For almost six decades, the descendants of Rosebell Baker were searching for the fathers of her children, with limited success. In Part One, we analyzed vital records and newspaper articles to determine that Samuel Chase Early was the father of Lucinda Baker . In Part Two, we determined the father of Rosebell’s other child, Meldia Baker, was Oliver Broughton. We continue the story with the identity of Axie Baker’s father.
By poring over the available records and networking with other family members, we know Rosebell’s children to be Lucinda, Axie, Cora, McKinley, and Meldia… all from different fathers. When we concluded Part Two, we mentioned how associates, such as family or friends, may provide clues in identifying the fathers of Rosebell’s other children. Associates were most helpful in postulating the father of Axie Baker.
In an email dated 07 March 2018 from Ms. Freeda Gay (Jones) Pease, granddaughter of Axie Baker thru her son Paul:
“I am the granddaughter of Axie Jane Baker; my father was Paul F[erman] Jones. I am resuming the ancestry search that my aunt, [Bessie] Jean [(Jones)] Taylor began years ago! Before Jean Taylor died, she mentioned to me that she thought she had discovered the names of Cora’s and Axie’s fathers. When I inherited her research notebooks, that info was not included.
Axie Baker Jones, my grandmother, was married to Mack Jones and had 10 children… After my grandmother died in 1990, my aunt Jean Taylor told me that Grannie Jones (Axie) and her siblings all had different fathers, and they all had the last name Baker.
Axie Baker
b.7 Feb 1895 d. 8 May 1990
m.5 Jan 1916 Mack Jones b. 14 Apr 1894 d. 10 Jan 1947
Both are buried in the Corinth Cemetery, Corbin, KY.
Mack Jones worked for L&N railroad, Corbin, KY. He died young when my dad, Paul F. Jones, was a senior in high school. Dad had to drop out of school to work full time. He and his sister (Jean Taylor) worked to support the family and helped raise their younger siblings.”
In an email dated 11 October 2017, Ms. Suzanne Dungan, the great granddaughter of Rosebell Baker thru Axie’s sister Meldia provides additional information as follows:
“I corresponded with Jean Taylor who was the daughter of Axie Baker and Mack Jones. She passed in 2011 and had done some genealogy on her family… I cannot find my documentation of my email from Jean Taylor which was a number of years ago…”
What we also know is that there is a Rose Belle Baker marrying a William Spivy in 1887 in Lee County; further research shows that this Rose is not Axie’s mother. There is no 1900 Federal Census record with any combination or name variation of Rosebell and/or Axie. Nor could we find Axie in the Kentucky School Censuses.
A 1910 Federal Census has a Vina Baker (widowed), and a Rose, Axie, Cora, and McKinley living next door in West Flat Lick Precinct No. 6:
Note Ike Patterson b.1855 and Lizzie Patterson b.1855 living next door to Rosebell. The Patterson’s and Ingram’s have a family connection that is important to support the theory on Axie’s father.
In searching available, online newspaper archives, only one article appears for every possible Axie +Baker +Jones +Ingram combination.
Elon Keele (1873-1931) was the wife of Samuel Chase Early (1867-1909). Five years prior to his marriage to Elon in 1897, Samuel and Rosebell have a daughter Lucinda Baker (1892-1963), who is Axie’s half-sister. Ten months after Samuel’s murder on 08 August 1909, 37-year old Elon and her only child, 18-month-old son Samuel Coone Early (1908-1988), travel to see Elon’s widowed 74-year old father Jesse. She is accompanied by 15-year old Axie Baker.
The theory is that Axie was a nanny or volunteered to help as a plausible explanation for her joining the trip with further information from Ms. Pease:
“My grandmother [Axie] and Cora evidently had a hard life. Rose did laundry for people and the kids helped. I was told that they worked at a young age. Someone mentioned that “Grannie [Axie] was farmed out” when she was young to other families to take care of their kids!”
Elon took over Samuel’s store in Barboursville after his death and expanded it. Lucinda’s husband, John Linville, also ran (and lived above) a store in Barboursville, and as a competitor, Elon may have known Lucinda, may have known Lucinda was her widowed husband’s daughter, and perhaps knew Axie and Lucinda were sisters. As noted in the 1910 federal census, Elon was living four houses down from Rosebell’s first cousin, Christopher “Kit” Baker, and may have known Axie during her visits with relatives.
Having married Mack Jones in 1916, Axie does not appear with Rose, McKinley, and “Alvina” (misspelling of Meldia) in the 1920 Federal Census:
So how do we prove the identity of Axie’s father?
There is a record for Axie Baker as “Axie Ingram.” The Kentucky Birth Index for Axie and Mack’s son, William Dallas Jones (1918-2005), has mother listed as “Alie Ingram.”[1]
Name: William D Jones
Date of Birth: 23 Nov 1918
Birth Place: Whitley, Kentucky, USA
Mother’s name: Alie Ingram
Volume Number: 111
Certificate Number: 55349
Volume Year: 1918
When searching for “Axie”, several variations based on transcription errors do occur, such as Alie, Anie, etc. The last name Ingram implies…
- Ingram is Axie’s last name regardless of father. Considering Axie’s name has been consistent as “Axie Baker” and this is the only instance of the use of Ingram, we can rule this out.
