BAKER, Joseph (revised 3/28/2021)

Baker, with others from Cape Cod, traveled down east

by ship to Phippsburg, then up the Kennebec River to

Hallowell. They then walked over land through

the dense forest, by following a blazed trail, to

the northern part of Pondtown.

In researching Joseph Baker and his family I unearthed more information than can be shared here. Below is an excerpt from
Joseph Baker of Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard, Readfield and Moscow, Maine.
 

Joseph Baker was born in 1744 on Martha’s Vineyard in Tisbury, Massachusetts. He was a son of Thomas Baker but the names of his mother or all of his siblings are not known at this time. Joseph spent his early years living in Tisbury, and in February 1769 he and Dorcas Smith were married there. They were both 26 years old. Her parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Basset) Smith, were also of Tisbury and Dorcas was the youngest of eleven siblings. We know nothing else about Joseph’s family of origin. 

Almost immediately after Joseph Baker and Dorcas Smith were married they considered moving to Maine to claim some of the land being offered by the Kennebec Proprietors. Joseph Baker’s education was meager, but he was bolstered by his family connections – all people of intelligence, faith and strong character. Three such family members were Dorcas’ brothers and nephews. Three of the Smith men weighed in on the proposition of moving to Maine. They all knew there was the threat of Indian attacks – Mathias Smith had actually served in the French and Indian War so he knew of those dangers firsthand. They also knew they would have to survive under stringent expectations set forth by the Kennebec Proprietors,[i] - to say nothing of the harsh living conditions when they got there.  After much deliberation it was decided they would all forge ahead together into that unknown territory in the back country of Maine.[ii] Both Joseph’s and Dorcas’ fathers were gone by that time but Dorcas mother - Elizabeth Smith – was 71 years old and still living. One can only imagine the tearful parting as she said goodbye to four of her children and grandchildren at the same time - not knowing if she would ever see them again.  



Joseph Baker's Landing was in the vicinity of Readfield
town beach. His log cabin was near here as well.



The Smith men and Baker were among the very first settlers to arrive in this section of Pondtown.[iii]  Joseph and Dorcas Baker settled at the head of Lake Maranacook[iv] a little east of present day Readfield Corner.[v] (The head of the lake was not as far north as it is now, because of the dam built on the southern end at Chandler's Mills (Winthrop village) after the Smiths and Bakers arrived.) Ransford and Elisha Smith, Dorcas' nephews, built their homes near Readfield Depot - Elisha on South Road, near Waugh’s Landing on the east shore of Lake Maranacook; and Ransford near the corner of Main and North Roads at what is now called Readfield Depot. Dorcas' brother Mathias settled near Dead Stream on the west shore of Lake Maranacook; and Thomas nearer to Kents Hill (relationship to Thomas is not yet known).

In 1774 the town voted to build a house for public worship and to locate it on lot #57, in the nearest convenient place in the center of town (Winthrop village in 2013). Townspeople agreed the meeting house was to be 36x40 feet and they approved £20 to commence building it. Joseph Baker was one of three men appointed as the building committee[vi] and he accepted the position of chairman.[vii]  Two years later Joseph Baker was among the 25 people who signed a covenant affirming adherence to the doctrines of the Congregational Church,[viii] but his religious affiliation changed later on.

In 1774 townspeople also voted to lay out a road around the head of Lake Maranacook to Joseph Baker’s house. Five years later, in 1779, the road was extended from Joseph Baker’s Landing at the northerly end of Lake Maranacook, and past Baker’s house in a westerly direction – through James Craig’s Mills - towards the house of Thomas Smith and Kents Hill.[ix] That road, of course, we know today as route 17 / Main Street. By that time Joseph and Dorcas Baker had six children, and had been married for ten years. Their family was growing and so was their town.

In January 1773 the people of Winthrop went on record in support and sympathy with the movement towards independence from England. By March 1775 a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety was formed and Joseph Baker was among those chosen to serve. Their duty was to determine what purchases were needed in the way of provisions, ammunition and other necessary stores to ensure the public safety. They were also given authority to raise the monies necessary on behalf of the town, and constables were directed to give them any money they had collected for province taxes.[x] Joseph was among the nineteen men from Winthrop who signed up for the militia days after the British raid on Concord and Lexington, and marched off to headquarters in Cambridge, MA.

A painting of the Joseph Baker house in Moscow

In 1783 Joseph Baker, his wife and six children moved on to what is now Moscow, Maine. He was the first white man to be there since Benedict Arnold's troops had passed through several years before. Baker's name still lives on in Moscow. Joseph and his family settled near the base of a mountain which became known as Baker Mountain.[xi] There is also a Baker Pond near Moscow.

 

We know that Joseph's and Dorcas' son, Joseph Jr., was a minister. In reading The History of Methodism in Maine by Allen and Pillsbury it seems evident that the elder Baker was also called to the ministry. Sometime before 1800 he, and his brother Samuel, became Methodist itinerant preachers. By then Joseph Sr.'s affiliation had changed from Congregational to Methodist. In 1800 Joseph Baker’s initial appointment was the Bethel circuit. At 56 years old he was the very first circuit rider appointed in the (then new) Bethel circuit of western Maine. 

