Affidavit For Timothy Baker

Affidavit of Timothy Howe, of Quincy, Branch, Michigan...who had known Timothy Baker since 1810.  Timothy Howe and Timothy were enrolled in the same company in the War of 1812. [Source]

Source

Timothy Baker volunteered about 15 September 1813 and discharged about 15 December 1813.

Timothy Baker's affidavit taken in Livingston County, New York (he was a resident of Sparta), stated that Timothy Baker was a sergeant in Company of Light Infantry commanded by Captain Daniel Calkins (also mentioned Colonel George Fleming) and that he volunteered at Aurelius, Cayuga County, New York.  He was honorably discharged about 15 December 1813 in Upper Canada at Fort George. [Source]

14 April 1871 Timothy Baker was a resident of Geneseo, Livingston, New York.

Timothy Baker (Jr.) was my 1st cousin, 6x removed.

More Settlers Have Gone Out

Housing Of The Era? Picture Not Taken In New York

Source: A history of Livingston County, New York: from its earliest traditions, to ...

"By the 1790 census, there were only 960 souls, including travellers and surveyors with their attendants, within the bounds 'of the State west of the pre-exemption line."'

"The year 1812 added little to the population of this region, notwithstanding the promise of the early season.  'The war is a complete damper to all sales of new land.  I have not filled out a dozen land contracts this season,' says the principal land owner of this section, 'indeed, more settlers have gone out than have come into the Genesee country."'

David C. Bunnell

Source

From thence I was sent to the United States. Nothing remarkable happened to me from the time I left Marseilles until I arrived at my mother's house in York, Livingston Co., October 30. 1830. I had not seen my mother since I first left her twenty three years and seven months ago.

Bunnell Joined The Navy

Source

David Bunnell of Livingston County, New York

Service:  U.S.S. Macedonian

The "Worthless Mother" post  also referenced the Macedonian.

The travels and adventures of David C. Bunnell: during twenty-three years of ...
 By David C. Bunnell [Page 185]:

An Acker On The List

Source

Silas Acker was the father-in-law of Samantha Jane (Richmond) Acker and the father of Newman McLennan Acker.  Samantha was the daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth (Fowler) Richmond and the sister of my Thomas P. Richmond.


War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files:

Source: Fold3

The Richardsons Of Livingston County

Source - Illustration of Conesus Lake

From the History of the Town of Conesus...:

When the news that Buffalo was burned reached Conesus, through Captain Tyler of Livonia (who was killed in the war,) two brothers, Joseph Richardson, a cripple, and Jonathan, resolved to take their teams and convey soldiers to the lines.  Joseph was killed at Black Rock by a ball which passed through his heart. The friends sent to Buffalo for his remains and they were buried in Livonia. Jonathan was taken prisoner, carried to Montreal and Halifax, and after six months reached home. On his way to Montreal he was urged forward, on the march, at the point of the bayonet. While in prison he was nearly starved to death. Joseph Richardson, Jr., son of the Joseph named above, made his escape before Buffalo was taken.

Acker's Service Noted

From the Livonia Gazette at Fulton History:

Source

After the colonies gained their independence, there was still the ever-present possibility of renewed hostilities with England as well as the danger of Indian attacks.  As a precaution, every able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 45 was required to belong to the militia.  Local training sites for the militiamen included Dennison's Corners, Doolittle's Tavern on the site of the Annis farm, Crockett's Corners in Conesus, and in Lakeville and on the oval in front of the Presbyterian Church in Livonia Center.  William Wadsworth of Geneseo helped direct training programs and later commanded during the War of 1812.

Many of the men in the militia units eventually served in the War of 1812.  Again, the names, as recorded by Miss Meagher, ring familiar:  Silas Acker, Augustus Annis, Peter Pitts Barnard, Asa Dennison, John Fitch Reed, Philip Short, Tyranus Ripley, Harvey Stedman and Elisha Webster, just to name a few.

An Unidentified Deserter

Who was this deserter from Conesus?

"During the War of 1812 a drafted soldier from Conesus deserted from the army, then lying near Buffalo, and took refuge in this gully, then so thickly wooded along its margin as to be almost inaccessible.  The period was mid-winter, and as he was aware that a reward had been offered for his arrest, he kept closely concealed during the day-time in a nest he had formed for himself among the upper branches of a venerable hemlock tree, closely surrounded by smaller trees.  At night he was in the habit of visiting a neighboring log hut for his food.  Officers scoured the gully several times, but did not succeed in discovering his hiding-place."

Source: A history of Livingston County, New York: from its earliest traditions, to ...

Conesus is a town in Livingston County, New York, but Livingston was not a county during the War of 1812 (the county was formed in 1821 from Ontario and Genesee counties).

Was he one of Brigadier General William Wadsworth's men?  The General was from Geneseo (now Livingston County).

FamilySearch.org has 622,984 images in the War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815, file that one could browse through to look for possible suspects!

Wrote A Song About It

The identity of a soldier in an unknown soldier grave on Route 5 in Caledonia, Livingston County, New York, is actually not a mystery.  As noted at FindAGrave:

Although officially an "Unknown Soldier", this is generally believed to be the burial site of one Private John Alexander, murdered by a fellow soldier, Private William Comfit. The site is believed to be the encampment site of a troop of American soldiers on their way from Buffalo to Sackett's Harbor.

A poem put to song, "The Faded Coat of Blue," was appropriate for the Civil War era, but was written as a tribute to Livingston County's unknown soldier.  Four verses of the poem, written by a Caledonia poet, is inscribed on the grave marker.

[Source]

However, there is a mystery surrounding the grave.  As noted in a newspaper article, it's the mystery of a plant growing on the grave.

The flower, called the Blue Gentian, is said to be commonly found in areas where soldiers’ bodies are buried, and only along the Atlantic coast. The Blue Gentian no longer blooms at the gravesite, but the story still intrigues all those who read of it. [Source]