John's family. They lived way back in the mountains. Families would take in travelers for the night since no hotels or boarding houses existed in the area. The Baker family grew multi-colored corn, which they would grind up into cornmeal and make cornbread with it. The traveler had dinner with them and saw all the different colors in his cornbread. He accused them of trying to poison him with spiders. When the Baker family members started laughing and eating the cornbread themselves, he piped down and ate the dinner without further adieu.
During his lifetime, he was a deputy sheriff, horse trader, and at the time of his death, a cotton mill worker. He died in Union, SC. His family sent his body on a train back to his hometown of Almond for burial.
He was quoted as saying that he would sell or trade anything he had except for his wife and children.
One story that has survived about him was when he was young. His much older brothers decided to take him for a snipe hunt at night. They abandoned him in the woods, but he found his way home before his brothers did. His mother told him to hide in the house. To teach them a lesson, when the brothers came home, she made them look all night for John. When dawn came, she told them he was already home.
Another story is about a traveler that came through and spent the night with John's family. They lived way back in the mountains. Families would take in travelers for the night since no hotels or boarding houses existed in the area. The Baker family grew multi-colored corn, which they would grind up into cornmeal and make cornbread with it. The traveler had dinner with them and saw all the different colors in his cornbread. He accused them of trying to poison him with spiders. When the Baker family members started laughing and eating the cornbread themselves, he piped down and ate the dinner without further adieu.
Gravesite Details
No marker.
Family Members
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James Estes Baker
1899–1967
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Elvira Rose Baker Woody
1899–1978
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Margaret Louisa "Maggie" Baker Cope
1901–1956
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Smith Overman Baker
1904–1981
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Marion Coleman Baker
1905–1975
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Juanita Baker
1908–1929
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Zula Baker
1909–1992
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Hazel Vanda Baker
1911–1916
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Carlos Hermia Trogden Baker Pressley Griffin Whalen
1915–1978
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