Bev Baker

[cassiero]

Hi List!
I'm a lurker on the list and enjoy all of the interesting posts that
come up on here! I know some of you from AFS, my stint at Mars Hill
College and through Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week, or the Appalachian
Studies Association. Howdy friends!

I have been living in eastern KY for the last 5 months, in the Pine
Mountain community of Harlan County. It's here that I have become well
acquainted with the granddaughter of Bev Baker. I've agreed to sniff
around and find some information out about him for her.

She has an old fiddle of his, and I found 4 recordings of Baker on Bev
Baker on Juneberry78s- Flop-Eared Mule, German Waltz, Glory In The
Meetin' House, and Waynesburgh. I have downloaded these and given them
to her, but am highly curious if there is anymore information about
him out there.

Kerry Blech (hi Kerry!) mentioned something about the men that Baker
was known for killing on a post to this list several years ago. Is
there any more information out there about that?

So my questions are:
1) does anyone have any photographs of Bev Baker
2) does anyone have more information about his personal life
3) does anyone have any more recordings of Bev Baker than what I
listed above
4) is there any good research out there about Baker? I've searched and
found snippets, but nothing profiling him...
5) anything else that someone should know about him that i've
forgotten to ask?

Thank you so much for reading this and mulling it all over.

Cassie Robinson

[Kerry]

Hi Cassie,
I'd heard you'd moved, hope you like your new place. I know virtually
nothing about Mr. Baker, though might have noticed that Alan Lomax
announced his name incorrectly on one of the recordings. I think he
had some kinship with Luther Strong, perhaps an in-law. One thought
was that he was Luther's father-in-law.

Here is the entirety of was Guthrie Meade had on him:
Beverley P. Baker
born about 1877 in Leslie Co., KY

October 1937, Alan Lomax recorded him him in Hazard, KY
AFS 1536 B1 Glory in the Meetin' House
1536 B2 Wagoner
1536 B3 Pretty Polly
1538 B1 Waynesburg
B2 Flop-Eared Mule
B3 German Waltz

that's all I know, except speculation.

John Harrod might be someone to ask about this. He'll be at the Cowan
Creek Music School in Whitesburg in June (so will I, for that matter,
but you now know all I know), or if you write me offlist (do you still
have my email address?) I can get you in touch with him.

kerry blech (one word, no spaces) at
juno
dot
com

take care,
Kerry

[j_ns...@msn.com]

Possibly the right person:

1910 census

Name: Beverly P Baker
Age in 1910: 33 [? difficult to read second digit]
[...]
Birthplace: Kentucky
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Kentucky
Mother's Birth Place: Kentucky
Spouse's Name: Martha
Home in 1910: Elkhorn, Leslie, Kentucky
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
["Occupation Laborer Odd Jobs"]
[...]
Household Members: Name Age
Beverly P Baker 33 [?]
Martha Baker 28
Helen Baker 13
Hoke Baker 12
Florence Baker 11
Balie Baker 3
Blanche Baker 4

1900 census

Name: Beverley Baker
Home in 1900: Allen, Clay, Kentucky
Age: 28
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1872
Birthplace: Kentucky
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Marthy
Race: White
Occupation: [Farmer]
[...]
Household Members: Name Age
Beverley Baker 28
Marthy Baker 20
Ellen Baker 3
Hoak Baker 1

Kentucky Death Index

Name: Beverley Baker
Death Date: 15 Mar 1939
Death Place: Perry
Age: 066
RESIDENCE: Hazard
Volume: 17
Certificate: 8386

The Beverly Baker who was a nephew of Thomas M. "Bad Tom" Baker
(1860-1899, of the feuding Bakers) was apparently a different,
younger, person from the above man. However, "our" Bev might have been
a cousin of Bad Tom. From the Mount Vernon _Signal_, 6/30/1899:

"ATTEMPTED KILLING
By Four Feet assassins Missed Shooting Beverly Baker and Edward
Garrard,
Near Manchester
Barboursville, Ky: June 27--Some details have been received here of
the
attempted killing of Beverly Baker and Edward Garrard, near Manchester
Saturday. Four shots were fired from bushes on a hill opposite
Baker's
house on Goose Creek. One lodged in the door jamb four feet from
where
Baker was sitting. Beverly is a cousin of Tom Baker.
As Edward Garrard was en route from his home to his farm three
strangers
approached and asked him to take a drink of whisky. When he refused
they
said they would shoot him if he did not. Garrard was afraid the
liquor
might be poisoned and talked awhile regarding it, giving three of his
farm
hands time to overtake him which they did and the strangers
disappeared.
The Garrards are Baker supporters."

Joseph Scott

[SquirrellyD]

It's probably worth contacting Bruce Greene...

[Paul]

[Insert "Good Old Days" and "Family Values" jokes here]

p.

[taffy...@gmail.com]

I am a gr-gr-granddaughter of Bev Baker. His daughter Helen is my gr-grandmother. I don't have pictures but am iso pics and more info too

Teresa Fields

[taffy...@gmail.com]

I'm a descendent of Bev Baker. Are there any photos of him anywhere?

[Mb]

On Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 5:36:52 AM UTC-7, taffy...@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm a descendent of Bev Baker. Are there any photos of him clippings.

berea http://traildriver.com/web%20content/projects/appalachia/berea%20contests/img%20berea%20fiddlers.jpg

In 1990, a man named Chester Nolan from Madison, Indiana contacted Loyal Jones at the Appalachian Center at Berea College. From eastern Kentucky originally, Nolan had once been roomates with Dock Roberts at Berea. Nolan recalled a fiddle contest in which he and Dock both played. Later he sent a photo (see above) showing a group of fiddlers from the contest. I believe Nolan is front row, far left. Since he participated in the 1919 contest, the photo presumably dates from that year. The fiddlers have not been identified (the third fiddler from the left in the front row is believed to be Bev Baker) but we can see the contestants' names by reading the clippings from that year. The contest held in Berea in August was preceeded by a contest in Richmond in May that was won by Dock Roberts. The first two clippings below refer to the Richmond contest.