Treasure Chest Thursday: The Charlotte Peters-Alonzo W. Baker Family

Charlotte Peters Baker, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Charlotte Peters Baker, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Beerbower Family (Click for Family Tree)

Charlotte A. Peters was born 10 Jan 1830 in Ohio, likely Marion, Marion County, to Nathan Peters and Alice Wilson Peters. She was their third child.

Charlotte’s mother died in childbirth when Charlotte was just 8 years old, in 1838. In Jan of 1842, her father married Mary Cady Russell (1820-1850) who added three more daughters to the family. Her stepmother died in 1850, the same year that Charlotte married Alonzo Baker on 12 Mar 1850. She was living in Marion, Ohio then, but Charlotte and Alonzo moved to Van Wert, Ohio by the 1860 US Federal Census.

Alonzo Walter Baker, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Alonzo Walter Baker, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Alonzo was a Major of the 136th Ohio National Guard during the Civil War for four months. He became the Collector of Internal Revenue (the Civil War generated the first income tax) until Congress abolished the position, and was the owner of a foundry in 1870, when they owned $10,000 in real estate, and had $5,000 in personal estate. The 1870 census also lists their five children:

Florence Winona Baker, 1857-1875, died at age 18. She married Dr. George W. McGavren on 16 June 1875. Tragically, Florence died just 6 weeks later, on 30 July 1875, in Van Wert.

Myrtle Jennie Baker (or Jennie Myrtle Baker), 1859-1918; married Fletcher L. Webster.

Florence Winona Baker, b. 1857, and her sister Myrtle Jennie Baker, b. 1859, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Florence Winona Baker, b. 1857, and her sister Myrtle Jennie Baker, b. 1859, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
The four children of Myrtle and Fletcher were Walter Barton Webster b. 1892, Lucia Webster b. 1893, Marshall Webster b. 1895, and Margaret Webster b. 1898. They lived in Van Wert, Ohio where he was in the dry goods business.

Jessie Amanda Baker, 1862-1925:

Jessie Amanda Baker, b. 1862, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Jessie Amanda Baker, b. 1862, courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Jessie married Charles William Clark in their hometown of Van Wert, Ohio, in 1888. They had five children: Helen Clark (1889-1889); Charles Russell Clark (1891-1891); Ronald Baker Clark (1892-), who taught singing in Paris, France; Virginia Clark (1895-1961) who married __Lawrence; and Louise (1902-1964) who married __ Gardenier and was believed to be in Brazil in 1925.

Charles W. Clark in 1900, via Wikipedia, public domain.
Charles W. Clark in 1900, via Wikipedia, public domain.

Charles was an internationally known baritone concert singer, the first American to be famous in Europe; he is considered to be one of the greatest baritones ever. He and his wife were in a Chicago theater on the night of 3 Aug 1925 when  he died of heart disease. They carried his body out, and Jessie remained very composed. They proceeded to the family’s apartment in Chicago. The neighbors heard a cry, entered, and found that Jessie had suffered a stroke “of paralysis.” His obituary in the 04 Aug 1925 New York Times read, “She had been the companion of his successful career and when it closed tonight she collapsed.” She never regained consciousness.

Tacey Viella Baker, 1864- :

Ella Baker, most likely Tacey Viella Baker, b. 1864. Courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Ella Baker, most likely Tacey Viella Baker, b. 1864. Courtesy Marion County [Ohio] Historical Society. (Click to enlarge.)
Tacey Viella married John O. Clark on 22 Apr 1885 and they lived in Van Wert with their four children: Ethel Clark b. 1886, Marcia Clark b. 1891, Laurence Baker Clark b. 1895, and Robert Sydney Clark b. 1900.

Miriam Mendenhall Baker, 1867-., was the last child of Charlotte Peters and Alonzo W. Baker.  Miriam married Willard E. Gleason, a West Point graduate who served in the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War. He also served his country in the ‘Philippine Insurrection’ from 1899-1902.  Their only child was Charlotte Gleason, b. 1895.

 

Two children died young, early in the marriage of Charlotte and Alonzo: Mary Alice Baker (1851-1852) and their only son, Charles Herbert Baker (1853-1855).

 

Alonzo passed away at age 49, on 9 Sep 1878 in Van Wert. Charlotte survived him by 17 years, with her death on 12 April 1895, also in Van Wert, where they both are buried.

 

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1)  There are 3 parts to the Samuel T. Beerbower Family Bible posts, beginning here: http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/21/the-family-bible-of-samuel-t-beerbower-and-irene-l-peters-beerbower-births/

2) See also:

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/11/wedding-wednesday-samuel-taylor-beerbower-and-irene-l-peters/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/27/fridays-faces-from-the-past-unknown-beerbower-or-peters-family/

http://heritageramblings.net/2015/03/10/tuesdays-tip-local-historical-societies-and-the-beerbower-family/

3) Use the search box on the right side of the page to find specific persons, or click on “Family Trees” and then “The Helbling-Beerbower-Springsteen Family.” This will take you to pedigree charts (sorry, don’t have a Peters family tree yet- still working on that) and then all the associated posts for the family.

4) A Genealogy of Eber and Lydia Smith Baker of Marion Ohio and Their Descendants. 1909, self-published, arranged by Elwood T. Baker.

https://archive.org/stream/genealogyofeberl00bake#page/n53/mode/2up/search/alonzo

Charles W. Clark was an only child per this book, so the two sisters, Jessie Amanda and Tacey Viella both had ‘Clark’ as their last names but had not married brothers.

 

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