Baker Mountain in Moscow is named after Joseph Baker.

 

According to the Methodist historian Rev. Stephen Allen, in the summer of 1826 Rev. Joseph Baker returned to Maine from his assignment in the Genesee Conference in New York. Allen says [xii] that Baker came back home for a visit at that time. Was this the father or the son? If it was the father it makes sense that he came back to Moscow to live out the rest of his days since by then he was eighty two years old and surely wanted to slow down and to be near his children and grandchildren in his final days. Allen says that Baker preached several times in Norridgewock that fall where he was regarded as a very able preacher.[xiii] His name does not appear among the Methodist Conference appointments after 1826. Some would say this was Joseph Jr. and not Joseph Sr. though the son was a Baptist preacher according to the town history Makers of Moscow. 

Though Joseph Baker was a man of commanding appearance and of superior natural talent, energetic and very successful as a preacher, he became unstable in his later years. Allen alluded to Baker’s mental instability when he wrote about him in 1887, but he was diplomatic in doing so and did not include details. Then in 1964 a poem was written by William Baker[xiv] called “Baker Mountain”. The poem tells much about Joseph Baker and his life after he left Readfield – including his last days. According to the poem Joseph Baker lived his last days in a cage. Perhaps my research will help people remember him as he was in his prime instead.

Joseph Baker b.1744 Tisbury, Dukes, Massachusetts on Martha’s Vineyard s/o Thomas Baker and __?__. He m. 2/16/1769 to Dorcas Smith of Tisbury. She b.7/27/1744 d/o Thomas and Elizabeth (Barrett) Smith. Joseph died after 1826 in Moscow, ME. Elizabeth d. 2/16/1816 in Moscow, ME. Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Moscow.

Children of Joseph and Dorcas (Smith) Baker:

1.    Elizabeth b.10/19/1770 Winthrop ME m. Amos Fletcher b.1765 Concord, MA. s/o of William and Mary (Parrott) Fletcher the Somerset County pioneer. She d.6/4/1819 He d.7/13/1812. Both d. in Bingham and are buried in Bingham Village Cemetery. 11 children

2.    Mary “Polly” Baker b.11/10/1772 Winthrop ME m. Moses Chamberlain b.12/15/1761 s/o John and Mary (Patch) Chamberlain of Pepperell, Middlesex, MA. Revolutionary War Veteran. She d.11/28/1830 he d.11/18/1834. Both buried Bingham Village Cemetery. 10 children

3.    Lemuel (Leonard) b.9/16/1774 Winthrop m. Mary Fletcher d/o William and Mary (Parrott) Fletcher. He d. bet. 1850-1860 She d.9/1860. Both in Harmony, ME. 1 son to my knowledge.

4.    Joseph b.7/11/1778 Winthrop ME unmarried d.1/2/1853 Buried in Union Cemetery, Moscow.

5.    Asa b.4/3/1779 Winthrop ME m1. Sarah Thompson b.1783 d.1821 in Bingham, ME 3 children m2. Phebe Weeks Bassett (her second marriage) b.1786 d.1863 Moscow, ME 4 children Asa and both wives buried at Moscow Union Cemetery.

6.    Nathan b.12/29/1779 Winthrop ME m. Sophia Rice b.1785 Brookfield, MA d/o Enoch and Olive (Bruce) Rice. He d.1821 in Madawaska, ME 4 children She m2. Asa’s brother John (see #8 below)

7.    Dorcas b.7/29/1784 the first white child born in Moscow. m.1812 Laskey Jackson b.1787 Moscow. She d.1842 He d.after 1860. 5 children Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Moscow

8.    John, Capt. b. 1/17/1787 Moscow m.1823 Sophia Rice in Madawaska, ME (her first marriage was to his brother Nathan – see #6 above). He d.1868 in New Brunswick, Canada She d.1883 in Fort Fairfield, ME. Both are buried in Riverside Cemetery Fort Fairfield, ME. 3 children

---

i. The Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase granted two hundred acres to each family who met these conditions: Settlers shall each build a house not less than 20 feet square, and seven feet stud; clear and make fit for tillage five acres within three years, and dwell upon the premises personally, or by their substitutes for the term of seven years or more.

ii. Pondtown was incorporated as Winthrop in 1771. The northern parish separated and was incorporated as Readfield in 1791.
iii. Joseph’s brother Samuel also moved to Maine though no evidence has been found that he resided in Readfield.
iv. Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Books of Lincoln County Grants
v. Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop; pub. Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page266
vi. The other two men on this committee were Ichabod Howe and John Chandler.
vii. Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop; pub. Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 81, 82 and 266

viii. Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop; pub. Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 81-82

ix.Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop; pub. Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 66 and 69

x.Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop; pub. Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME 1925; page 118-119

xi. Baker Mountain in Moscow had the first tow-operated ski slope in Maine and is unique in its easy accessibility, being located directly along the Old Canada Road byway. With its 2000 foot slope and three trails, it offers excellent training for young skiers. It consists of five runs (3 beginner and 2 intermediate) and a T-bar lift.

xii.Allen, Stephen; Methodism in Maine; pub. Charles E. Nash, Augusta, ME 1887; pages 400-402

xiii.ibid

xiv.It is said that William Baker was not a descendant of Joseph Baker but was born in England.