******************************************************************************* File donated for use by Woodford County ILGenWeb. File is copyright protected. Donated by: Cheryl Rothwell December 2, 2007 ******************************************************************************* BAKER CEMETERY--WOODFORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS Lois Merideth, 9921 El Uno Gordo Drive, R. 9, Tucson, Arizona 85704 (2006 address: Eureka, Ill.) Legal Description: Lot 8 of Section 7 Township 26 North of Range 1 West of the 3rd prin¬cipal meridian in Woodford County, Illinois. Six square rods were reserved for the family burial ground. Directions: Turn north from U.S. Rt. 24 on Major Street in the town of Eureka. Next street, Bullock Street, turn east, then turn north on Rolla Street, cross the rail¬road tracks and follow left lane to the cemetery. Condition: This cemetery is in a disgraceful state of neglect. The weeds are waist high, stones all down--many broken. It is piled with broken branches and other debris. The size of the cemetery has been cut to a bare minimum and cultivation gets closer every year. In 1960, Lois Merideth of Eureka, Illinois took pictures of all the stones she could find and copied the broken ones. She doubts that many of these could still be found. Her grandmother told her that there were 18 burials there; she can account for 16 of them. Graves with headstones: Matthew BRACKEN d. 2 Feb. 1853 Aged 63 yrs. 7 mos. 16 days Jane BRACKEN d. 27 Feb. 1861 Aged 69 yrs. 24 days Jonathan BAKER d. 28 Aug. 1859 Aged 48 yrs. 8 mos. 18 days (This date is in error--Jonathan died in 1858.) John A. BAKER d. 17 Apr. 1861 Aged 28 yrs. 2 mos. 7 days Laura d. BAKER d. 8 Jan. 1866 Aged 18 yrs. 9 mos. 21 days; Dau. J. & S. BAKER Nancy Jane GOODELL d. 27 Jan. 1865 Aged 27 yrs. 2 mos. 25 days (Dau. Jonathan BAKER); Wife of N. H. GOODELL (Brackets are mine) Marietta BAKER d. 1 Sep. 1862 Aged 3 yrs. 1 mo. 3 days; Dau. W.F. & H. BAKER Charles BAKER d. 15 Feb. 1872 Aged 5 yrs. 1 mo. 8 days; Son Wm.F. & H. BAKER Child BAKER d. 4 Aug. 1865 Aged 2 yrs. 10 mos. 26 days; Child of Wm. F. & H. BAKER (Child's name missing from broken stone.) Graves without headstones: George Lyman BARNEY Mary Elizabeth BARNEY __ BARNEY Henry HEFNER Edmond Sanford BARNEY Elizabeth (FRYE) BARNEY Frank1e BARNEY Two unknown burials. B. 6 Mar. 1820 D. 15 Mar. 1909 B. 2 Mar. 1843 D. 5 July 1895 (Wife of Geo. L. BARNEY and daughter of Jonathan and Sarah BAKER Infant daughter of Geo. L. and Mary E. BARNEY. Dates unknown. Infant son of Jesse HEFNER. Dates unknown. B. 15 Feb. 1861 D. 3 June 1900 Son of Geo. L. & Mary E. BARNEY D. 26 Sep. 1896 Wife of Edmond S. BARNEY Infant son of Edmond S. and Elizabeth BARNEY. Dates unknown. Matthew BRACKEN was a veteran of the War of 1812 and Jonathan BAKER was a veteran of the Black Hawk War. Information on several of the people who are buried in the above cemetery: Matthew BRACKEN was born in Virginia 16 June 1789. He married in Madison County, Kentucky on April 15, 1809 Jane H. GEORGE, who was born in Virginia on Feb. 3, 1792. Shortly after their marriage, they moved to Champaign County, Ohio. Matthew entered service in the War of 1812 at Urbana, Ohio and served in Captain Abner BARRET's Company; Lieutenant Edward JONES; Col. Duncan McARTHUR's Regiment. He was a Private. Between 1827 and 1829 Matthew and his family moved to Illinois. They nettled in what became Woodford County. He was a Justice of the Peace and was Commissioner of Schools in 1841. He had a beautiful handwriting. Around 1849 he sold his land to a man named DARST, who laid out the town of Eureka on some of it. Per the 1850 Census, Matthew and his wife were in Washington, IL operating a hotel. The following persons were listed in his household, and I believe they are part of his children: David C., male, age 30; Polly, female, age 23; Archibald, male, age 21; Elizabeth, female, age 18, and, of course, Matthew, age 61, and Jane, age 59. All of these children