OR
- Ingram is the name of Axie’s husband. Considering that William is her second out of nine children, and that the birth index of her children before and after William have “Axie Baker” as mother, we can rule this out.
OR
- Ingram is the name of Axie’s father.
Axie is also listed as “Axie Ingram” in The Jones Family Tree on Ancestry.com, managed by MikeRuthAnnEvenson as of 08MAR2018, with Rose Bell Baker as the mother, but no documentation that points to the father.
Also, other family trees have data for Axie Baker with father as Mat Baker and mother as Rose (Baker) Holmes (reference Jones Family Tree managed by dejoneswa). Many records do show that Mat Baker was married to Sarah Gray, but with no child named Axie, nor is there any known relationship between Mat Baker and Rosebell Baker.
There is only one Ingram in Flat Lick. In prior research when tracing the unknown fathers of Rose’s daughters Lucinda and Meldia, we find that their respective fathers were residing in Flat Lick in 1900 and were lifelong residents:
- Samuel Chase Early (1869-1909), father of Lucinda Baker (see Part One). Farmer, merchant, sheriff. Marries Elon Keel in 1897. Murdered on 08 August 1909.
- Oliver Broughton (1890-1918), father of Meldia Baker (see Part Two). Soldier stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor. Murdered on 06 September 1918.
When browsing the 1900 Federal Census, the most recent and available census close to Axie’s birth, these are the only Ingram’s residing in Flat Lick, Knox County, Kentucky:
- Sidney INGRAM, b.JUN 1869, a.31, single, occupation “farmer”
- Ollie INGRAM, sister to Sidney, b.SEP 1875, a.24, single
- Frank INGRAM, brother to Sidney, b.SEP 1878, a.21, occupation “farm laborer”
- Claude INGRAM, nephew to Sidney, b.JUN 1893, a.6
Going back thru the census, we find Sidney, Ollie, and [Benjamin] Frank[lin]’s parents James and Margaret INGRAM, and conclude that the family members have been residents of Flat Lick for many years.
Realizing that Frank could be the father (he would have been aged fifteen in 1894, nine months before Axie was born in February 1895), we continue in a chronological order focusing on Sidney Ingram, who is Rosebell’s age.
When determining family members, the following resource is very helpful:
Rev. Ebenezer Ingram settled at what is now known as Ingram, Kentucky, post office. This office was named after him. He served as Chaplain in the Civil War in the 49th Kentucky, Voluntary Infantry, composed of ten companies. He had the following family:
(1) Thomas J. Ingram, who had a large family of children, one of whom, Judge Eb Ingram, who was County Judge of Bell County, and was one of the leading political figures of the county for a generation;
(2) Polly Ingram (the oldest of the family);
(3) Rev. James Queener Ingram, who lived and died near Williamsburg, Kentucky;
(4) William F. Ingram; 1852-1885;
(5) Elsie Ingram,
(6) Hannah Ingram;
(7) Amanda Ingram,
(8) Sallie Ingram,
(9) Peggy Ingram,
(10) Emily Ingram.James W. Ingram, father of Sidney Ingram, who now lives in Harlan, Kentucky, was a son of William F. Ingram. James W. Ingram was born and reared in the Ingram Settlement, but went to Flat Lick in Knox County where he died, and was buried in the McRoberts Graveyard in Bell County near the mouth of Greasy Creek, on the old Frank Creech farm. James W. Ingram had the following children:
- First wife: Betty Tinsley: [Elizabeth]
(1) Bill,
(2) Mary Partin,
(3) Josephine Gibson,
(4) Hannah Gibson,
(5) America Garrett,
(6) Jim Ingram,
(7) Damia,
(8) John,
(9) Elbert,
(10) Betty Gardner,
(11) Sudie Warren,
(12) Margaret Hendrickson.II Second wife: Margaret Tinsley:
(13) Elizabeth,
(14) Mellie,
(15) Sidney,
(16) Cordia, [Gorden?]
(17) Ellen, [Susan?]
(18) Ollie,
(19) Frank, [Benjamin Franklin]
(20) Edna,
(21) Axie.[2]
Axie Baker may have been named after Sidney’s sister. That Sidney had a sister by the name of Axie may imply a family name was provided by Sidney when Rosebell gave birth; however, given the popularity of Axie at the turn of the century, this theory is questionable and Rosebell may have simply picked a popular name. Note however that the name Axie is passed throughout both the Ingram and Baker generations, starting with Sidney’s sister. Axie’s sister Lucinda names one of her daughters Axie Belle..
No birth dates are provided for Sidney’s sister to determine if the theory is correct, although her exclusion from the 1880 census implies she was born after 1880. She is NOT the Axie Ingram (19NOV1887 – 30MAR1913, a.25) per Find A Grave Memorial #14277157; that person is Axie (Dean) Ingram (19NOV1871-30MAR1913), wife of Sidney’s brother Elbert P. Ingram.
