Baker

(prepared by John W Loder and Barry Cooper))

Baker
Current region	Newfoundland and Labrador
Place of origin	England
Founded	c.1870

The first two Baker families to settle permanently in the Random Island (RI) area were those of

• James Baker (“James-b1836”) who was born in Heart’s Ease Beach (henceforth, “Heart’s Ease”) in 1836, and married Johanna Cooper (1835-1902) of Ireland's Eye in 1859 [see Cooper Family], and
• John Baker (“John-b1837”) who was born in Heart’s Ease in 1837 and married Sarah Ann Langer of nearby Gooseberry Cove in 1866.

Both families settled in the vicinity of Souley's and Wake's Brooks near Snook's Harbour in the 1870s, although James and Johanna had previously spent about a decade living in Rider’s Harbour and Thoroughfare. There is uncertainty regarding how James-b1836 and John-b1837 were related, even though it has been indicated in a previous summary that they were brothers. In any case, we will consider them to be the “First Generation” of the Baker Family of Random Island. (Nonetheless, it should be noted that a Sarah Baker of Heart’s Ease married John Foster in 1807 and settled in Rider’s Harbour several decades earlier.)

Pre Random Island

First Generation

Ancestors of James-b1836

While there are instances of Bakers on the Southern Shore (south of St John's) and in Conception and Placentia Bays in the late 1600s and early 1700s, it seems most likely that the earliest Baker ancestor of the Random Island Baker Family to live in Newfoundland was “John-b1730” who, according to the Baker-Merlo Family Tree on Ancestry.com, was born in Trinity in 1730 and married a lady named Grace from there. This is consistent with the Heart's Ease Community History which indicates that James-b1836 was descended from the “John Baker and wife Grace, likely of Trinity, [who] moved to Heart's Ease Beach and became the first permanent settlers in the community [around 1750]”. John-b1730 and Grace had at least 3 children: “John Jr [b 1750], Elizabeth and Joseph?”; and John-b1730 died in 1775.

The Baker-Merlo Family Tree5 indicates that John-b1730's parents were John-b1711 and Susan Dorlin, both born in Suffolk England, and that their other 3 children were born in Suffolk between 1732 and 1745. This suggests that, either John-b1711 and Susan returned to England after the birth of John-b1730, or they were not his parents, or his indicated birthplace is incorrect. Thus, while there is some indication that John-b1730's parents lived in Newfoundland (if he was indeed born there), it is uncertain who they were and whether they lived permanently in Newfoundland prior to his birth.

It seems likely that John-b1730 or his father was the "John Baker, a fisherman of Trinity, 1758" who, in a comprehensive historical review., was identified as the earliest instance of a Baker in Trinity Bay. The above indication that John-b1730 and Grace moved to Heart's Ease "around 1750" suggests that the 1758 Trinity fisherman was John's father. However, the indication in the Baker-Merlo Tree that their 3 children (John-b1750, Joseph and Elizabeth) were born in Trinity between 1750 and 1758 suggests that their move to Heart's Ease may have been gradual or seasonal. Other early instances of Bakers in Trinity Bay include: "John, proprietor and occupier of a fishing room at Scilly Cove (now Winterton), Winter 1800-01", "William, planter of Bird Island Cove (now Elliston), 1823", "Thomas, planter of Hant's Harbour, 1824", and "Joseph of Heart's Ease, 1830".