were listed as born in Illinois except David who was born in Ohio. The only child of this couple that I am certain of is Sarah--called "Sally." She was born in Ohio ca. 1812. Mat¬thew died in Peoria, Illinois, Feb. 2, 1853, and Jane, his wife, died in Tazewell Co., Illinois, Feb. 27, 1861. Both were buried in the Baker Cemetery at Eureka, Illinois. Jonathan BAKER was another old settler of Woodford County. He came to the area ca. 1826 before Woodford County came into being. He was born in Kentucky December 10, 1809. He was a farmer. He married per license in McLean County, Illinois on December 19, 1833 Sarah, "Sally" BRACKEN, daughter of Matthew and Jane. Jonathan enlisted in the Black Hawk War at McLean County, Illinois on May 4, 1832. He was in Captain Robert McCLURE's Company of Mounted Volunteers. He died as the result of an accident on August 28, 1858. He was hauling bricks. Just as he prepared to unload them, the horses were startled and reared. He tried to catch the lines, but fell, and the horses pulled the load over his abdomen. He was dead in 30 minutes. Sally, his wife, is not buried in the Baker Cemetery. She and several of her children moved to Red¬wood Falls, Minnesota. I presume that she is buried there. Their children: 1. William F. BAKER, born ca. 1834, married Hannah ?; believe they went to Minnesota. 2. Henry Clay BAKER, born ca. 1840/1, married ?, had a family in Minnesota. 3. John A. BAKER, born Feb. 10, 1836, married Betty W. PAYNE December 23, 1858, had one child, Florence May BAKER. 4. Nancy Jane BAKER and Mary Elizabeth BAKER were twins, born March 2, 1843. When the railroad was put through this area, the twins peddled milk, eggs and cream to the workers. Consequently, when the first train went over the track, they were given a free ride to the end of the track and back. This gave them quite a thrill. Nan¬cy married Nathan GOODELL Feb. 28, 1859 and had one child, Sanford GOODELL. She died young -- age 27. Mary Elizabeth married George Lyman BARNEY on April 1, 1860. 5. Laura D. BAKER was born in May, 1847. She died unmarried at age 18. 6. Sanford C. BAKER was born ca. 1855. He married Emma S. ? and had one child, Harriet A. BAKER. He and his family lived in Minnesota. He died June 29, 1884. George Lyman BARNEY was another pioneer of Illinois. He was born in Ferrisburg, Vermont on March 6, 1820. He was the son of Dennis and Roxanna (LYMAN) BARNEY. He came to Illinois in 1836 with his parents and settled on Crow Creek not far from Lacon, Ilinois. His father started the first woolen fulling and carding mill in the area. The first mill burned and they started a second. It also burned. George was married twice. His first wife was Mary Ann RATHBONE. Family tradition says they had three little boys who died as infants; however, I know they had two girls who lived to grow up. The little boys I cannot prove. Mary Ann died and George married second Mary Eliza¬beth BAKER in 1860. They had three children: 1. Edmond S. BARNEY, born Feb. 15, 1861. He was killed when he ran to catch a train at Pekin, Illinois, missed his hold on the hand rail, and was pulled under the train. He lived several hours, although his legs were badly mangled. He was twice mar¬ried. His first wife was Elizabeth FRYE, by whom he had a daughter, Gertrude, who married Lester PIERCE, and an infant son, Frankie, who didn't live. His second wife was a Mrs. GRIGSBY. They had no children. 2. A daughter whose name, birth and death dates are unknown. 3. William Henry BARNEY, born October 20, 1867, married in McLean County, Illinois September 25, 1887 Eldora May HEFNER, daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Ophelia (HAYES) HEFNER. They had nine children, none of whom are buried in this cemetery. Henry HEFNER, the infant buried in the Baker Cemetery, was no relation to this family. The parents of this child had just come to the area and were having a hard time finan¬cially. The family offered them a plot in which to bury their little one.