Baker family papers
Finding aid prepared by Monica Pelayo
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2010
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Title: Baker family papers
Dates: 1864-1975
Collection Call Number: mssBaker family papers
Extent:
315 items in 6 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera that document several generations of the
Baker family of Owens Valley, California.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with
the researcher.
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Baker family papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Acquisition Information
The collection was a gift of John Garner, June 2009.
Biographical Note
The Bakers were residents of the Owens Valley in California. They were one of the Owens Valley's oldest pioneer families.
Through various marriage arrangements, the Baker family became tied to other pioneer families, such as the Hines, the Bells,
and the Whites. One of the first Bakers to reach California was William A Baker, who arrived to California in 1849. Originally
from Richmond, Virginia, he travelled to the mining camps of San Francisco, California. He visited his sister Mary E. Bell
in Independence, California in the early 1850s and decided to settle near Big Pine, California, where he homesteaded a ranch,
now known as the Baker Ranch. In the spring of 1872, Fannie Fain White came to the area with her uncle John B. White from
Knoxville, Tennessee. She met William A. Baker in Independence and they married in October 1872, settling in his ranch. Moreover,
Mr. William A. Baker's neighbor, Andrew Neal Bell married Mr. Baker's sister, Mary Louise Baker (not Mary E. Baker) in 1870.
She brought her sister, Sarah Baker with her to California, and Sarah Baker soon married John B. White, Mrs. Fannie F. Baker's
uncle. Mr. and Mrs. William A. Baker had five children: George A., William F., Fannie, Elton P. and Walter Baker. Mr. William
A. Baker died in 1885 and his son Walter Baker died in 1908. They were buried in Big Pine, California. George A. Baker, however,
married Mary E. Baker (also referred to as May Baker), daughter of James F. Hines, and they settled in his father's ranch.
They had two daughters, Irma Garner (also referred to as Irma Baker) and Alice Walters. In 1932, Mrs. Fannie F. Baker sold
the Baker Ranch to the city and relocated her family to Fontana, California.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and ephemera that document several generations of the
Baker family of Owens Valley, California. The Manuscripts series contains William A. Baker's diaries from 1864-1866, as well
as the diaries his granddaughter, Irma Garner, kept during her college years (1929-1931). It also holds ledger/account books,
sermon notes, reports for Harold P. Richards from the U.S. Department of Interior division of Grazing in Salt Lake City, Utah,
and other financial documents. The Correspondence series is primarily related to various members of the Baker family with
a bulk of the letters associated with Irma Garner. Furthermore, over forty letters are from family friend, Chris Connor, to
Irma Garner. The Photograph series is composed entirely of photographs, photograph albums, and a video. They are arranged
in alphabetical order and are mostly grouped together by family (i.e. Baker family, Garner family, etc.), or other common
theme. There is one folder dedicated to Irma Garner, the Baker cabin/ranch, Fannie Fain Baker, and Denver Silar Garner. Box
5 contains a video interview of Irma Garner. The Ephemera series includes newspaper clippings, a birth certificate, a marriage
certificate programs, receipts, books, empty envelopes, a wallet, and redwood from Big Pine, California. The oversized folder
is connected to this box as it has four newspapers that have articles that were of interest to the Baker family.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in the following series: 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-2); 2. Correspondence (Box 3); 4. Photographs (Boxes
4-5); 3. Ephemera (Box 6 and 1 oversized folder).
Indexing Terms
Personal Names
Baker (Family : Owens Valley, Calif.)
Corporate Names
United States. Department of the Interior
Subjects
Frontier and pioneer life -- California -- Owens Valley
Geographic Areas
Big Pine (Calif.)
California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Owens Valley (Calif.)