It’s probably a safe assumption that “Axie B. Ingram”, b.MAY 1896, listed as a daughter to John and America Ingram in the 1900 Federal Census, Kentucky, Whitley, Woodbine, District 0138, Sheet 22, really is John and America’s daughter.
The Social Security Application and Claims Index confirms Sidney’s birth date and parents as:
Name: Sidney Ingram
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Date: 2 Jan 1869
Birth Place: Bell, Kentucky
Father: James W Ingram
Mother: Margaret Tinsley
SSN: 400242849
Notes: Aug 1940: Name listed as SIDNEY INGRAM
The note above is important, implying that Sidney was known by a “different” name. More on his full name is provided below.
Looking at the 1870 federal census, we find the following:
Where is Sidney if he was born in 1869 and not included in the 1870 census above? When trying to find Sidney, we find three possibilities, with the most plausible explanation below, and more information in the footnote.[3] Note that the 1870 census does not specify relationships.
As difficult as the sheet is to read, whoever indexed the census has John Sidney aged 3, but it could very well be a strong 1, or a weak 6.
It is my opinion that in 1870,
- William L. Tinsley and wife Margaret are residing in his parents’ home.
- John Sidney Tinsley, son of William and Margaret Tinsley, is residing with his paternal grandparents.
- It’s after Margaret’s marriage in April 1873 when John Sidney lives with James W. Ingram.
- Fuson’s account of the Ingram family tree may be in error.
The 1870 federal census is the only mention of his name being “John Sidney” and is included for future reference and searching criteria; however, as the majority of documents refer to him as Sidney, we’ll maintain the latter.
In 1896, it is highly likely that our Sidney Ingram was involved with a stabbing altercation with Charles Herndon. Two newspaper articles are included below, although there are numerous other articles on Herndon, one of which describes Ingram of Flat Lick, and again, the 1900 census shows only one Sidney Ingram in Flat Lick.
In the spring of 1896, 35-year-old Charles Herndon of Flat Lick married 21-year-old Elizabeth Taylor. A few days after their marriage, they separate on account of his alleged brutal treatment of her. Herndon said that Elizabeth had been guilty of liaisons with two men: Herndon stabs 27-year-old “Sydney Ingram” in a quarrel, whom he accused of “being on too intimate terms” with his wife, and he accuses Elizabeth of deserting him for Galloway Carnes. Herndon serves nine months in the Kentucky penitentiary in Frankfort for stabbing Ingram. During his incarceration, Elizabeth went to live with her mother, Mrs. Martha Taylor. Herndon is released from prison sometime in December 1896, where he travels from Flat Lick, Knox County to Jellico Creek, Whitley County, and shoots his wife in the head on December 23. Elizabeth’s 10-year-old brother witnessed the murder. A fugitive for twelve years, Herndon is arrested on 30 January 1909 while hiding in Byers, Colorado with a nephew.
Note that the stabbing occurred about one year after Axie was born. It is unknown if Sidney and Elizabeth really were intimate, or if a jealous Herndon simply perceived there were shenanigans.
Issac/Ike and Elizabeth/Lizzie Patterson lived next door to both Sidney Ingram and Rosebell Baker. More research may be needed to find the correlation between the Ingram’s and Patterson’s:
- In 1860, H.Patterson and Martha Patterson are living with Ebenezer Ingram, a relative of Sidney. The census is ambiguous with regards to race… the “color” column for Ebenezer, Rachel, Jonathan, and Williams is blank, yet there is a “1” for Mary Jane and James (presumably both Ingram), and for the Patterson’s?
- In 1900, Isaac Patterson b.JAN1854 (a.45) and Elizabeth Patterson b.JUL1853 (a.47), a black family, are living next door to Sidney Ingram.
- In 1910, Ike Patterson a.55 (b. abt. 1855) and Lizzie Patterson a.55 (b. abt. 1855), a black family, are living next door to Rosebell Baker.
Additional information for Sidney and his family is as follows:
Sidney dies on 24 January 1941 in Harlan, Kentucky at the age of seventy-two and is buried at Resthaven Cemetery:
With this information, the family tree looks like this:
The information above is circumstantial, and we’re asking for any family members, particularly anyone on the Ingram side who may have additional information to share, to please contact us.
To be continued in Part Four…
[1] Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Kentucky Birth, Marriage, and Death Databases: Births 1911-1999. Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
[2] Fuson, Henry Harvey. History of Bell County Kentucky, Volume 1 (30 August 1939). Structure edited for clarity and emphasis added. Note that “James W. Ingram, father of Sidney Ingram, who now lives in Harlan, Kentucky, was buried in the McRoberts Graveyard in Bell County near the mouth of Greasy Creek…” which is an area that Oliver Broughton, the father of Meldia, would visit his relatives.
[3] Where is Sidney in the 1870 federal census if he was born in 1869? Absent from his family’s household, we find two other possibilities:
Philip Farmer is currently assisting three families break down their genealogical brick walls and find information on their ancestors. He is also the author and publisher of “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh,” a 500-page, 155-year biographical history of the Farmer’s immigration from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky. The continuation of Stephen Farmer’s story from 1800 into the mid-1900’s is currently in work.
