Weldon Family Hostories
A - B

Names In Alpha Order

Samuel Baker

SAMUEL BAKER was born December 26, 1842 in Lin colnshire, England.  He was a son of Jarvis and
Elizabeth Baker.  He spent his early life In England and had little opportunity to attend 
school.  At an early age of nine years he began earning his own living as a brick mason.  He 
married Sarah Hardesty in November 1870.  She was a native of Yorkshire, England.  In the 
Spring of 1872 he followed his brothers and brought his wife and one child, Henry, to the 
United States.  He took residence in DeWitt County and became a farmer.

Children born into this family were Henry (1872).  Kate (1874), Jarvis (1876), Belle 
(1877), and Garfield (1880).

In 1895, Samuel returned on a visit to England.  He visited his parents and other friends 
of his boyhood.  He stayed five months. Then, in 1898 he made another trip to England and 
stayed two months.  His father passed away in 1900.

Samuel remained on the farm until 1901.  He and his wife moved to a cottage in the north 
part of the village.  Sarah Hardesty Baker was of a family of eleven childern, of whom only 
three came to America.  She died March 3, 1926.

A.  HENRY, the eldest of Samuel's family, born in 1871, was married on February 22, 1900 to 
Mary Emma Howard, also a native of Lincolnshire, England.  They had one son, Lester Melvin, 
born on August 15, 1908.  Emma died in 1923, and Henry married Gertrude Swearingen In December
1926.  Henry died in 1948.

I..   Lester Baker, married Jennie Downs, of Normal, Ill.. on October 1, 1938.
1.  A foster daughter, Kathryn King came to their home in 1945 and lived there until she was 
    married in 1957.
    She has one daughter, Marisa Kay Giuliani, born May 4, 1958.
2.  Samuel Ellsworth, was born to the Lester Bakers on January 17, 1947.
3.  Barbara Emma was born to the Lester Bakers on September 4,1948.

Lester has farmed the farm, as did his father, in the same neighborhood that Grandfather Samuel
and Grandmother did.

B.  KATE BAKER was married on February 11, 1892 to William Dawson who was also a native of 
Boston, England.  Kate died February 1946.
I.   Elsie, their eldest was born October 24,1892.  She married Frank Glenn (March 2, 1910) and
had one daughter, Evelyn born Nov 12, 1915.

1.  Evelyn married Roy John Schumaker on Feb. 14, 1934.  They are the parents of two children:
a.  Roland Glen born March 31, 1938.  He married Marcia Bailey of Lovington  Dec., 30, 1960.  
    They have three children: Sherri Lynn (July 1, 1962), Roland Glen (Sept 6, 1966), and Pally 
    Ann (Aug. 17, 1971.)
b.  Carol Lucille, born February 28, 1943.  Frank Glen died on Nov. 14, 1954 and Elsie died 
   June
22, 1971.

II. Grace May, the second Dawson was born April 20, 1894.  She married Henry Herman Schmidt
on Jan. 20, 1919.  They were the parents of three children;
Ether Irene (August 13, 1920).  She married Louis Skaggs on Nov. 26, 1952.  Their children
are:
1. Grace Ann (Aug. 13, 1958)
2. William Henry (June 8,1963)
3. Louis Skaggs died Jan. 3 1970.

B.  The second child was Marion Lucille, born May 24, 1923. She married Clive Grant Oct. 18, 
1941. Their children are:
a. Jeff Scott (Dec. 1, 1967)
b. Rebecca (Feb. 17,1972)

2. Mary Jane (Sept. 15,1945)  She married William Lueschen on June 13, 1965.  Their children are
a. Stephen Paul (Feb. 5, 1967)
b. Roger Duane (April 19, 1969)

3. Sally Christine (Oct. 16, 1958)
c. Herman LaVon born and died Sept. 24,1925.

III.  Ethel was born July 8, 1896, and remained unmarried.
      
IV. Ralph was born Sept. 26, 1898. He married Bernice
Greenwood.  They had three children:
A. Harry
B. Junior
C. Irvin
Harry and Junior died as young men.
Irvin married Wilma _________.  They have three children:
1. Gary, who died in 1960.
2. Jerry
3. Daryl

There are seven grandchildren, all living in  California. Ralph married Bertha Perring. (Feb. 
2, 1924)  They had two children:
1.  Betty, who married Lynn R. Bostwick on June 23, 1940.  They have five children
a.  Terry, who married Myra __________.  They had two children:
i.  Barbara
ii. Kathy
b.  Larry, who married Janice __________.     They had to children:
i.  Debbie
ii. Jeffery
c.  Dixie, who married Alan Punches.   They have three children:

C.   JARVIS BAKER, the third son of Samuel was born in 1876. He married Nellie O'Brien on
October 2, 1901. They spent several years living near Litchfield and Jarvis died in 1946 and is
buried in Weldon Cemetery.  Nellie died in _________.
        
