Individual Details

1820 Clay Co KY. No clue which Bowling:
Bowling Baker Jr. listed on page with James & John Baker:
1m under 10, 2m 10-16, 1m 16-18, 1m 16-26, 1m over 45 [born before 1775]. 3f under 10, 2f 10-16, 1f 16-26, 1f 26-45.

I have reason to doubt that John Renta even had a son named Boling. The following records are either false trails or seem to belong to Boling Baker, son of Andrew, or his son Boling Jr. There are huge differences in the estimates of his birth - from 1762 to 1784, also indicating confusion.

There are three, maybe four, possible Boling Bakers that have been confused beyond all recognition. One said to be the son of the elder Andrew Baker, born 1763 or 1764. The second, also said born about 1764, said to be a son of John Renta Baker - John was one of Andrew's eldest; Boling one of the youngest; therefore, John's children and brother were close in age.
The third Boling suggested as a son of James Baker & Mary Blount which seems to be completely wrong - that James born in PA much too early and seems to be an impossible situation.

Wives don't help much. One of the Bolings, probably the son of Andrew, married Martha "Patsy" Morris - a couple of his siblings also married into the Morris family. There is also said to be a marriage between a Boling Baker and a daughter, Aracoma, of the Indian chief Cornstalk - I believe we can safely dismiss this as either a bedtime story or some other family.
Boling, son of Andrew, received a pension for his service in the Revolution, S-12950; not likely if he had joined a Indian tribe. His brother George and former brother-in-law William Morris, witnessed his application for pension on March 4, 1831.

Two Bolen Bakers married in Madison Co, or the same Bolen married two times within a few years. Bolen Baker married Mary Rogers, 20 Mar 1798 with Robert Baker as bondsman. Bolen Baker married Betsy Bunch, 29 Aug 1804. Jacob Bolden listed as bondsman; James Bunch was father of the bride. To date I have seen no proof that the son of John Renta named Boling was in Madison Co in this time frame. However - the truth is that I have an autosomal DNA match to a person who claims descent through Bolin Baker & Betsey Bunch. And this person has a double match to Bolin through a cousin marriage that depends on whether or not John "Renta" Baker had a daughter Nancy Angeline (for which I've found no proof). Given the number of autosomal matches I have to the Bakers, this lends a great deal of credence to this line. For that reason only, I have included the line of this person.


A journal belonging to Robert "Juder Bob" Baker states in the preface, that Julius Bob was an officer in the Kentucky Cornstalk Militia, disbanded 1810. Robert Baker [presumably the same man] served as a Lt. in the 2nd Regt of William's Kentucky Volunteers in the War of 1812. Robert and Bowling Baker, were both paid for the services of their horse and saddles on the March to Canada where they ended up at the Battle of the Thames.

Clay Co Deed Book A., 1806-1827. Abstracts compiled by Florence Nelson Young & Virgil D. Young, 1975
p.136 8 Aug 1815 Claim filed for service in th Kentucky mounted volunteer militia by Bowling Baker of Clay Co.
Deed Book A, page 138 Date: 8 Aug 1815
Bowling Baker of Clay co., a private in the late campaign of Ky volunteer mounted militia commanded by his Excellency Isaac Shelby into Canada, belonging to Captain Thomas McGitton's company, attached to the 11th Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Williams, now appts William M Phelps to receive moneys due to him for his services.


Ran Raider gives Boling Baker's year of birth as 16 Apr 1784 - says he married Elizabeth Bunch. Others have placed him as a son of the Bolling Baker who was a son of Andrew and brother to John "Renta" Baker. However I have had DNA autosomal matches to people who claim descent from Boling Baker and Betsy Bunch. For that reason, I have placed Elizabeth "Betsy" Bunch as his wife.

He is said to have gone to Linn Co Mo:
HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY. KANSAS CITY, MO.: BIRDSALL & DEAN 1882. pg 813 GRAVEYARDS. The Baker graveyard was laid out in 1840, by Robert Baker, the early pioneer. It contains about one-fourth of an acre of ground, and located on the same section as his residence. The first body interred in it was that of Bolaud Baker, the father of Robert; and since then, there have been some forty buried within its sacred enclosure.


The following seems definitely to be the family of Boling, son of Andrew:
Bonnie Miller gives his year of birth as 1764 and says he married (1) Patsy Morris & (2) Mary Rogers. Patsy Morris was the wife of the earlier Bolling Baker, John Renta's brother and a birth year of 1764 also seems to be his. Three children are listed for Boling & Patsy Morris - Boling Jr. b. 1784 who married Elizabeth Bunch; Anna who married James Davis in Clay Co; Reuben who married Tabitha Davidson, 25 Oct 1833, Clay Co. The marriage to Mary Rogers is recorded in Madison Co KY on 20 Mar 1798. Bondsman was Robert Baker.

Reuben Baker, age 41, born in KY, was in Clay Co, KY, 1850 with his family.

Bowling Jr. is said to have killed Margan Dezrn, possibly about 1845, over a woman. Bowling's wife had died and they may have been courtin' the same lady. After the killing, Bowling left for Missouri where he may have raised another family.
Baker, Bowling, Jun. son of Bowling Sr. was bound to Daug White to learn salt making. He lived at the head of Bear Creek and when his wife died he buried her on the creek. He went over to Beech Creek to court the sister of Morgan Dezarns. He had two children by her but never married. He got into an argument with Morgan Dezarn and shot and killed him with a single barrel pistol with two balls in it in 1845. He mounted his horse and fled the county to Stone County Missouri and never returned. He later married another woman in Missouri and had another family."




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A death in 1840 in Linn Co, MO does not fit the story that Boling killed a man after the death of his wife and ran off to Missouri where he married again and raised another family. Another example of the way the Boling Bakers have been confused.

Birth	1784
Birth	16 Apr 1784	Wilkes County, North Carolina
Marriage	29 Aug 1804	Madison County, Kentucky - Elizabeth "Betsy" Bunch
Marriage	20 Sep 1804	Madison County, Kentucky - Elizabeth "Betsy" Bunch
Death	26 Aug 1840	Linn County, Missouri
Death	31 Aug 1840	Linn County, Missouri

Spouse	Elizabeth "Betsy" Bunch (1785 - 1840)
Child	Robert Baker (1808 - 1885)
Child	George Baker (1816 - 1854)
Child	Andrew Baker (1820 - 1897)

Father	JOHN "Renta" BAKER (1744 - 1831)
Mother	ELIZABETH ?TERRELL ( - )
Sibling	Andrew BAKER (1765 - 1842)
Sibling	James "Claybank" BAKER (1768 - )
Sibling	John "Durkham" Baker (1770 - )
Sibling	Robert Julius "Juder Bob" BAKER (1774 - 1859)
Sibling	Nancy Baker (1777 - 1849)
Sibling	George Washington BAKER (1779 - 1846)
Sibling	IFFA BAKER (1790 - 1866)