William BAKER, estimated birth date of 1795, is the 2nd great-grandfather in the LEWIS line to brothers Jack & Bill, 3rd great-grandfather to their children, 4th great-grandfather to their grandchildren! The original families came from the USA to Ontario (Upper Canada), then to Manitoba, finally to Vancouver, British Columbia.
This line goes as follows: William & wife Margaret, 2nd child Eliza Jane BAKER & first husband John Lewis AIKEN, their 2nd child Alma Jane AIKEN & her 2nd husband Isaac Charles LEWIS, their 7th child Charles William LEWIS, to their 2 sons Bill & Jack LEWIS; both married with children & grandchildren.
William BAKER, estimated birth 1785, is known only because his daughter Eliza Jane BAKER - from her 2nd marriage registration July 1, 1862 (to Clark Peter Aiken, older brother to her first husband, John Lewis/Louis AIKEN) stated her parents were William and Margaret BAKER. No maiden name for Margaret was included. See rather messy hard to read registration record below - parents Wm & Margaret, in last 'box'.
Clark Aikins 39 Kingston M[ale] Robt & Martha | Eliza J. Aikins 37 Kingston female Wm & Margaret
However, in the 1861 Census for Kingston, Frontenac County, a James R. Baker is listed in Kingston, Frontenac, Ontario (p.1), along with 3 younger females in the household: Eliza Jane BAKER aged 28, Mary Jane Baker aged 19, and Sarah Baker aged 16. All 4 in the household are listed as single (p.2), leading one to believe realistically that this is a family group of siblings. All 4 are listed as having been born in Canada West, and religion as Wesleyan Methodist. James is listed as a "yeoman" [farmer].
When I saw that all 4 in the household were single (p.2), I wondered if their parents had died a few years earlier, leaving the farm to James to work to support the other unmarried children. There is a gap of 5 or 6 years between James and Eliza, and a gap of 8 or 9 years between Eliza and Mary Jane. Possibly there were one or two other siblings in those age gaps, either having died or moved away for work or sisters with a new husband. Many possibilities, no clues, few records.
And finding no record of either of them in 1851/52 or the 1861 Census, I'm assuming both died before 1851. As the youngest child with James on the 1861 Census is Sarah, aged 16, born about1837, we can assume that Margaret - and William? - were alive at Sarah's birth in 1837 in Kingston.
My assumption, since I could find no listings of a William Baker in Frontenac County, nor a Margaret Baker on any census, is that both parents may have died of various potential causes, before 1851. I have not found death records for either of them - yet.
One can speculate that William BAKER was very likely to have been a farmer, living in or around Kingston, Frontenac County, where his children were born and raised. If James, born about 1818, is his eldest son and heir - an assumption based on James being the yeoman of a farm in the county where he was born - then William and Margaret may have married about 1815-1817. From that potential marriage date, we might guess that William and Margaret might have been born about 1785-1790, i.e., aged 25-30 years of age at their marriage, give or take a few years.
There are a lot of assumptions and estimates in this very brief amily history. I have a short list of more documents to research, including looking for any wills or legal paperwork, land records, cemetery records and perhaps death registrations. Perhaps a detailed history of the area will provide more information - I have hopes!!
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