1927 – "Ain’t She Sweet" #1 hit on pop singles charts, Babe Ruth, the highest paid baseball player in history at $70,000 per year, had his first 60 home runs year; the first Ford Model A sold for $385.00; and for two Sundays in a row, golfers in South Carolina were arrested for golfing on the Sabbath. These noted, some light-hearted events surely fade into obscurity when compared to the happenings within the William Henry Baker Family.

William Henry Baker and Margaret "Dove" Beck were the parents of seven children listed in seniority order: Nellie, Robert, Elizabeth, Florence, Truman, Lyman, and Fern. This short story involves three of those children – Robert, Elizabeth, and Lyman.

Robert Carl Baker was first married to a Pearl Van Meter. They had two children – Albert and Grace. Pearl died during child birth of a third child. Robert then married a Bessie Moren and they had 8 children. On July 4, 1927, Robert Carl was apparently enjoying the Fourth of July festivities in Osceola, Iowa. Approximately 1:30 AM, July 5, 1927, Robert was a passenger with two other men in a car traveling south of Osceola on Highway 69. At the bottom of what was locally called Wade Hill, the automobile struck a bridge guard rail; the wood guard rail entered the car striking Robert in the chest. He died at about noon the same day, July 5, 1927. He left a wife and 10 children, the oldest being 13 years of age.

The burial ceremonies for Robert were at the Grand River Cemetery on July 7, 1927. During this ceremony, where no doubt the large Moren and Baker families were in attendance, a Louie Greenland approached the husband of Elizabeth Baker McConnell, Clinton, and advised Clinton, a Decatur County Deputy Sheriff, that bootleggers the Sheriff’s department had been tracking could be found at a certain location in the county. Clinton McConnell, the Deputy Sheriff, and brother in law of the recently deceased Robert Carl Baker, and the husband of Elizabeth Baker McConnell, left the services to follow this new lead. The pursuit of this lead resulted in Clinton being murdered. He left to mourn his passing, his wife, an eight year old son James Clinton McConnell, and a 20 year old daughter Edith Dale.

On November 25, 1927, Lyman Baker’s wife Ethel Daniels Baker, expecting their third child, died at the Creston, Iowa Hospital of undiagnosed causes leaving Lyman and two young daughters – Rosemary, 3 years old, and Evelyn, 5 years old.

It was a tough year for the William “Bill” Henry Baker family. William had been a widower since 1913 and he now laid claim to 14 parentless grandchildren, 13 of them below the age of 13 years of age.

These events happened long before the age of welfare, social security, and the common occurrence of mothers working outside the home. Yet the two single mothers – Bessie and Elizabeth – went on with life as full time mothers. No doubt the large families connected with these two ladies pitched in and helped according to their capacities.

Bessie reared her children in the Van Wert, Iowa area. One of her sons, Dennis, whom this writer knew the best of all the 10 children, commented that his mother took in laundry, did house work for others and seemed to be able to provide for the large family of children. I guess one might say – they all very successfully survived and thrived – without government, but no doubt with lots of extended family support. After her children were all grown, about 1947, Bessie married Pearl Hinebaugh from Garden Grove. They lived on the Hinebaugh farm in the Garden Grove area until his death at which time she moved back to Van Wert where she died. She is buried at High Point Cemetery.

Elizabeth remained in Leon with her young son, renting a large house, and then providing room and board services to the large construction crews that were in the midst of building highways 69 and 2 that traversed Leon. In later years Elizabeth lived in an apartment in downtown Des Moines then ended in the Oakland, California, area near both of her children – James and Edith Dale – and her sister Fern. Elizabeth died in 1971 in California. She is remembered by this writer as a very well dressed elegant lady.

Lyman remained a single father until February 1931 when he married Helen Lucille Bacon, and they then had eight children. During his single fatherhood time, his in-laws, the Daniels family of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, assisted greatly in helping take care of the two little girls. After his re-marriage, his new wife Helen then became a full time mother to his children.

I think this is a most interesting testimonial to the resiliency of the American family. This tragedy occurred prior to government intrusions that have substituted loving and caring family members for monetary subsidizing of family values. All of the children noted in this story grew to adulthood and lived productive good lives.

Note: Four of the 14 grandchildren noted in this story are still living today – Rosemary Baker (Lyman’s), James McConnell (Elizabeth and Clinton’s), Martina Baker and Gerald Baker (Robert’s).

9/2/2008 Note: Gerald Baker died September 1, 2008. He was less than a year old when his father Robert died in the car accident.

Amended 9/5/2008. Gerald “Jerry” Baker died, now leaving only three of the 14 grandchildren still living.

Amended 4/1/2010. James McConnell died on March 22, 2010, in Sausalito, California, 91 years old.

Amended 3/07/2001 Rosemary (Baker) Blauer died at the age of 86 years on March 1, 2011, Des Moines, Iowa.

Written by Ken Baker, 4/27/2007
Amended 9/10/07; 4/01/10; 3/07/11; 5/10/11