The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: GA
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service / Soldier
Birth: 1717 Dorchester / / SC Death: 01 Dec 1785 / Liberty / GA
Qualifying Service Description:
Soldier - Inteligence Officer
Member of Provincial Congress 1775, Commissioner
Additional References:
Rev War Graves Register. Clovis H. Brakebill, compiler. 672pp. SAR. 1993
SAR Rev War Graves Register CD. Progeny Publishing Co: Buffalo, NY. 1998
Spouse: (1) Susannah Osgood; (2) Elizabeth Lax Children: Elijah;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Grave Site Unknown - SAR marker placed in Midwaycemetery to the West of the Stewart-Screven Monument.
Imagestaken and provided with permission from compatriot KScott Collins (GA) member 175076
Liberty County was previously know as St. John's Parish.
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From Interstate 95 take exit 76. Turn West on Georgia Highway 38W/US Highway 84W. Continue 3.9 miles to US Highway 17N. Turn right (North) on US Highway 17N. Destination will be directly ahead in .5 miles. Church is on the right and Cemetery is on the left.
Photo: 1 of 2
Photo: 2 of 2 (gps: 31.806094444444,-81.431266666667)
Author: William Foye Ramsaur
Benjamin Baker was born in 1717 in Dorchester, South Carolina, the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Sumner) Baker. One of his brothers was William Baker, Sr., with whom he moved to the Midway District of Georgia.
In May of 1740, At the age of twenty-three, Benjamin Baker participated in the British Siege of St. Augustine as a member of the 42nd Regiment of Foot led by General James Oglethorpe. In early 1752, the congregation of the White Meeting House in Dorchester, South Carolina, petitioned for land grants in the Midway District of Georgia. Benjamin Baker and Samuel Bacon and their families were the first to arrive in Midway on 2 December 1752.
Starting in 1754, for more than twenty-seven years, Benjamin served as clerk of the Midway Congregational Church, and upon his death, he left several volumes of manuscripts which documented the activities of the church
In 1776, Benjamin Baker helped review and compare constitutions from other colonies for Button Gwinnett and the Provincial Congress to compile one suitable for the Province of Georgia. He served as Intelligence Officer in Liberty County in 1777 and was appointed Commissioner of Liberty County in 1778. Benjamin was captured by British troops in November 1778 and taken to Colonel Prevost's headquarters near the Midway Meeting House.
In his diary, he wrote. "Colonel Prevost and his officers seemed touched by the fact that my family, especially my wife and child not six weeks old, were lying in the woods in such weather… He advised me to return home immediately and to keep within the limits of my own home, assuring me that in that case, none of us would be molested."
In 1738, in Dorchester, South Carolina, Benjamin married Susannah Osgood. She was the sister of Sarah Osgood, who married William Baker and the Reverend John Osgood, Minister of the Midway Congregational Church. Benjamin and Sarah's known children were:
Sarah married John Winn, Jr
Elizabeth married Samuel Stevens
Susannah married Samuel Saltus
John B. married Harriet Way
Susannah Osgood Baker died on 3 December 1752, the day after they arrived in Midway, Georgia.
Benjamin then married Elizabeth Lax on 18 November 1753 at the Congregational Church in Midway. Their known children were:
William B. was born on 14 September 1754
Rebecca was born on 20 July 1756
Samuel was born on 31 March 1758
Nathaniel was born on 25 May 1760
Joseph was born on 21 April 1762
Christopher was born on 22 November 1764
Elijah was born on 15 October 1769 (served as a Clerk of Liberty County Court for 26 years)
Ann was born on 29 September 1772
Benjamin was born on 22 September 1778.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lax Baker died on 11 July 1799 in Liberty County.
The Patriot died on 1 December 1785 in Liberty County, and was reportedly buried in the Midway Cemetery. No grave is identified with his stone, but possibly he was buried near his son, Nathaniel whose gravestone is located in Section A -20.
Author: William Foye Ramsaur
Benjamin Baker was born in 1717 in Dorchester, South Carolina.
In 1740, he served as a Private Royal Regiment of Foot commanded by General James Oglethorpe at the Siege of St. Augustine. He returned to South Carolina, where he was a Member of the Church in Dorchester. He petitioned for a Land Grant of 500 acres in Midway District 1752. Arrived with Samuel Bacon in 1752, the first two families from the Dorchester Church to settle in Midway District. His brother William arrived in Midway District two years later.
In 1775, Benjamin attended the Georgia Provincial Congress and developed the St. Johns Parish Proposal for the First Georgia Constitution in 1776. He signed the McIntosh Petition in 1777. He served as a Commissioner of Liberty County in 1778.
While serving as an Intelligence Officer, he was captured at Midway in 1778. He was paroled at home until the British Evacuation of 1782.
The Patriot died on 1 December 1785. His burial place is unknown. It is believed that he is buried in the Midway Cemetery.
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