D.   BELLE, was born Dec. 9, 1877.  She married Fred Dressler on Nov. 30, 1899. She died in
November 1969 and he in Sept. of 1951.  They had two children:
I.  Ruth (Aug. 2, 1908)  She Married Ralph Reeves on Feb. 13, 1930. Ralph died on March 23, 
1969.   They had three children:
a. Frances (March 4, 1931).  She married Louis Kallembachon Jane 4, 1955.  They have four
children:
i. Larry Jo (Aug. 2, 1956)
ii. Lynnamm (December 21, 1958)
iii.  Donald (June 1, 1960)
iiii. Darren (Oct, 6, 1962) Darren   passed away on November 9, 1972.

b. Ronald (April 23, 1935). He married Jan Ruby on Aug 21, 1955.  They have two children:
i.  Rhonda  (Sept 2,1956)
ii. Shawn (Feb. 11, 1959)

c. Lois (Jan. 25, 1937)  She married Bruce Cripeon Oct. 17, 1959. They have three Children:
i.   Lynette (Dec. 30, 1960)
ii.  David (April 20, 1962)
iii.  Pamela (Dec. 15, 1965)

II.  Walter Frederick (Jan. 7, 1910). He married Mary Milligan (Jan. 29, 1910) on Dec. 29, 
19___. Walter passed away Sept. 26, 1969.  They had two daughters:
a.  Margaret Louise (Feb. 2, 1944).  She married John Franklin Baylor (July 25, 1946) on April
25, 1965. They have two children:
i.  Nancy Ann (Nov. 13, 1966).
ii. John Franklin, Jr. (Dec. 24, 1969)

b.  Mary Carolyn (Dec. 23, 1946).  She married Terry Lee Lubbers (July 30, 1947) on September
4, 1966. They have one son.
i.  Roger Lynn (Dec. 9. 1970).

E.   GARFIELD BAKER was born in 1880, He married Lois Chrisman on Feb. 18, 1903. They had one 
child:
I. Eva (Sept. 13, 1912).  She married Walter Rich on ___________.  They have one son:
1. Lester Keith (Dec. -, 1938) He married Sandra Brinkman on __________. They have one son:
i. Leslie Aaron


Daniel Bosserman

Daniel Bosserman was born January 23, 1814, in Perry County, Ohio, the eleventh child of a
family of fifteen.  Rachel young was born in Sussex County, New Jersey, on Aug. 31, 1832. 
They were married in Franklin County, Ohio, on November 12, 1846.  In 1960, they started from
Picquay County, Ohio, for the west - to Illinois - which was many miles to travel so slowly, in 
a covered wagon, with five children.  On the way they were in some awful rain storms.  Unknown
to the family, two of the small children were taking the whooping cough and because of the
exposure, they died soon after they arrived in Illinois.

They settled in DeWitt County on a farm which is now about half way between Weldon and
DeWitt, For five years two families lived in the same house.  In 1865, Daniel Bosserman bought
160 acres of government land, two miles north of Shu-fly for $25 per acre and moved his family
on it.  Here they lived for twenty nine years and had five more children.  Rachel made two trips
back to Ohio on horseback, riding on a sidesaddle.  One time she held a small child on her lap. 
Daniel was one of the representative farmers in DeWitt County and attended closely to his
business affairs, thus a accumulating enough land and money to secure comfort for their old age. 
He died suddenly, April 24, 1889.  After a long illness, Rachel died in 1909.  Seven children
grew to adulthood.

Marion Bosserman married Ann Marsh (daughter of John Marsh, another early settler) on April
24, 1873 and lived north of Weldon for several years.  Later they moved near Farmer City.  They
were the parents of nine children, only four lived to adulthood.  His death came in 1920.

Molly Bosserman was born January 30, 1849 and married W. O. Williams of DeWitt.  She died
in 1920, leaving no children.

William Bosserman was born August 3, 1851 and died November 1, 1924.  He lived many years
in Columbus, Ohio, but never married.

Michael (Mike) Bosserman was born August 25,1853.  While he was a baby, he crawled to the
fireplace to get some egg shells his mother had thrown onto the hot wood, burning both hands
very badly.  He had the use of only his little fingers and thumbs for the rest of his life.  He 
never married and died August 1, 1932, Catherine (Kate) Bosserman was born December 5, 1855 and
in 1875 she married Robert Marsh, a brother of Marion Bosserman's  wife.  Bob and Kate 
Marsh,  as they were called, were the parents of seven children, namely, Charles, Ollie, Stella, 
Thomas, Daniel, Carrie and Minnie.  All were very active in the Weldon community.  Minnie
Marsh Twist of Clinton and Dan Marsh of California, are still living.

Charles Bosserman was born in 1860, died in Weldon in 1935, leaving no children.

Lucy (Lue), the youngest, was born in 1865 and lived with her parents.  Her mother was
paralyzed for six years and blind for four years before her death in 1909, so required a lot of 
care from all.  After her mother's death she lived in DeWitt until her death in 1937.

No one with the name of Bosserman is now (1972) living in the Weldon area.  Two
great-grandsons are living here.  They are Rob Roy Twist who is farming part of the Bosserman
farm and R. A. Marsh, who is farming the farm his grandparents (Robert and Catherine
Bosserman Marsh) bought.  Many other great-grandsons and daughters live in neighboring
communities.
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