Baker Family papers

"The Story of William Frank and Julia (Hanks) Baker: Their Ministry and Their Descendants" was dictated to the donor by Ms. Anna Katherine Baker of Oregon in July 1990.

Ms. Baker passed away in 1994 having never married and no children. The donor recently attempted to contact her distant descendents to give it to them without success, so offered the story to this Collection for social posterity.

Anna Katherine was the daughter of Rev. William Frank and Julia Baker. Rev. Baker was a Methodist minister who served from about 1900-1920 mainly in Missouri. He died in the Spanish Influenze pandemic in February 1920, leaving his wife and three young children nearly penniless. They made do in Buckner, MO until 1926 when they learned an aunt had died in Davenport, Iowa and left them a sum of money. They moved to Davenport only to find the inheritance had been lost. The family stayed in Davenport and continued with educations and working to make ends meet.

Julia worked as a practical nurse and took a place with Miss Kate Dutton, sister of Alice Dutton Atwill and Jennie Dutton Greene, all of whom were musicians of notoriety. Julia remained in Atwill's employ for twenty years until her health deteriorated to a point she could no longer be of assistance. Mrs. Atwill died in 1946 and appointed Julia to be the executrix of her estate.

Julia Baker remained in her own home on Dover Court until she was 91 years old. She died of cancer in 1960.

Anna Katharine taught school in Davenport and Rock Island, Illinois retiring in 1971. She moved to Portland, Oregon in about 1982 and died there in 1994. She is buried in Oakdale Cemetery, Davenport, Iowa.