Genre
Diaries -- United States -- 19th century
Ledgers (account books) -- United States -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
Photographs -- United States -- 19th century
Photographs -- United States -- 20th century
Box 1
Manuscripts: Baker-Ledger Book, 1879
Folder 1
Baker, William A. Pocket Diary
(1864)
Folder 2
Baker, William A. Pocket Diary
(1866)
Folder 3
Baker Creek Water Users
(1920-1921)
Folder 4
Cushing, Horace S. "Sermon Notes"
[undated]
Folder 5
Garner, Irma. Diary
(1929-1931)
Folder 6
Garner, Irma. Diary
(1933-1934)
Box 2
Manuscripts: Ledger Book, 1880-U.S. Department of the Interior
Folder 4
Security Title Insurance & Guarantee Company. "Escrow Statement"
(1932, June 6)
Folder 5
U.S. Department of the Interior. Seventh Period Illustrated Narrative Reports
(1936)
Folder 6
U.S. Department of the Interior. Eighth Period Illustrated Narrative Reports
(1937)
Folder 7
U.S. Department of the Interior. Ninth Period Illustrated Narrative Reports
(1937)
Folder 1
Connor, Charles. 43 letters to Irma Garner
(1931-1932
Folder 2
Baker, Fannie F. 1 letter to Hugh [White]
(1899, July 31)
Folder 3
Department of Public Service. 1 letter to Mary Baker
(1924, June 28)
Signed by John T. Martin.
Folder 4
Headquarters for Douglas District. 1 letter to Harold P. Richards
(1937, Feb. 13)
Folder 5
Garner, Irma. 6 letters to Mary E. Baker
(1956)
Folder 6
Garner, Irma. 1 letter to Fannie Scholten McPherson
[undated]
Folder 7
"IMB." 31 letters to Irma Garner
[undated]
Folder 8
Marr, Jean. 1 letter to Irma Garner
(1939, Aug. 29)
Folder 9
"Sonny Boy." 1 letter to unknown addressee
[undated]
Folder 10
U. S. Department of the Interior. 3 letters to Harold P. Richards
(1937-1940)
Signed by J. Pratt Allred, D. D. McKay, Chelsey P. Seeley, and Julian Terrett
Folder 11
"Huck." 3 letters to Irma Garner
(1930)
Folder 12
"Ina." 2 letters to Irma Garner
(1933-1934)
Folder 13
"Max." 1 letter to Irma Garner
(1931, June 18)
Folder 1
Empty Picture Frames
[undated]
Folder 2
Photograph of unidentifed male in frame
[undated]
Folder 3
Photograph Album
(1868-1910)
Folder 4
Photograph of Harold P. Richards in frame
[undated]
Folder 1
Baker Cabin/Ranch
(1895-1923)
Folder 2
Baker Family Portraits
(1885-1927)
Folder 4
Baker, Fannie F.
[undated]
Folder 5
Class Photos
[1910 or 1911]
Folder 6
Garner, Denver Silar
(1905-1909)
Folder 7
Garner Family
(1899-1958)
Folder 9
Miller/Walters Family
(1950-1955)
Folder 10
Miscellaneous: identified
(1895-1975)
Folder 11
Miscellaneous: unidentified
[undated]
Folder 13
Richards Family
(1918-1919)
Folder 14
Scholten Family
(1896-1928)
Folder 15
Photo Album Pages
(1917-1932)
Folder 17
"Irma Baker Interview"
[undated]
Folder 1
Aldine Autograph Album
(1881-1897)
Folder 2
"Green and Gold:" yearbook
(1931-1932)
Folder 3
Certificate of Baptism
(1885, June 8)
Folder 4
Certificate of Holy Matrimony
(1913, Feb. 15)
Folder 5
Confederate Money
[undated]
Folder 7
"McGuffey's Pictorial Eclectic Primer:" activity book
(1867)
Folder 9
Newspaper Clippings
[undated]
Folder 10
Newspapers
(1909-1936)
4 items housed in Oversize folder
Folder 11
Pomona College Hymns
(1923)
Folder 14
Redwood from Big Pine, California
Folder 15
"Ropp's Commercial Calculator"
(1867)
Folder 16
Golda Scholten Bible
(1918)
Folder 18
"Where Chumship Should Reign:" fables and poems
[undated]
Folder 19
Fanny F. White Bible
[1860s]